Booked a track day

[Guest Nogbad]

Booked a track day on Mallory in May.

 

Should I risk the rather new Buell, which after all is the right tool for the job, and is fitted with frame pucks and axle bungs, or should I use the V11 because it is older and worth a lot less.

 

Vote without bias!

[jihem]

use the Buell, you'll have more fun, and it seems like it's equipped for bad spills...

[rocker59]

I'd ride the V11.

 

I enjoy taking my Sport 1100 to trackdays.

 

You'll probably have the only Guzzi there!!!

[badmotogoozer]

I'd say you've answered your own question Nogs. After all, you bought the Buell to play with... Now take it out and play with it! If you break it, you've still got the V11 to ride.

 

You're not likely to punch it into a wall, most likely any crash would result in similar damage and similar cost to fix - possibly cheaper with the Buell with the sliders and all. (You wouldn't just toss the V11 because of a little road rash would you?)

 

 

Rj

[Guest Nogbad]

I found a company that will sell me trackday insurance, but it is £200 for the day. Depends. I may have more fun knowing I am covered for a busted frame if unlucky. Seems steep, and most people don't bother. I can in fact afford it.

 

If it was you, would you insure or not?

[Tom M]

"If it was you, would you insure or not?"

 

 

Guzzi: yes

Funny looking Harley: no

 

[Guest Nogbad]

Guzzi: yes

Funny looking Harley: no

 

 

I guess the Guzzi is more fragile than the "funny looking Harley"!

[Alex-Corsa]

I guess the Guzzi is more fragile than the "funny looking Harley"!

 

Are you going to have some fun or go for the championship and worry about damaging the bike.?

Assuming you have some riding skills excellent tires and OK suspension, the track is the safest enviroment to explore the bikes possibilities, you don't have to go to the limmits to do that.

 

Even though ,I have scratched my pegs and side stand multiple times on totally empty streets.But at the end I understood that it is dangerous and total BS, so I have quit doing it long time ago , and I wouldn't recomend it perhaps even on the track.

 

IMO the basis is to invest in things that will really make you safe, such as way of thinking and mind set-targets and components that make the bike work excellent. instead of someone that will get "money for nothing" and who knows IF and how he will repay if-knock on wood- damage happens. i.e. I would invest 200 quid (or more) for the stickiest tires I could have

and then again would go for some fun and not for the championship scratchin pegs and worying about a fall no matter what bike I would use. But that's my and point of view.

Best thing of course is to hire a riding session with an instructor who will show you many tips ad trick for riding on track safe.

[Guest JimFitz]

I've done a track day on my V11 Ballabio. It was great, but I did drag the side stand on the left side and the exhaust on the right side. I'm scheduled to do another track day this summer and am thinking of removing the stand and figuring a way to raise the exhaust, (I'd just remove the exhaust if I thougth I could get away with it). I believe I could keep the hard parts off the track if I hung off a bit further and was able to keep the bike more upright as a result- it was my first time on the track.

I also happen to know that low siding your Goose sucks. I've done it, and while the machine was amazingly resilient, (I rode it home), it cost me about $800 in cosmetics to get it right again. My vote goes to the Buell. If I had a second bike in the garage, I'd take it to the track and spare the V11- while it is track worthy, I wouldn't risk it if I had a choice.

[Guzzirider]

I'm taking both my Guzzi and my Ducati (which is much faster) to Mallory in July.

 

I reckon I will be more comfortable on the Guzzi because you can absolutely wring its neck due to its gentle power delivery, whereas on the Duke I have to be much more careful.

 

Also thinking of doing the MV owners club track day at Cadwell Park in August- anyone else fancy it?

 

Guy

[Murray]

Whats the track like has it got big open sweepers where mid coner stability comes to the fore. Or is it tight twisty and technical with lots of quick changes of direction and no real sweepers.

[Guest Nogbad]

Whats the track like has it got big open sweepers where mid coner stability comes to the fore. Or is it tight twisty and technical with lots of quick changes of direction and no real sweepers.

 

No idea, never been there before.

 

Pretty much settled on taking the Buell, if the frame pucks and sliders do their job a lowside would probably only take out a clip on, a rear peg hanger and a pair of winkers anyway. The exhaust is tucked away under the engine.

 

Probably will buy the insurance though

[JoeV11]

Simple - ride the race bike on the track and save the street bike... Joe

[robbiekb]

i'm not quite sure why a Buell would be considered a race bike whereas the V11 isn't ?

 

I was going round the outside of the Buells all day at ButtonWillow. The only place where I was remotely challenged was on the straight, and even then it mostly came down to braking and corner setup. I'm not a particularly gifted rider or particularly fast, but unless the track is REALLY fast, the difference is which bike you can ride the best.

 

Even at Laguna Seca, once i got my suspension dialed in, it was relatively easy to hang with much "faster" bikes. The reality is that on an air cooled bike, just accept that you will get the drive out of the corner and then [insert trackbike flavor of the month here] will come stonking past you like you're standing still, until the rider freaks out that they're going way too fast and either rolls off the gas or starts braking at a way earlier brake marker. Cue for you to brake later coz youre going slower, overtake on the outside or set up to get him on the drive out of the corner.

 

So just take whichever one you want to ride really otherwise you'll be bummed you left the bike you wanted to ride at home. My sidestand is pretty much fully ground down unfortunately, i also ground off the sidestand cutoff switch but then i'm using the sidestand to "feel" how much more space i have, on the right I have put Sport 1100i hi mounts on and have never had a problem with touching either the muffler or the crossover, probably more a reflection of my riding style though. I trailbrake my V11 like crazy and go through right toesliders something awful. Once the toesliders are sparking thats pretty much maximum lean for the tire.

 

Interestingly enough Rich R's Scura NEVER touches its sidestand or pipes and he's significantly faster than me. The Scura does sit a bit taller though, it has revalved Ohlins. Makes all the difference in the world

 

..and the V11 sounds awesome at full throttle, she's a big old bus but given that most of us are not retired GP or AMA Gods, completely capable for where our skills are.

 

just my 0.02cents

[Paul Minnaert]

if it's your first ever trackday, see if you can get some guided rounds, that helps:-)

And take it slow!

Lots of inexperienced trackday drivers fail because they think they know how it goes. So they have the wrong/cold tyres, or have their sidestand still on, and when they hit the ground don't have the best reaction on that. In Ledenon a guy with a tonti failed becuase his bike leaked oil, he even looked behind and must have seen the smoke and didn't stop. Then he went down on his own oil, the oil got fire(and so a part of the bike) and he broke some bones.

 

 

and so your bike ends: