Signed up for Barber March 15-16, second track day, first time running I group which I am a little nervous about. I ran novice last fall and was feeling comfortable by the end of the day, and although the I group guys seemed pretty fast, I felt like I could hang in there ok at the back of the pack without being a danger to myself or others. But the problem is that was on my 600, a bike that I have grown very comfortable with. This time I am planning on bringing my 1000 that I have recently converted to a track bike after a little spill last year. I really haven't ridden the bike much since the crash so I haven't been able to get readjusted to riding a liter bike after riding the user friendly 600. It's not that I'm scared to ride the bike at the track or anything, but I'm worried about the combination of being in a faster group on an unfamiliar bike. To top it off, I am considering trying out slicks this go around (used the DOT pilot race last time). So now I have the combination of bigger/unfamiliar bike, faster group, and unfamiliar tires. I'm just starting to think that it is too many variables. You guys think I'm making a mistake? I'm probably going to bring along the 600 as a backup just in case I'm not feeling the 1000.
A couple quick thoughts: As far as running in "I" goes: just go out at the back of the pack and take your time getting familiar with the bike and the track. If you're running slicks I assume you have warmers? Those power races are great tires, but the slicks do wear better. You're gonna need warmers if you run the slicks.... hey.. I just happen to have a set of STT warmers for sale!!! As for getting familiar with a 1000 again, heh, well, take your time. I also have a 1000 as my track bike and they can be a bit of a monster to be sure. Use caution with that right hand! And, ABOVE ALL, you really, really, really need to have the suspension set up correctly (not that you don't on any other bike): you NEED to be able to have the suspension set so you can feel the back tire slipping under acceleration, you also need to understand (or your butt does, anyway) what that feels like, because no matter how careful you are with the throttle, there is going to come a time where you are gassing it enough that you're going to start spinning the rear. If you can't feel it spinning, you might find yourself going for a superman flight before you even knew what hit you. See you down there! best, t
Sell the 1000, before it turns on you. Imho, nobody needs a 1000 for the track unless they're getting paid to ride it. I'm sure the STT Southern Division Tire Twins, Jacob & Noah, will be happy to show you that a 600 is plenty of bike at Barber or anywhwere else for that matter. :shock:
I'm not sure how it happened but I accidentally made two identical threads, sorry. I'll just respond in this one. I agree that a 600 is really all you need, and I actually like riding it a lot more than my 1000 and I considered selling. But it's only an 06 and I think I would lose too much money trying to sell a tracked out 1000. As for Jacob and Noah, I don't think they are with STT anymore. I was riding with Jacob last month at some local twisties (he lives kinda near me) and he said he will be with Elite this season. But yeah, he is fast. And in response to the guy in the other thread, yes I've been to Barber once before. What turns do I need to watch out for on a 1000? Turn four comes to mind. I was able to hit that at pretty much full throttle on the 600, I'd imagine it gets a bit hairy on a liter.
4, 5, 6, 8 and 15 are ones where I have seen a few 1000's lose it at.... Where there are darkies take caution!!!!