Full track: 4.5 miles, 22 turns. Apex track day. AWESOME day. I'm just learning, so not getting it over far enough yet. Used a little R6 for part of the day. Fun! Wish I had gotten started 50 years ago <grin>... YEE HA!

Stephen Clark is a fantastic photographer. -bg

Just GREAT! Way to go BG!.Looks like a real blast....maybe I'll get to it with ya someday when I retire!I wanna see a knee down though!No tar snakes there!You know me...gotta ask...HOW fast were you able to hit those curves there?Did you end up having to unplug your lamps?And what about bodywork...mirror removal only?Any safetywiring needing to be done?

* Last updated by: blue07 on 9/8/2010 @ 12:27 PM *

Blue:

It would be GREAT if you could make it down there some time. The last Apex track day this year is 10/23, and they have a special for first-time track riders for $99. It's going to be the east track.

I probably need a few more track days or a trip through the Yamaha Champions School before the knee will touch, but we'll get there. That's the goal!

Don't know about corner entry speeds. Too busy to check. The straightaway is about 3/4 miles long on the full track, I think, so I was hitting 160 or so there, but could have topped it out no problem. Didn't see any reason to, though...

All you need is Water Wetter in the radiator, tape up or remove mirrors, and tape up lights. No safety wiring required. I pulled the 2 headlight fuses and the 1 tail light fuse, but that's not really necessary. I put on some Vortex rear sets and set them up all the way back and all the way up. I'm not leaning enough to drag anything yet.

Installed Michelin Power Pure tires and had the suspension adjusted at the track. They've got some great vendors there. I think these tires are good for the track. I'm told they use them on the Yamaha Champions School bikes over the other Michelin choices. -bg

* Last updated by: bgordon on 9/8/2010 @ 1:47 PM *

You had em adjust your suspension....nice.How did she feel after that?Was she set up firmer and harder for the cornerings and higher speeds?Or were the actual higher speeds only done on the straights.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 9/8/2010 @ 10:16 PM *

You had em adjust your suspension....nice.How did she feel after that?Was she set up firmer and harder for the cornerings and higher speeds?Or were the actual higher speeds only done on the straights.

I already had it set up pretty firm. Too firm, I think. The main problem was that the front and rear weren't adjusted properly to work together. The bike felt much better everywhere after the adjustment.

One thing I decided is that I didn't want to try to use the rear brake any more on the track -- at least for now. When I was doing that, the rear end sometimes started bumping violently up and down. I was thinking that the suspension adjustment might help that, but it didn't. They told me that I was probably locking up the rear wheel, and that 98% of the braking should be with the front brake anyway. So I may get back to rear braking later to see if I can do it softly enough. The suspension guy who was at the track is a wizard with this stuff, I hear. Cost me $40.

Higher speeds were not my goal right now, especially on the straights. No challenge in that. I think the higher cornering speeds will come as I develop trust in the tires and get her over further. I'd hate to fall and damage the bike, so I'm being pretty conservative. Getting pretty good with the braking, though... -bg

One thing I decided is that I didn't want to try to use the rear brake any more on the track

Save for when you take a trip into the grass

Higher speeds were not my goal right now, especially on the straights. No challenge in that. I think the higher cornering speeds will come as I develop trust in the tires and get her over further. I'd hate to fall and damage the bike, so I'm being pretty conservative. Getting pretty good with the braking, though... -bg

your having fun thats what really matters at a trackday

Save for when you take a trip into the grass

Good point. I hadn't thought of that...

your having fun thats what really matters at a trackday

You betcha! -bg