First SM trackday

Well, after my fiasco oil change and my track day prep, I was finally able to make it. It was my first time at Summit as well as my first SM track day so I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew there would be lots of really good riders as well as bikes with twice the power of the WR....and there were. But it's a small track so I thought I would be OK. I had a bit of a rough start in the morning but the afternoon was much better!

The dirt section was awesome and consisted of a triple, step down and a table top jump. I had 2 low sides on the track and 4 crashes in the dirt. All were relatively low speed and no damage was done to myself or the bike. I ride dirt every weekend but it's an entirely different feeling with 17's and street tires. Especially when the dirt consists of a powdery silt. I had zero traction. But once I got somewhat used to it I had a much better time.

Anyway, I don't have pics yet of me actually riding on the track. Hopefully I'll get some in the next few days and will add them here. I did take some in the pit areas so these will have to do for now.

Arriving and setting up.




Taking a break around lunch time




Dirty WRR /X




This gives you a little idea of the silt we were riding in.


The day was complete without any major incidents. Time to head home.



EDIT: Some action pics

Looks like you used the whole tire. Congrats!

BuilderBob wrote:

Looks like you used the whole tire. Congrats!

Thanks! But that's not real hard on a 140. I took this down at Deals Gap earlier this year.

Distanzias......

Not for $300 a pair. I'll stick with what I have.

They'll wear out.....then........

trav72 wrote:

Not for $300 a pair. I'll stick with what I have.

That rear tire looks like a cat scratch post!

Distanzia's are worth a shot.... stock Bridgestone were one of the worst tires I've had.

Much better for twisties and amazing grip thru the life of the tire- (put 5800 on my rear) and wore it down to the bone!

Regardless, you're gonna get smoked against that KTM!!!

Not 1 rider had Distanzia's at the track. That must say something.

Hey, I passed that 625 in the afternoon sessions. As well as a few other bikes. lots of HP + heavy bike only gets you so far on a tight track.

I just happened to get passed by almost every other KTM.

But who cares, I had a ton of fun.

trav72 wrote:

Not 1 rider had Distanzia's at the track. That must say something.

Agreed.

My stock Bridgestones are shagged side to side from my time on the track this year, and nearly done. They're at the wear bars on the sides of the front tires but still sticking so I'll do at least one more night on them.

When they're finished I'm looking forward to running with nice, light, sticky Continental Force SM's. ZED has nearly worn out his second set of Contis & they are awesome tires for these little bikes.

Just curious...

Hows the suspension doing when U push it really hard on the track?
Is it wobbly, loose in front or is it just okay?

It is depending on drivers weight i know.
But what is your feeling about the bike at the track?

My suspension is pretty good but it's also not stock either. I've had the shock re-valved and re-sprung for my weight. I've also changed the fork oil and pretty much maxed out the fork settings. I need stiffer springs but have yet to put them in. I'm sure once I do that the front will be much better. But as it sits right now, I don't really have any complaints. There were some pretty big jumps in the dirt section and I never bottomed out.

Okay. So i guess my feeling was right then. It needs to be re-sprunged.
My weight is about 90kg/ 200lbs some give or take. Plus gear.....

Standard springs is set for 70 or 80 kgs or something?

welcome to the addiction.

i've done 8 or 9 track days this year, and i agree, have yet to see a bike with distanzias. they're good for what they are, but if you ride aggressive at the track, you need a good trackday/race tire.

i run bt-003's on my wrx. it's (the bike) a little limited by size, so you don't have a whole lot of choices.

Added some action pics to the first post.

Geez... I had no idea so many disliked Distanzia's.

As for people using them on a track..

I agree, they are a bit heavy for repetitive-circles-while-huffing-fumes-all-day (aka track days).
However I live in an area where we can roam free! Not caged with cones and full leathers...

Like a blank canvas crying for abstract strokes and color, free range and intense trail riding will always trump any track day.

But that's the beauty of this bike, it can be anybody's bitch!

Dress her up and treat her however you seem fit.

Surfer-X wrote:

As for people using them on a track..

I agree, they are a bit heavy for repetitive-circles-while-huffing-fumes-all-day (aka track days).
However I live in an area where we can roam free! Not caged with cones and full leathers...

Yes, riding repetitive 'circles' consisting of of asphalt, dirt ,left and right turns as well as jumps with an element of friendly competition among other riders. How boring.

Surfer-X wrote:

free range and intense trail riding will always trump any track day.

They both have their place and provide different levels of fun and I'm happy to ride it in any one of those places. In fact, I rode ST trails yesterday.

Surfer-X wrote:

Geez... I had no idea so many disliked Distanzia's.

meh, now that i've got a dedicated track bike i'm almost positive distanzia's will be my next tire on the X.

they're just not a good trackday tire is all we're saying, not that they're not a good tire in general.

Vortac wrote:

now that i've got a dedicated track bike

What do ya got?

one of those orange things....

if you can't beat em, join em, lol

Nice!

I'll be attending my second SM trackday on the 9th of September. If I continue going to them, I might look into a dedicated track bike. In the mean time, I'll have to ride my slow WR fast. I'm sure I'll be the only one out there with a 4 stroke 250 with an oversized tank. But that's OK...I'll do my best not get run over by the fast guys or make the slow guys look silly when they get passed by a slower WRR.