Track day gear?
#11
02-26-2007, 04:17 PM
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Location: Meridian, MS
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RE: Track day gear?
awesome man, I live in Meridian
Jennings is in North Florida about halfway between Tallahassee and Jacksonvilleor Barber is in Birmingham. Talladega is a little ways past Birmingham in (you guessed it) Talladega, AL lol. Don't getyour hopes up too high its built in a pasturein the boonies, not inside or even very near the oval track. Road Atlanta is near Atlanta of course, Roebling Road is an hour or two past Atlanta (haven't been there yet)
This should help:
Track Location Map
If you want to ride at Barber or Road Atlanta check with NESBA or Sportbiketracktime just remember they usally sell out a month or so before the event.
Any issue of Roadracing World Magazine will haveall the dates listedtowards the backof the magazine for just about any event in theUS,that usuallyhelps find a date that works for you.
let me know when you decide to go to the track, I'm mostly racing this year but I'll be doing some trackdays at Barber and Road Atlanta (and whatever else fits my schedule)
Jennings is in North Florida about halfway between Tallahassee and Jacksonvilleor Barber is in Birmingham. Talladega is a little ways past Birmingham in (you guessed it) Talladega, AL lol. Don't getyour hopes up too high its built in a pasturein the boonies, not inside or even very near the oval track. Road Atlanta is near Atlanta of course, Roebling Road is an hour or two past Atlanta (haven't been there yet)
This should help:
Track Location Map
If you want to ride at Barber or Road Atlanta check with NESBA or Sportbiketracktime just remember they usally sell out a month or so before the event.
Any issue of Roadracing World Magazine will haveall the dates listedtowards the backof the magazine for just about any event in theUS,that usuallyhelps find a date that works for you.
let me know when you decide to go to the track, I'm mostly racing this year but I'll be doing some trackdays at Barber and Road Atlanta (and whatever else fits my schedule)
#12
02-26-2007, 11:11 PM
#13
02-27-2007, 01:35 AM
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RE: Track day gear?
STT and NESBA are both great for first timers, I've always liked NESBA more but its really personal preference
STT has a classroom session between sessions for novice group, but they don't really talk about anything you can't get from reading a small article in any riding magazine. They basically just tell you what to practice each session. You start very slow (VERY). They talk about body positioning, leaning and repeat over and over "when you get to a turn, TURN" A session or two in the beginning they'll tell you to stay in one gear the whole time, etc They let you get faster through the day but for the first half you have a group that you have to stay with and if its your first time the group will probably be really slow no matter how comfortable you are going faster.
That kind of approach never really worked great for me. You can take part of a day and read a book like Nick Ienatsch's "Sport Riding Techniques" and get 10 times the info and spend the trackday learning at your own pace. They both have great control riders that will work with you but you have to talk to them or they won't know your looking for advice. If you do a NESBA day, post up on their board (click "Track Talk" linkon NESBA.com) and tell them you want to meet up with a control rider to work with you. They do have a classroom session before the trackday begins where you can ask questions, discuss the track, and hook up with a control rider, etc Also as far as knowing what your doing, order a copy of Roadracing World Magazine's Trackday Guide (its in their store). The dates are from last year so the schedule won't help you but it will give you a TON of information on what goes on at a trackday, what to bring, how to behave on the track, etc. Its only like $4 now
anyway you can't go wrong with either group, picking a date that isn't sold out that fits within your timeframe will usually be a bigger limiting factor than what group you'd rather ride with.
Jennings hosts their own trackdays all the time but they don't have all the frills that dedicated trackday orgs do
STT has a classroom session between sessions for novice group, but they don't really talk about anything you can't get from reading a small article in any riding magazine. They basically just tell you what to practice each session. You start very slow (VERY). They talk about body positioning, leaning and repeat over and over "when you get to a turn, TURN" A session or two in the beginning they'll tell you to stay in one gear the whole time, etc They let you get faster through the day but for the first half you have a group that you have to stay with and if its your first time the group will probably be really slow no matter how comfortable you are going faster.
That kind of approach never really worked great for me. You can take part of a day and read a book like Nick Ienatsch's "Sport Riding Techniques" and get 10 times the info and spend the trackday learning at your own pace. They both have great control riders that will work with you but you have to talk to them or they won't know your looking for advice. If you do a NESBA day, post up on their board (click "Track Talk" linkon NESBA.com) and tell them you want to meet up with a control rider to work with you. They do have a classroom session before the trackday begins where you can ask questions, discuss the track, and hook up with a control rider, etc Also as far as knowing what your doing, order a copy of Roadracing World Magazine's Trackday Guide (its in their store). The dates are from last year so the schedule won't help you but it will give you a TON of information on what goes on at a trackday, what to bring, how to behave on the track, etc. Its only like $4 now
anyway you can't go wrong with either group, picking a date that isn't sold out that fits within your timeframe will usually be a bigger limiting factor than what group you'd rather ride with.
Jennings hosts their own trackdays all the time but they don't have all the frills that dedicated trackday orgs do
#17
03-02-2007, 05:41 PM
RE: Track day gear?
DON'T DO THAT...!!!...now that picture is in my head and I can't get it out.
A side note on body armour.....avoid the "dual density foam"....yeah its crap. Look for hard armour or CE armour.
Getting a 1 piece set up that fits by mail order is hit or miss....I got lucky that there was a shop within driving distance that had some in my size. Tecknic stuff seems out of proportion.
I have a set of HJC leathers....been through 2 downs on the asphalt and needed only a little restiching in a couple places. They came with hard armour and afull length back protector for under $575 out the door. Since a good back protector is 75-100 minimum, it was a good deal in my eyes.
You'll find guys selling new and near new leathers on ebay for cheap. I saw a set of NEW kawi leathers go for $200.
Most towns have some taylor/leather shop that will fix leathers up for you. Otherwise there used to be a gal that ran a shop called Spyder Leather Works that you could ship them to...she was in my region.
Gloves...I'd get something with armour. They are switching to a "soft armour" over knuckles and such. Joe Rocket, Spidi, Alpinestars, Held (if you have money to burn).
Boots....I have alpinestars....pointy toes, full sizes only....look elsewhere.
A side note on body armour.....avoid the "dual density foam"....yeah its crap. Look for hard armour or CE armour.
Getting a 1 piece set up that fits by mail order is hit or miss....I got lucky that there was a shop within driving distance that had some in my size. Tecknic stuff seems out of proportion.
I have a set of HJC leathers....been through 2 downs on the asphalt and needed only a little restiching in a couple places. They came with hard armour and afull length back protector for under $575 out the door. Since a good back protector is 75-100 minimum, it was a good deal in my eyes.
You'll find guys selling new and near new leathers on ebay for cheap. I saw a set of NEW kawi leathers go for $200.
Most towns have some taylor/leather shop that will fix leathers up for you. Otherwise there used to be a gal that ran a shop called Spyder Leather Works that you could ship them to...she was in my region.
Gloves...I'd get something with armour. They are switching to a "soft armour" over knuckles and such. Joe Rocket, Spidi, Alpinestars, Held (if you have money to burn).
Boots....I have alpinestars....pointy toes, full sizes only....look elsewhere.
#19
03-13-2007, 04:15 PM
RE: Track day gear?
To add to this...lately I've been on a quest for new gloves to replace my aged Teknic Violators....which are good gloves and have protected my hands twice, but Teknic stuff just doesn't fit me well.
I think a track safe glove needs to have a retail price of $90 or more....that doesn't mean you won't find blow out pricing on something a year old orwith limited color/size left.
I was also looking for stuff that is more than a name....I wouldn't trust my hands to Icon, AGV, Tour Master, Olympia. That said I've also seen$200 Alpinestars ripped open in a light down....same with AGV's....thanks, but I'll pass. Joe Rocket I think has come a long way...some pretty prestigous riders wear their stuff.
As for other names:
MotoGP - turns out they are made by Berik....a big name in Europe, and protecting a number of high dollar riders.
Ku****ano - on par with Held - $230+...made from not so PETA friendly Kangaroo.
RS Taichi -not widely available here but their leathers are protecting a number of high dollar riders. Terra Power Sports dot com has the WRX modelglove - $135
Hyod - good luck finding them in the US....16,000 yen is about $140
Kobe, Komodo, AXO, Shift, Spidi, Fieldsheerall have some VERY nice options in the $130 MSRP range. Marsee was a new name I stumbled across too...their race glove is $103.
I settled on MotoGP Nitrous gloves, and as I said I found them cheap at $77 shipped(I also founda few good crash test reviews on various forums). My next option was Fieldsheer Warriors at around $96 shipped....these had a kangaroo palm.
Find a piece of gear you like and try froogle.google.com...just type it in and sort by price....you can also just use google.
Vendors I found with good prices:
a-z powersellers, New Enough (wow prices if they have something you like), motomummy, motoemporium, sand hill powersports ... the list goes on....google is your friend.
I think a track safe glove needs to have a retail price of $90 or more....that doesn't mean you won't find blow out pricing on something a year old orwith limited color/size left.
I was also looking for stuff that is more than a name....I wouldn't trust my hands to Icon, AGV, Tour Master, Olympia. That said I've also seen$200 Alpinestars ripped open in a light down....same with AGV's....thanks, but I'll pass. Joe Rocket I think has come a long way...some pretty prestigous riders wear their stuff.
As for other names:
MotoGP - turns out they are made by Berik....a big name in Europe, and protecting a number of high dollar riders.
Ku****ano - on par with Held - $230+...made from not so PETA friendly Kangaroo.
RS Taichi -not widely available here but their leathers are protecting a number of high dollar riders. Terra Power Sports dot com has the WRX modelglove - $135
Hyod - good luck finding them in the US....16,000 yen is about $140
Kobe, Komodo, AXO, Shift, Spidi, Fieldsheerall have some VERY nice options in the $130 MSRP range. Marsee was a new name I stumbled across too...their race glove is $103.
I settled on MotoGP Nitrous gloves, and as I said I found them cheap at $77 shipped(I also founda few good crash test reviews on various forums). My next option was Fieldsheer Warriors at around $96 shipped....these had a kangaroo palm.
Find a piece of gear you like and try froogle.google.com...just type it in and sort by price....you can also just use google.
Vendors I found with good prices:
a-z powersellers, New Enough (wow prices if they have something you like), motomummy, motoemporium, sand hill powersports ... the list goes on....google is your friend.
#20
03-16-2007, 04:45 PM
RE: Track day gear?
+1 for the Joe Rocket stitching...I have Joe Rocket balistic series jacket and pants that zippers in the back, so I'm just gonna use that for my first track day hopefully this summer....very comfortable but there are a few freys on it. Im the typical college student with not a lot of extra bank to throw around just yet. If you're hard pressed for cash, work boots will do the trick, especially for your first track day.