Track Day Soon

[FalcoJock]

I have signed up for one of BiKE magazine's save our track day events. I'm a track day virgin so it sounds like a good introduction. They are supposed to be non-competitive and focussed on safe fun for novices (am I making it sound boring?). My questions are:

-should I do an early oil change before the event, or immediately after, or both? It is due in a couple of months.
- any recommendations for insurance (don't, do, who)
- anyone here been on a BiKE save our track events?

Cheers all.

[blinkey501]

a few bits of advice, there will be a guy there who will help with your tyre pressures for the track day seek his advice , and also remove your number plate has insurance does not cover your bike.
fill your bike with petrol just before you arrive so dont you need to pop out mid session
track days are fun but ride with in your comfort zone and your confidence will build and by late afternoon you have improved. has in regards to an oil change before or after if the bike is not due a service has long has oil levels are correct you should have no problem. it sounds like you are going on a novice day and this will improve your riding ability, and there will actually expierienced riders there looking for track time. dont be ashamed to ask advice about road position etc from these people they will only be to glad to help , oh yes and most of all HAVE FUN

[FalcoJock]

Thanks for the good advice blinky. I don't get your point about taking the number plate off. I know I won't be covered by my road insurance but I wonder if anyone knows of a good deal on one day track cover. The day is strictly for road bikes so bikes in vans, tyre covers and other hints of 'pro' trakers are banned.

[HisNibbs]

It certainly won't hurt to make sure your oil is fresh. If it's more than a couple of thousand miles or six months old i'd change it before and not bother afterwards, until the next time it'd be due.

I'd not change anything else especialy for the track day as you'll probably be more comfortable starting out with what you know. After my session at Mallory I thought a couple of clicks of extra compressing damping wouldn't have been admiss but my Michelin 2ct tyres were in prime condition on standard road (36, 42) pressures. Make sure you take it easy to begin with and stay smooth. Don't try and rush corner entry or over brake. Apply the power smoothly and give other people room. The Falco is a quick bike........let it do the work and you should have a ball.

[szrdave]

As above if an oil change is due you're better off doing it before the day, track riding asks a lot more of the engine than riding fast on the road.

Either take fuel with you or look up the closest petrol station to the track before you go, a Falco won't last a whole day on one tank (ask me how I know!) so you'll need to fill up at lunch.

And finally, make sure your tyres are in good condition (not too old, plenty of life left, still the right shape). I'd strongly recommend dropping the pressures, I run 30 front 29 rear, it's easier to take air out than put it in so you could start a bit higher and drop them gradually. If you're getting big blobs of rubber balling up and the tyre looks 'melted' it's a sign the pressure is too high.

Most importantly relax and enjoy the day, and stick some pictures up here!

[D-Rider]

I'd strongly recommend dropping the pressures, I run 30 front 29 rear, it's easier to take air out than put it in so you could start a bit higher and drop them gradually.

I can't comment from much personal experience as I've only spent about 15 mins on a track, however I do know that there is a school of thought that this is NOT something you should do for ROAD tyres that are used on track.
The following article gives the views of Avon Tyres' expert:

TYRE pressures are a crucial factor in determining how your bike handles and how quickly you wear your (not exactly cheap) tyres. There are lots of myths and misconceptions about what pressures you should run in the wet, on track days or when you're loaded with luggage. Usually you'll find someone propping up the bar who knows better than the manufacturers' recommendations.

To find out how close they are to being right we talked to a genuine expert - a man who should know tyres if anyone does. Leo Smith spent years as chief development tester at Avon tyres. He is now motorcycle product manager. He said: " We probably get asked more about tyre pressures than about any other aspect of a tyre. " There's so much bad information kicking about that people can't separate the truth from fiction. " Smith says that is largely the fault of tyre companies themselves. Several years ago, different tyre companies recommended different pressures for different tyres and different bikes. But around 10 years ago, a decision was reached between the companies to standardise pressures so that most bikes can run on the same no matter what tyres they're on. That standard is 36psi at the front and 42psi at the rear. There are some exceptions, like 400cc grey imports which run 29psi at the front and 36psi at the rear. Another notable exception is the KawasakiZX-12R - which is meant to run 42 front and rear. But if you've got a modern mainstream bike, chances are you should be running the 36/42 standard.

That 42 figure in particular will have a lot of the gentlemen at the bar shaking their heads. But it is not a figure chosen at random Pressures determine how your tyres deflect. The lower the pressure, the more the tyre will flex. That may make for a comfortable ride when you're cruising in a straight line, but the tyre will flex too fast at speed and make your bike unstable. The bike will feel vague going into turns and feel like it's going to tip into the corner suddenly. This is because the tyre isn't " strong " enough and it's literally buckling under you. The bike will also feel wallowy through turns and it'll weave under acceleration. Conversely, if you over-inflate a tyre, the flex will be slower but that will make your bike more stable at high speeds. The ride comfort and the tyre's ability to absorb shocks will be lost and your wrists and backside will take the brunt of it. The bike will feel so harsh that many people will think they have a suspension problem. Cornering won't feel as bad as when pressure is too low, but you will again lose feel and feedback from the tyres. For example, if you ride over a stone, an over-inflated tyre cannot absorb it and the tyre breaks contact with the road. Smith says the classic myth about tyre pressures is that you deflate them for wet-weather riding. He says most grip comes from the tyre's compound and the contact patch - and the shape of the tyre where it contacts the road is everything. Tread patterns stop water from building up under the tyres - which could caused a bike to aquaplane. Smith says: " A good front chucks enough water out of the way to enable the rear to get the power down. If you reduce the tyre pressure, the tread becomes compressed so it can't clear as much water. " If anything, Smith recommends you increase the rear tyre by 2-3psi in the wet but leave the front as it is.

Another widely held misconception is that the psi recommendations are the maximum the tyre can take. They're not. The figure only tells at what pressures the tyres were tested at for all-round use. You could actually safely inflate a tyre up to around 50psi if you really wanted to, although it wouldn't do you much good. But the biggest area for debate has to be track days. If you've ever been to one it's almost certain someone has told you you'll be best off reducing your tyre pressures. You get more grip that way, they tell you. Smith has radically different advice. You should leave them alone, he says. Racing tyres are of a totally different construction and stiffness to road tyres so they need less pressure to maintain the carcass shape. That's where the rumours and bad advice comes from. If you drop the psi in road tyres you will get more movement in the tread pattern. They will heat up too much and that will eat into tyre wear. You'll almost certainly ruin a set in a day without gaining any advantage in grip. " Smith says he's known people to drop their rear tyre to just 22psi when heading for the track. His advice is to leave your tyres alone, saying a good tyre at standard pressures will give more grip than you need on a track day because you almost certainly won't be going as fast or for as long as racers. Track surfaces offer much better grip than the road, too - another reason for leaving your tyre pressures the same for the ride to the track as for the ride around it.

Many people also ask the experts at Avon if they should increase psi to take pillion passengers. Again there's no need. The manufacturers' agreed pressures of 36/42 were arrived at after testing with pillions, luggage, cold tyres and every other combination you could think of. One of the few cases when Smith does recommend you change your pressures is when your tyres wear. A worn tyre has lost a lot of its strength as the shape and flexibility levels have changed. That means it will handle differently to a new tyre. Try increasing the tyres by 2psi when you're down to around 40 per cent tread depth. It will only make a marginal difference, but it should improve your bike's handling a bit. You may not have to keep changing your tyre pressures, but you do have to maintain them. Smith recommends that you check them once a week as an absolute minimum but to be extra safe, you should really check them every day because a tyre can change by as much as 3psi on its own just because of changes in the weather. You should always measure your tyre pressures when they are cold. A few bikes are now coming with tyre pressure gauges in their under-saddle tool kits. If you haven't got one it's worth buying one. They only cost a few quid and take up about as much room as a pen. Forecourt gauges are notoriously inaccurate.

[szrdave]

I'd have to disagree with the excerpt above, the only time I've ridden on track with road pressures (lydden hill on Avon viper sports, didn't have time to drop them before the first session) the bike felt terrible and I pulled in half way through.

The problem with running road pressures is the surface of the tyre gets way too hot and melts, particularly with road biased tyres this means you'll be above the upper operating temp and loose grip, plus knacker the tyres.

The best indicator is the tyres themselves. If you've got a nice ripple out towards the edge of the tyre with small balls pushed off the edge you're not far wrong!

[D-Rider]

It's running lower pressures that makes tyres run hotter - the lower pressures allow more movement in the carcass and tread and this generates the heat.

[szrdave]

True, a tyre run at too low a pressure will overheat due to internal friction within the tyre, giving 'hot tear' at the surface.

A tyre run at too high a pressure will not allow the carcass to flex meaning the surface rubber gets worked harder and overheats.

I was at brands last year and met a guy on a 'blade who had recently done his first track day at snetterton. He'd run road pressures on pilot roads and although he hadn't used all of the tyre had a ring of 'bogeys' out towards the edge. I saw him again later in the day after he'd dropped the pressures and his tyres had started to recover.

If you start with 42psi cold then do a couple of laps and the tyre gets up to 100deg c, the hot pressure will be much higher.

[flatlander]

If you've got a nice ripple ...with small balls pushed off the edge you're not far wrong!

[HisNibbs]

If you're getting big blobs of rubber balling up and the tyre looks 'melted' it's a sign the pressure is too high.

No! No No........

The opposite is true. Tyre flex generates the heat and this flex is inversely proportional to pressure. Ballsed up melted tyres seem typical of track day rubber and thats because people keep dropping the pressures of road tyres that are designed to warm up quickly and will probably get too hot to perform well, even with standard pressures with prolonged use at near race speeds.

[Dalemac]

I have to agree with andy and hisnbibs.

When i went to mallory last on the gpz, i did the first 2 sessions at road pressures and has not problems. In the last 2 sessions i reduced the pressures, tyres started to melt, and i had little grip. i could feel the tyres slipping and sliding around. and that was on a gpz....

[DavShill]

Listen to the Nibbster - he has some useful experience.

[Nooj]

Yep.

Road tyres = road pressures.

Race tyres = race pressures.

A tyre is designed and built to work within a give range of pressures, run them at the wrong pressures and they won't perform properly.

[Paulh]

Yep.

Road tyres = road pressures.

Race tyres = race pressures.

A tyre is designed and built to work within a give range of pressures, run them at the wrong pressures and they won't perform properly.

I race on road tyres and generally agree, but depends whether you are talking hot or cold pressures.

Road tyres on track run hotter than on the road, therefore they are running at a higher pressure when you are out on track. Even if you are new to trackdays you will be running a lot faster for longer on the track than on the road, and the tyres will be running hotter and at a higher psi than normal.

I would check the pressures when you come off the track after your 1st session and compare them to what you normally get after a run on the road - usually you will need to drop a few PSI out of the back to be running hot at the standard road pressure - front is often OK. As advised above race tyre pressures do not apply to road tyres.


That said I would never run as high as 42 on the track though - I aim for about 34psi hot generally as a guide which is usually about 28/30 cold.