Return to the track

 This week marked a return to track days after a break of just over a year, mainly due to some health issues.  At the start of 2024 I found myself at a decision point:  it has been a year so do I let it go or get back into it?  I decided to get back into it and do it properly and as mentioned in my other post I have upgraded to a more capable bike. 

A factoid about race bikes is that they don't have sidestands, unnecessary weight, which means I now need a pit crew member at least until I develop the coordination to dismount and fit the stand myself so I sold the experience to Melissa as 'helping me out in the pits followed by lunch at a winery the next day and an extra night in the cabin. Unfortunately I was unable to get the extra night due to accommodation being fully booked out thanks to a big car festival the following weekend but we'll do it next time.  

We loaded up the cruiser with the bike gear and overnight bags and headed down to Warwick the afternoon prior with our usual break for a coffee and check the tie downs at Aratula BP which also has easy parking.  Usually this would be my only stop to check the straps but alas I have a new set of tie downs for this bike and the straps just aren't the same calibre or material as my old ones so had to stop twice prior to tighten as I noticed a little movement in the bike.  Anyhoo we had our coffee and a snack then continued on to Morgan Park to our accommodation. 

Fortunately the weather was mild for this time of year in Warwick and we arrived at the cabin late afternoon.  Unpack, lock up the bike and put it on the trickle charger, then head out for supplies.  

After a good steak at the RSL for dinner we retired for an early night - it's no secret that I'm not a morning person and we needed to be in the gates by 0700 to get a good pit spot. 

The next morning was cool but mild. We had our pit spot secured just after 0700 and then I went about signing in for the day and putting the bike through scrutineering then back to the pit to set up all my gear.  The electrical system in the pit shed was designed circa 1670 AD and anything more than a few sets of tyre warmers plugged in will trip it then it's off for the rest of the day so one must bring one's own generator for tyre warmers. Not long later we had our pit set up and had some time to relax before the riders' briefing at 0900. 

This is my first time running proper race/track tyres which are essentially cut slicks - they provide incredible edge grip but only when at the proper pressures and temperature.  This was an important factor today as it was a cool night and the track takes some time to warm up so going out on a cold tyre won't end well.  I had the tyre warmers on from about 45 mins prior to my first session and then for the rest of the day when not riding.

After the rider's briefing it was back to the pit with about 30 mins to kill before my group was up.  Riders are broken into four groups for the day , based on speed and consistency and I am in the green group which is the second slowest. This tends to be quite a large group with a wide spectrum from the least to most capable rider.  

I will mention here that after buying this bike I had it professionally set up for me by Indy Sam at Mechmoto who has a long history with setting up race bikes including with MotoGP and ASBK.  He did an amazing job and discovered a couple of issues I didn't know about and that's exactly what one pays for. So it's with that backstory that I was surprised to find myself two laps in to the first session and unable to change gear - stuck in 3rd.  I exited to the pits and discovered that the bolt connecting the gear lever and rod had departed but in a stroke of good fortune it was captured by the belly pan so after a bit of fishing with the extendable magnet I had retrieved it, refitted it with some loctite and was ready for the second session.  

Second session went well and I was surprised how quickly I adapted to the race shift on this bike - it means the gears are reversed compared to normal road bikes. 

Link with an explanation here:

Race Shift

There were a few 'firsts' for me this day - bike I hadn't ridden, new tyres not scrubbed in and first time using track tyres rather than normal road tyres, and reversed gear pattern. Oh, and a quickshifter which means changing up gears requires no clutch, just keep the throttle pinned and kick down a gear and the quickshifter momentarily interrupts the engine firing to allow the gear change.  I'm happy to say that it all came together rather well. 

The rest of the day went well and was hugely enjoyable for me and Melissa was all over her pit duties of fitting the rear stand, cleaning the tyres, fitting the warmers, starting the generator then later..... stop the generator, remove the warmers and remove the rear stand.  Made my day much less tiring so thank you luv. 

Although I lost some track time during the day mainly from riders in the faster groups crashing like it was 1999 it was a great day and I achieved my goal of familiarising myself with the bike, gearshift and tyres and just getting recent again.  The rear tyre confirms the great day I had, next track day coming up soon!

Thanks for reading. 

Not much in the way of action shots of me but here is a couple of snippets

1. exiting the chicanes onto the main straight

2. exiting the track into pit lane