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Track Day on my K1600

7K views 27 replies 19 participants last post by  Runout234 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all,

I recently did a track day with an outfit called "Tony's Track Days". They're located here in the Northeast and setup track days at 4 or 5 tracks in the area. One unique thing they do is host "Non-Sport Bike" days. Now, on their regular days, you can ride anything and everything if it's got 2 wheels, a motor and passes tech, but on the NSB days, they specifically don't allow sport bikes to allow those with all other forms of bikes to ride in a more leisurely environment that puts the stress on cornering skills that can help you out on the road and aren't so focused on decreasing lap tips. There are three groups based on experience, ability and equipment. You can be moved up or down a group after the sessions based on how you're working out with the other riders in the group. The format of the day is broken up into hourly rotations. each hour, you do 20 minutes on the track, 20 minutes in the classroom, and 20 minutes break, with each group doing one of these three things. You'll end up repeating that rotation about 6 times during the day. A total of an hour and 20 minutes of riding time doesn't seem like a lot, but you're completely wiped by the last session. Anyways, it's a great experience and a useful learning tool for anyone interested. The K1600 handled very well out there, but even hanging off as far as I could, and raising the suspension to the max, and removing highway pegs, I was still touching the crash bars, so that just meant that it's time to invest in an actual track bike and start doing normal track days! There's actually a 2005 Suzuki SV650 sitting in my garage as we speak being torn down and gone over....

There was a very skilled photographer at the track names Arcy Kusari who owns a company called "On Track Media". Here are a few of his photos he captured of me.
 

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#2 ·
Nice riding!
I think it is because you ride a GTL. With the GT I do touch the footpegs on track days and that is already leaned over where my eyes start to go big!
I think time for you to change to GT since you already maximized what you can to with the GTL
 
#3 ·
I've done several track days with the K1600GT and don't have issues with dragging pegs, etc. When I first bought my GT in '12 I had to upgrade to Wilber shocks because I was dragging the center stand. If you're dragging on the track/street there are 4 remedies; 1: upgrade shocks, 2: get off the seat more, 3: throttle/brake control, 4: slow down. :)

Duane
 
#6 ·
Plus...he said he was dragging the crash bars first, not the pegs. You've got the Wunderlich crash bars, which won't touch down before the pegs, as most crash bars do, which was a big selling point for me. I know it may be overly old school, but to me, the pegs on my bike need to be the first thing to scrape the ground to give me that moment of extra time to ease up before I lever the contact patch off the ground.

Of course, that means the Wunderlich bars will allow it to go all the way over on its side when dropped, unless you have rear case protection bars...not that I'd know anything personally about that. :grin:
 
#5 ·
I’ve done four track days with Tony’s. The last three were with my GTL. The first was on my Kawi C1400. These are fantastic learning environments and I highly recommend doing them. On the Non-sport bike days, it really is all about learning how to corner, not just blasting at warp speed between the corners. All of the staff are fantastic. The classroom sessions are very informative. Of course, when Ken Condon talks, you best be listening.
 
#7 ·
@dobervol, I don't know for sure, but you can't assume his crash bars stick out more than the foot pegs and therefore are the first parts to touch. I never had much of an issue with dragging pegs before I changed to Wilber shocks; I was dragging the center stand... I'm betting his suspension is collapsing causing the crash bars to drag. I'm also betting if you take a K bike with 'crash bars', lean it over in the parking lot, the pegs are going to impact before the crash bar...

Duane
 
#8 ·
I have the Wunderlich bars, front and back. I have never touched them on the track, but I have ground the outside bottom edge of both foot pegs. The GTL does not have the ‘feeler tips’ on the bottom of the pegs (at least my 2016 does not). During my first track day with the K, I would touch the pegs at specific spots on the track (Thompson Motor Speedway). This past May I was back at Thompson and did not touch down at all. I was going faster, but leaning less. Four track days will do that to you - going faster, leaning less.
 
#15 ·
Not to hijack your thread, BUT I met a guy here in KC just yesterday who builds and rebuilds RZ350's and RZ500's. He has a nice 2-stroke niche and may even be the host/organizer of the the biggest 2-stroke-only gatherings/rides/shows/whatever in the country. If you have a hankerin for the old days, this guy's a resource. Message me if you're interested in his contact info.

Back to the benefits and fun of track days!!
 
#10 ·
I do get @Gunnert's experience with the center stand and it being due to suspension compression/wallowing, as it's pretty close to the centerline of the bike and doesn't stick out much at all, but IS very low. And I do get that leaning occurs on an arc, while suspension compression occurs in a straight line.

What I'm getting from all of this, though, is that there are way too many variables to know for sure exactly what will happen on any one person's bike in any one condition, unless and until it does, absent a poop-load of testing. But speaking only for myself, if anything hits before my pegs on my bike under any conditions, drop or cornering at speed, I'm going to be looking to see what touched, and change what caused it, whether that means suspension or crash bars or something else entirely.

And I'm also with @jeffcelletti. OP's looking mighty good in those pics, and taking young 'uns to task who call these bikes old-man tourers, all at the same time. :grin:
 
#17 ·
Those are Bates boots. They unfortunately stopped making riding boots I believe. I loved them, thought they were super comfortable, they're waterproof and didn't look bad off the bike. I would though have preferred something with a little more ankle protection, but these will do for now until they fall apart. I've gotten two riding seasons out of them, so probably time to replace sometime next year.
 
#12 ·
Yep, I had my '12 GTL on a track the day after I picked it up from the dealer, just to break it in properly and scrape the shiny off the foot pegs. :k16:

A few weeks later, I did a Total Control session with Lee Parks and got even more comfortable pushing the Big-K to its limits.

A skills-based track day or other professional rider training course is a great way to push your own limits in a safe environment with direct, experienced feedback, and to get to know the bike really well.

 
#13 ·
When I'm dragging something on the street, it means that I'm either going too fast for the conditions or have just leaned a bit too far. Growing up in the hills and winding curves of WV you learn a lot and get to have a lot of fun. Being away for a long time and only visiting though, it's easy to forget how to do it safely. A track day sound like fun and good for my health..
 
#14 ·
My take away: bike rider's body form, a tad of forward lean, legs against the tank, head, eyes looking way thru the turn, all lookin' good. Great form.



If you aren't looking far ahead of where your going, you'll never get there. Bike and rider combined to "do it right".


Wish they had they same kind of option and Willow raceway in Willows, Ca.


RB Gary
 
#16 ·
I kinda went AWOL after posting this, sorry to not update with some replies.

I was scraping foot pegs before I got to the crash bars (Illium). This isn't ever an issue in the street, because if I'm leaning enough to scrape the pegs and get it over to the bars, then I'm absolutely going too fast for the street (in my opinion at least, based on the roads where I live and ride).

I have an RDL seat and couldn't really get my butt up and over anymore, I was kinda locked into the seat. Honestly, it was great fun and I learned a lot but I don't feel it's worth pushing this bike any harder or going for a GT as the GTL suits all the riding I need it to do. For my track fun, I picked up a 2005 SV650 and I'm currently getting it setup, hopefully I can get a day or two in this season, otherwise it'll hit the track next season.
 
#20 ·
I recently did a track day with an outfit called "Tony's Track Days".
Outstanding! I had always known I'd love to get on a track and finally had the opportunity. Got the big 'ol girl out there a couple different times now with the RideSmart Texas program. The last time was absolutely phenomenal... Circuit of the Americas in Austin. I'm sure ya'll are aware of this world-class track and facility. I'm just a 'novice', but the GTL was able to really open some eyes of the fellow sport bikes out there on the track. I can't say enough about the whole experience. I do know this: very humbling and quickly learned that the bike is much more capable than I am!

141441
 
#27 ·
I googled Reg Pridmore and found the below link. I did not know it was a person's name. :rolleyes: 😁

 
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