Should I take Monster to track?

[uclabiker66]

Okay, here goes: I love my Monster, a lot. It's my most prized possession; my show bike in a sense. Between my weekend canyon rides I spend quite a bit of time cleaning the bike. She looks almost the same as the first day I got her because I am into detailing and so it always is spic and span with three coats of the finest show car wax and blah blah blah. BUT the canyon thing is getting old and I really want to go to the track. The problem is I don't want to risk damaging my beloved Monster on the track by dropping it or having little flying objects ruin the paint job and other track day use and abuse. My concerns are exterior/cosmetic; I know the engine will have no problem.

Sooooooo I thought "get a used R6 or something", but I don't have the money at this point and I don't want to sell my Monster. What the chances are that I will do any cosmetic damage to my Monster if I take it to the track? I am confident that I wont damage the bike on the street because I very familiar with the limits but I can't say the same for the track cuz I've never even done a track day. Should I just wait a few years and save up money (at the moment I am broker then a joke) for a used beater bike or should I take the Monster to the track? How often do bikes fall at the track anyways? What effects does a track day have on the paint job even if you don't crash?

[sqweak]

if you don't have the money for a track bike, you don't have the money to fix the monster.

you could go down, be saved by the sliders, and walk away totally cool

or you could have catastrophic highside, or lowside where the slider caught and sent the bike tumbling...and then you're looking at a repair bill 3x the cost of simply picking up a track bike.

can you guess which route I took? ;D

[Full Throttle]

If you dont drop it, there will not be any damage to the bike.

I have tracked a 1098 with all the fairing and no normal track damage, I have also tracked my S4RS and no track damage.

I did drop my 1098 on the second day of a 2 day event, but that in hindsight was due to decreased concentration levels. If you feel tired or loosing concentration rather take it to the pitts

If you take your bike to the track there is always a possibillity of something going wrong. Mostly lowsides, and once in while you will find a highsided bike. Lowsides turn out to be mostly cosmetic and repairable.

I was in a similiar boat before my first track day, and someone said to me "You can fall on the street, or you can fall on the track, the only difference is, that on the track its safer"

Just take it easy, let the tires warm up well, and build up your track confidence level. Its a total different experience than taking on the street. Yes, you tend to actually go much faster than on the street, but if you ride at 80% of your normal confidence levels, you should be fine.

At the end of the day, although we all love our Ducs, it is still only a machine, and is repairable to its original state. How long those repairs take, is upto the depths of your pockets.

Good luck and enjoy!

[uclabiker66]

can you guess which route I took? Grin

Yeah that makes sense....what "track bike" did you settle for?

I did drop my 1098 on the second day of a 2 day event, but that in hindsight was due to decreased concentration levels

I'm not worried about dropping the bike that could happen just as easily on the street. More worried about a fall. Good to know you didn't do damage to the paint job from going fast.

[sqweak]

I went with a Suzuki SV. They've been jokingly referred to as japanese ducatis: twin, trellis frame, etc. Similar powerband and delivery. Very popular to race, so plenty of aftermarket support & spares available. [thumbsup]

[gm2]

if you want to go to the track, you definitely should. as for stuff flying up and hitting your bike, you should be more concerned about debris on the road than a track.. tracks are basically very clean, at least relatively speaking.

the best way for you to safeguard against the 3-4x $$ it's going to cost you to repair a downed monster is to get some track training first. saving that, have your suspension set up, make sure your tires are in good shape and at the right pressure, and take it easy. get your braking done before the corner. don't ride over your head.

[uclabiker66]

get some track training first.

You mean with another bike or just in class training?

[gm2]

Originally Posted by uclabiker66

You mean with another bike or just in class training?

well, another bike is a sure fire way not to trash yours

but i meant either.

[sqweak]

i'd suggest:

california superbike school level 1 (6/7 or 6/8 at streets of willow). I've personally taken this, as has gm2 and several other socal locals.

trackdaz academy (6/27 at streets of willow) this is there first try at teaching a class, results may vary

[legrena]

I say take it to the track, ride conservatively, within your means. Get some track time under your belt, start in the Beginner group, move to Intermediate...and so forth. Take it easy, have fun. [thumbsup]