Finally took my bird to the track

ZeePopo

Registered
So after much preparations I finally got to take my bird to the track. I've had the front revalved and re shimmed for advanced canyon riding so it's a perfect fit for the track. Rear was upgraded to a Elka 5 way adjustable I had from my previous bike. Sag is set to 40mm front 25mm rear for maximum ground clearance. Tires I'm running Pirelli Supercorsa SP V3 at 200/60 profile, raises the ground clearance quite a bit.

So since it was a new track to me I talked to the tire guy and followed his pressure recommendations of 26 rear. Almost died in the advanced group. Rear was all over the place, decided to drop down to Intermediate until I sorted out the tire pressure and suspension settings. Front was perfectly planted but the rear gave me no confidence. So we raised it to 32. A little better but far from what I expected. So I decided to stop following the tire guys advice and just follow my instincts like I always done on the Busa. Bumped up pressure off warmers to 39psi. So much better. Rear stopped squirming around and was able to quicken my pace quite a bit. Still needs some more tuning on rebound, track had quite a few ondulations.

What was really surprising was that by the end of the day some of my leans angles were quite impressive. I didn't think I be able to lean so deep with the changes I did. I had previously broken the feeler on my left footpeg a few months ago, so after leaning too deep to the left too many times I took a good chunk off the footpeg at the track hahaha. Left footpeg still had the feeler but I ground it down to a nice spear. Also some of my body fairings scratched a little from too deep lean angle. So by calculating the scratches and broken parts my bike can do a maximum of 52 to 57 degrees lean depending on suspension movement. Pretty good for a bike that was never meant to be on the track. Next I will raise the rear shock by 10mm and slide the front forks down 10mm as well. The Pirelli slicks comes in a 200/65 profile so that should give me another 5 to 10 mm rise. New rearsets will stop me from braking pegs and increase my working lean angles considerably. Looking forward to new parts coming in and taking the bird back on the track. Who says Busas can't corner :)

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If you want to do track you really should get some rearsets. Huge difference in clearance and control. With my vortex I was dragging the knee with no bike parts grinding. Also, those tires might be too big? That's not an expert opinion, btw just a guess. I was running 2cts and Q3s and 26 psi cold. Bike felt mushy and slow turning at slow speeds but warmed up on the track they felt bolted to the track. Wonder if the 200s need more air on OEM (I assume) rims?

Anyway tracks are fun. I'm at the age where the prep and heat keep me away but I do miss it. Whem I frist took my modded bike out the first thought was I have got to get this bike on a track!

Thanks for sharing, I know that feeling of looking at your Busa and thinking man I didn't know we could do that! I also like the "dam bro you wrestle that busa pretty good!"
 
So after much preparations I finally got to take my bird to the track. I've had the front revalved and re shimmed for advanced canyon riding so it's a perfect fit for the track. Rear was upgraded to a Elka 5 way adjustable I had from my previous bike. Sag is set to 40mm front 25mm rear for maximum ground clearance. Tires I'm running Pirelli Supercorsa SP V3 at 200/60 profile, raises the ground clearance quite a bit.

So since it was a new track to me I talked to the tire guy and followed his pressure recommendations of 26 rear. Almost died in the advanced group. Rear was all over the place, decided to drop down to Intermediate until I sorted out the tire pressure and suspension settings. Front was perfectly planted but the rear gave me no confidence. So we raised it to 32. A little better but far from what I expected. So I decided to stop following the tire guys advice and just follow my instincts like I always done on the Busa. Bumped up pressure off warmers to 39psi. So much better. Rear stopped squirming around and was able to quicken my pace quite a bit. Still needs some more tuning on rebound, track had quite a few ondulations.

What was really surprising was that by the end of the day some of my leans angles were quite impressive. I didn't think I be able to lean so deep with the changes I did. I had previously broken the feeler on my left footpeg a few months ago, so after leaning too deep to the left too many times I took a good chunk off the footpeg at the track hahaha. Left footpeg still had the feeler but I ground it down to a nice spear. Also some of my body fairings scratched a little from too deep lean angle. So by calculating the scratches and broken parts my bike can do a maximum of 52 to 57 degrees lean depending on suspension movement. Pretty good for a bike that was never meant to be on the track. Next I will raise the rear shock by 10mm and slide the front forks down 10mm as well. The Pirelli slicks comes in a 200/65 profile so that should give me another 5 to 10 mm rise. New rearsets will stop me from braking pegs and increase my working lean angles considerably. Looking forward to new parts coming in and taking the bird back on the track. Who says Busas can't corner :)

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Hi. @ ZeePopo Where are you getting the Perellis 200/65 slicks from? I am thing using them on my LSR bike.
 
If you want to do track you really should get some rearsets. Huge difference in clearance and control. With my vortex I was dragging the knee with no bike parts grinding. Also, those tires might be too big? That's not an expert opinion, btw just a guess. I was running 2cts and Q3s and 26 psi cold. Bike felt mushy and slow turning at slow speeds but warmed up on the track they felt bolted to the track. Wonder if the 200s need more air on OEM (I assume) rims?

Anyway tracks are fun. I'm at the age where the prep and heat keep me away but I do miss it. Whem I frist took my modded bike out the first thought was I have got to get this bike on a track!

Thanks for sharing, I know that feeling of looking at your Busa and thinking man I didn't know we could do that! I also like the "dam bro you wrestle that busa pretty good!"
It's a big tire and does take time to build heat into it, especially on heavy stock rims. But I'm determined to use it lol. Yeah rearsets are a must for track. My poor foot pegs. May they RIP lol.
 
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