Who was that idiot on an FJR at Barber on Saturday?

[Goodman4]

Oh yeah. It was me.

What a blast! And remember I've been riding a cruiser for years until 2012. This was something I had never dreamed of doing until recently. I got into some rider education, moved up to a Lee Parks Total Control class and they recommended this to practice. It certainly was practice. Of course I rode novice, but I was able to stay in the middle of the pack. I was also surprised how the FJR's acceleration could toast the smaller sport bikes and stay with the liter bikes, but the better riders were better than me in the curves and overall line management. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. I saw that in action. The FJR definitely is more than enough bike for a track day, though.

SportBikeTrackTime had a LOT more training than I expected and the coaches were great. I am still winding down mentally from the day and can't hardly think of anything else. I keep thinking of things I should have done differently. I found out I had parked by a pro racer named Michael Wischmeyer from Memphis who wasn't riding but was with some friends. He helped me out several times and was very encouraging. Nice guy.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.teamkineticracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wisch-bio-pic.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.teamkineticracing.com/riders/michael-wischmeyer/&h=221&w=338&sz=51&tbnid=nTLX9e1ZRTTjqM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=138&zoom=1&usg=__ZoC2wONg5vRicyS29cTdjVIbFk0=&docid=LJDJdi6UQyaJVM&sa=X&ei=UqxkUpDYBJSc9QT8qICgAQ&ved=0CD0Q9QEwBQ

I was a little more aggressive than I expected, probably because they do a good job starting you slow and wanting more. I didn't freak out except for one time late in the day when I was out there riding hard and my body or brain suddenly became aware of what I was doing. It felt like when your knees get shaky at the top of a ladder after looking down. I had to breathe and relax to get my brain to move my body to the lean. Michael said I should have pitted to get the breather instead of working on my head on the track.

Anyway, if you were wondering, they welcome middle-aged newbies on FJRs to track days. And it is every bit as fun as they say it is.

That's my daughter with me. She goes to school at Samford in Birmingham who came over to watch.

 

[SeattleTy]

The streets will never be same once you experience the FJR on the track. I remember what your feeling after a day on the track, even hours later and into the night, your body still pump from adenaline, thanks for sharing your experience

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Great!!

Thanks for sharing with us!!

 

[Slick]

Very cool.

That is on my list to do someday...

 

[Top_Speed1]

Sweeet! I rode Watkins Glen before, love the banking at high speeds. I know the feeling, when I was done I was all jittery, knees were wobbly... kinda like when you first walk off from a really bad ass roller coaster ride.

Thanks for sharing

 

[beemerdons]

Great!!Thanks for sharing with us!!

+1, Gunny; very nice, Thank You!

 

[gray ray]

I still remember my first track day on my fjr. I wound up taking three instructional track days, untill the third one, which had very light attendance. I managed to spin the rear wheel comming out of a hard right hander, with the instructor in tow. The instructor told me that I was riding a lot more bike then I had talent for. There was a race preped 1999 SV650 at the tech shed. You should have seen the look on the wife's face when that baby rolled out of the trailer. Off to Ebay for a used set of leathers, race boots, gloves, back protector, two intermediate classes, two advanced classes, one race school, and I have been racing ever since. Notice that I said racing, not winning races. I don't get lapped as often as I used to, and I only beat the guys that crash. But I am out there competing and no body is having more fun then me.

Gray Ray #65

Moto series

P.S. Since I have started racing I have slowed down a lot on the street.

 

[bwv]

What kind of armor did they require?

We have a track here... (brand new, amazing looking, and only 12 miles from me) but they require full leathers and race quality gloves and boots.

I appreciate that.. .but, in adition to the 250 for the day, and required minimum 100 for memebrship... I cant swing 1100 bucks worth of gear that i wont likley use on the street.

I have a jacket with CE stuff and pants with kevlar, but it wont fly there.

I think they are smart to require that stuff.. not complaining.

 

[20valves]

I had my '03 FJR at Barber in 2004 and was amazed how well it did. The morning session was pouring rain too. You have to keep your head as it's no R1 but it will charge out of corners hard. The peg feelers will get a workout. I even found the rear brake pedal pivot to be beveled about half off! When you realize how high the bike's limits are at the track, you know your safety limit on the street is higher than you may have thought.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

1) I am jealous

2) Thank you for sharing

3) Very Good Stuff (Even the thread title was cool)

Based on that pic with your daughter, did you lower the air pressure in your tires? Neither of you look heavy enough to flatten out the contact patch like that?

 

[Chuck35]

Based on that pic with your daughter, did you lower the air pressure in your tires? Neither of you look heavy enough to flatten out the contact patch like that?

It looks like he might have a car tire back there

 

[Goodman4]

What kind of armor did they require?
We have a track here... (brand new, amazing looking, and only 12 miles from me) but they require full leathers and race quality gloves and boots.

I appreciate that.. .but, in adition to the 250 for the day, and required minimum 100 for memebrship... I cant swing 1100 bucks worth of gear that i wont likley use on the street.

I have a jacket with CE stuff and pants with kevlar, but it wont fly there.

I think they are smart to require that stuff.. not complaining.

It depends on the group that puts the event on more than the track. All STT (SportBikeTrackTime) apparently has the same regulations at their tracks. They require full-piece leathers only for intermediate and up, but for novice they are much more relaxed. As long as you've got pads and the jacket zips to the pants in the back it meets their minimum requirements. The other good option with them is renting leathers. I think it was $60 or $70 bucks to rent them and you reserve them in advance. If I ever go again, I would likely do that next time as I think it would be safer than my street pads. I'd probably buy or rent a back protector too since most of them had those.

Also there is not as much tech work you've got to do with your bike for their novice. I had it un-taped and back to normal within 10-15 minutes after getting it off the trailer.

There were a few mild crashes in novice though. I think over 90% of the people at the track meeting including the staff raised their hands when they asked how many had crashed there. IMO, the real problem with doing a track day on the FJR is that you don't want it going down. If you want to experience racing, you have to get a track bike that you can afford to drop. However if you want to do some real cornering practice and try to improve your handling of corners, there is no better or safer way than doing a track day on it.

I kept repeating in my head what my Total Control instructor told me, "If you go to a track day to practice this stuff, you will have a great day. But if you go to see how fast your bike is, you will have a very different experience."

 

[Goodman4]

Based on that pic with your daughter, did you lower the air pressure in your tires? Neither of you look heavy enough to flatten out the contact patch like that?

Yes, I did lower it. Not as low as Michael wanted me to but I dropped about 5 in each. But I think what you are seeing may be the wear from the Interstate on the slab ride from last weekend. Pretty sure that was there before Saturday. I have a pic on my phone of the sides that show the melted rubber, which I did not expect. The contact patch in the middle didn't get a lot of activity on Saturday.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Just so you know, your loved ones and coworkers will be sick and tired of hearing how much fun you had at the track because you won't shut up about it.

I know mine were after my first track day.

It's amazing how much you learn on that first trackday. You learn something every time you go out but it's never as much as that first go round. It does get more addicting as you go though, so be careful, because before you know it, there'll be a 600cc dedicated track bike in your garage.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I have often considered a Ninja 250 just for this purpose. Sadly, I lack the courage to discuss this with Mrs. Redfish.

 

[Eric B]

Awesome! A track day is on my to do list. I know the feelings you talked about though. I experienced them driving my Saab 9-3 Turbo on the Nurburgring Nordschleife while I was in Germany.

 

[Old Guy]

I took my ZRX to Barber in 2003. Even 10 years ago, I was the oldest one there

I had a ball, though. If it weren't so blasted expensive, I'd love to have a track bike and do it several times a year.

 

[drjfjr]

Just did my first track day on my SV650 in august at Putnam park. My family and friends thought i was nuts to do a track day at my age which is a tad older than middle age at 54. there was a guy riding in the advanced group that looked to be at least 20 years older than i was. It is as addicting as goodman4 and the others say it is. I am ready to go to another one. I have already started thinking of a dedicated track bike because those 1000's passed me like i was sitting still in the long straight but i caught them in the curves. Had to learn to late brake to pass those guys prior to the turn because i would get beside of them at the end of the turn and then they out powered me. Only allowed to pass when straight up and down in Novice group. I learned a lot in just one track day. The coaches were great.I would recommend a track day to every rider. I plan on taking my son next summer so he can ride too.

 

[Old Guy]

I've got a retired friend who still endurance races and is quite good. I don't know how old he is, but I'd guess at least early 60s.