First trackday was a HOOT!

[jdsbusa]

Had a blast at my "local" track yesterday, unfortunately it didn't end on a good note, not a terrible one, but not good. The track has a nice front straight where the 600 guys see around 145 before closing the throttle for turn 1, as the day went on I got more comfortable and kept pushing the front straight topping 160 before shutting it down. Back tire got greasy closing down at one point started locking up and I had 2 options, low side in turn one on the asphalt or head for the grass and hope for the best. Took option 2 and almost saved it but at the last second I saw marshland and the thought of ingesting water into a running engine didn't sound so hot so I tossed her left and bailed right so as to not let the thing crush me. The grass was very wet so it was a soft landing - didn't even grass stain the leathers it was so wet. Speed was down around 25-30 est. by then so damage actually turned out minimal. Windscreen exploded, right side fairing has 2 cracks so it's going to need replaced (posted a wanted classified for anyone that might have one in decent shape laying around they want to sell). Not sore in the least bit, gear did it's job and the LSL sliders on the bike kept damage to a minimum. There's a few scratches from all the mud/grass I slid in but other than that she's not too bad. I'm sure weather played a role as it never really got out of the 40's yesterday - very cold conditions and a lot of people gave up after 5 sessions because we kept getting rain off/on in parts of the track so a couple turns would be dry then you'd run into wet turns which really throws off the rhythm. We had just got a spout of rain on the previous lap which hit turns 1-3 but the corner workers hadn't thrown up the weather flag to warn us in time. I certainly got off easy, 2 other guys went down on the same session as I did due to wet track but their rides were trailered back to the pits missing a lot more than a windscreen. One of them was seen kartwheeling off the track - never saw the bike but it couldn't have been pretty. The other bike was a blue R6 missing most of it's tail section from what I could see a couple hundred feet away as it was towed by.

It was a blast anyway. I might have to see about some trackday plastics for the bike like BusaWhipped has until I can get a cheap 600/750 to run as a dedicated bike. No pics yet, did have video running and you can distinctly hear the back end locking up several times as I tried to bring the speed down. I was a little hesitant to pull harder on the front and risk a high-side, probably best that I didn't the way things worked out in the end.

[chrisjp]

glad you had fun....and glad you didnt get hurt...and damage at a minimal

[macon454]

Sorry to hear about the get off. Glad you are alright.

[TaxMan]

glad you had fun....and glad you didnt get hurt...and damage at a minimal

+1000

[jdsbusa]

glad you had fun....and glad you didnt get hurt...and damage at a minimal

I just look at it as experience. After watching the video several times, for the situation presented I wouldn't have changed anything if I had to do it over.....which is good (other than just not so much speed coming in but that's irrelevant). I figure experience on the track translates into experience on the street which is always good. Any track day you can walk and ride away from is a success. I did both.

[Blanca BusaLess]

Any track day you can walk and ride away from is a success

True.
Was this on your turbo bike ?

Happy you are here to tell the tale , sorry for the damage.

[jdsbusa]

True.
Was this on your turbo bike ?

Happy you are here to tell the tale , sorry for the damage.

My one and only Busa... Most guys there thought I was nuts, but those who had owned Busas in the past said it would be just fine. Guess it's one of those things that only those who've ridden them would understand. They hold their own very well and for the novice group I was in I had only 1 guy pass me during the day and he was a control rider so I'd expect that.

[Blanca BusaLess]

My one and only Busa... Most guys there thought I was nuts, but those who had owned Busas in the past said it would be just fine. Guess it's one of those things that only those who've ridden them would understand. They hold their own very well and for the novice group I was in I had only 1 guy pass me during the day and he was a control rider so I'd expect that.

Very sorry to hear this as I have admired how beautiful your bike is/was for awhile now .
Most of the mods are ok right , just fairing damage ?
Turbo and power are still fine ?

Again happy real happy to hear you yourself are ok

[Wayneovich]

Hate to hear it ended on a sour note, But look at the positive side you assessed the situation and did not panic therefore saving you from alot more headache.

[Pit Bull 13]

How did the Turbo turn out? This is the guy from the other fourm.. I'm kinda glad I couldnt make it.. Sorry to hear about your wreck.. Ive been waitin for you to be back on the messenger to ask you how it went..

Well glad your ok

[Tufbusa]

Sorry about your getoff. Glad you are unscathed, your pride will heal up just fine.

This is a prime example why first time track guys should attend a school first. You would have learned there is absolutely nothing to be gained by using the rear brake. Rear brake use is probably the toughest bad habit to break street riders of.

[Blanca BusaLess]

Do you plan on posting video so others may learn from your experience ?
Were you using a GoPro ?

[fastblackblur]

Sounds like you had a good time regardless of the consequences, which is awesome! Sorry to hear about the bike, I had a little mishap my first time out too, but luckily I got her track worthy again after only missing a session. LoL i bet you were reeling those 600s in like they were standing still on that strait with a turbo bike. I can't imagine how hard something like that must pull once you get it pointed in the right direction. Welcome to the addiction.

gary

[BIG GUY]

Good to hear that the 2 of you made it out ok.

[TruWrecks]

Glad you're okay. Crashing anywhere sucks. You now have more knowledge than before.

If downshifting was causing the rear to break loose, that's fine. It will slide side to side a bit, but it keep the bike going strait. The front brake does 95% or more of the work slowing you down. If it was locking up, you wear on the brake with the clutch in. Touching the rear brake is a no-no.

[LA Busa]

Yep, front brake use at the track is best left to the really experienced riders / racers. I never touch mine!

Glad your ok!

[jdsbusa]

Sorry about your getoff. Glad you are unscathed, your pride will heal up just fine.

This is a prime example why first time track guys should attend a school first. You would have learned there is absolutely nothing to be gained by using the rear brake. Rear brake use is probably the toughest bad habit to break street riders of.

I have attended an advanced MSF course, been riding for 28 years now. If rear brakes have no value they wouldn't put them on there. Front brakes account for about 75-80% total braking power, rears for the rest. It's solely your opinion (which you're certainly entitled to) that rear brakes are useless, but when you're trying to squeeze every last mph on the front straight you can and you need 100% braking force to bleed all that speed off, it's going to take coordinated use of the front and rear to do just that. Track got wet, rear didn't like it obviously, I chose the grass which was certainly a better option than lowsiding on the track. For a smaller bike like a 600 front brakes are plenty, but a bigger bike carrying another 15-20mph and hauling an additional 120+ lbs down isn't going to stop on factory front brakes alone...but you're more than welcome to try it. I carried the same speed into turn 1 on a dry (but cold) track several times earlier in the day, the rain just took too much out of traction for the brakes to handle - plain and simple. Had I not been using the rear the wreck would have likely been much worse as the speed I carried off track into grass would have probably been another 15-20mph (conservative estimate). BTW - you'll love your rear brake if you ever have the unfortunate situation of finding yourself on gravel or grass.

Like I said earlier, I came out much better than the other 2 guys I saw. A riders meeting was called immediately after and a lot of guys were ticked about corner workers not throwing weather flags quick enough to warn folks of wet areas on the track.

Do you plan on posting video so others may learn from your experience ?
Were you using a GoPro ?

Don't know of much value other than a good lesson in don't even try to use front brakes once you're on the grass - which I didn't.....
and not a GoPro, but a VHoldR HD, same pic quality but a smaller package that's pretty darn tough. I was convinced when I saw one go down in a track wreck and get smashed into the gravel but come out in good shape!