Anyone at Loudon on 8/6?
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Fishtail Track Day 8/6
All I can say is WOW...what a day! First bike, second day on new gearing, race/rain-UNfriendly tires, riding in the pouring rain almost all day.
The Fishtail group is great. I had the advantage of working almost privately with an instructor all day...don't ask me how, it worked out that way. All of the participants were cool and I felt comfortable the entire day...aside from riding in the rain at times! But honestly it wasn't that bad...I just faced my fears and told myself that I was there to learn how to ride. I highly recommend this track day provider if you are considering one in the future. Great down to earth classroom instruction and nicely paced on-track riding sessions...not to mention very supportive.
http://www.fishtailridingschool.com/home.html
So to the riding. The first Group B (newbies/slower) session was dry and I was the only one in this instructor's "group" somehow. Went around for 15 minutes and got the thumbs up the whole way, it was actually too slow. She recommended me for Group A without question. Cool right? Well that's when it started to rain...not so cool. I proceeded to ride with Group A, forgetting that they can pass on certain turns...like a swarm of bees buzzing by me! It was good, I rode with another instructor for multiple sessions sometimes in a downpour. My front slid a lot on one turn...and my rear spun and slid a few times. My tires do not have rain grooves to the edges and don't heat up at all in the rain so I was hosed...really needed to work on body english while keeping the bike as upright as possible to stay in the game. Skipped one session because my head wasn't in it. (I had about 3 hours of sleep) Then it dried up in spots and I didn't want to waste precious track time...so I went out for the last session which was a mix of both groups. No instructor, just me and the guys I would wave to pass me...I hammered it and got to know the bike and body english better.
We almost couldn't even get warmed up in some of the sessions because we'd barely complete a lap and the red flag would come out. A LOT of people went down in Group A in multiple sessions...not confidence inspiring! I must say that there is no way in hell that I would want rain for my first track day, especially under the circumstances...but it probably developed my understanding and riding skills tenfold as a result. I highly recommend these days to anyone from novice to long-term riders. (Tons of racers do track days just to get the seat time...all walks of life and bikes there too) And do it in the rain even if it's your worst fear...if you're into it for the experience and developing your skills you won't regret it!
Feel free to PM me with any questions.
All I can say is WOW...what a day! First bike, second day on new gearing, race/rain-UNfriendly tires, riding in the pouring rain almost all day.
The Fishtail group is great. I had the advantage of working almost privately with an instructor all day...don't ask me how, it worked out that way. All of the participants were cool and I felt comfortable the entire day...aside from riding in the rain at times! But honestly it wasn't that bad...I just faced my fears and told myself that I was there to learn how to ride. I highly recommend this track day provider if you are considering one in the future. Great down to earth classroom instruction and nicely paced on-track riding sessions...not to mention very supportive.
http://www.fishtailridingschool.com/home.html
So to the riding. The first Group B (newbies/slower) session was dry and I was the only one in this instructor's "group" somehow. Went around for 15 minutes and got the thumbs up the whole way, it was actually too slow. She recommended me for Group A without question. Cool right? Well that's when it started to rain...not so cool. I proceeded to ride with Group A, forgetting that they can pass on certain turns...like a swarm of bees buzzing by me! It was good, I rode with another instructor for multiple sessions sometimes in a downpour. My front slid a lot on one turn...and my rear spun and slid a few times. My tires do not have rain grooves to the edges and don't heat up at all in the rain so I was hosed...really needed to work on body english while keeping the bike as upright as possible to stay in the game. Skipped one session because my head wasn't in it. (I had about 3 hours of sleep) Then it dried up in spots and I didn't want to waste precious track time...so I went out for the last session which was a mix of both groups. No instructor, just me and the guys I would wave to pass me...I hammered it and got to know the bike and body english better.
We almost couldn't even get warmed up in some of the sessions because we'd barely complete a lap and the red flag would come out. A LOT of people went down in Group A in multiple sessions...not confidence inspiring! I must say that there is no way in hell that I would want rain for my first track day, especially under the circumstances...but it probably developed my understanding and riding skills tenfold as a result. I highly recommend these days to anyone from novice to long-term riders. (Tons of racers do track days just to get the seat time...all walks of life and bikes there too) And do it in the rain even if it's your worst fear...if you're into it for the experience and developing your skills you won't regret it!
Feel free to PM me with any questions.
NewDuc,
Thanks for the writeup. I did the Code CSS school last year at Pocono and it downpoured the whole time. I actually found I learned more this way. Taking it slower, working on technique. And I was astonished at how much grip the bike had on that track, even in the rain. I have sinced joined TeamPromotion and had a good experience with them doing my first track day on my own bike two weeks ago at Pocono, although my bike (2006 MV Brutale) had electrical problems that ended my day after the first session. I am going back there on 8/25. I just bought a 749R that is getting shipped from AZ, and hope to have that on the track by then. Maybe I will see you there?
Thanks for the writeup. I did the Code CSS school last year at Pocono and it downpoured the whole time. I actually found I learned more this way. Taking it slower, working on technique. And I was astonished at how much grip the bike had on that track, even in the rain. I have sinced joined TeamPromotion and had a good experience with them doing my first track day on my own bike two weeks ago at Pocono, although my bike (2006 MV Brutale) had electrical problems that ended my day after the first session. I am going back there on 8/25. I just bought a 749R that is getting shipped from AZ, and hope to have that on the track by then. Maybe I will see you there?
749r
is an awesome track bike! I'd love to have the resources to get a 749 track bike and put all the planned cosmetics into my street machine...decisions!
Honestly I don't know where Pocono is...but I'm definitely going to hit as many track days as possible this year and next, mixing in some Code and possibly Penguin.
is an awesome track bike! I'd love to have the resources to get a 749 track bike and put all the planned cosmetics into my street machine...decisions!
Honestly I don't know where Pocono is...but I'm definitely going to hit as many track days as possible this year and next, mixing in some Code and possibly Penguin.
anucci said:
Pocono Raceway is in PA.NewDuc said:
I bought the 749R from SGCullen, who I think owns this site and is also a moderator, but I met him on the MV forum. He added BST wheels, cyclecat risers, aftermarket slipper, braketech rotors, and lots of other goodies. Less than 200 miles on the clock and I got what I think is a great deal. I have always loved that bike and could no longer resist. I'll post some pics once it arrives here in CT in a couple of weeks.
Nice write-up on Fishtail, NewDuc!
You've convinced me to sign-up for the September 4 track day with them.
Oh, I'm also going to sign-up for the track day with Lean Angle Performance School (http://www.trackdaylaps.com) - it's only $189 if you're a member of the New England Street Riders forum (www.nestreetriders.com).
You've convinced me to sign-up for the September 4 track day with them.
Oh, I'm also going to sign-up for the track day with Lean Angle Performance School (http://www.trackdaylaps.com) - it's only $189 if you're a member of the New England Street Riders forum (www.nestreetriders.com).
Awesome
If it's not full by the time I have money in-pocket I'm going to as well. It will be cool to share an experience with someone local too! I checked out the Lean Angle and might do that depending on my schedule, but I'm also considering the MM 9/24 and that will be nice spacing for money and time off. We'll see, but glad you're pulling the trigger!
If it's not full by the time I have money in-pocket I'm going to as well. It will be cool to share an experience with someone local too! I checked out the Lean Angle and might do that depending on my schedule, but I'm also considering the MM 9/24 and that will be nice spacing for money and time off. We'll see, but glad you're pulling the trigger!
Koolio said:Nice write-up on Fishtail, NewDuc!
You've convinced me to sign-up for the September 4 track day with them.
Oh, I'm also going to sign-up for the track day with Lean Angle Performance School (http://www.trackdaylaps.com) - it's only $189 if you're a member of the New England Street Riders forum (www.nestreetriders.com).
Sweet - that'd be awesome if you did either 8/29 or 9/4. And, it is nice doing a track day with someone...especially, with a fellow Ducatista.NewDuc said:
If you do Lean Angle on 8/29, I'll be up there with a buddy of mine (he rides an 800 Supersport). Actually, we're both doing 8/28 and 8/29.
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