Riona
Well-known member
Just got back from a Women's Track School day at "The Ridge Motorsports" Circuit in Shelton, WA. I scored a couple of firsts: my first time on a track and my first time as a pillion rider on the back of someone else's bike.
The day was organized by Bellevue Ducati, who hired the track and schlepped the bikes down there in a truck. I chose to send my 06 Honda VFR Interceptor in the transport, and was in two minds about riding down on the FJR so I had both bikes at the track. However, it is 100 miles from where I live, and as a track novice I wasn't sure what state I would be in to ride back after the day, so I "caged it down the slab" and left the FJR for another time. I think it was good that I just had the VFR to worry about, because changing bikes between sessions would have lowered the learning curve I achieved by focusing on just one bike.
There were 4 groups of riders down there (advanced, intermediate, new rider and the women's track school) and we took turns in having 20 minute sessions on the circuit. The women's group got the added benefit of instructors and instruction from 2Fast performance riding school ( www.2-fast.org). We had a classroom session, and then immediately got out on the track to practice during our session, followed by a debrief with our instructor, then back into the classroom. Wash, rinse and repeat 6 times.
Most of us had never been on a track before, so the pace started slow (in the back of a pick up truck, to be exact) as we got oriented to the course, then each session got faster and faster. The last trip around I got 128 mph (indicated) on the main straight before slowing for the corner. Corey and I were both on Interceptors, and we had a bit of a duel going on who could see the highest number along the straight. I had 117 to beat and managed it with a bit to spare. Of course, there were plenty of other people doing this a lot faster, but hey, my first time out !
Anyway, back to the instruction - first classroom session was body positioning - how to slide a butt cheek over, and then swivel the leg out to the side and lean the upper body out. Mark (the class room instructor) didn't actually come out and say "get your tits on the tank" but he made it quite clear that that was the expectation.
The first track session was all about learning the circuit - we were paired off - two riders to each instructor, and we followed our instructor around the course noting his line around each corner. The track also had different colored cones for brake points, tip in points, apex and accelerate away .. which in theory made it easier. In fact I learned the best by trying to see how my instructor (Scott) used the cones - some corners he had a better line for and so I tried to learn his line, rather than just aiming for the next cone.
I won't bore you with the details, but over the classroom sessions / track sessions we covered:
- body position
- braking
- keeping in the power band / gear changing
- passing
- energy management / staying alert
- observation and "thinking ahead" to reduce risk
Over the 6 sessions I gained confidence and really started to get a feel for both the track and for my bike. Riding behind Scott following his line turned into riding in front of Scott, being observed, and getting feedback at the end of the session as to what I needed to improve. Turns out I'm pretty confident on left hand curves, but wimp out on the right handers, for example.
I also got to learn my bike - particularly the tires and engine. I had mounted a new pain of Dunlop Q3's front and rear. They took a few laps to really come to life, but they clearly had way more grip than I had the confidence to use. I did get them nicely scrubbed in, and the "chicken strip" line got narrower and narrower. Partly I was too good at getting the right line and too good at using body position to keep the bike upright. My co-student with Scott, Elizabeth, riding a Ninja 500, was using much more lean angle on her tires, but also going slower around each lap. Her bike, at 400 lbs is more "chuckable" than the 540 lb Interceptor, which covered for her poor use of lines.
Quite how much lean angle I wasn't using became apparent when I got to ride pillion behind one of the Instructors - Steve. The degree of acceleration, barking and leaning into corners was way more than I had risked on my own - and that was riding two-up. After a couple of laps, I had had enough and signlled for a pull into the pits.
Another part of my learning for the day was the throttle response from the Interceptor. The engine has an alarming "blip" at around 7,000 rpm, which meant that it was really hard to keep in control round a corner - I was being over cautious withe the throttle and gear selection to avoid this problem. I knew it was related to the VTEC switch point, where the engine changes from a 2 valve V4 to a 4 valve V4. I really have not minded that on the road, as I tend to just use the "2 valve" part of the power band, but on the track it started to become annoying as my cornering got faster and the need for a linear throttle response got greater.
Eventually I took the bike over to Nels Beyersdorf at Two Wheel Dynoworks. Nels had brought his Dyno Truck to the track and put my bike through its diagnostics while I was in a classroom session. The results - yup, I wasn't making it up. The bike was under-fueled for the whole rev range (probably due to the previous owner installing a set of "LASER" pipes on top of the stock ECU) with a huge lurch right in the middle of the power band. After the final laps, I sent the bike home with uncle Nels for a Power Commander and custom map, which he assures me will smooth the bike out, increase power, remove the lurch, solve world hunger and be one step closer to curing cancer.
So, as I think about the day ....
Expensive - cost of track time, classroom time, new set of tires, Dyno tune and Power commander, CE rated back protector, hotel room, travel, souvenir track jacket, ...
Well worth it - experiences gained, skills learned will certainly increase my enjoyment of motorcycling and I hope will make me a better, safer rider on the street. I did about 100 track miles and learned more in those miles than in the last 10,000 on the street.
Would certainly do it again.
I would also recommend this particular combination to other forum members - track time on its own, without the classroom would be fun, but not provide such a wealth of learning and coaching. Classroom without the chance to practice at the speeds that bring the learning to life yields little. My MCF riders course talked about much of what we covered at the track, but it doesn't really sink in when you are only going 5 mph. Having an instructor/coach to be with out on the circuit is just invaluable.
Riona
PS, yes it did happen and yes there are pictures to prove it - Ducati had a professional photographer at the course all day - I'll post some shots when Ducati has them loaded.
The day was organized by Bellevue Ducati, who hired the track and schlepped the bikes down there in a truck. I chose to send my 06 Honda VFR Interceptor in the transport, and was in two minds about riding down on the FJR so I had both bikes at the track. However, it is 100 miles from where I live, and as a track novice I wasn't sure what state I would be in to ride back after the day, so I "caged it down the slab" and left the FJR for another time. I think it was good that I just had the VFR to worry about, because changing bikes between sessions would have lowered the learning curve I achieved by focusing on just one bike.
There were 4 groups of riders down there (advanced, intermediate, new rider and the women's track school) and we took turns in having 20 minute sessions on the circuit. The women's group got the added benefit of instructors and instruction from 2Fast performance riding school ( www.2-fast.org). We had a classroom session, and then immediately got out on the track to practice during our session, followed by a debrief with our instructor, then back into the classroom. Wash, rinse and repeat 6 times.
Most of us had never been on a track before, so the pace started slow (in the back of a pick up truck, to be exact) as we got oriented to the course, then each session got faster and faster. The last trip around I got 128 mph (indicated) on the main straight before slowing for the corner. Corey and I were both on Interceptors, and we had a bit of a duel going on who could see the highest number along the straight. I had 117 to beat and managed it with a bit to spare. Of course, there were plenty of other people doing this a lot faster, but hey, my first time out !
Anyway, back to the instruction - first classroom session was body positioning - how to slide a butt cheek over, and then swivel the leg out to the side and lean the upper body out. Mark (the class room instructor) didn't actually come out and say "get your tits on the tank" but he made it quite clear that that was the expectation.
The first track session was all about learning the circuit - we were paired off - two riders to each instructor, and we followed our instructor around the course noting his line around each corner. The track also had different colored cones for brake points, tip in points, apex and accelerate away .. which in theory made it easier. In fact I learned the best by trying to see how my instructor (Scott) used the cones - some corners he had a better line for and so I tried to learn his line, rather than just aiming for the next cone.
I won't bore you with the details, but over the classroom sessions / track sessions we covered:
- body position
- braking
- keeping in the power band / gear changing
- passing
- energy management / staying alert
- observation and "thinking ahead" to reduce risk
Over the 6 sessions I gained confidence and really started to get a feel for both the track and for my bike. Riding behind Scott following his line turned into riding in front of Scott, being observed, and getting feedback at the end of the session as to what I needed to improve. Turns out I'm pretty confident on left hand curves, but wimp out on the right handers, for example.
I also got to learn my bike - particularly the tires and engine. I had mounted a new pain of Dunlop Q3's front and rear. They took a few laps to really come to life, but they clearly had way more grip than I had the confidence to use. I did get them nicely scrubbed in, and the "chicken strip" line got narrower and narrower. Partly I was too good at getting the right line and too good at using body position to keep the bike upright. My co-student with Scott, Elizabeth, riding a Ninja 500, was using much more lean angle on her tires, but also going slower around each lap. Her bike, at 400 lbs is more "chuckable" than the 540 lb Interceptor, which covered for her poor use of lines.
Quite how much lean angle I wasn't using became apparent when I got to ride pillion behind one of the Instructors - Steve. The degree of acceleration, barking and leaning into corners was way more than I had risked on my own - and that was riding two-up. After a couple of laps, I had had enough and signlled for a pull into the pits.
Another part of my learning for the day was the throttle response from the Interceptor. The engine has an alarming "blip" at around 7,000 rpm, which meant that it was really hard to keep in control round a corner - I was being over cautious withe the throttle and gear selection to avoid this problem. I knew it was related to the VTEC switch point, where the engine changes from a 2 valve V4 to a 4 valve V4. I really have not minded that on the road, as I tend to just use the "2 valve" part of the power band, but on the track it started to become annoying as my cornering got faster and the need for a linear throttle response got greater.
Eventually I took the bike over to Nels Beyersdorf at Two Wheel Dynoworks. Nels had brought his Dyno Truck to the track and put my bike through its diagnostics while I was in a classroom session. The results - yup, I wasn't making it up. The bike was under-fueled for the whole rev range (probably due to the previous owner installing a set of "LASER" pipes on top of the stock ECU) with a huge lurch right in the middle of the power band. After the final laps, I sent the bike home with uncle Nels for a Power Commander and custom map, which he assures me will smooth the bike out, increase power, remove the lurch, solve world hunger and be one step closer to curing cancer.
So, as I think about the day ....
Expensive - cost of track time, classroom time, new set of tires, Dyno tune and Power commander, CE rated back protector, hotel room, travel, souvenir track jacket, ...
Well worth it - experiences gained, skills learned will certainly increase my enjoyment of motorcycling and I hope will make me a better, safer rider on the street. I did about 100 track miles and learned more in those miles than in the last 10,000 on the street.
Would certainly do it again.
I would also recommend this particular combination to other forum members - track time on its own, without the classroom would be fun, but not provide such a wealth of learning and coaching. Classroom without the chance to practice at the speeds that bring the learning to life yields little. My MCF riders course talked about much of what we covered at the track, but it doesn't really sink in when you are only going 5 mph. Having an instructor/coach to be with out on the circuit is just invaluable.
Riona
PS, yes it did happen and yes there are pictures to prove it - Ducati had a professional photographer at the course all day - I'll post some shots when Ducati has them loaded.
