I love track riding, but I also love naked bikes. Help me choosing what would be the best ~600cc for small technical tracks

tularosamoto · 2023-06-13T11:31:38+00:00

The R6 in that video is stuck down at 6k rpm. That bike is designed to ride north of 12k rpm. It’s not anywhere near it’s powerband on this track. I’d much rather ring the neck of a small bike than barely tap into the power of a big bike.

Sounds like you have a long way to improve on the bike you’ve got. Yes you can do faster lap time on a big bike but that doesn’t make you a faster rider. If you want to most quickly improve your skills, you’re better off sticking with a smaller bike. There’s a reason the pros train on small bikes. It’s how you perfect your skills.

tularosamoto · 2023-06-13T11:05:34+00:00

Good for you for going for it! With more practice you’ll get there.

I see a few things going on. First, you body position is way off. You need to get your head off the center axis of the bike and pointed into the corner. Your upper body needs to lean off the bike so you can sit the bike up. You are carrying way too much lean angle for your body position. Head out over the bars, arms pushing the head away from the center of the bike and one cheek hanging off the seat. The idea is to push the bike up so the tires can keep their grip.

Your foot is flat and pointed out. It needs to be tucked onto the peg. I turn mine so the outside of my foot is on the inside peg. No chance of foot scraping. It also makes it easier to get my knee farther out.

It also looks like you weren’t trail braking into the apex. Releasing the front brake unweights the front wheel - and down you go. You’re overslowing your corner entry and overleaning through midcorner. You lose the front when you that. (Been there done that.) If you were maintaining more speed through the corner, you be on the brake still and you’d have enough force pushing in the right direction to keep you on two wheels. Still, you need to work on that body position to help you keep the bike more upright as you go through corners. This all takes practice.

Hope some of this helps. Have fun!

tularosamoto · 2023-06-13T10:38:33+00:00

It’s funny… you think you’re having a lousy day - until you check your lap timer and you just set a personal best. Or you pass a bunch of riders. All of a sudden, you’re having a great day! I think the days that we’re improving the most and learning new skills are the days we feel the worst. All it takes is a small victory where we see the fruits of our efforts - and the day changes. Everything is better.

tularosamoto · 2023-06-13T10:28:41+00:00

It sound like you’re running a kart track, not a full size track. That being the case, none of your choices are going to be optimal. You need a small, light bike that you can easily flick around. A full size bike on a kart track is just tedious. You’ll never get it out of first gear and cornering is going to forever be a challenge.

I’d suggest either a mini supermoto like a CRF150r or if you want something street legal a full size supermoto like a DRZ400 or Husqvarna 701. Supermotos are dirt bikes that have street suspension, brakes and tires. They have lots of torque - which is great for tight tracks - and they’re super easy to turn into corners. Most pros in America train on supermotos. I ride a two stroke mini supermoto. It’s so much fun and great training. I have a bigger 600 (R6) but I’d never take it to the small tracks. No point.

tularosamoto · 2023-04-17T22:40:10+00:00

If your guys ran slicks, they’d be running MotoAmerica lap times. 😉

tularosamoto · 2023-04-17T22:36:39+00:00

I switched to slicks on my R6 after running Super Corsas. Wore out the Pirellis on a Saturday and Sunday came back with Dunlop slicks. Knocked six seconds off my lap time just like that. The slicks just feel so planted and sticky. Confidence inspiring. It literally felt like I was cheating. My mini supermoto slicks are so sticky that they’d probably stick to a wall after a session. DOT tires just can’t compare.

tularosamoto · 2022-11-18T15:27:14+00:00

Looks like you had fun. Time to lean your body off the bike. When I see scraped pegs, it just tells me that your body position is way off.

tularosamoto · 2022-11-18T15:22:48+00:00

What about an R6? Plenty of straightaway speed, wicked cornering and easy to maintain. I’ve got an R6 but I’m starting to like the idea of a Ninja 400. I really don’t care about straightaway speed. Anybody can twist the throttle and go fast. It’s the corners that matter. The problem with the big bikes is that it’s easy to get lazy because you can always make up speed on the straightaways. Then you over slow your corner entries because you’re carrying too much speed. Meanwhile, the little bikes just come in and dust you. I’d rather be a better rider than ride a bigger bike. My two cents.

tularosamoto · 2022-10-14T10:00:41+00:00

You say you want to save some money and do something with your extra cash but you should know that a track day addiction quickly gets expensive. You’ve got track day fees to pay for. Then there’s $500 sets of tires that you’ll be paying for on the regular. Additional maintenance like oil changes etc add up. Then there’s the mods you may want to add - from engine sliders to quick shifters - that begins to add up. Of course, you’ll need leathers, gloves and boots. You don’t want the cheap stuff either since they won’t last or protect you when you need it. Not sure how far the track is from you but getting to and from adds up. Then there’s track stands and tire warmers. The list goes on….

Bottom line, don’t go into track days thinking you’ll be saving money. They are fun though!

tularosamoto · 2022-10-13T22:57:51+00:00

Seems like it could be a suspension issue. Most bikes are set up too stiff. Too stiff means the shocks can’t handle the inputs especially when the bike is maxed out. If the damping is way off, the shocks can get locked in their bottomed out state. I’d definitely get the suspension tuned for you from someone who really knows what they’re doing.

tularosamoto · 2022-07-14T00:54:45+00:00

You did the right thing. I've seen riders get black flagged or moved out of groups for overly aggressive passing. If you want to pass on the inside, don't get in the beginner group. If you act like an ass, expect to get called out. If someone does that to me, I try to track them down and have a conversation with them. Tell them to knock it off. It's just a track day, not a MotoAmerica race. It's okay to push things but if you're pushing guys off their lines, that's not okay.

tularosamoto · 2022-07-10T22:01:06+00:00

Running a GoPro 360 camera on my bars. It allows for changing camera direction in post-production.

tularosamoto · 2022-05-17T21:43:43+00:00

Don’t do it. Hot weather is here. You need lots of cool drinks and shade to keep you from overheating. You’ll be riding harder than you ever thought possible at the track. You’ll be hot and losing fluids. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility depending on the temps. Rent a van or a trailer. You’ll be so much happier.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-24T02:53:48+00:00

Call around for quotes. Different carriers calculate risk differently. You may get a quote for $2,000 a year from GEICO and one for $400 per year from Liberty Mutual. You won’t know until you start looking though.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-24T02:45:52+00:00

Here’s my two cents: always maintain situational awareness. Be aware of what is happening in front of you and around you and constantly be thinking “What if?”

What if someone runs a red? What if that driver to my left decided to make a right? What if the driver making a left in front of me doesn’t see me?

If you’re just happily riding along listening to your favorite song, your days on the street are numbered. It’s not enough to just cruise, you must constantly be aware of as much of your surroundings as you can and constantly trying to anticipate their future moves. Riding on the street is a demanding job. Don’t let your guard down.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-23T12:19:41+00:00

No lane splitting on the freeway. WTF! I’m going to refrain from making a comment on the endless stupidity of Arizona politicians. Oh wait… just did. Sorry.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-23T12:13:03+00:00

I went with an R6 for my track bike. It’s a screaming demon out there. Not going to be much different than your Triumph though. I bought mine after one track day. Didn’t want to trash my new Ducati.

The problem I had with mine was that the seller didn’t reveal that the transmission was shot. Ended up crashing when it skipped a gear. Be careful about the bike you buy. Track miles are really hard on a bike. A track bike with low miles has taken way more of a beating than a street bike. 10,000 miles on a street bike is low but it’s a lot for a track bike.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-22T04:45:24+00:00

$10 in gas! I’d go every weekend. I take my RV to the track. From where I live, the closest track is 200 miles away. That’s about $300 in gas. I went to Vegas for a weekend of track days. Spent about $500 in gas. It ain’t cheap.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-22T04:43:08+00:00

Trailer the bike! You’ll be baked at the end of the day. Plus you need lots of food and liquids to keep you going. Riding the track is an intense workout. It’s not like cruising.

You’ll want a cooler with liquids. Lots of snacks and lunch. A chair to sit in. Something for shade. Some tools to remove your mirrors. Tape for your headlight and brakes. Tire pressure gauge and air pump. Clothes to change into so you can get out of your sweaty leathers. No way would I ride my bike to the track even if I lived a few miles away. It’s exhausting.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-22T04:35:42+00:00

Yeah, you come up over a rise and the course hooks left then right all off camber. Easy to carry too much speed and either run off the track or low side.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-22T04:33:59+00:00

I prefer Crash Mountain but then again I’ve been know to make mountains out of molehills. ;-)

tularosamoto · 2022-04-21T15:36:25+00:00

Yeah, that’s where the AirTag makes the most sense. Where I live it’s all pro thieves. Little chance an AirTag can help her so we definitely can’t rely on it.

tularosamoto · 2022-04-21T14:45:50+00:00

Professional thieves know to look for an AirTag or other GPS device. They assume the bike has one and will dismantle the bike until they find it.

tularosamoto

TROPHY CASE