How many TD guys/gals out there, when they decided to attend their first TD, did not really make the money or have the time to "make this a hobby"? After the first TD and the addiction, adjusted their lives (for the better) to attend more TDs? I know that I am not alone! When I attended my first TD and for the first season I worked a job that required me to work about 70% of the weekends. So, I found a new and little better job that did not require weekends. Second, I could only afford about 6 TSs and tires, etc.... So, I got off my butt and buckled down at work to move into an office position, with higher pay. I am still striving daily to work hard, keep an eye out (for better jobs), make the family more comfortable (while at the track or when they stay home)... All this crap because of a hobby and for a hobby! Who would have thought, about 6 years ago, I never imagined you could ride a track. Really had no desire to! Now I am obsessed and I have many NEW friends to share the passion with!
I see many guys say I do not have the time or money for it! Only a year after their first TD to be going to about 25 events a year! Heck, some of them on their second year have RV style toyhaulers.
The trick is to have longevity. All too often I see good people come and go. And even sadder is to think how many spent themselves out of it.
Hobby for some but life for others..... It's way more than a hobby to a lot of people... moderation is the key... Not just TD,s but just about everything in life.... Except Beer of course...
For me, it's all about having fun. When I raced motocross, I was perplexed when people would just quit and sell everything. My thoughts were "how can you not be having fun?" I realized why when I got to the point that I couldn't finish in the top 5 anymore. I reached my potential and then became disappointed with myself. When I started this sport, I told myself that racing is not what I'm doing here, I just want to enjoy riding as fast as I can and not try to complete with others or even myself. I don't keep track of my lap times because I don't want to hold myself to a standard. Same thing goes for my bike and trailer, keep it simple and use the majority of my money for track time. My personal goal is to ride as many different tracks as I can and so far I've ridden 17 of them in a season and a half. One track day weekend per month is the plan and when I can afford it, I do more. I think that this is more than a hobby for me, it's a lifestyle, I've been a motorcycle enthusiast all my life. This is just another chapter in my long love affair with motorcycles. It's my escape from everyday life as well as giving me something to look forward to every month. Just my .02....
+1 You make a great point. I think a lot of people forget that all you really need is basic safety gear, a stock street bike, and some tape.
I'd like it to be more of a frequent "hobby" but family and priorities first for me. I have been at this a very little while (longer than some but not as long as many ) but sadly most years I get 3-4 TD's a season (once I did 5 TD's!!!!) which isn't much I know. But with kids in sports, wife, home, career etc. I don't have as much time/$$ for more at this time. At least moving down to the SE now affords me longer seasons than it did before up North, so hopefully the frequency changes too! I've managed to stay in it and do pretty well for the limited time I get on track but I too have seen many ppl come and go quickly!... Certainly a great lifestyle to be able to be on track with friends/family and progress though!!
I avoided the track years ago due to cost vs motocross racing. The dirt was just 20% the cost and tracks were closer. As I have gotten older, knees have degraded, and a well established career I made the jump. Couldn't be happier. And the people I meet have been great. You can spend as much as you want in this sport but doesn't mean you have more fun. Time constraints will always be there but a considerate wife and plenty of vacation time help! I do credit the track with renewed motivation to workout again.
I started tracking my motorcycle last year because it allowed me to get on the track more often and for cheaper than tracking a car. Car: - $1200 tires a weekend - $6000 a motor if it fails - $20000 if I total the car into a wall Motorcycle: - $380 tires per 3 days - $1000-2000 a engine if it fails - $100-5000 depending on the wreck. I lowsided last season and it cost me zero dollars to fix the bike. As expensive as this sport is it's not as bad as doing the same sport in a car. When I was big into racing cars I had over $50,000 in my race car. My bike is fully supersport prepped and cost about $20,000. Much cheaper! As for frequency, I'm currently in the process of building a house so that's taken up alot of my free money. With goals of putting down large down payments to keep my monthly bills low which in return would allow me free money to invest and afford to enjoy motorsports I'm kind of backing off on how many events I can do this season. The goal is to do atleast 5-6 events, I have 12 listed on my schedule but at $1000-1500 a weekend that adds up and takes away from down payment money. I guess you can say I'm trying to adult this year. I agree with seeing people come and go with motorsports. Some say it's due to financial reasons, some change jobs and can't get the fine away from work to make it out to the track, some people have families to tend to or wife's that won't let them out of the house for the weekend, and some chalk it up to the risk of injury. I've seen 60+ year old guys out having a ball at a track day but I'm sure they ride with more caution and more reserved than the 20 year old guys trying to be the fastest they can be. The big thing that keeps people coming back is the friendships, without that alot of people fade in and out. I hope this season I'm able to meet some more people and get to hang out with some of the regulars. I really only know 5-6 guys at STT events. Knowing everyone defiantly motivates me to want to do more events.
I started completely on the wrong foot when it comes to money. Graduated college and got myself a big boy job and to spoil myself I decided that buying a brand new Ducati was the right thing to do (22-year olds are dumb lol). That was when I first heard about track days and found there are actually 2 tracks within an hour and a half away from me! Naturally I rode my 1198 at the track and got hooked on it right away. Much money was spent later on for parts, tires, track days, trailer, gear, etc...ended up getting myself in quite a bit of debt. All for a hobby. But I did manage to get about 12 track days a season for a couple of years. I too have made adjustments since then to be able to continue to do this on a budget and not spend more than I need to. Somehow I now managed to get rid of one bike with a loan on it, and a shitty little open trailer, for an enclosed trailer and 2 bikes, with no loan on either of them. So things are looking promising
Funny until I joined this forum and the WERA forum, I had not heard of anyone in my area leave this sport/hobby. I keep seeing more and more people getting into it (more or less), but I've yet to see anyone give it up completely. But after seeing some threads on these forums of people selling EVERYTHING and saying they're getting out of it, it made me wonder "why?". To me it's mind-boggling that one could just give it all up and quit. Is it a money thing? Is it a time thing? Is it simply because they're not enjoying it anymore (a la Casey Stoner lol)? I've also seen some people that have been doing track days or racing for over 30 years and they're still enjoying it. I hope to be one of those guys as I get older.
I am getting ready to start my 8th season, I enjoy it just as much today as when I first started. I will honestly tell you the main reason is the people, STT has a great group of people from the top down. I have ridden with other organizations in the past, and I can tell you from experience people make a difference. I enjoy seeing everyone almost as much as I enjoy ridding on the track. I have spent a lot of money over the years, but it has been worth every single penny, and yes I work hard to be able to afford this hobby, and when I changed companies a few years ago I made sure they would work with the schedule to make TD possible. Hope I can hang in their for another eight years. One thing I love about motorcycles is this sport brings together people from all walks of life that would never meet under any other circumstances, and that is a good thing!
Mack I know we have talked many times about it but without people like you there would be no STT... You and hundreds others make our Dysfunctional family the family we are....
This is very well said! Although I can't say I'm an STT regular (having only done 3 weekends with them), nor do I know many STT guys, I feel exactly the same way with my local track day group. It really is all about the people, and knowing that everyone there has the same passion as you and they're all just as freakin crazy makes it that much better! At track days I rarely ever sit around to relax. During my group I'm out on track, and during the others I'm walking around socializing with people and trying to meet new people. And it's funny how this made me change my perspective on locations for living in the future. A while back my company was laying people off, so naturally being a bit worried I started looking for jobs. My main rule was that every place I looked at had to be within at least 2 hours of a road course track
I'm still not quite in the income bracket to fully enjoy track days! lol. But, i work 2 jobs (one of which is every weekend) and save my pennies. It allows me to do 4 or 5 days a year. Not great, but its what i can afford without letting other stuff lack. I save and plan out very carefully any bike modifications and gear i need. I'd really love to do 10 days a year but it just isn't in the cards while still being fiscally responsible. Having a good set of friends really helps with every thing. This community is where its at as far as i'm concerned. That being said, i've noticed that it changes my perspective on what i hope to achieve ON the track. Some other people really push to get faster and faster, really want that next group. I do not, so much. I pay $200 a day to spend my time chasing the zen of track riding. Now, i've gotten MUCH faster while doing it, and thoroughly enjoy the learning and getting better, but chasing a lap time, or a group bump doesnt really entice me. The fun of the whole experience, the people, sights, smells, sounds.....and hitting that perfect session where all outside world falls away and you just kind of zen out for 20 minutes....that's what is worth the $200. I got the bump to I group last year (which i was proud of) and promptly felt pressure again to perform. I knocked myself back to Novice the next day and felt i got my money's worth out of it more because i could just ride what felt right. Maybe as i continue to get faster as i find more zen and control i'll stick to I, but i feel like its almost a sin to say i was happier with Novice for the time being. But since i DONT have much money and a track day is a hard fought (bought? lol) thing for me, i'd rather get a smile for my money when i can spend it.
as others have mentioned, progressing little by little is key. i did my first TD when I was in college. i rented a u-haul and hauled my street bike to the track. i started out doing 1-2 trackdays a year. i upgraded the bikes as i progressed and everything followed. if you start out slowly, doing trackdays shouldn't break the bank. rent a u-haul for $15/day. street tires are cheap and last a while when you're in novice. you shouldn't be crashing at first. and there's no need buying the best of anything just yet. once you start picking up your pace and your ego grows, that's when you start paying the big bucks. crashes, race tires, hotels, cross state trips, race gas, suspension service, trailer, top of the line gear, etc.
You're already in the right frame of mind about what track day riding is, congrats! Safety first, fun second. Ride your own ride and enjoy!