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Yep. Made the decision to go 'track-only' a little over a year ago. After I did my first couple of track days, I started to enjoy the street less and less. Rides became more frustrating than fun, never mind the danger aspect. I commute from time to time, but that's it.
I occasionally find myself feeling nostalgic and wanting to hit up some of my favorite local runs, but I know a lot of that is just looking through rose-colored glasses. And since I only have one bike, I'm honestly just too lazy to de-track the bike every time I feel like riding. My last real road ride was going from San Diego up to Monterey to watch MotoGP at Laguna. It was an epic, bucket-list kind of trip, and if that's the last one I go on until my little ones are out of the house, so be it.
Having a good variety of tracks around definitely helps, as does having a good group of buddies who are typically down for a track day. Around me, I have Chuckwalla, AutoClub Speedway, Willow Springs, Spring Mountain, and a few others I've yet to ride. And as for buddies, I'm a member of a few riding groups on Facebook, so finding someone to go with (always a good idea) is just a matter of posting up and offering some room in the truck. It's always a blast, especially the ones where a whole crowd of buddies go. Of course, they're all now getting heavy into Sumos because it's (supposedly) more fun and WAY cheaper, so now I gotta either pick up a motard or wait for them to get bored with the small CC stuff and come back to the big tracks.
I try to make 1 trackday per month on average, but with little ones on the way, I'm sure it'll change. Even still, the wife was more than happy for me to go 'track-only' (for safety reasons) in exchange for going to WAY more trackdays. WIN-WIN in my book. Heck, I even got a new (to me) bike outta the deal.
Mike
Last edited by whiteboyslo; 07-08-2013 at 03:20 PM..
I'm fed up getting turned in front of the street. Anyone ride racetrack/trail only? Do you miss the street? I'm heavily contemplating it.
Before you kick street riding to the curb, did you take any time to learn collision avoidance strategies? At any point in time, did you become a student of safety? There are several good resources out there that will help a student learn. I'm just guessing when I say this, but if you like to run around town at a brisk pace, and you didn't slow down when approaching an intersection, then you were playing Russian roulette. Roughly half of all motorcycle accidents are caused by other motorists violating the motorcyclists right of way. You can minimize the risk at intersections if you learn and employ the right tactics. If you employed all the strategies but still had a constant problem at intersections with close calls, then quitting is probably the right thing to do.
Kotext, you're rather missing the point IMO. We're not talking about giving up riding...we're talking about how MUCH safer track riding is in general, and it just is...no matter how careful we are on the streets. That's just a fact of life as a rider...ANY rider.
I seriously cut down on my street riding with all the time I spent at the track, but never got rid of all my street bikes. Always had to make the occasional breakfast run with buddies through the mountains. But I found myself slowing down on the street after becoming a diehard track rider and riding school instructor.
Did that, many years ago when living in northern California and racing with AFM. Roadracing, that is to say.
Helped a lot that it was (is) a Mediterranean climate, with track events running c. March-November every year. In even drier climates, the season is even longer. SoCal seems more-conducive to the concept.
Like another guy on-thread mentions , some realize that treating the street like a track isn't nearly as interesting or profitable vs. track-only. Guys get killed treating street like the track. As also mentioned, hugely-helps to have pal(s) to share experiences and resources with.
I remember after about a year and a half of that returning a bike to the street, once I'd moved to a new place (PacNW, which has a shorter season and fewer nearby tracks). I thought everyone was moving in slow-motion. Decade and a half later (now), it just isn't the same, street-riding, but priorities change. One learns to deal with the vagaries of the street (again).
Also, if economically possible, reserve a spare bike for track days only. I couldn't swing that economically until in my 30s. Switching one to the other is for the birds, and tossing a street bike down the track is economically painful. I've memorably tossed away track bikes (Sears Point and Pacific Raceways), but fortunately never a street bike: wouldn't like to make THAT insurance claim, though guys do it.
You explained exactly why some riders (especially sport) sometimes go track/off-street only. No matter HOW much mitigation/avoidance training and exercises you do, you can't bring the risk even close to that of riding on the track/off-street.
You completely missed the point.
Can't hep ya CCT ~ when I was racing and doing track days, I was MC only and thus had no other option but to ride on the street. But it made me a better rider on the street (and I slowed WAY down, thus effectively removing the single-vehicle accident equation), and the few accidents I've had since then were all while I was stopped. Thankfully they were zero-injury and minimal damage. I do know LOTS of guys out in CO who ride dual-sport and do their best to stay off-roads as much as possible but the convenience of riding from their house vs. trailering keeps them with tagged and titled bikes. If you're already mostly trailering to your riding locations, then you'll probably not miss much. But if you're riding mostly on the street... well, it might be a BIG shock and sap a lot of the enjoyment from the riding experience. It just all depends on how you ride and what you get from the experience.
I've always wanted to add a bit of track riding to my routine, but have never got into it. I guess I was always held back by putting the bike down on the track, and then not having something to sell or trade to move onto my next bike. If I could find a beat up SV650 that was CHEAP, I'd definitely consider picking it up as a track only machine...would be lots of fun. As to riding on the street, I just do my best to be careful and watch out for the idiots. Most of the time they're pretty easy to spot, slight swerves, inattention, etc...all show up quickly if you're looking for it. I still finding riding one of the best ways to clear my mind, as I was explaining to my wife, it's not so much that I'm not thinking of things...i'm just not thinking of the day to day things and instead concentrating on the ride. I'm sure trackdays would be even more of the same!
FWIW, I'm starting to see the first-gen SV's dip under $1000... There's one near me (no title, looks like it was a stunt bike) listed for $500 and not selling.... but it'd probably be close to $2000 all-in to get it track suitable. And for $2~3k, you can buy a fully prepped (and upgraded) track bike.
If you're Really interested, find a local track and volunteer to corner work. The racers/riders know that without corner workers, there is NO track riding so you gain some respect from the act, and most are more than happy to talk and maybe point you in the right direction for an "unadvertised" sale... because ALL track riders like to see someone new come into the fold.
The Corner Worker advice is solid. I volunteered in California for that, couple times. I called it, "Eight hours of standing in the hot sun (under cover, hopefully), one of heavy lifting, and punctuated intervals of mayhem (crashes or other track condition changes)."
Valuable service, though.
Would also agree that track-prepping even a modest bike isn't cheap. Doubt it's getting any cheaper, across the years. Glad I had a pal with a drill press; drilling bolts otherwise would have been a real bummer (though guys do use hand-drills, too). Any heavy work you end up doing really needs equally solid tools and know-how. I remember "learning" how to pull and engine by reading the manual: successful, but immensely simpler with the right tools too.
Amazing how fast you learn how to safety-wire.
I race prepped two old Ninja 600s (1980s) and a then-new GSXR 750. All started as street. To do again, I'd buy a track-ready bike though determining if the latter is thrashed pre-purchase might be a challenge.
My Ninjas were junk-in/junk-out, street to track. One blew up, the other was then cannibalized for parts. I would hesitate to take street junk and prep it for the track, unless you like to turn wrenches and/or are on a tight budget. Costs add up.
Point of the above is it took a lot more resources than I originally thought to mount a quasi-serious race effort. Would have been literally impossible without a race partner or two, also.
Ten years ago, post-racing, I bought a demo bike ... the then-new ZX636 Kawasazi ZX6R... and used it for track schools/events, not racing. It was never registered on the street. No safety wire needed, though I did buy race bodywork and a simple paint scheme. THAT was the smart money for me in particular, unless someone is motivated to actually race for points/prizes.
Sold it years later to some guy for $.60 on the dollar. He rides it on the street to this day.
Just my $.02.
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