Hi All,
Just thought I'd post up an introduction, as well as ask a few questions.
I started riding after 30, as I was pretty confident in my 20s that if I rode then I'd kill myself. . I'd rode a lot of dirt bikes as a kid and growing up but never a street bike.
I was living in California when I took the MSF course and got a license. First bike was a Triumph Street Triple R, which I rode for about a year before clipping my brake lever on a mirror while lane splitting (_not_ illegal, in California) and went flying. I was banged up a bit, nothing broken thankfully and probably wearing all the gear (back protector, specifically, as I flipped right over and landed on my back) helped I'm sure.
I convinced myself to get back on a bike after a few months, test rode a lot of 600s, and ended up buying another STR. It was just such a comfy bike for me. I rode that for a long time, ended up moving back to Alberta and rode it all the way from California.
After a few years on the STR in Alberta, I wanted to ride a sport bike so I picked up a Hyosung 250R to practice on. Last year, I upgraded that to a 2015 BMW S1000RR (!). Also along the way I picked up a TW200 (FUN!), a Night Rod, and just recently found a killer price on a 1290 Super Duke R that I just couldn't pass up... so now, I park outside, and my garage is full of bikes. You could say I've caught the bug. I did sell the Triumph though, and the wife is 'encouraging' me to sell the Hyosung and TW200, and I'm considering selling off the night rod, so who knows, maybe next year I can park in the garage again.
I've done a few mountain trips, entertaining stuff. Last year I took the California Superbike School level 1 & 2 at The Ridge close by Seattle, and it was AWESOME. Track riding is just crazy fun. That's why I'm here, posting this now. This year I'd like to get in as many days as I can. But I'm a novice, obviously, so now on the the questions:
- I see the requirements for track riding, it's essentially replacing coolant with water (and wetter), and taping up lights/mirrors? Is that basically what people do, or do you really remove mirrors and signal lights, etc?
- I also see wiring up the kickstand is required. So this might be a dumb question but... how do you get off the bike then? Lean it up against a wall?
- It seems like I should do the race school, and as many as the track attacks as I can. Does that seem reasonable? Are these dates sort of correct? http://www.castrolraceway.com/blog-2016_ROAD_COURSE_SCHEDULE
I'm sure I'll have more questions but that's it for now. I'm very excited for this year, so nice to have a road course close by!
Just thought I'd post up an introduction, as well as ask a few questions.
I started riding after 30, as I was pretty confident in my 20s that if I rode then I'd kill myself. . I'd rode a lot of dirt bikes as a kid and growing up but never a street bike.
I was living in California when I took the MSF course and got a license. First bike was a Triumph Street Triple R, which I rode for about a year before clipping my brake lever on a mirror while lane splitting (_not_ illegal, in California) and went flying. I was banged up a bit, nothing broken thankfully and probably wearing all the gear (back protector, specifically, as I flipped right over and landed on my back) helped I'm sure.
I convinced myself to get back on a bike after a few months, test rode a lot of 600s, and ended up buying another STR. It was just such a comfy bike for me. I rode that for a long time, ended up moving back to Alberta and rode it all the way from California.
After a few years on the STR in Alberta, I wanted to ride a sport bike so I picked up a Hyosung 250R to practice on. Last year, I upgraded that to a 2015 BMW S1000RR (!). Also along the way I picked up a TW200 (FUN!), a Night Rod, and just recently found a killer price on a 1290 Super Duke R that I just couldn't pass up... so now, I park outside, and my garage is full of bikes. You could say I've caught the bug. I did sell the Triumph though, and the wife is 'encouraging' me to sell the Hyosung and TW200, and I'm considering selling off the night rod, so who knows, maybe next year I can park in the garage again.
I've done a few mountain trips, entertaining stuff. Last year I took the California Superbike School level 1 & 2 at The Ridge close by Seattle, and it was AWESOME. Track riding is just crazy fun. That's why I'm here, posting this now. This year I'd like to get in as many days as I can. But I'm a novice, obviously, so now on the the questions:
- I see the requirements for track riding, it's essentially replacing coolant with water (and wetter), and taping up lights/mirrors? Is that basically what people do, or do you really remove mirrors and signal lights, etc?
- I also see wiring up the kickstand is required. So this might be a dumb question but... how do you get off the bike then? Lean it up against a wall?
- It seems like I should do the race school, and as many as the track attacks as I can. Does that seem reasonable? Are these dates sort of correct? http://www.castrolraceway.com/blog-2016_ROAD_COURSE_SCHEDULE
I'm sure I'll have more questions but that's it for now. I'm very excited for this year, so nice to have a road course close by!