First crash EVER, in ~26 years of riding

Really sorry to hear about your off Eric, but pleased you're OK. Hope you can pick up the parts for a reasonable price and back on the track in no time :thumbup:
 
Now you have a reason to get Woodcraft case covers. They have a nifty replaceable slider. They also don't crack.


Remember to build speed throughout the entire day. Start easy and wake up the brain and body first.
 
Now you've got it out of the way and know what it feels like. Glad you're ok. Good advice from Hellgate - the Woodcraft case savers are great and the pads on the edge are replaceable. Also, good advice on starting slow. Body\mind is cold, track is cold, and tires,etc. need a little time to come in - the mental side and the physical side.

A few years ago I sold my SV race bike to a friend of a friend who went out and crashed on the first lap the first 3 times he rode it. I'm guessing he was wanting to set pole early so he could relax the rest of the 'track day' ;)
 
MG-242 said:
Now you've got it out of the way and know what it feels like. Glad you're ok. Good advice from Hellgate - the Woodcraft case savers are great and the pads on the edge are replaceable. Also, good advice on starting slow. Body\mind is cold, track is cold, and tires,etc. need a little time to come in - the mental side and the physical side.

A few years ago I sold my SV race bike to a friend of a friend who went out and crashed on the first lap the first 3 times he rode it. I'm guessing he was wanting to set pole early so he could relax the rest of the 'track day' ;)
Click to expand...

LMAO @ setting pole early! Yeah, I'm hoping I can learn from this mistake and do all my future track riding with a smarter approach.

Yes, definitely getting Woodcraft cover. Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice! :thumbup:
 
As the day goes on rubber is laid down on the track surface and increases throughout the day.

I like to use the school line in the morning then after lunch, once every one had crashed out ;), play with lines and explore the track.

Sessions 1 and 2 typically have the most crashes.

See, now you can buy the body kit. Armour Bodies are very nice and crash well. I like the professional kit with the kevlar fabric at the mounting points. They flex more than they crack.

Good luck!
 
Glad you walked away ok! Definitely the most important part. If you can learn from the mistake, then all isn't bad.

+1 on upgrading case covers! I hope you didn't leak anything slippery onto the track...

I wasn't going to admit this to anyone, but hopefully it makes you feel better...I also low-sided this weekend at the track for the first time in years. Luckily it was the last lap so I discretely picked it up and went on my merry way...having a well setup track/race bike makes it easy to crash and go lol :spank:
 
Hellgate said:
As the day goes on rubber is laid down on the track surface and increases throughout the day.

I like to use the school line in the morning then after lunch, once every one had crashed out ;), play with lines and explore the track.

Sessions 1 and 2 typically have the most crashes.

See, now you can buy the body kit. Armour Bodies are very nice and crash well. I like the professional kit with the kevlar fabric at the mounting points. They flex more than they crack.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

All excellent points, Pete. I would likely not have crashed if I kept those things in mind. I'm pretty sure part of why I hit what felt like ice was because I took a line no one else has taken yet.

The other big mistake: I'm running Q3s and at 30, they're still melting, so I talked to Dunlop and they said starting cold pressure should be 32/32. While they may work well at 32 when the track is warm and clean, for 1st session I'm thinking it would be wiser to stick to lower pressure and sacrifice a bit of tire life. This was my 1st time trying them at 32.

Still not ready for track plastics (as much as I'd like to put those on). My OEM stuff held up amazingly well.. just scuffed up, but not a single crack.

P.S. replacement gloves and Woodcraft cover ordered :thumbup:
My wallet has never been lighter!
 
OneCheekRider said:
Glad you walked away ok! Definitely the most important part. If you can learn from the mistake, then all isn't bad.

+1 on upgrading case covers! I hope you didn't leak anything slippery onto the track...

I wasn't going to admit this to anyone, but hopefully it makes you feel better...I also low-sided this weekend at the track for the first time in years. Luckily it was the last lap so I discretely picked it up and went on my merry way...having a well setup track/race bike makes it easy to crash and go lol :spank:
Click to expand...

I'm fairly certain I did not leak onto the track.. the bike was off in the grass very soon after going down and it wasn't exactly Niagara-sized leak.. more like one drop every 5 seconds. I DID see another rider lowside in the same corner as I was pushing my bike to the tire wall :(

Would have been so nice to be able to just re-start and jump right back on.

Sorry you went off.. I'm guessing no injuries/serious bike damage?
 
Glad you're okay! You can replace all the damaged stuff. Push your limits on the track and keep that positive attitude when you attack that turn Sept 1st!!
 
I've personally have never done a track day. Reason being, a forum member strongly suggested that since my bike is my only ride, it's best that I wait until I have a dedicated bike for the track or a 2nd street bike.

Of all the track day threads, Pete's suggestion of starting out slow, mentally and physically for various reasons which made great sense was the first of it's kind that I could recall on any forum. Great advice which I will remember when I hit the track for the first time.
 
VEGASRIDER said:
I've personally have never done a track day. Reason being, a forum member strongly suggested that since my bike is my only ride, it's best that I wait until I have a dedicated bike for the track or a 2nd street bike.

Of all the track day threads, Pete's suggestion of starting out slow, mentally and physically for various reasons which made great sense was the first of it's kind that I could recall on any forum. Great advice which I will remember when I hit the track for the first time.
Click to expand...

Yup, Pete's track advice is spot-on and yeah, probably not the best idea to do your first track day on your primary mode of transportation.

I know it's expensive, but have you thought about doing California Superbike School? It's a very safe way to start.. you will learn loads and you get to do it on their BMW S1000RR.
 
Erci said:
Yeah, crashing is humbling. Walking away from it uninjured and without bike damage is priceless though!
Click to expand...

That's it in a nutshell. You have answered your internal question of what a low side might be like and at a pretty good rate of speed I might add. Glad your ok, however, you may gotten a little sore when your body gets control of your mind a day or two later. :eek:
 
kenh said:
That's it in a nutshell. You have answered your internal question of what a low side might be like and at a pretty good rate of speed I might add. Glad your ok, however, you may gotten a little sore when your body gets control of your mind a day or two later. :eek:
Click to expand...

Nope, zero pain! I'm still shocked how I walked away 100% unscathed from that one :rockon:

Swapped out tires, yesterday.. while I was doing that I noticed fork was twisted :(

So I fixed that this morning (before work). Should have it ready to go by next one (Sept 1st).
 
I had my first crash in T3 at Thunderbolt last year... and my second crash yesterday in T4 at Thompson. No injuries or real damage on either.

Did you listen to everybody and get track plastics yet for that bike?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ssky0078
The Story of My First Crash 12-2-2012
2 3
Replies
48
Views
5K
Ssky0078
Ssky0078
E
My first track day
2
Replies
25
Views
5K
elrusoloco
E
Back
Top