[Misti]

What is the track able to teach us that we don't or can't learn on the street?

 

[Tchase]

IMHO, 20 years on the streets. First day on the track I realized I knew nothing.

 

[randomtask]

The track is the ONLY place you can SAFELY push your limits to maximize your braking and cornering ability.

The street can only take you so far because of traffic, lane width, and road conditions. And it can only take you that far at GREAT risk

 

[Dmitriy5099]

I would say that there are different kinds of streets you ride on. If you have the Snake or the Dragon in your back yard then you can become a very very good rider.
If you ride near or in the city, forget about it

 

[Harper]

IMHO, 20 years on the streets. First day on the track I realized I knew nothing.

Agree 100%!!

My first track day was at COTA last year and I was able to learn a lot!! You can be an aggressive street rider, but it does come at great risk. I still have fun and push it on certain streets, but leave most of it to the track.

 

[cbr6]

the street is great for doing wheelies, most track days frown on wheelies

 

[[email protected]]

The track teaches proper focus. You have to be aware of other riders in your area but focus on what's coming up much like you have to be aware of things around on the street and focus on what's coming up. If you don't know or practice proper focus on the street, you're not taking it all in to avoid situations.

 

[7 Summits]

A clean closed-course track allows you to safely repeat the same turns over and over again without having to worry about ordinary obstacles you encounter on the street. It will give you consistent riding surface as apposed to the street where you never know whats around the next corner, even if you have ridden that same corner a thousand times. Like [email protected] said, it allows for greater focus on riding and not having to use any of your concentration on the what ifs.

 

[Misti]

IMHO, 20 years on the streets. First day on the track I realized I knew nothing.

Hahahahha, that made me laugh out loud. But it is true!!!

So, what was the biggest thing you found out in terms of realizing you knew nothing. What was the first thing you realized you had to work on?

 

[randomtask]

I learned quickly how horrible my body position was. I remember scraping pegs on the street and thinking I was fast. Then the track showed me both how slow I was, and how fast I could get with proper body position.

I also overcame my fear of tucking the front under hard braking. On track I could push that limit and discovered just how hard I could brake without even a hint of traction loss up front. And I'm still miles away from braking like Nicky Hayden

 

[lextech]

Riding on the track exposed all of my riding flaws . You think you're Joe Rocket on the street , but the track will humble you with the quickness .

 

[Tchase]

Hahahahha, that made me laugh out loud. But it is true!!!



So, what was the biggest thing you found out in terms of realizing you knew nothing. What was the first thing you realized you had to work on?

I knew I was not a good rider on the street but I wasn't bad either. I didn't know what I didn't know but I knew I didn't know a lot. So I was ultraconservative on the street. Go fast on the straights brake early and take the turn upright...

My first track day my only goal was to drag knee ( the instructors said not to do that). But it rained all day and it's true we learned more in the wet and we were way less aggressive (still sucked to be in the wet). That first day is a big blur because really it was all about getting the rush of a free track and no cops..

But the second day yeah it all kind of hit me at once. Riding a bike comes natural to me so once I started compartmentalize things i realized I had lots of things to work on. But until I got that knee down I just couldn't break things down, without that out of my system. By the afternoon I had finally scraped the puck and it scared the poo out of me lol.

For me the physical things, body position etc were there in theory but not in practice.

Visualizing the track was my first obstacle , how would I know when to brake, when to move my butt, move the throttle, be in the right gear... etc!

Seeing the track and where you want to be it's still a work in progress.

 

[Misti]

I learned quickly how horrible my body position was. I remember scraping pegs on the street and thinking I was fast. Then the track showed me both how slow I was, and how fast I could get with proper body position.

I also overcame my fear of tucking the front under hard braking. On track I could push that limit and discovered just how hard I could brake without even a hint of traction loss up front. And I'm still miles away from braking like Nicky Hayden

Hahahaha. I did the exact same thing, thinking I was hot sh*t on the street when I was scraping pegs and then realizing at the track 1. just how dumb that is, and 2. just how slow I was!!

Proper body position is huge and the track gives you time to be able to work on it in a closed course setting.

Also, learning how to brake harder and feel what the front tire is doing without fear of running into sand, gravel, dogs, other cars etc.....

The track gives you the opportunity to try things in a safer and more controlled setting.

Good points. What else can/did you learn at the track that you didn't figure out on the street?