[metload2]

So, looking to buy a CBR 250 in about a month!

I was wondering.... do any of you guys go to the track? I started looking in my area (norther IL) and it seems like for any track event it's around $200. That's a lot of money just to ride around.... Do any of you track your bike at a reasonable cost?

 

[Torchsport]

I ride my R6 on the track. Sooooo worth the money. Safe environment to go fast, legally.
No curbs, culverts, cops, trees, on-coming cars, or deer(most of the time...)

I go thru an Advanced Riding School, called Zalusky. ZARS Home
ARS courses, and track days are a GREAT learning tool. There are several instructors/control riders, that give you body positioning tips, and feedback.
There is usually a photographer taking pics that you can study your positioning.

ARS classes start around $100 a day, and track days at Brainerd International Raceway for just a little more. I am HOOKED!
My street riding has improved dramatically. And I've been riding for 31 years! I've basically been perfecting my same bad habits all these years, until now.

I highly recommend it.

 

[pete_falcone]

$200 is pretty cheap actually. Around here, $250 only gets you a spot. Then there's usually a $10 gate fee, a $149 clinic for new Tier 1 riders, $20 for gas, $100 for complete rental gear if you don't have race leathers, $20 for the transponder, and $10 for lunch. Also, it's not required, but me and several folks either own or rent a trailer to haul the bike there just in case you screw up on the track and don't have a bike to ride home with. Is it all worth it though? Hell yes.

 

[live_to_ride]

I ride my R6 on the track. Sooooo worth the money. Safe environment to go fast, legally.
No curbs, culverts, cops, trees, on-coming cars, or deer(most of the time...)

I go thru an Advanced Riding School, called Zalusky. ZARS Home
ARS courses, and track days are a GREAT learning tool. There are several instructors/control riders, that give you body positioning tips, and feedback.
There is usually a photographer taking pics that you can study your positioning.

ARS classes start around $100 a day, and track days at Brainerd International Raceway for just a little more. I am HOOKED!
My street riding has improved dramatically. And I've been riding for 31 years! I've basically been perfecting my same bad habits all these years, until now.

I highly recommend it.

Stunning pic! Quite like the R6. I've only done a couple track days. Then they closed down. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[EmptySet]

That's a lot of money just to ride around.... Do any of you track your bike at a reasonable cost?

If all you want is "just to ride around", you can do it for free anywhere that has a road. You're thinking of the track completely in the wrong way so that's why it seems expensive to you.

How long (how many miles) have you ridden? Is this your first bike? Have you added in the costs of bike equipment and riding gear? Fuel, tires, brake pads, tools, etc. etc. will cost you substantially more than the entrance fee.

 

[pete_falcone]

Thats why track days are commonly referred to as a driver/rider mod.

 

[TX_Dj]

So, looking to buy a CBR 250 in about a month!

I was wondering.... do any of you guys go to the track? I started looking in my area (norther IL) and it seems like for any track event it's around $200. That's a lot of money just to ride around.... Do any of you track your bike at a reasonable cost?

Once you get into it, it will be addictive. It is an expensive hobby. Don't hit the track pipe unless you want to keep coming back for more.

If that $200 doesn't include instruction, walk away.

It's a lot more than "just riding around."

Here's a great vid by our own HoPMiX which I love love love.... Stay tuned for the middle section where the guy explains it in very simple terms. He makes it sound like it's just "riding around" - but there's reasons why it's different and better than the open road, and one that he doesn't touch on is instruction.

And... to get a first person view of the action... Watch Stewy tear it up...

But if the expense of the track days themselves make you think twice, consider the fact that you'll need better gear than you're probably wearing now, and depending on the track and organizer, there may be certain changes that need to be made to your bike (usually those would be things like special non-glycol coolant, safety wire on your oil cap and drain, etc... not all require it, but some do).

Again. if the price does not include instruction, find another organizer.

 

[pricelister]

You'll need at least $200. However, you will get about $1000 worth of skill (and over $200 worth of fun) in one track day.

I've spent many a day at Blackhawk Farms in South Beloit, IL. Check their website for contact info.

 

[Torchsport]

You'll need at least $200. However, you will get about $1000 worth of skill (and over $200 worth of fun) in one track day.

I've spent many a day at Blackhawk Farms in South Beloit, IL. Check their website for contact info.

I hope to make BHF next year.

 

[bungie4]

Me on a race prepped R6 at Shannonville.

Track Pipe for sure!

 

[dore0]

Me on a race prepped R6 at Shannonville.

Track Pipe for sure!

You look like you riding a pocket bike. You must be very tall, I my self is very short.

 

[bungie4]

You look like you riding a pocket bike. You must be very tall, I my self is very short.

Hey your right, I do look on the tall side in that pic. I'm 5' 9" though. Not tall, just sort of average.

 

[metload2]

Well I should probably clarify some things.

Yes this is my first bike, experience = 0! Unless you count a Ruckus lol

My thinking went like this: Riding on the road gives me great road experience, but on the track I am able to push the bike to its limits and learn things I couldn't try learning on the road to gain experience. I was hoping to maybe do this a couple times a week for a while, but that would be about $800/month. That's a small mortgage....

Maybe there is a more cost effective solution? I don't care if I'm racing, I just want a good environment to push the limits of the bike.

And I live pretty close to Blackhawk Farms!

 

[TX_Dj]

Well I should probably clarify some things.

Yes this is my first bike, experience = 0! Unless you count a Ruckus lol

My thinking went like this: Riding on the road gives me great road experience, but on the track I am able to push the bike to its limits and learn things I couldn't try learning on the road to gain experience. I was hoping to maybe do this a couple times a week for a while, but that would be about $800/month. That's a small mortgage....

Maybe there is a more cost effective solution? I don't care if I'm racing, I just want a good environment to push the limits of the bike.

And I live pretty close to Blackhawk Farms!

Well... another option would be the more advanced riding classes available through places like MSF. Or, read read read, watch vids, practice what you can on the road or a parking lot.

You may be hard pressed to find a "couple times a week" trackday events.

Typically a couple a month, and depending on how many tracks there are in your area, the organizer you go with may not even be organizing a track day at a track that's a reasonable distance from you.

It costs thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) per day for organizers to rent a track for track day events.

That's mainly why it's an expensive ordeal.

The higher the price, either you have a more popular track or an organizer who is more likely to keep participant counts lower. This could mean more sessions per day or longer sessions, but who knows.

You should call the organizers in your area and see what their track days are like. Most will let you come observe in case you're uncertain if you want to participate in their events, and some may even open the track for the lunch hour so that observers can get a taste of track riding. Every track and organizer is a little different. Find out what equipment and what you might need to do to your bike to participate. Most will post this on their websites. There will be more than one track day organizer in your area, pretty well guaranteed.

Definitely shop around, and definitely ensure they have a good instruction program available to you for the cost of admission. You do not want to go out on the days when they let any numbskull with a bike and $100 onto the track.

 

[Torchsport]

Get your ARS training here... www.totalcontroltraining.net
Lee Parks schools.
Many dates/locations to choose from.

 

[Frank Bama]

Get your ARS training here... www.totalcontroltraining.net
Lee Parks schools.
Many dates/locations to choose from.

Muchas gracias for the link, after wrecking my bike last month I'm needing a skill/confidence booster and I think that'll work well for me.

 

[bungie4]

Get your ARS training here... www.totalcontroltraining.net
Lee Parks schools.
Many dates/locations to choose from.

Great advice, but being a n00b rider, they probably won't gain that much from the course.

I've been riding for decades and took this course last month (it's only now being offered in Canada). Great course. I learned some new skills (proper trail braking) and more importantly, realized that some basic skills I've gotten lazy with.

Scraaappe...

 

[EmptySet]

Yes this is my first bike, experience = 0! Unless you count a Ruckus lol

Maybe there is a more cost effective solution? I don't care if I'm racing, I just want a good environment to push the limits of the bike.

You're jumping the gun a little bit if you're a new rider and already thinking of hitting the track. Although it's a great goal to have in mind and you definitely can learn a lot at the track, it's something to (slowly) work toward. You need to be intimately familiar with the controls of the bike before even attending the track school. Call up any track school and tell them you're a new rider and they'll turn you away.

If you just need some place to practice, find a big, empty, preferably flat, parking lot or paved space and go at it.

 

[Nikk777]

Been racing for 3 years with a year of trackdays before that. LOVE IT!!! So addictive... It makes you a better rider and driver(car). Intimidating and scary at first but it will make you not want to ride the street as much...

 

[Frank Bama]

You're jumping the gun a little bit if you're a new rider and already thinking of hitting the track. Although it's a great goal to have in mind and you definitely can learn a lot at the track, it's something to (slowly) work toward. You need to be intimately familiar with the controls of the bike before even attending the track school. Call up any track school and tell them you're a new rider and they'll turn you away.

How much experience would someone need to no longer be considered "new"?