Track Day preparation Class Sunday April 21, Presented by MARS

Track Day preparation Class Sunday April 21, Presented by MARS (Motorcycle Awareness and Rider safety)

Details below:

Track Days are about as much fun as you can have on two wheels. You get to go as fast as you want, no cross traffic, animals crossing the roads and no police pointing the radar gun your way. It is also the safest way to get your adrenaline fix. You’ve seen all the posts on the board about all the great track days coming up but are not sure if you are ready or can afford it.
MARS is going to show you the easiest, most cost effective ways to get ready for a track day. Even if you never intend to hit the track, there is tons of information that will help you be a safer more confident rider. Take a look at the agenda!

MARS
Motorcycle Awareness and Rider Safety
Track Day Preparation Agenda
Sunday March 21, 2010 9am to 5pm
Las Vegas Dyno Tech
6947 Speedway Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89115-1729 – (702) 644-9412

1. Introductions
2. Why should you do a track day: The advantages of getting your adrenaline rush on the track and not the street. We are working on getting a representative from Tracktactics will be on hand to answer questions and tell you how you can do a track day, with a school for only $45.00
3. What gear do you need to get on the track? This covers the basics of what gear is required. Do you need all new gear or can you add a few pieces to be compliant. We will show different types of gear that are sufficient for a level 1 track day. Greg from Cycle Gear on Pecos will be showing you some very affordable track ready gear.
4. Physical Preparation: This will cover what types of exercises you can do to reduce fatigue, stretching and proper food and drinks.
5. Motorcycle Preparation Basic: How do you make your bike “track Ready”?
6. Bike Prep: We will actual show each attendee how to prep their bike. They will prep the bikes on location.
7. Generic flag and track rules.
8. Body positioning; we have Lee Parks, World Renowned Riding instructor and author of the book Total Control, to instruct you on the proper body positioning.
9. Suspension Setup: Matt Wiley, Operations Director of Race Tech will be on hand to teach you the fine art of suspension tuning. Each person will, with assistance, set up their own suspension.
10. Q and A
11. Wrap up…go home

Lee Parks of Total Control Training at previous MARS Events

Each vendor will be giving each attendee discount coupons as well as a few free goodies to take home with them at the end of the day. The discounts alone will more than pay for the entire day.
Cost per person is $50.00 which includes snacks and drinks throughout the day as well a complimentary lunch. The only way we are able to do this program this cheap is through the generosity of the vendors. We hope that you will come out and spend the day with us, get some great information as well as help support MARS.

How do you pay? E-mail me at info@cycleawareness.com and I can send you a paypal invoice. You can also pay cash the day of, but please make sure to RSVP either way so we can get a head count.
Please e-mail me with any questions

Pat Harris
Motorcycle Awareness and Rider Safety

http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h268/vegasvideo/MARS/?action=view&current=d1d7e468.pbw

A Hyosung GT650 + Bridgestone BT003 tires + Koso Gauges, + Race Tech Suspension and Willow Spring Raceway = Fun!

A Hyosung GT650 + Bridgestone BT003 tires + Koso Gauges, + Race Tech Suspension and Willow Spring Raceway = Fun!

The Big track out at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Ca seems the least likely place you would take the 65hp Hyosung GT650 out for a test. It is a very high speed track best suited for high horsepower liter bikes, not a mid size v-twin. I guess that’s why we did it.

This is no normal Korean V-twin. This Hyosung has had some nice upgrades to help it around the track. No, we didn’t put a big bore kit in it, higher compression pistons or any of that. In fact, the only work done to the motor was a slip on exhaust and re-jetting the carbs. The upgrades we did are the important ones…the suspension.

A Shocking Story!

To say the stock suspension didn’t work well would be an understatement. The bike was sprung for a 120lb rider (I am well over twice that). The front forks had almost no damping, giving the front end that bouncy ’72 Lincoln feeling. The rear shock was even worse but in the opposite direction. It was so over damped, you could time, on hour hand, how long it took to return to its upright and seated position. The only solution was to head out to Race Tech in Corona, Ca for some help.

The front forks use mid 90s Honda style cartridges, so they were an easy fix. The springs and G2R Gold Valves were an off the shelf part. The rear shock…not so easy! The OEM rear is a non rebuildable unit that works better as a paper weight than a suspension component. So what to do?

The rear shock that lives on the Hyo now is a 100% custom shock built specifically for this bike. It is one of their new G3-S shocks. I was lucky enough to get the first one ever to see a Hyosung. All I can say is “WOW what a difference!” I will be doing a full story on the upgrades later. For now, just know that the Race Tech Suspension upgrades are what allowed the bike to perform as well as it did. I am a firm believer that the suspension is the biggest single improvement you can make to a bike. It sure proved out here!

Better Gauges!

Anyone who has ever ridden a GT650R/S knows how bad the gauges are. You can hardly read them in the day time. Any direct sunlight and you can forget about telling how fast you are going or how much fuel you have. This is another area that needed some attention.

I happened upon an ad for KOSO custom gauges. They looked nice enough and seemed to have all the bells and whistles you could ever want. They were also only about $350.00. I pulled the trigger and ordered a set.

They were a pretty straight forward installation. There are lots of optional sensors that can be connected to the gauge set as well. Everything was easy to read and they mounted rock solid. Just compare the track video with the Utah ZX10 video to see the difference. I have been very happy with the swap and would use the KOSO gauges again.

Rubber Time!

Willow Springs is a very fast, very abrasive track. It can chew up a tire pretty quick. You spend a lot of time leaned over to the right at Big Willow. You also reach some pretty high speeds. Because of this we wanted some very sticky street tires that wouldn’t break the bank. We decided on the BT003Rs.

I was very impressed with how consistent the tires were. They are a multi compound tire, but you never really noticed any real transitions in the tire. The grip was great on the high speed sections as well as the technical portions of the track. They did get a bit shredded, but then again, every tire does at big Willow.

These are great track day tires. I don’t know that I would run them on the street though. I don’t think you would get much mileage out of them. They are definitely more track oriented.

Fun, Fun, Fun on the Hyosung!

Overall, the Hyosung performed incredibly well. We went around a lot of shocked people on far more expensive bikes. I think that was what made it so much fun to ride. You would have a guy go past you on the straight going 40+mph faster, only to pass him on the very next turn.

The suspension handled the bumpy track and just asked for more! It never gave us the feeling that it was out of or on the edge of control. It stayed planted and confidence inspiring. This bike is FUN!

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