First track day
 

Morning all! Long time no speak (on my part) basically it's my 22nd in September and I want to book a track day where I can also rent a bike. Does anyone have an idea on where is the closest track for me to do so? I'm based in Dorset and I will happily travel just not a million miles, cheers guys and girls


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Re: First track day
 

Castle Combe will be the closest to you mate. Good track, done 2 there myself. If you are willing to travel a bit further then why not try Brands Hatch?

After that it's a case of heading up into the midlands for the likes of Rockingham (Did a two day event there this year, awesome!) or Donington etc :)

First track day
 

Cheers griff, think I'll try brands hatch, hopefully I can rent a bike there :)


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Re: First track day
 

Have a look at this mate - http://www.patracking.co.uk/trackdays_2007.php

Re: First track day
 

I think NoLimits work with a track bike hire company. I'm sure I remember seeing them at a few of their days.

Re: First track day
 

Most of the big companies like No Limits will rent you a bike, but it's worth comparing costs with a company such as the one linked to by Griff-SV.

If you fancy doing one with some people from the forum, we're doing Brands GP on August 12th.

I'm of a divided opinion on renting a track bike. For a few outings a year it's definitely cheaper than running your own track bike, especially as you don't need to transport it. But I think it's rather nice to use your own bike. It's just tarmac, and the chances of being knocked off by someone else are very slim, almost every off I've ever seen has been an unforced error by the rider. This is good news as it's in your control to ride the way you want to.

Jambo

First track day
 

Lovely job! That answers all my questions, this could be fun. Cheers again griff


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First track day
 

Also my dad's bikes are both off the road and I want to give him a good go :)


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Re: First track day
 

I've hired track bikes before when on Focused Events days. They were in good condition and I though reasonable cost given wear and tear and fuel.

I found it takes a couple of sessions to get to know the bike (brakes, tyres, riding position) and you never know how many heat cycles the tyres have been through and tyre warmers are usually an extra.

The excess is very high given you may just break a clutch lever and get charged the full whack (£500 or £600 is normal) and it will be the end of your day. If you have a big off of course it would save money but I found I didn't enjoy the day as much.

That said, you can thrash the nuts off it and it is nice turning up in your car though with no loading/unloading/van hire/trailering worries :)

First track day
 

Balky do you remember how much it was to rent the bike? Just a rough estimate


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Re: First track day
 

There are plenty of things to consider when doing your first track day and going to a well organized group such as No Limits and using one of their bikes as some advantages if you are reasonably confident in your riding ability and want an opportunity to have a complete hoon with minimal (limited) risk to your budget.

If however you want to learn about riding your bike, have a lot of fun, and come away as a better rider both in terms of skill and self discipline then again go to a well organized day but use your own bike. Provided you don't do anything stupid, and why should you if you can ride around on the road without crashing every day, then you can two or three track days on your own bike for the same cost as hiring one for a day, and the experience will be far more long lasting.

If you do decide to use your own bike then try and pick a circuit that will suit both it and yourself. Cadwell for example is an awesome track and does suit an SV, but it's quite tricky to learn and not very forgiving if you get it wrong anywhere. Donnington or Silverstone on the other hand have loads of run off or bail out routes.... but are pretty much flat out everywhere on an SV (if you get the GP track it's marginally better) and Silverstone in particular can be pretty featureless making it harder to learn reference points. Brands Indy is pretty ideal, but quite expensive, Lydden is almost as good and cheap.....

The third option is to go to an organized school day, either on their bike or yours. The IAM run what they call "skills days" and are currently the only people allowed to use Thruxton which isn't to far from you, however it is very "organized" (read safe) and you won't get away with anything noisy, so they are not everybodys cup of tea.

Whichever option you decide to pick just remember to have a laugh, you won't regret it!

First track day
 

The only thing stopping me taking the sv is the can on it, it's way too noisy and I don't have a standard one laying around anymore


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Re: First track day
 

No worries Granty

I second that completely. It's a fun day and you will get so much out of it.

Plus make the most of an instructor as ususally it's no extra cost for on track tuition.

First track day
 

Granty, got a standard can you can borrow if you want?

Wanted to do a track day for ages but as my bike wasy commuter couldn't risk it being off the road for repairs just in case. Thought about renting one but was too expensive, cost plus excess.

If you want to try your hand first, there is a club near us based out of RAF Odiham. It's a closed club that do track days (I think it's closed or invite only), one of my mates is part of it so can prob get you in if you want. It's not miles away and pretty cheap.

The other alternative is there is a riding school based out of I think donington, run by an ex racer and supported by Honda, at least it was. You pitch up borrow a bike and get taught how to ride with tuition in the morning and then it operates like a normal track day in the afternoon. Can't for the life of me remember what it's called though

Re: First track day
 

Ron Haslam?

Someone I know got his dad a lap (or two) on the back of Ron for his 70th birthday

First track day
 

Ah ha! Yes that's the one!

Www.ronhaslamraceschool.com

Cheers dean!

Re: First track day
 

Focused published the costs here

http://www.focusedevents.com/bike-hire.asp

All bikes are less than 2 years old and are set up well for the track. I've ridden R6, Zx6 and GSXR (I got rid of my bike at that time) and all were sound. I'm pretty sure the price included the trackday except if doing Brands GP but best to check. I do fancy trying the Panigale :)

Re: First track day
 

Beware though, once you've done one you'll get bitten by the bug and then it'll only lead to MORE!!!!! But it is so worth the money :-D

I'm looking at the possibility of 3-4 days in Almeria next year if pocket money allows....... ;-)