i just joined up. im look'n forward to doing some tracktime this year. i never done it. im just getting into this sportbike thing. ive been ride'n sportbikes for about 3 years. but i raced moto-x for over 10+ years. stt is kinda hooked up with my group t.s.b.r. www.toledosportbikeriders.com .. a side sponser so to speak. thats how i found out about you guys. and ive heard nothing but good things. thats why i want to do some track with this org. and i guess grattan or mid-ohio will be my home tracks so to speak. im really looking forward to it..but anyhow i just wanted to say hello and not be a lurker lol.....
Welcome to the club Mike! Dont be afraid to hit up any of the instructors for advice while at the track. Dont worry, you will get all the advice you can handle on this forum... especially if K3 is milling about! :wink: See you out there!
cool cool. thanx man... im deffinatly look'n forward to it... our club(tsbr) trackday is july 2nd at mid-ohio.. but im do'n the team chicago thing at grattan in april.. gonna try to get a few laps under the belt if ya know what i mean... thanx again for the welcome...
I should be "milling about" at that Team Chicago thing at Grattan. Consider trying Putnam Park and Gingerman as well, and Beaver Run too! Racetracks are like women. Each is different, but I like them all....
yea, the team chicago thing is gonna be my first time on a road course track.. i wanna get some heads up on like proper body positioning, how to hit the lines consistantly in the corners and stuff like that.. smooth=fast.. i learned alot last year though down in the mountains in k.y... some of the guys in our club that do track and or race, kinda took me under there wing for a few days and showed me alot of the basics and such. which most i pretty much new from mx.. they were actually kinda flipped out, cause i was right on'm. even after they wicked it up after a while.. man thats some great ride'n down there. nothing like the gap(going there this june). but still awesome. and closer.. the guy that runs our club has a cabin and i believe around like 9 acres down there..its waaayyy back in them thar hillzzzzz...lol...and i'll try to look ya up there racerk3.. i'll be the longhaired old guy on the black/red 600rr lol..
Most of the guys who teach at Team Chicago are vintage racers, and therefore teach lines for vintage bikes, i.e., they basically tell you to square off every corner. Just keep in mind that what works best for a vintage bike doesn't necessarily work best for a modern sport bike, i.e., take what they say about the proper race line with a grain of salt. If you do a NESBA, STT, A2A, etc. track day you'll be taught totally different (and correct, IMO) race lines. Team Chicago is great for a cheap track day though. We'll be there on Sunday.
I'll likely be running one of the clinics at the Team Chicago school. While you'll surely have fun at the school, (I started there myself!) you won't get much instruction on technique. The TC school is aimed at teaching you how to be a racer and qualifying you for a race license, not teaching you to ride well. For performance riding instruction, you'll want to try an STT novice group, and it sounds like you should start as a group 3 or 2 novice. Welcome to the most addictive thing in the world....
cool..yea, i want'n to get into race'n a bit sometime in the not so far future hopefully... im plan'n on do'n a bunch of stt and a to a stuff.. rich and mike..(the guys that run apex to apex ) are in our club too. whats the break down of the novice class? 1 being the slowest and three the faster of the class? just wonder'n... and thanks guys for in the input and info...
One is the quickest group in Novice, and from the bio you've given you sound like a 3 or a 2 right out of the box. I like to see confident knee draggers or damn close, and previous track experience and STT Novice experience in Group One. We normally go down as far as six, or sometimes even seven groups. The day starts slow and is full of drills, but by the end of the day we run some really quick laps in the faster groups. At it's best, the higher groups start to resemble the Blue Angels by day's end. Many of my Novices have been immediate mid-pack riders when they graduated to Internediate. I had an above average record as a club racer. When I started coaching, STT taught me things that I wish I'd known during my racing career! You'll learn plenty spending a day or three in Novice, and it will help you for the rest of your career. Your previous MX experience will do much to help you in this version of the sport. Looking forward to meeting and working with you!
No shame, Dude! I always say that Group 3 is slow enough to know better, but still too fast to care. 3 is usually the group that improves the most in a day. Besides, we bump folks up or down all day, with the idea of keeping everyone at a pace fast enough to challenge yet slow enough that you're not scared out of your mind and hanging on by your fingernails. If we run you too hard too soon, you'll be too busy surviving to learn anything. Make sense?
This is more of a general comment, aimed at ANY first time track rider, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular: Having the attitude of "I'm a fast street rider" can be very counter-productive, work against the possibility of learning anything meaningful and wind up geting you into a lot of trouble. (not that I know anything about this...) It's far better to show up with the mindset of "I don't know what the Hell I'm doing" and listen very closely to what is being said and open yourself up to have a great learning experience. Many, if not most "fast street riders" actually don't know jack about riding on the track- they only know how to be reckless; your results may vary. FWIW, I went back to novice this summer after a serious crash late spring (and about 16 trackdays) and I was astounded at not only how much useful technique K3 imparts to his students, but how much I had missed when I'd been in the same classroom a year earlier. while I was still in pretty bad shape to make much use of it that weekend, (not to mention it was 104 degrees in the paddock) it made a considerable difference once I'd recovered both mentally and physicaly from my crash. open your mind and forget everything you think you know; you'll be better off for it in the long run. cheers, Lance PS. RR Mike: what happened to your chopper?
DOH!!! :x Chris you aren't playing with yourself watching old racing videos again are you!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: Oh and about the advice Lance was giving out (Gigantic). It's very true. I was a pretty fast learner on the street and then I got to cocky and went over my head on the street. After replacing just about everything on my bike and being laid up for quite a while because I bounced through some ladies yard at about 80ish. I figured I would try the track and learn it right. I was scared sheetless when I hit the track as my first time back on and had no confidence anymore in my riding. I think that was good though because it really made me want to listen more and try to do things right. There are some really good instructors there and even if you are a more talented rider (With you're previous riding experience you most likely are.) you really will learn alot from them. It's really a great program.You'll fit right in and have a blast. :wink: Anyways, WELCOME!!! Take care.
hey gigantic(i think its the same lance). this is 'stupe' from the tsbr site. how ya been man? where ya been hide'n? but anyhow, i dont consider myself a fast street rider at the least bit, or have that attitude at all. and im always wanting input. thats why i 'm ask'n questions..
thanx man.. and thats why im get'n into this stuff this way. to learn stuff right... no attitude here what so ever.. i just wanna be able to catch frenchie(virginee)j/k.. some of you might know her.. blue r-6 i cant remember the number she runs. 22 or someting maybe.. but anyhow. i want ta thank ya again for the info/input...
That's cool. I'm most definitely not judging you either. :wink: I was just giving my perspective from where I came from. That's all. I look forward to seeing you out there. You are REALLY GOING TO LOVE IT!!! Take it easy.
ive take'n some nasty ones in mx over the years. so i know what its like to get hurt.. blowed right knee, cracked ribs, left ankle broke 2 diff. times. right ankle broke once. cracked collar bone. lol.. im a 40 year old snap,crackle pop'n mess in the mornings.. lol. but man, i still love it... damn, did i say 40? hahahahaha..