Trackday - Snetterton - Sun 8th April

[weazelz]

at rather late notice I've booked into this track *morning* with danf & localhost:

http://www.hottrax-online.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_45_112&products_id=15114

there is racing in the afternoon too:

"All riders will get a free ticket to our race meeting in the afternoon including the first round of the HMRC Junior Endurance Championships"

~andy

[weazelz]

had a nice morning at Snetterton today - great weather for it, as glad to be in the car on the way up though - barely +2C at 6am

I went in novices with danf & localhost since it was their first trackday. there was racing in the afternoon, so inter's & fast were full of racers

had a chat with vfr400 from the forum - nice to meet you mate :-)

[Jdubya]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Jdubyasv650/useless.gif

[Blue_SV650S]

and???? :)

[weazelz]

and???? :)

and .. erm. well, I didn't crash, in spite of a big sidewaysey moment coming out of Russell onto the start-finish straight. was fun though - Snett was my second ever trackday, about this time last year, first time out on the SV - crashed that time at Russell. I'm a bit quicker now ;-) I definitely need to stop going in novice though - I don't think I got a full-speed run into Riches or Sear all morning

[Vfr400]

and???? :)

From where i was he was quick, smooth and scaring the hell out of some 600's. nice going :D good to meet some more .org members.

chris

[Blue_SV650S]

and .. erm. well, I didn't crash, in spite of a big sidewaysey moment coming out of Russell onto the start-finish straight. was fun though - Snett was my second ever trackday, about this time last year, first time out on the SV - crashed that time at Russell. I'm a bit quicker now ;-) I definitely need to stop going in novice though - I don't think I got a full-speed run into Riches or Sear all morning

Yes even if you haven't been to a track before you need to be in at least Inters ;)

Did you gear your bike any different for the backstragit :rolleyes:

[DanF]

Was a good day out, cheers for showing us the ropes Weazlez.

I've had my full license for 4 months now, had the SV for the same amount of time and my first time on a track. Was bloody great fun and can't wait for the next time. Had a couple of fun moments, the back stepping out hard on the brakes going in to Sears corner and then in the last session the back nicely sliding out on Sears exit getting on the power too early :eek: Ooh so much to learn.

Still have a tiny chicken strip on the right hand side of the rear tyre though :smt086 next time I'll get rid of it.

[Blue_SV650S]

Was a good day out, cheers for showing us the ropes Weazlez.

I've had my full license for 4 months now, had the SV for the same amount of time and my first time on a track. Was bloody great fun and can't wait for the next time. Had a couple of fun moments, the back stepping out hard on the brakes going in to Sears corner and then in the last session the back nicely sliding out on Sears exit getting on the power too early :eek: Ooh so much to learn.

Still have a tiny chicken strip on the right hand side of the rear tyre though :smt086 next time I'll get rid of it.

sear corner is one of my fave corners on the track 8) and yes it is all to easy to go in too hot!!! :oops: .. at least you have plenty of room on the exit if you c0cked it up :lol: ... did you ever need to use the extra bit of tarmac there??? ;)

on paper snett looks quite dull (especially if you don't have a HP bike ... but it is still quite fun/challenging on whatever bike 8) ...

what did you make of Russel's (chicane just before start-finish)? :)

[DanF]

Yeah used the spare tarmac twice yestarday, first session I was cut up quite bad going in so ran out wide, second session had a moment of poor judgement and went in too hot but just went wide.

From the Esses through to the start/finish is ace and seemed to suit the lighter bikes, Esses entrance saw a few poeple overshoot quite badly carring in mucho speed. Then it get's nicely technical with the Esses exit corner through bomb hole then carrying nice speed around Coram and a last spurt of throttle before braking for Russels.

Didn't have the skill or confidence to try and keep up with the faster guys through there like weazelz but still great fun.

What I also liked is taking a nice smooth line around a long corner and having two poeple on much faster kit go past either side at the same time, screw the Imax :)

A few of the bikes in the novice looked very fast, maybe proper racers getting warmed up for the afternoons race? they went past on the back straight like I was in treacle (think I was hitting 130)

[Blue_SV650S]

..

Did you actually clip the curb on the apex at 'the bomb hole'?? ... its actually a better line if you go about 3 foot to the left as you as the suspension doesn't bottom through the hole!! :)

Oh and any bell end on a thou can get 160+ down that back straight ... at 30+mph more than you when you are already flat out, it'll seem like they are mega fast ... but that's just power, don't mistake big straight line speed for ability ;)

[DanF]

Ah cool, yeah seemed to stay away from the inside on that corner.

Looking to upgrade a few parts on the bike now though :)

[Blue_SV650S]

Ah cool, yeah seemed to stay away from the inside on that corner.

Looking to upgrade a few parts on the bike now though :)

The best upgrade you can do is to get a dedicated trackbike ... an old Steelie CBR600 x-racebike will set you back less than properly 'sorting' the SV ... and be a better track bike than the SV anyway ... for a start you are 20-30hp better off ... and it doesn't matter as much if you end up throwing it down the track at some point as its a 2nd (or whatever) bike ;) ...

If you want to stick to the SV (not the most logical choice, but they are 'fun' 8) ), then the fork internals are your first port of call ;)

[DanF]

Well straight line speed doesn't bother me much atm and I like the sound and feel of V-Twins. I was looking to do a bit of work on the SV for road use before taking her on track anyway, the std suspension isn't the best and the front brake is very spongy so braded lines are on their way. Not sure what to do with the bouncy stuff yet.

I'd love a track bike but with no car/van and no proper drive way and no garage it's pretty much impossible.

For now track days are more learning the bike and proper technique than racing anyone.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RSVR-MILLE-RACE-BIKE-TRACK-BIKE_W0QQitemZ270107673589QQcategoryZ9913QQtcZphot oQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

hmm :)

[Blue_SV650S]

Well straight line speed doesn't bother me much atm and I like the sound and feel of V-Twins. I was looking to do a bit of work on the SV for road use before taking her on track anyway, the std suspension isn't the best and the front brake is very spongy so braded lines are on their way. Not sure what to do with the bouncy stuff yet.

I'd love a track bike but with no car/van and no proper drive way and no garage it's pretty much impossible.

For now track days are more learning the bike and proper technique than racing anyone.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RSVR-MILLE-RACE-BIKE-TRACK-BIKE_W0QQitemZ270107673589QQcategoryZ9913QQtcZphot oQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

hmm :)

That 'prilia is well 8) 8) :) ... but as you have explained, not really an option in your circumstances ;)

You can get proper cartridge internals for the pointy for about the same sort of price as the emulators and springs ... thats prolly the way to go on a pointy 8)

And yeah some hoses and that should see-you-right for now :D

[northwind]

A few of the bikes in the novice looked very fast, maybe proper racers getting warmed up for the afternoons race? they went past on the back straight like I was in treacle (think I was hitting 130)

There's always some goons in novice that should be in intermediate or even expert... But that's partly down to the organisers I think. I went to one at Knockhill and novice was full, so I stepped up into inters- I can carry it off but frankly I prefer not to, I'm at the slow end.

That's all fine, but there were fully prepped race bikes with experienced track riders in novice who were lapping the whole rest of the field, and big parts of it twice, in what I think were 15-lap or 20-lap sessions. There were also guys in intermediate who should have been in novice or expert too. Expert was fairly clean, just a couple of backmarkers, no incompetents

As far as I'm concerned when you've got that happening the organisers just aren't doing their job, they should've been out after each set of sessions moving the worst offenders. The last thing a rookie needs is some knobber on a supersport race bike blasting past them twice a session. And those guys tend to be impatient too... And all so they can massage their egos and convince themselves they're dead fast. Likewise, people who're out of their depth shouldn't be left to drown, they could take someone else with them.

Then again, officially Knockhill allows no race bikes, and all bikes must have a sidestand and rear light... I've never been to a trackday there that didn't completely ignore that. Not that I think it's neccesarily a good rule, but if you're going to have it you should enforce it, or why bother?

Can you tell it annoyed me? :) Not just because "my" space in novice was taken up by someone who shouldn't have been there, because frankly others needed it more :mrgreen: But it just adds another load of ways to spoil your day.

[Blue_SV650S]

...

Agreed the organisers are at fault, but its also the riders responsibility to ask to be moved about and even to ask others to be moved about ... it not always easy to tell from one point on track who is and who isn't way faster/slower than the rest ...

[weazelz]

...
Snetterton tends to exacerbate the problem - even if the rider ability was perfectly even, then the length of the straights is always going to cause the 600/1000's to go howling past the lower powered bikes. even more so when there is racing in the afternoon/next day & the fast group has filled up which tends to push inter-level people down into novice [1]

I do wish that hottrax would do what focussed do, & have first-timers - to trackdaying, or just to that track - wear orange bibs so that people know to give them extra room


[1] & yes, I am semi-guilty of this, but I do take extra care to give people lots of room

[northwind]

Agreed the organisers are at fault, but its also the riders responsibility to ask to be moved about and even to ask others to be moved about ... it not always easy to tell from one point on track who is and who isn't way faster/slower than the rest ...

I'm working on the assumption here that the rider's a knob, though :mrgreen: I'm mainly thinking of the really obvious cases, like frinstance the guys I mentioned were lapping 5-10 seconds a lap faster than the best in the rest of the pack were taking the mick... Considering that Knockhill's a pretty short lap. I reckonmost of the times that it needs doing it'll be pretty blatant.

[DanF]

Yep deffo a few race preped bikes in the group but they wernt the worest offenders, they always went past at appropriate places.

The only problem I see with the Matris cartridges is it'd show up the rear std shock a lot, it's oversprung for my weight (74kg) and damping feels pretty harsh. So a 2nd hand ohlins would add to the price too.

Bloody chicken strips :smt086

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/707/snc10504bv7.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snc10504bv7.jpg)

Also after the 4th session the front brakes felt very rough but still full strength, almost like rough sandpaper feel. Is this normal when abusing them on track? You can see the slight bluish tint it's picked up on patches.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7685/snc10505kr1.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snc10505kr1.jpg)

[weazelz]

...
get yourself springs & oil for the forks, braided hoses & sintered (HH) pads for the front, & spend the rest on track time :-)

your disks are fine - mine look exactly the same

[DanF]

wear orange bibs so that people know to give them extra room

I'll put some L plates on for next time :p

On the 3rd session restart I was up at the front, they called up and kicked a guy out of the queue on a preped bike, said they had already warned him a couple of times.

[Blue_SV650S]

Yep deffo a few race preped bikes in the group but they wernt the worest offenders, they always went past at appropriate places.

The only problem I see with the Matris cartridges is it'd show up the rear std shock a lot, it's oversprung for my weight (74kg) and damping feels pretty harsh. So a 2nd hand ohlins would add to the price too.

Bloody chicken strips :smt086



Also after the 4th session the front brakes felt very rough but still full strength, almost like rough sandpaper feel. Is this normal when abusing them on track? You can see the slight bluish tint it's picked up on patches.



I really don't think you need to splash out on an ohlins at this point. I put a 636 shock (so a GSXR for your pointy) in mine and it was great!! I really really think that is enough for trackday use. 8) As for the cartridges, yes mismatch is bad, but to me its more important to have a front end you have faith in ;) I reckon cartridges, and an appropriately sprung GIXER shock is the way to go for you ;) ... sure if you find a cheap Ohlins (like that is ever going to happen!! :D), then go for it, but I really don't think there is enough benefit over a 636 (Gixer) shock unless you are getting serious ...

I'd like to think I can hold my own at a trackday and I felt the 636 shock was ample :)

Oh and lets face it them 020s are gonna be giving up before a GSXR shock ;) I like the 020 (I have one on the front of my road bike 8)), but they will overheat in no time on the track ... no problem for your next trackday or two, but I can't recommend getting some proper track rubber for confidence/feel enough. I buy all my tyres 2nd hand (as I am tight :oops:), but even still they are plenty good enough :) I'd be thinking track rubber before I was thinking expensive suspension ;)

What pads do you have in there at the moment??? the blemish isn't worrying, but the scoring is ...

[DanF]

Not sure on the brake pads, the previous owner replaced them about 1k miles ago. Weazelz meantioned HH pads, will they kill the disks quick?

Mm Ohlins bling is deffo more than I need, do you think the Matris will be overkill as well? I guess one good thing with them is they should hold some value for taking off and selling on in the long run (kept all origional parts so far).

Depending on how the next few track days go I could look in to a 2nd set of wheels with something stickier on.

[northwind]

Mm Ohlins bling is deffo more than I need, do you think the Matris will be overkill as well?

TBH I'd recommend a fork swap over the Matris, but I don't think either is overkill at all. The price of the Matris kit, if it measures up, is superb... But the GSXR swaps can be free if you sell the old parts, and you get the brake upgrade and slightly lighter wheel too.

The aftermarket forks are a huge upgrade, but there's a lot of other improvements you can do that are more cost effective. As Blue says, your 020s, ace as they are, will give you problems first.

[Blue_SV650S]

Not sure on the brake pads, the previous owner replaced them about 1k miles ago. Weazelz meantioned HH pads, will they kill the disks quick?

Mm Ohlins bling is deffo more than I need, do you think the Matris will be overkill as well? I guess one good thing with them is they should hold some value for taking off and selling on in the long run (kept all origional parts so far).

Depending on how the next few track days go I could look in to a 2nd set of wheels with something stickier on.

I personally don't think HHs are a the best solution and they indeed wear the disks prematurely ... Performance Friction 95 compound pads are what I use in my bike (track) and they are excellent :thumbsup: They would be/are useless on the road as they need heat to work, but pads are pretty easy to swap before/after a trackday, you couldn't go far wrong getting some PF pads and fitting them just for trackdays :) http://www.performancefriction.com/

And yes, that's true enough, if you buy a race shock, you should at least get some of the outlay back on resale!! 8) (thats if you ever get round to selling it ;)) ... wheels too won't really loose much value, so you can't go far wrong there either (presuming you don't pay over the odds to start with ;)) ...

I don't think you NEED a race shock at all, but if you like the bling and have some cash - go for it!! 8) ... If you are tight like me then a ZX636 (Gixer for you) shock is ample and cost you less than the potential depreciation on a race sock ;)