G-F-I-N

[Sijray21]

Some use the term GFCP (go-fast-crack-pipe).this is the GFIN (go-fast-intervenes needle  copyright Matthew Leech)and I shot it up and now Im hooked. This was an enlightening experience and I cant wait to improve and learn more with more track days to come as soon as the funds can be found.

IÔÇÖve been contemplating signing up for a motorcycle track-day for a while. IÔÇÖve done four weekends of HPDEÔÇÖs with the car through NASA and I knew IÔÇÖd eventually hit the track with the bike after a substantial amount of street riding to familiarize myself with the (what was then) new bike and riding in general since I just started riding in August of last year. I stumbled upon NESBAÔÇÖs introduction session where you could ÔÇÿtry outÔÇÖ the track free of charge. This fee was exactly what I was looking for, so I signed up for the September event in a sporadic moment I had while at work. I knew Jefferson was a short, technical low-speed (relatively) course that would be optimum for learning so I was hoping for the best.



Fast forward to the day of the event:
I wasnÔÇÖt sure how the day would turn out since all night and the morning was filled with threats of rain. After reading through the NESBA manual I knew that if it wasnÔÇÖt down pouring they were probably going to run the event anyway. Luckily after the advanced and intermediate groups had their sessions a nice dry line was extended out to cover most of the track with dry pavement.



First session: groups of riders separated by control riders as usual. IÔÇÖve never been on Jefferson so I take my time to learn the turns and potential track position for the best line to take. The pace is slow and the riders are compacted. After a few laps it starts to pick up a bit and IÔÇÖm able to open is up. I can still feel the rear tire come out in the back SÔÇÖs after the ÔÇ£bus stopÔÇØ and the front is pushing a little through the last turn before the back straight, so I take it easy for a few more laps to get the tires warmer. IÔÇÖve never really been able to push my bike since I never really liked the idea of doing this on the street so (again) itÔÇÖs a new feeling that IÔÇÖm getting used to. I take the first of the two sessions to get used to the bike at speed. Overall the first session was good, although I was hoping to be a little less crowded for the second session.



Second session:
I was eager to improve my technique and find the faster line. The beginning of this session was great. I was sent out in one of the first groups so I had some space to work with. After a lap I crack it open a little more than the first session. I can feel the bike leaning, but as IÔÇÖm focused on the track in front of me I notice that the speed of the people in front of me is inconsistent through the turns and I catch up quickly. IÔÇÖm not leaning off the bike as IÔÇÖve done before on the street, and IÔÇÖm pretty sure it was because I just wasnÔÇÖt comfortable with the bike on-track at speed yet, either way IÔÇÖm finding myself keeping up with the control rider nicely and finding a better line.

I didnÔÇÖt feel that I rode well however and some of the pictures that were taken confirm this. IÔÇÖve determined that I really need to focus on getting off the bike and moving my weight to drive the bike into and out of the turn. IÔÇÖm leaning the bike over, but from the pictures it appears that IÔÇÖm working against the bike when turning. This short session showed me that I have a LOT to learn about the correct riding posture, gaining confidence in the lean while off the bike, and to space myself from the other students when trying to achieve my goals on the track. IÔÇÖm hoping to attend a Cornerspeed school in the Spring as well as Keith CodeÔÇÖs California Superbike School at VIR for some good instruction.



If you read all that youÔÇÖre a trooper, thanks for looking.

A BIG thanks to:
Matt (roommate) for helping me with the logistics of getting the bike there and for the pictures! And to Paul for letting me borrow your trailer!

CLIFF NOTES:
First track session ever.
I have a lot to learn.
I had a lot of fun and I should just set up a direct deposit account with a performance motorcycle school because.

Im hooked

[ScottyB]

good deal Jay! wish i could have been there to see it. that's awesome that you're already recognizing what you need to do to be faster, having a good head on your shoulders is the most important peice of equipment :thumbup:

were you expecting the kind of speed you hit or was it really a shock compared to the Si/Teg?

[Sijray21]

were you expecting the kind of speed you hit or was it really a shock compared to the Si/Teg?

i taped up the speedo, so i'm not sure what speed i was actually hitting, but the speed through a corner seemed to be faster than the SI/Teg and the acceleration i've gotten used to while riding 5k miles on the RR and cracking it open sometimes. Honestly it just felt right to crack it open and go fast. I felt comfortable with the speed, it was just the handling i need to work on. Work on a LOT.

I watched Matt carefully today since i went up there again to spectate and just be there. I'm sure his post is coming soon , but i particularly watched his form because it was what i am trying to achieve. The last picture i posted of myself shows the bike leaned WAY over, but my weight is sitting to the left of the vertical axis of the bike (fighting it through a turn like i'm on a motard or something :roll: ...although that would be cool). I need to learn how to 'lean wit it' (cue horrible rap song) to work with the bike and myself to improve that. That fear of low-siding is what i think is keeping me from dong this and I don't have the confidence yet to lean over so i'm going to have to build it up with practice and...with more track days :twisted: .

next purchase: trailer and wheel chock :twisted:

[JohnC]

Glad you had fun and stayed up. I'm probably going to throw some tires on the Ninja and give that a shot at one of these track days, soon...

[Dragon]

First off big thanks to JRay for riding out there with me on Sunday to help me out. Second, thanks to Paul for letting J and I borrow the trailer.

Like Jason I signed up for the Intro day as well so I only had two sessions to work with. It was an absolute blast and I got a lot of good feedback from the course riders I worked with. While riding I got lots of thumbups as I was going through the turns, but the one thing they kept tellng me is to get more comfy on the straight and to use the full throttle.

I did have a few "pucker" moments throughout the day. During my first session there came a point where there was a couple of trains that all got bunched up in turn 1 which caused the pace to slow drastically and very suddenly. It happend so quickly that I didn't have time to get my hand up to signal the riders behind me and a bike went screaming by me on the left and actually grazed against my knee and elbow and made even more contact with the bike in front of me. Thankfully everyone continued.

The 2nd one was when I was making a pass coming out of the last turn onto the front straight and the rider in front of me tracked out to the right (the exact opposite of what he'd done the previous two laps) and forced me off the track into the grass. I just kept on the throttle, kept the handle bars straight and rode it out and eventually got back onto the paved surface. . . . . . but I did make the pass!!!

The final "pucker" moment was when the throttle stuck open against my glove because of my hand position as I was coming down the front straight. As I went to brake I didn't slow at all and blew by 6 riders (including a course rider).

All in all a truly amazing experience and IÔÇÖll be doing it again very soon.

A things I know to work on:
1) stop covering the brake like I do on the street (it was preventing me from getting a full throttle pull)
2) work on my confidence to use as much throttle as possible on the straights
3) be comfortable with knee dragging (got really close a couple times and backed off)

Oh and thanks to JRay for taking the pics

[.paul]

awesome, I am glad you all had fun.

get off the seat more, hold the throttle like you are holding a screw driver, it will make throttle control so much smoother ( thank you Gula for that tip, it helped me out a great deal )

I am stoked you all are hooked, time to rep MM at track day events. and now I can have a group of people to go down to VIR and other tracks, cause going down there alone sucks monkey balls.

So, who is up for the late October Nesba track day?

[Evan]

Good job guys I knew you both would be hooked.

During my first session there came a point where there was a couple of trains that all got bunched up in turn 1 which caused the pace to slow drastically and very suddenly. It happend so quickly that I didn't have time to get my hand up to signal the riders behind me and a bike went screaming by me on the left and actually grazed against my knee and elbow and made even more contact with the bike in front of me.

This is why I question the practice of taping up brake lights. It makes zero sense, and would prevent this scenario. No need to re-start the debate, I just wanted to comment.

The 2nd one was when I was making a pass coming out of the last turn onto the front straight and the rider in front of me tracked out to the right (the exact opposite of what he'd done the previous two laps) and forced me off the track into the grass. I just kept on the throttle, kept the handle bars straight and rode it out and eventually got back onto the paved surface. . . . . . but I did make the pass!!!

what are the passing rules at these? Just seems strange that in a newbie session there would be passing in corners

[Dragon]

The 2nd one was when I was making a pass coming out of the last turn onto the front straight and the rider in front of me tracked out to the right (the exact opposite of what he'd done the previous two laps) and forced me off the track into the grass. I just kept on the throttle, kept the handle bars straight and rode it out and eventually got back onto the paved surface. . . . . . but I did make the pass!!!

what are the passing rules at these? Just seems strange that in a newbie session there would be passing in corners

The passing rules for beginners is front and back straight only. As I said in the post I was passing him as we got onto the front straight as we got out of the corner. We were both upright, he just decided to move over to the right instead of the left like he'd done the previous two laps.

The one thing I didn't like is that they didn't specify any sort of passing procedure for the students themselves, it was basically a free for all. I like how in NASA they pretty much tell you which side to pass on in specific passing zones.

[Sijray21]

The one thing I didn't like is that they didn't specify any sort of passing procedure for the students themselves, it was basically a free for all.

that made me a little uneasy as well, but i'm not sure if it's the motorcycle track-day feel or if it was an organization thing. Either way, the passing situation was a little difficult to judge since you couldn't tell if you were slowing people up behind you or not. I also didn't want to leave more room infront so i could have room on the track for fear that someone would pass me and i'd be stuck behind another person again.

the control riders in my sessions were passing everywhere though, not just the front/back straights.

[Apoc]

the control riders in my sessions were passing everywhere though, not just the front/back straights.

So they're putting beginners in a situation where they're getting passed in a turn? Seems strange.

[Sijray21]

the control riders in my sessions were passing everywhere though, not just the front/back straights.

So they're putting beginners in a situation where they're getting passed in a turn? Seems strange.

it happend once or twice, but it was a rare occasion - usually into a Gap between riders or something when it was really slow and backed-up. They did pass on the straight that wasn't supposed to be open until after lunch though.

[Dragon]

The control riders in my session were passing everywhere as well, but typically only when they were coming up on a much slower group. I approached one of them after the first session and asked them about this. He wasn't too clear on his answer.

Me: When I'm behind a control rider and he initiates a pass on a slower group on the inside of the turn am I supposed to follow my control rider.

Him: Yes you always follow your control rider

Me: Well we were advised that we aren't to pass other students in a turn, and even intermediate students aren't supposed to pass on the inside, so I was just tucking in behind whoever I hadn't completed the pass by and then waiting till the next passing zone to finish passing a group. Problem is then that my control rider has moved on and I can't pass the control rider of the group I've now tucked into.

Him: Oh yeah you never want to pass a control rider, unless he tells you to.

[Apoc]

I don't want to be a nay-sayer because eventually I'd like to get out there as well but there always seems to be some sort of disparity between what should and shouldn't be done out there. Someone always comes back with a story of other riders or the event organization itself appearantly putting others at risk. What am I missing here? (Note that "mostly safe" isn't very encouraging.)

[Sijray21]

I don't want to be a nay-sayer because eventually I'd like to get out there as well but there always seems to be some sort of disparity between what should and shouldn't be done out there. Someone always comes back with a story of other riders or the event organization itself appearantly putting others at risk. What am I missing here? (Note that "mostly safe" isn't very encouraging.)

i would have to say that i'll be trying another organization as my next event. The majority of NESBA events are on the weekends, which are convenient, but the intro session didn't leave the best impression on me as far as organization and instruction goes.

[Ginger]

I don't want to be a nay-sayer because eventually I'd like to get out there as well but there always seems to be some sort of disparity between what should and shouldn't be done out there. Someone always comes back with a story of other riders or the event organization itself appearantly putting others at risk. What am I missing here? (Note that "mostly safe" isn't very encouraging.)

Sanctioning Body.

I think it's safe to say that when you sign up for a generic track day on a motorcycle that's pretty much all you're getting. The standard seems to be lower than you're typical NASA DE weekend... or something of the like. Do a TPM, or Cornerspeed day, though, and I think the bar moves up quite a bit. The things I've heard, or seen, at the track events I've been to don't seem to happen at those organizations which stress greater instruction.

The dichotomy between run grous of bikes and cars might be greater, but I think you run into the same thing with both. You have to do your research before you roll a wheel onto the grid. If you don't, you're almost asking for what you get yourself into.

Glad that you two had fun, though. Hope to see you all out to play again soon!

[.paul]

exepct less "organization" from other events. most of the CR's in like TPM or STT are there for practice, whiel they will help if you ask, i feel the organization is way different, and nesba is actually good.

i never saw any CRs passing in turns in the beginner group, kind of shocking. emial dutch

[Dragon]

I'm actually writing an email to Dutch right now to express my concern.

It's interesting you say that about TPM because I've heard the exact opposite.

[Ginger]

It's interesting you say that about TPM because I've heard the exact opposite.

STT, yeah, that might be true. Everbody I talk to that runs TPM, though, only ever has anything good to say about them. These guys' experience with NESBA runs true to form, as I've heard.

[Feersty]

Matt looks like Hopper.