I used to club race at Riverside and Willow Springs a long time ago. I'm old, it was before track days were so common. I feel lucky I got the bug early and then got it out of my system. It changes your perspective on street riding A LOT. Before the track I was a canyon squid poser and we thought we were fast. I just laugh at that now. Anyone who hasn't been on track should do it just to see how pathetically slow 'fast' street riding is compared to track. But you have been warned- your bike and your body will not be the same if you keep going back. Your bike will get thrashed even if you don't crash. If you do, so will your body. If you never crash, you are going to slow.
Truer words have never been spoken! I just sat in my garage last week thinking most of those things. 1. Should I sell the S1k and use that money towards track days? 2. Should I drop the insurance on the 750 and S1k and just make then dedicated track bikes? 3.... You get the idea. Love your channel, thanks for all you do.
In my opinion, big bikes on fast tracks only belong to the affluent with deep pockets especially if you need to work for income. However, there's many cheap ways of trackdays: supermoto, motocross, trail-riding, mini-bikes, flat trackers, and electric unicycle racing.
@@langhamp8912 electric unicycles? I definitely agree that the big bikes dig a deep hole in the bank account. I'll have more info on that next year lol
@@JKMotoEntertainment If you want to have perfect understanding how speed wobbles work then get an electric unicycle. And those electric unicycle are reaching speeds of 60 mph+ on go kart tracks. It's cheap if crash-prone racing all in good fun.
@@ReshardsAutomotiveWorkshop wow Cota for your first track day!! That’s awesome!!!! It’s a beautiful track have fun be safe!!! Never tracked it but I’ve worked at cota for f1,moto gp and x games. The track is amazing!
I used to do trackdays with my daily commuter, and will try to take my XSR900 to Barber early next month, but I wonder if I should just not do trackdays with these big bikes that do not crash well at all. I'm thinking mini-bikes on go kart tracks, and dirt bikes/dual-sports on motocross/trail tracks instead. Speed matters in a crash. The biggest concern is injuring yourself. Even simple injuries dwarf the cost of expensive track bikes. And being injured will often prevent you from working and earning money.
The mini bikes have crossed my mind quite a bit! Definitely seems like a solid lower cost option, and you're absolutely right about the lower cost of crash on a smaller bike also!
@@JKMotoEntertainment My first street bike was a Kawasaki KR80 2-stroke; basically a cheap trainer bike before you get a 125cc permit. It looks ridiculously tiny now but when I was all of 14 that bike was intimidating as hell. There's also flat-track short-track with alcohol powered bikes (no brakes, no suspension, and not very fast) that I did very briefly in Northern California before real life intruded. How can you tell a flat-tracker? We can only do left-hand turns!
Good vid.. and contrary to what the other guy said about you moving around. I actually prefer you walking around a bit with the camera following. a 100% static background can get boring. keep it up..
I guess I'm the odd man out here. I find track days boring. I have no desire to see how fast I can go around the same couple miles of turns all day long. I much prefer riding 300 - 400 miles of twisty roads in the mountains. I've done a few dozen track days and done many of the track schools. I did three track days this year in fact: YCRS ChampSchool at NJMP and Total Control ARC at PittRace. For me, the track is a fine place to improve my skills, but it's like going to the gym to prepare for the real fun: SPORT-touring. Of course, YMMV....
@@garrysimmons111 nothing wrong with that!! I definitely prefer the opposite, and I'll add that it does change a little if you start pursuing racing. But I'll always respect differences in opinion thanks for the comment!
Then there is the other side of trackdays..... They get EXPENSIVE.. In the UK some tracks are just too expensive to do very often so you try some of the less popular tracks or ride at times when you can get a cheaper quiet day but you have done all the stuff you talked about and end up getting a pit bike on slicks and go to a kart track.... There you see some of the guys who you paid a LOT more money to go rider with on track like BSB superbike riders or a World Championship level rider and possibly a GP race winner... You are on track with these guys for 10% of the cost of a big bike trackday.. You spend money on the suspension and its 25-30% of the cost of the big bike suspension. You still get passed an lapped by the professional riders but its cost you £30-£50 to get out on track with them and you get frustrated at how slow you are on a bike that does about 45 to 55 mph on the straights and feels like crap mid corner... But the quicker guys talk to you and give you tips and then you do one session and something clicks. You have been doing trackdays or raced for years and you come off the track laughing. I mean side splitting laughter.... You end up doing 10 pit bike trackdays with no slow group or fast group, its just everyone out riding and there might ne no 20 minute sessions so you can ride all day... Your cheap pit bike gets swapped for a brand new one that costs no more than a decent set of leathers and a pair of tyres. But its brand new and you are on slicks on a race track with champions and world class riders on equal bikes for the most part. You do a whole year of this and it cost you less than 2 or 3 trackdays. If you race and still race the bigger bike you find you are lapping quicker, cornering harder and passing people much more easily.. You wonder why you didn't do it sooner then winter comes and you can still get out on the pit bike but there is also a winter race series, so you think, it is just a laugh and not serious but will break up the winter boredom... You have now been out on the pit bike once or twice a month for less than the cost of one tank of fuel in your car or truck. How do I know?? I have 3 track bikes which are all 250cc two strokes and one is an ex All Japan TTF3 race bike and not even fired one of those bikes up this year. My road bike has not seen a road, ,my little pit bike is soon to be joined by a 190cc Mini GP pit bike and I have been out on track 5 or 6 times when the weather has been good this year. I did double that last year and have ridden with Jake Dixon the MOTO 2 race winner, Ron Haslam and ex GP rider and superbike racer, John Reynolds 4 time BSB champion and about 8 or 9 current BSB riders and race winners. I have never been pushed so hard to ride quicker and ridden such a slow bike and not cared. Will I ride my gp 250's next year? Yes I will.. Bit I can say I will ride the pit bike 10 times more than any of my race bikes and know when I get to Cadwell Park or Mallory Park I will not need half a day to get up to pace and my lap times will be improving... But those big bike trackdays will be infrequent due to how expensive they have become and there will be more and more guys out on pit bikes spending a fraction of what they were and not care its a pit bike...
Trust me I have definitely been looking into the mini bikes!! It looks like just as much fun and as you mentioned, at such a smaller cost the experience is super tempting!! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
@@JKMotoEntertainment The physics of a bike doesn't change and if you push to the limit they all slide and do the same things, its just the ultimate speed is lower. The skill to do a 31 second lap of a small kart track and the skill to so a 35 or 40+ second lap is the same as any track or size of bike. I am typically fine in the fast group at a trackday ( I am old and no longer race so I don't ride every day or every week and I am not as track sharp) a friend who talks a fast lap but would be intermediate group is 3 to 4 seconds a lap slower. My friend, who is currently second in one of the classes in BSB right now and has 3 British titles to his name, is about 4 seconds quicker than me. It would be the same kind of difference if you scaled up to a bigger track and bigger bikes. How often have you thought a guy who is faster than you is only quicker because they have a faster bike or better parts on the bike? With a pit bike, you are ALL on comparable bikes so even if you swapped bikes between yourselves, the results would not change significantly. It also makes you critical of bike set up too and adjusting the bike to work as good as it can with cheap FastAce or DNM suspension or even riding around the issues using that suspension. It makes you a better rider to be honest. Go find someone with a pit bike and try it for yourself..If you were in the UK, you would have been welcome to come ride the ones I have here and pit yourself against top class BSB riders for a day.
Hii what should be the level of fitness of a rider who's have never been on a track before. And I just don't want to feel limited just because of fitness and all. Like any list of excercises you would suggest that a rider must do? And what will be the ideal weight for a 175cm guy ?
As far as exact exercises I don't have anything at the moment. This is definitely a physically demanding sport so the better shape you're in and the better your endurance is the easier it will be. As I prepare for next year (my first race season) I do intend to do some research on the best exercises focused around this sport, I will definitely put that information out once I compile the data!!
I'm 62 and started riding a year ago. I do some back and mobility exercises and a few push-ups. Not much but I do practice a lot of track techniques at slower speeds in parking lots and such. I got moved up to the intermediate group this summer and, while it's a workout, I haven't felt that fitness is holding me back. Being in shape is definitely a plus though. Strength and flexibility will help reduce injury if you go down. Simon Crafar is right though (paraphrasing): "until you get to the elite level, it's all in your head". His Motovudu series helped me immensely.
I'll have to check that out! Mobility and flexibility were going to be my top 2 priorities over this winter. As mentioned when I get some data on what helps me the most I'll put that out for sure!
Track days are always a good idea... learning the limits of your bike is the best thing you can do to be come a better rider. You truly have no idea what you're talking about. Better to lay down your bike on the track compared to on the street around other vehicles.
I appreciate you leaving a comment so TH-cam can send this video to more viewers and they can watch the video fully and understand that I am 100% promoting track days. I would recommend watching videos and listening carefully before telling people that they "have no idea what they're talking about" in the future though...
Bro what is your recommendation I’ve been track #3 and using my s1k New model should I stop doing that and buy another bike for the track only .. but I’m so comfortable to my s1k to the track the only is too scared to be fast don’t want to crash
If you're in love with the bike I'd definitely recommend buying a different one that's already a little beat and you'll be less concerned about. Even if it's a completely different model you'll find yourself comfortable on it sooner than later. It can often be good to switch up bikes actually since they all ride a little different, different models will show you different techniques.
@@BeemerBob73 editor said it could be the editing also. But just to be clear, are we talking about the pacing back and forth? Or just fidgety while standing? I appreciate the feedback and props we'll keep it going for sure!
@workingclasscustoms Just your pacing and shifting around. Take all this with a grain of salt - I just think it's an easier video to watch if you were in a fixed position...only moving around if you were focusing on a different bike. Make sense?
@@JKMotoEntertainment you heard correct. Crack and hookers would be way cheaper! The tires alone are $500 and Lasts 3 track days. Brakes 3 grand, front forks 2 to 13g. Rear suspension 2 to 6 grand. 🤯.
If you can afford to spend 10x the cost of your bike and suite etc then go for it. If not stick with street riding. Don't go broke or bankrupt yourself its not worth it
Statistics may actually argue that wrecking on the street is more common and more expensive, would be interesting to pull that data and see what it says.
OR if you want to ride on track but cannot afford all of that then get out on a kart track with a bike like an Ohvale or an Ayrton Xtrema pit bike and have a load of fun for a fraction of the cost...
After doing a Trackday the street is so boring to ride
Definitely brings a new perspective!!
@@JKMotoEntertainment I did my first 2 trackdays ever this month. I’m absolutely hooked
@@moto_guy34 well good luck moving forward!! Glad to welcome another addict to the family!
I used to club race at Riverside and Willow Springs a long time ago. I'm old, it was before track days were so common. I feel lucky I got the bug early and then got it out of my system.
It changes your perspective on street riding A LOT. Before the track I was a canyon squid poser and we thought we were fast. I just laugh at that now.
Anyone who hasn't been on track should do it just to see how pathetically slow 'fast' street riding is compared to track.
But you have been warned- your bike and your body will not be the same if you keep going back. Your bike will get thrashed even if you don't crash. If you do, so will your body. If you never crash, you are going to slow.
It is insane how slow you realize you are when you finally do a track day. Then you're sucked in and can't get out lol
True that
Title should be "This is more expensive than a Cocaine addiction 🤷♂️" just healthier.
Haha true that, healthier though? Some days I question it
Healthier? Ask your health insurance about that! LOL
I think it's often best to just talk to insurance after the fact...
@@JKMotoEntertainment absolutely hahaha
Truer words have never been spoken! I just sat in my garage last week thinking most of those things. 1. Should I sell the S1k and use that money towards track days? 2. Should I drop the insurance on the 750 and S1k and just make then dedicated track bikes? 3.... You get the idea. Love your channel, thanks for all you do.
@@502-BadGateway glad to know I'm not the only one with the issue! The race track is just a different type of addiction, it's unstoppable!!
In my opinion, big bikes on fast tracks only belong to the affluent with deep pockets especially if you need to work for income. However, there's many cheap ways of trackdays: supermoto, motocross, trail-riding, mini-bikes, flat trackers, and electric unicycle racing.
@@langhamp8912 electric unicycles? I definitely agree that the big bikes dig a deep hole in the bank account. I'll have more info on that next year lol
@@JKMotoEntertainment If you want to have perfect understanding how speed wobbles work then get an electric unicycle. And those electric unicycle are reaching speeds of 60 mph+ on go kart tracks. It's cheap if crash-prone racing all in good fun.
@@langhamp8912 lol alright then, good to know. I'll keep that one on the back of the mind for now I think
Starting track days.
COTA was my first track day.
Going to NOLA this weekend, if that hurricane stays away 🙏🏻.
I have an RSV4 also 🤘.
Hope the weather holds for you! How do you like the Aprilia?
@@ReshardsAutomotiveWorkshop wow Cota for your first track day!! That’s awesome!!!! It’s a beautiful track have fun be safe!!! Never tracked it but I’ve worked at cota for f1,moto gp and x games. The track is amazing!
@@JKMotoEntertainment I LOVE IT! This is my second RSV4. I had a 2017. Then I bought the 2021 when it came out.
@@ShaunFigueiredo-t3w Yes, COTA may have ruined every other track. LOL
@@ReshardsAutomotiveWorkshop lmao. Pittrace is really close to the level of Cota.
I used to do trackdays with my daily commuter, and will try to take my XSR900 to Barber early next month, but I wonder if I should just not do trackdays with these big bikes that do not crash well at all. I'm thinking mini-bikes on go kart tracks, and dirt bikes/dual-sports on motocross/trail tracks instead. Speed matters in a crash.
The biggest concern is injuring yourself. Even simple injuries dwarf the cost of expensive track bikes. And being injured will often prevent you from working and earning money.
The mini bikes have crossed my mind quite a bit! Definitely seems like a solid lower cost option, and you're absolutely right about the lower cost of crash on a smaller bike also!
@@JKMotoEntertainment My first street bike was a Kawasaki KR80 2-stroke; basically a cheap trainer bike before you get a 125cc permit. It looks ridiculously tiny now but when I was all of 14 that bike was intimidating as hell.
There's also flat-track short-track with alcohol powered bikes (no brakes, no suspension, and not very fast) that I did very briefly in Northern California before real life intruded. How can you tell a flat-tracker? We can only do left-hand turns!
@@langhamp8912 flat track takes some insane talent and trust in your ability to handle traction for sure!!
Too late...got my license a year ago. 10 track days this summer. Too much ain't enough!
Gotta say I'm glad to hear it!!
Good vid.. and contrary to what the other guy said about you moving around. I actually prefer you walking around a bit with the camera following. a 100% static background can get boring. keep it up..
10-4 appreciate the feedback!
I guess I'm the odd man out here. I find track days boring. I have no desire to see how fast I can go around the same couple miles of turns all day long. I much prefer riding 300 - 400 miles of twisty roads in the mountains. I've done a few dozen track days and done many of the track schools. I did three track days this year in fact: YCRS ChampSchool at NJMP and Total Control ARC at PittRace. For me, the track is a fine place to improve my skills, but it's like going to the gym to prepare for the real fun: SPORT-touring. Of course, YMMV....
@@garrysimmons111 nothing wrong with that!! I definitely prefer the opposite, and I'll add that it does change a little if you start pursuing racing. But I'll always respect differences in opinion thanks for the comment!
LOL@ the title...yes, it's an addiction, like owning a boat, the money burns fast!
The best type of addiction!!
Then there is the other side of trackdays..... They get EXPENSIVE.. In the UK some tracks are just too expensive to do very often so you try some of the less popular tracks or ride at times when you can get a cheaper quiet day but you have done all the stuff you talked about and end up getting a pit bike on slicks and go to a kart track.... There you see some of the guys who you paid a LOT more money to go rider with on track like BSB superbike riders or a World Championship level rider and possibly a GP race winner... You are on track with these guys for 10% of the cost of a big bike trackday.. You spend money on the suspension and its 25-30% of the cost of the big bike suspension. You still get passed an lapped by the professional riders but its cost you £30-£50 to get out on track with them and you get frustrated at how slow you are on a bike that does about 45 to 55 mph on the straights and feels like crap mid corner... But the quicker guys talk to you and give you tips and then you do one session and something clicks. You have been doing trackdays or raced for years and you come off the track laughing. I mean side splitting laughter.... You end up doing 10 pit bike trackdays with no slow group or fast group, its just everyone out riding and there might ne no 20 minute sessions so you can ride all day... Your cheap pit bike gets swapped for a brand new one that costs no more than a decent set of leathers and a pair of tyres. But its brand new and you are on slicks on a race track with champions and world class riders on equal bikes for the most part. You do a whole year of this and it cost you less than 2 or 3 trackdays. If you race and still race the bigger bike you find you are lapping quicker, cornering harder and passing people much more easily.. You wonder why you didn't do it sooner then winter comes and you can still get out on the pit bike but there is also a winter race series, so you think, it is just a laugh and not serious but will break up the winter boredom... You have now been out on the pit bike once or twice a month for less than the cost of one tank of fuel in your car or truck.
How do I know?? I have 3 track bikes which are all 250cc two strokes and one is an ex All Japan TTF3 race bike and not even fired one of those bikes up this year. My road bike has not seen a road, ,my little pit bike is soon to be joined by a 190cc Mini GP pit bike and I have been out on track 5 or 6 times when the weather has been good this year. I did double that last year and have ridden with Jake Dixon the MOTO 2 race winner, Ron Haslam and ex GP rider and superbike racer, John Reynolds 4 time BSB champion and about 8 or 9 current BSB riders and race winners. I have never been pushed so hard to ride quicker and ridden such a slow bike and not cared. Will I ride my gp 250's next year? Yes I will.. Bit I can say I will ride the pit bike 10 times more than any of my race bikes and know when I get to Cadwell Park or Mallory Park I will not need half a day to get up to pace and my lap times will be improving... But those big bike trackdays will be infrequent due to how expensive they have become and there will be more and more guys out on pit bikes spending a fraction of what they were and not care its a pit bike...
Trust me I have definitely been looking into the mini bikes!! It looks like just as much fun and as you mentioned, at such a smaller cost the experience is super tempting!! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
@@JKMotoEntertainment The physics of a bike doesn't change and if you push to the limit they all slide and do the same things, its just the ultimate speed is lower. The skill to do a 31 second lap of a small kart track and the skill to so a 35 or 40+ second lap is the same as any track or size of bike. I am typically fine in the fast group at a trackday ( I am old and no longer race so I don't ride every day or every week and I am not as track sharp) a friend who talks a fast lap but would be intermediate group is 3 to 4 seconds a lap slower. My friend, who is currently second in one of the classes in BSB right now and has 3 British titles to his name, is about 4 seconds quicker than me. It would be the same kind of difference if you scaled up to a bigger track and bigger bikes. How often have you thought a guy who is faster than you is only quicker because they have a faster bike or better parts on the bike? With a pit bike, you are ALL on comparable bikes so even if you swapped bikes between yourselves, the results would not change significantly. It also makes you critical of bike set up too and adjusting the bike to work as good as it can with cheap FastAce or DNM suspension or even riding around the issues using that suspension. It makes you a better rider to be honest. Go find someone with a pit bike and try it for yourself..If you were in the UK, you would have been welcome to come ride the ones I have here and pit yourself against top class BSB riders for a day.
Hii what should be the level of fitness of a rider who's have never been on a track before.
And I just don't want to feel limited just because of fitness and all.
Like any list of excercises you would suggest that a rider must do?
And what will be the ideal weight for a 175cm guy ?
As far as exact exercises I don't have anything at the moment. This is definitely a physically demanding sport so the better shape you're in and the better your endurance is the easier it will be. As I prepare for next year (my first race season) I do intend to do some research on the best exercises focused around this sport, I will definitely put that information out once I compile the data!!
@@JKMotoEntertainment thanks that would be great help
Pro riders do a lot of cycling
I'm 62 and started riding a year ago. I do some back and mobility exercises and a few push-ups. Not much but I do practice a lot of track techniques at slower speeds in parking lots and such. I got moved up to the intermediate group this summer and, while it's a workout, I haven't felt that fitness is holding me back. Being in shape is definitely a plus though. Strength and flexibility will help reduce injury if you go down. Simon Crafar is right though (paraphrasing): "until you get to the elite level, it's all in your head". His Motovudu series helped me immensely.
I'll have to check that out! Mobility and flexibility were going to be my top 2 priorities over this winter. As mentioned when I get some data on what helps me the most I'll put that out for sure!
Track days are always a good idea... learning the limits of your bike is the best thing you can do to be come a better rider. You truly have no idea what you're talking about. Better to lay down your bike on the track compared to on the street around other vehicles.
I appreciate you leaving a comment so TH-cam can send this video to more viewers and they can watch the video fully and understand that I am 100% promoting track days. I would recommend watching videos and listening carefully before telling people that they "have no idea what they're talking about" in the future though...
Get a Motard as your street weapon. They are always fun on the street.... And at the track.))) You can have your cake and eat it too.
The thoughts has definitely crossed my mind a time or two, we'll see where the future takes us.
haha, sounds like a personal problem, everything can be enjoyed in moderation ... =)
That's a good point, addictive personalities do make the moderation aspect a little more difficult at times though lol
Bro what is your recommendation I’ve been track #3 and using my s1k New model should I stop doing that and buy another bike for the track only .. but I’m so comfortable to my s1k to the track the only is too scared to be fast don’t want to crash
If you're in love with the bike I'd definitely recommend buying a different one that's already a little beat and you'll be less concerned about. Even if it's a completely different model you'll find yourself comfortable on it sooner than later. It can often be good to switch up bikes actually since they all ride a little different, different models will show you different techniques.
@@JKMotoEntertainmentthanks 💪
For sure!
Basically just clickbait. Just do your trackdays guys😁.. Go and blast in track which has safer environment that the road
Definitely a much safer environment!! Such an addictive sport, but extremely worth it IMO!
Crack-days I’m hooked
Definitely gonna start using that name!
holy cow so much talking to say so little
@@zook420000 thank you!!
I'm digging your videos but....stop fidgeting around. Duct tape your feet to the floor. Lol
@@BeemerBob73 lol I'll take that on board, afraid tape might not quite be enough though 😂😂
@@JKMotoEntertainment I get it...nervousness...but you got this sh*t cat. Just send it! :)
@@BeemerBob73 editor said it could be the editing also. But just to be clear, are we talking about the pacing back and forth? Or just fidgety while standing? I appreciate the feedback and props we'll keep it going for sure!
@workingclasscustoms Just your pacing and shifting around. Take all this with a grain of salt - I just think it's an easier video to watch if you were in a fixed position...only moving around if you were focusing on a different bike. Make sense?
Got it, I do honestly appreciate we'll work on it! Thanks again!!
One trackday and Several 10s of thousands later I’m still trying to find the bottom of the hole. 😂😂
It's like a bottomless pit, never ends from what I hear lol
@@JKMotoEntertainment you heard correct. Crack and hookers would be way cheaper! The tires alone are $500 and Lasts 3 track days. Brakes 3 grand, front forks 2 to 13g. Rear suspension 2 to 6 grand. 🤯.
If you can afford to spend 10x the cost of your bike and suite etc then go for it. If not stick with street riding. Don't go broke or bankrupt yourself its not worth it
Statistics may actually argue that wrecking on the street is more common and more expensive, would be interesting to pull that data and see what it says.
OR if you want to ride on track but cannot afford all of that then get out on a kart track with a bike like an Ohvale or an Ayrton Xtrema pit bike and have a load of fun for a fraction of the cost...
@@YAMR1M true that!