How to prepare for a track day

[GB-Brown]

Sorry if this has already been covered but with over 500 posts on the subjuct please forgive me for not trawling through all of them for the answeres I'm looking for.


Ok so I'm up for Donny but how should i prepare both myself and my bike for the onslaught?
I've read about taping up clocks and lights, taking mirrors off. But what have i missed and is it essential to do all this?

Ta :D

[GixxerDan]

take the mirrors off or fold them in as you shouldnt be looking behind you!
i have never taped up my lights, but other people do i guess its a personal choice?
stick a bit of tape over your speedo so it dont distract you with large numbers!

just give your bike a once over for anything loose or worn check the oil, pads, tyre pressures, chain adjustment, as if you where going out for a normal ride.

remove you numberplate as everyone else will

[LATE]

will the tape burn on to the headlight lens? if the light is on obviously

[STEALTH52]

It sometimes can, tape lights up, disconnect bulb if worried, take of mirrors, plate anything fancy that you dont need etc etc etc.

Check your bike over, i personally would change your brake fluid before you go as you want your brakes in top nick.

Dont be tempted to take shit loads of food with you either, take healthy foods with you that have a lot of energy in them, couple of cans of red bull, energy bars etc.....Not too much energy stuff though cos otherwise you'll be wired!

don't stuff yourself at lunch, you'll just get tired.....

(Cover your frame number up as well as taking your plate off, just in case those slimy insurance bods are about.....)

apart from that enjoy yourself & dont forget your driving licence!!!!!

[kathk2]

drop your tyre pressures a few psi from what you have for road riding

[Iceman]

Everyone else has got it pretty much covered. Tape over mirrors and speedo is probably the top thing to do. After that just make sure you drink plenty of water, as you'll get more dehydrated than you think, especially if it's warm - around half a litre of water after every session and you won't be too far off!

[zuki]

i have never taped up my lights, but other people do i guess its a personal choice?


lights on track can be really distracting for other peeps.....one of Scottyhs pet hates lol......and I gotta admit that he's right.......it's a real pain in the ass to find your breaking point, focus and then see someone elses brake light come on out of the corner of your eye........instinctively (from road riding) your brain tells you to slow down and it buggers up your rythmn........

[Tink]

This thread of Jase's was pretty useful when we were doing Cadwell earlier in year

http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10525

[R1Ninja]

Don't forget the ipobrufen

[GB-Brown]

Don't forget the ipobrufen


never leave home without it! :thumbsup:

[wrecker]

Yup, Jase's list is pretty comprehensive.
My tips (as a relative novice myself) if you want to use your standard road bike are as follows:
1) Crash bungs. As many and as good as possible. They will help reduce the damage if you do come off
2) Remove your mirrors. They are a massive distraction and you should only be looking forward on a track.
3) Make sure your tyres are in reasonable nick before you go, as they will get a bit worn (You can usually buy tyres on the day if you need to, but obviously need money/card to pay!)
4) Get your tyre pressures dropped a bit (Can normally be done on the day by the 'tyre' guy)
5) Disconnect your lights if possible or tape them (with brake lights being more important than headlights)
6) Remove your numberplate (Insurance companies apparently have spies out on occasion to take down number plate details to be used against you if you make a claim for a trackday crash)
7) Take something warm/dry to wear if the weather is a bit crap. remember you are standing around for 2/3 of the day and out on track 1/3.
8) Take a bit of food if you can, but otherwise just take a decent amount of money, although you can usually pay on a card too for most stuff.
9) take your driving licence
10) If you think your exhaust might be too loud, get it checked. For a 105dB (noisy) day, it's got to be something pretty special (like a straight through race can) to go over that, so standard and most aftermarket exhausts (Akro, Arrow, Yoshi etc) should be OK even with a baffle out. I've not been tested at donnington either time I've been, but if you do get tested and fail, you will not go on the track.
11) If you can, drive there or get a lift or stay nearby in a hotel etc. It's a tiring day anyway and riding there and back means you will be KNACKERED!
12) Ideally, take a few spares with you if you have them (levers, pegs/rearsets especially) just in case you do slide the bike and they break off
13) Wear the best kit you can and a back protector too
14) A few tools, gaffer tape, spare nuts/bolts and some cable ties
15) Always take it easy for the first couple of laps to allow your tyres to warm up

At Donnington and most other tracks you can get all of the following onsite:
1) Food & drinks all day (Pretty normal prices, £4 - £8 for a big plate of food for lunch, breakfasts, bacon sarnies, cups of tea etc)
2) Tyres - you can usually either get your own fitted or buy new ones and get them fitted as well
3) tyre pressures checked (free)
4) suspension set up and help (Normally costs about £40 for the day)
5) dB killers - sometimes you can buy these to reduce your exhaust dB level if too loud
6) Petrol - Donnington and several other circuits have onsite petrol stations. The one at Donnington charges for card purchases, so take cash with you if you want to avoid that.

At Donnington you and your bike will be nice and cosy in a pit garage. There is electricity in there, so you can plug in anything you can take with you. It also means you are under cover if the weather is crap, but you still have wander about to get to the loo, shop, cafe etc.

In my experience to date, as long as you're sensible and don't go mental, you will have no issue using your road bike.

Be prepared for the fact that some people will definitely come off during the day. It's pretty much unavoidable, just do what you can to make sure it's not you.

On my 750, I normally use up nearly a full tank of fuel in the morning session, then a bit less in the afternoon. It's safe to assume you will use about 1.5 - 2 tanks worth for the day, depending on how guzzling your engine is and how much you hammer it.

You'll have a safety briefing when you turn up, which will cover all the basics about the track, what the different flags mean, how you should ride and behave etc.

Sessions are normally 20 minutes each and three groups, so each group goes out for 20 mins in every hour. that means there are normally 4 sessions in the morning (9am - 1pm), an hour for lunch (1pm - 2pm), then 3 sessions in the afternoon 2pm - 5pm. If there are any serious offs or people are injured, they obviously the staff and marshals have to deal with that and it means sessions might be stopped or cancelled if it is required to ensure safety.

If you feel knackered or anything, especially after lunch, sit a session out. You WILL have plenty of track time andf thoroughly enjoy it even if you sit one or two sessions out. It's not worth taking a risk on track if you feel at all off.

TBH, for the day at Donnington, you have not got to worry. There will be so many Junkies there with vans, tools, spares and all keen to help all the other Junkies out that I be gobsmacked if you couldn't get hold of something or get help if you needed it!

*takes a breath...*

One final thing to remember, you will have a FANTASTIC day and will absolutely love it. Guaranteed.

[Tink]

Also tax disc ;) that carries registration

[pixie_nubbins]

take some spare socks and undies,,,, if it rains u get wet right through and a change of clothes if yer going in a van-- nothing worse than wet clothes all the way home.

if yer going in a van take

`1.kettle- tea bags milk sugar and a cup -- saves the mad wonders to the cafe
2, if its going to be a regular thing tyre warmers are a nice thing to have (when ure on track pit monkeys keep warm with them)
3. spanners, allen keys and more gaffer tape than u think u will need- its a god send that stuff

check yer bike over and over-- every thing to be fitted tight- no loose screws or bolts

Junkies stickers are a must



if your going on your bike ask a friend who is going in van to take some bits for ya,, like tools and stuff u dont wnat to feel bogged down all the way ther and then have the thought of carrying it all home again

[R1Ninja]

lights on track can be really distracting for other peeps.....one of Scottyhs pet hates lol......and I gotta admit that he's right.......it's a real pain in the ass to find your breaking point, focus and then see someone elses brake light come on out of the corner of your eye........instinctively (from road riding) your brain tells you to slow down and it buggers up your rythmn........

I think brake lights are a good idea. Unlike racing where most racers braking point are in roughly the same vicinity, trackday riders are all over the place. Some people brake stupidly early and if you aren't expecting it can cause some near misses.

[doddy]

i find brake light put me off and i end up looking at them and not where im going

[wrecker]

Junkies stickers are a must


Jeez, how could we have forgotten the most important thing??? Nice one! :lol:

[Tuck]

My top tip is get your noise test and tyre pressure sorted as soon as you have off loaded your bike and well before the briefing.

I usually ride to the noise test, where there is no queue, straight onto the tyre guy, again no queue. These guys are stood around waiting to see people, only the regulars seek them out before the briefing. You can then chill out, go to briefing and stroll out the door all relaxed ready to be called for the first session.

Meanwhile everyone else has piled out of the briefing, jumped on thier bikes and joined a 100+ bike queue for the noise test, usually sat in a queue for 20 mins while a bloke infront thraps the nuts off his stroker choking you with fumes keeping the oil flowing and bike up to temperature, then they don't get to the tyre guy and have to rush to be out in panic for the first session high on 2T fumes.

[wrecker]

My top tip is get your noise test and tyre pressure sorted as soon as you have off loaded your bike and well before the briefing.

I usually ride to the noise test, where there is no queue, straight onto the tyre guy, again no queue. These guys are stood around waiting to see people, only the regulars seek them out before the briefing. You can then chill out, go to briefing and stroll out the door all relaxed ready to be called for the first session.

Meanwhile everyone else has piled out of the briefing, jumped on thier bikes and joined a 100+ bike queue for the noise test, usually sat in a queue for 20 mins while a bloke infront thraps the nuts off his stroker choking you with fumes keeping the oil flowing and bike up to temperature, then they don't get to the tyre guy and have to rush to be out in panic for the first session high on 2T fumes.

Now you've gone and done it. There's gonna be 150 junkies waiting for a noise test at 7:45 now :lol:

[Tuck]

Now you've gone and done it. There's gonna be 150 junkies waiting for a noise test at 7:45 now :lol:

All part of my cunning plan. I can now have an extra hour in bed, rock up right at the very end of signing on, straight through to the briefing, 2 minutes at the now queue less noise test, quick check of tyres and out onto track.

[wrecker]

Just spotted this too in the 'how to' section. Pretty nice overview of trackday stuff:

http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15961

[GixxerDan]

if you can get hold of one a fold up camping chair comes in handy..
think tescos sell them for around a fiver

[tommytello]

Have a back protector and if you get tired and still have 1 or 2 outs to go, just pack up and go home! You'll be heading for an accident.

I lost my tax disc earlier this year on the track so remove yours.

Don't go as fast as you can, instead calm it a bit get used to the bike and position, you can build up speed later. I went in at warp factor 9 without being smooth and ended up coming off.

[GB-Brown]

Thanks for all your advice peeps, realy appreciate it! :thumbsup:

See you on the grid :jester:

[scottyh]

lights on track can be really distracting for other peeps.....one of Scottyhs pet hates lol......and I gotta admit that he's right.......it's a real pain in the ass to find your breaking point, focus and then see someone elses brake light come on out of the corner of your eye........instinctively (from road riding) your brain tells you to slow down and it buggers up your rythmn........
:worship: :worship: :worship:
And there was me thinking she doesn't listen to me.:lol:

Brake light's on track should be banned IMO, because they are VERY distracting.

Had this long argument with 7fiddy just before his first track day and he thought it would make him safer if anything, until he went and did one and realised what a pain in the ass it is.

Target fixation is a bad thing!
You should ride to your own rhythm and ability, and you shouldn't use someone else's brake light's to tell you when to brake.

I think brake lights are a good idea. Unlike racing where most racers braking point are in roughly the same vicinity, trackday riders are all over the place. Some people brake stupidly early and if you aren't expecting it can cause some near misses.

Your either in the wrong group or riding far to close to the person in front.

[Jase750]

DON'T fill the tank with petrol.

just put a small amount in enough to do the session, idealy you want the light to come on at the chequred flag,

go back to the pits and put a few more liters in ( gives you something to do while your waiting to go out again)

the difference is noticable as you wont have a great big amount of heavy fuel sloshing about high up in the frame.

[Jase750]

:
Brake light's on track should be banned IMO, because they are VERY distracting..
Oh yeah defo +1