1st SDR track day advice

Hi Guys,

I'm doing a track day with Focused Events at Snetterton (25 mins from my house ) on Monday and this is the first time on the SDR. I did three trackdays on my old R1 last year and always went to a real effort taking off ALL of my mint bodywork, end can and trick bits that could be damaged in a crash and replace it with scabby panels and other spare bits I accumulated over the years.

I have absolutely no intention of crashing, BUT, my question is; Is there any point removing the tank side panels? It seems that they tend to get scuffed in crash. Or is it better to keep them on as will they offer the rad and oil tank some protection?

I have upper and lower crash bungs, front and rear axle sliders, and DIY Akra Evo protectors made with silicon pipe and jubilee clips.

It seems the weather may be a bit dodgy on Monday too and I am running Racetec scrubs, K2 rear and K1 front. If it gets damp or wet, any opinions if they will be ok?

I'm taking my HD GoPro so will post up a youtube vid of my exploits. Here is one I did last year on the R1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LaVqrlyADA

Racetecs in rain are very slippy.

You have all the bases covered protection wise, SD's crash well, the only reason my fairing panel was damaged is because the lock stop on one side had broken on my first crash and never realised.

Leave your panels on if I were you, any spin down the track you should be covered with damage to R&G's, if you highside at monumental speed it dont matter what you have on

Have fun

As im a master of throwing my SD down the track (4 times thus far) i can honestly say the side panels have touched down once, and the scuff is soooo small you can only notice it if i point it out to you! (P`haps ive been lucky but the offs have ranged between 15 and 80mph).

Unless you have a real good `off` then SDs are normally rebuilt in 15-20 mins and back out the next session Take a large adjustable spanner which you can use to clamp round the rearsets to bend them back out. (the frame lugs bend on impacts, nothing major though and a 2 min job to bend back out).

The Racetecs will be as good as any other DOT type race rubber, its all about heat in the damp, but dont expect much in real wet conditions! Keep smooth with throttle inputs, hang off more so you can keep the bike more upright on the fatter part of the tyre and be smooth and progressive with your braking!

Basically dont bin it in the morning when its damp/wet just to find its dry and sunny in the afternoon

Ok thanks guys, I'll leave the side panels on then. Hopefully the weather will stay dry too and I won't have to worry about my tyres.

You have a good point there Ash.
I parted company with my bike at 120MPH at Parc Algar 2 years ago. It slid for 200m before using a curb as a ramp and jumping about 6 foot in the air. The side panel that was marked was only surface scratched - and most of that was the landing in the gravel!

Riding - wise, don't trail the brakes into the corners in the wet on those tyres.

It was soaking wet on my crash, I was on full wets and fully upright when it went.

Last year I had on exactly the same K1 front and K2 rear as you. Great in the dry - not confidence inspiring in the wet at all. I came off trail braking and lost the front end. Have to agree with everyone here about sliders. Like Ash I've had four offs in the last few years and every time the sliders more or less saved all the bodywork. Only the silencers got scratched but you'll be OK with the tubes on. And also the adjustable spanner for the rearsets bracket rebending is a must!! Just do it really slow and steady and visualise the metal bending and not snapping!! Never heard of anyone snapping off a lug though.

Anyway, take it easy and don't fall of in the first place - the best option.

Thanks for your replies guys, fortunately I managed to stay upright and the weather wasn't too bad in the end, just a bit damp for the 1st two sessions.

I really enjoyed the SDR on track by the end of the day after I learnt the new Snett 300 layout and got used to riding the the bike hard. I have only really done winter/spring road miles since I brought it last September.

I booked myself into the inters, but when signing on, was asked if I wanted to go into the slow or fast group as they were pretty empty and the Inters was rammed. My friend was in the slow group so I thought I'd go easy for the first session and then change back to the inters but ended up spending the rest of the day carving past dozens of bolt-upright bikes every lap. Good for my ego

I really struggled with my braking/entry into corner when down shifting as the rear-end would move around a bit making me not want to turn-in until it sorted itself out. I also couldn't get on with the gear shift, missing gears and getting false neutrals until I sorted out the gear lever height on the rearset. Anyone else find the gear changes a bit agricultural for track use?

Anyhow, here is a short youtube vid of my feeble attempts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlKsHOY5OUo

That 'box is made of cheese. You have to be firm with upshifts, especially in the lower gears..

Some gear boxes appear to be better than others, however mine was gash like yours, I ended up with a reverse shift pattern for more positive control.

Do you blip your throttle on down shifts? It helps alot.

Glad you had a fun day video looks good.

Now you just need to book the Cadwell 2 dayer its only up the road too!