Until 3 weeks ago, I was a goldwing rider so my riding skills had all but disappeared since my 20s & 30s. Since it was first introduced in '03, I've been borderline obsessed with the FJR. Since I got mine a few weeks back, I've been able to happily tool-around and have a ball in the curves but I did not feel as though I was master over my new ride. Generous chicken strips were my cue that a day at the track was a must-do
No snickering from the knee-dragger gallery SVP. This is the 'before' picture
The day / event:
It wasn't really a track day, perse. We signed-up for the sport-riding course at mecaglisse an hour and a half north of MTL click. The reason for the course instead of regular tracktime is simple: The track time is structured, stringently officiated and there's no passing unless you're blue-flagged to let a faster rider go by. Instructors signal people to ride in front & behind them to assess participants so they can be broken into groups of slower & faster riders*. This, in the goal of theoretically keeping the noobs from taking out anyone but themselves.
Case in point: The track sessions later in the day were more wide-open, and that's when all the spills started happening (which was when I called it a day).
Luckily, the grid was very small so we got way more track time than expected. It consisted of: 2 CBR125s, a Ducati monster, a really cool-looking Buell something-or-other, 4 R6s of various gens, my buddys' '07 BMW R1200s, my naked FJR and the instructors rode uber-cool little supermotos.
* and me on my big fat FJR were in the fast pack for the morning sessions.
It took little time to reach the edge of regular riding and to need to start hanging off the seat and try & stand her up a little more. In the afternoon, I toned it down, since I accomplished what I set out to do and didn't want to risk blemishes on my new toy. In that one hour (roughly), I scuffed-up both footpegs over & over, lost the chicken strips and was at the point where I'd really need to start hanging-off the side aggressively to go faster...... and the conservative switch got turned back on, lol. Mission accomplished so as of then, I just enjoyed the track time.
The track:
it's a tight-tight-tight supermoto track, not a screamer. We were warned that it's definitely not a track that favors a heavier bike and that your engine means squat (well....). The clincher though, is that the pavement is billiard table-smooth over the ENTIRE track. You couldn't hope for a better riding surface.
For fun-factor, I give it a 10. All kinds of changes in elevation, including what turned out to be my favorite: this tight, off-camber downhill left, on which much to my surprise, I'd often feel a little complaint from my left peg! Prior to track day, since I got the Feej, I was inexplicably stressed-out on downhill lefts, which was a factor in deciding I needed to get in some safe track time. (remember: I've ridden nothing but an Aspencade for years)
Considering the overall low-speeds, my buddy whose ridden here before said "leave it in 3rd and you'll have a ball". While the younger crowd on their smaller bikes were screaming around & smashing the gearboxes, the 2 of us on our bigger bikes (and especially me with the FJRs torque) had a ball, while giving our engines & clutches the day-off.
The back straight is called "la banane" (the banana, for you REALLY french-challenged FJR riders) here, because it's more of a constantly-changing-radius sweeper. Instructors told us that pros will hit 170+kms. I never got over 140 (90mph) so 3rd gear worked well everywhere. (coming off a goldwing, God, do I LOVE the FJRs motor!!!!)
A couple of comments on the course itself: Excellent instructors who are very vigilant. It's all very non-macho and at the beginning of the day, you're warned that idiots will be summarily expelled. The main guy is from France so he has the real Parisian accent. I had to choke-back the snickering each time he'd switch to english and say it's time to 'folodeleadaiiir"
Prepping:
On top of the traditional removal of mirrors, turn signals, taping-up all lights etc..., the windshield needed to come off to get the feej in the van. Luckily, they don't require any safety-wiring.
I went a little beyond the requirements and also stripped-off the fairing lowers, to soften the blow ($$$) in the event of a low-side. I don't even have a tank protector so I also liberally taped-up the gas tank. It looks ridiculous / cool at the same time, imho.
The instructors came around and told me to deflate the tires to 32lbs and they were also nice enough to help me set-up my suspension properly! You were right R1Byker - thanks for the tip!
With soft-compound pirellis, my buddy Steve's big R1200s was amazingly, king of that little track all day (supermoto-riding instructors notwithstanding). I guess it didn't hurt that he's the best / most steady rider I've ever known.
With the lame-o maxxis rubber that was on my bike when I bought it (and just getting used to the FJR), I just had to resolve myself to being where I am here.... behind Steve
The red R6 in front here was a younger guy who was cutting his teeth so he frequently clogged-up traffic. It's kind of cool to see my touring bike being followed by a supermoto, a Ducati Monster and another R6 bringing up the rear. Talk about mixing it up! If there were a vespa in there and maybe an old pan-head with ape-hangers, this pic would be worth framing.
NB: the black duck in this pic ditched mid-afternoon. This is the guy who rode to the track and had no way of getting 1.5 hrs back to Mtl so I un-taped my lights and rode home on an illegal bike so he could put his wounded duck in the van (good thing I left my rear fender / plate holder on). They followed close behind me in the van, in case the cops did pull me over. They'd have to be mega-pricks to ticket me in such a case.
The R6 had us so far off-pace that I was actually looking at photographer here (my bad).
Ah yes, buddy with the Buell, heh heh.
I loved this guy, as he was the entertainment. Not to laugh at other peoples' misfortunes but "more money than brains" is what came to mind when I saw this guy ride. He was always riding on the edge (not particularly well) and he ditched not once but TWICE. First time, he was away for an hour jerry-rigging something to replace his busted shifter. In addition, the first crash trashed his fairing and a lot of other cosmetic stuff. But he came back and apparently didn't learn because he high-sided and this time, he wasn't riding away. Luckily, only his bike and ego were damaged.
And here I am again, behind Junior on his R6. I didn't mind.. just needed to keep a safe distance and he still rode that little R6 fast enough for it to be fun.
best part of the day: Each time I came to la banane behind one of these guys (remember, no passing allowed, unless flagged), buddy would downshift and scream-away best he could of course. Point is: while I didn't actually pass them, staying X feet back from him was always a matter of holding back on twisting my wrist..... and I've been in 3rd gear the whole lap. Yeah, I probably had a lot more steam coming onto la banane then they did but still - what a motor.
Here I am all by my lonesome with the footpeg and fuel overflow tube dragging along. At this point, I still wasn't hanging off the side balls-out.
Notice the distance and elevation difference between the left turn behind me and the right turn I'm approaching. See what I mean about tight & twisty? What a great fun track.
The previous day, I couldn't have ridden this way confidently, as can be seen by comparing the before & after shots of my chicken strips. I don't intend to ride near the edge of my tires from now on. I just needed to be ABLE to, in the event I find myself in a pickle. I am now a safer rider as a result.
All in all, that was the smartest (and most fun) money I could have spent, taking a refresher course and getting in some "sensible" track time on a safe track. I put "sensible" in parentheses because I stopped mid afternoon, when many of the riders started to believe they were ready for Laguna Seca and the crashes started. I didn't feel safe anymore, tooling around at my desired pace and didn't want to be the replacement-clog for the kid on the red R6.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Ride safe everyone.
No snickering from the knee-dragger gallery SVP. This is the 'before' picture
The day / event:
It wasn't really a track day, perse. We signed-up for the sport-riding course at mecaglisse an hour and a half north of MTL click. The reason for the course instead of regular tracktime is simple: The track time is structured, stringently officiated and there's no passing unless you're blue-flagged to let a faster rider go by. Instructors signal people to ride in front & behind them to assess participants so they can be broken into groups of slower & faster riders*. This, in the goal of theoretically keeping the noobs from taking out anyone but themselves.
Case in point: The track sessions later in the day were more wide-open, and that's when all the spills started happening (which was when I called it a day).
Luckily, the grid was very small so we got way more track time than expected. It consisted of: 2 CBR125s, a Ducati monster, a really cool-looking Buell something-or-other, 4 R6s of various gens, my buddys' '07 BMW R1200s, my naked FJR and the instructors rode uber-cool little supermotos.
* and me on my big fat FJR were in the fast pack for the morning sessions.
It took little time to reach the edge of regular riding and to need to start hanging off the seat and try & stand her up a little more. In the afternoon, I toned it down, since I accomplished what I set out to do and didn't want to risk blemishes on my new toy. In that one hour (roughly), I scuffed-up both footpegs over & over, lost the chicken strips and was at the point where I'd really need to start hanging-off the side aggressively to go faster...... and the conservative switch got turned back on, lol. Mission accomplished so as of then, I just enjoyed the track time.
The track:
it's a tight-tight-tight supermoto track, not a screamer. We were warned that it's definitely not a track that favors a heavier bike and that your engine means squat (well....). The clincher though, is that the pavement is billiard table-smooth over the ENTIRE track. You couldn't hope for a better riding surface.
For fun-factor, I give it a 10. All kinds of changes in elevation, including what turned out to be my favorite: this tight, off-camber downhill left, on which much to my surprise, I'd often feel a little complaint from my left peg! Prior to track day, since I got the Feej, I was inexplicably stressed-out on downhill lefts, which was a factor in deciding I needed to get in some safe track time. (remember: I've ridden nothing but an Aspencade for years)
Considering the overall low-speeds, my buddy whose ridden here before said "leave it in 3rd and you'll have a ball". While the younger crowd on their smaller bikes were screaming around & smashing the gearboxes, the 2 of us on our bigger bikes (and especially me with the FJRs torque) had a ball, while giving our engines & clutches the day-off.
The back straight is called "la banane" (the banana, for you REALLY french-challenged FJR riders) here, because it's more of a constantly-changing-radius sweeper. Instructors told us that pros will hit 170+kms. I never got over 140 (90mph) so 3rd gear worked well everywhere. (coming off a goldwing, God, do I LOVE the FJRs motor!!!!)
A couple of comments on the course itself: Excellent instructors who are very vigilant. It's all very non-macho and at the beginning of the day, you're warned that idiots will be summarily expelled. The main guy is from France so he has the real Parisian accent. I had to choke-back the snickering each time he'd switch to english and say it's time to 'folodeleadaiiir"
Prepping:
On top of the traditional removal of mirrors, turn signals, taping-up all lights etc..., the windshield needed to come off to get the feej in the van. Luckily, they don't require any safety-wiring.
I went a little beyond the requirements and also stripped-off the fairing lowers, to soften the blow ($$$) in the event of a low-side. I don't even have a tank protector so I also liberally taped-up the gas tank. It looks ridiculous / cool at the same time, imho.
The instructors came around and told me to deflate the tires to 32lbs and they were also nice enough to help me set-up my suspension properly! You were right R1Byker - thanks for the tip!
With soft-compound pirellis, my buddy Steve's big R1200s was amazingly, king of that little track all day (supermoto-riding instructors notwithstanding). I guess it didn't hurt that he's the best / most steady rider I've ever known.
With the lame-o maxxis rubber that was on my bike when I bought it (and just getting used to the FJR), I just had to resolve myself to being where I am here.... behind Steve
The red R6 in front here was a younger guy who was cutting his teeth so he frequently clogged-up traffic. It's kind of cool to see my touring bike being followed by a supermoto, a Ducati Monster and another R6 bringing up the rear. Talk about mixing it up! If there were a vespa in there and maybe an old pan-head with ape-hangers, this pic would be worth framing.
NB: the black duck in this pic ditched mid-afternoon. This is the guy who rode to the track and had no way of getting 1.5 hrs back to Mtl so I un-taped my lights and rode home on an illegal bike so he could put his wounded duck in the van (good thing I left my rear fender / plate holder on). They followed close behind me in the van, in case the cops did pull me over. They'd have to be mega-pricks to ticket me in such a case.
The R6 had us so far off-pace that I was actually looking at photographer here (my bad).
Ah yes, buddy with the Buell, heh heh.
I loved this guy, as he was the entertainment. Not to laugh at other peoples' misfortunes but "more money than brains" is what came to mind when I saw this guy ride. He was always riding on the edge (not particularly well) and he ditched not once but TWICE. First time, he was away for an hour jerry-rigging something to replace his busted shifter. In addition, the first crash trashed his fairing and a lot of other cosmetic stuff. But he came back and apparently didn't learn because he high-sided and this time, he wasn't riding away. Luckily, only his bike and ego were damaged.
And here I am again, behind Junior on his R6. I didn't mind.. just needed to keep a safe distance and he still rode that little R6 fast enough for it to be fun.
best part of the day: Each time I came to la banane behind one of these guys (remember, no passing allowed, unless flagged), buddy would downshift and scream-away best he could of course. Point is: while I didn't actually pass them, staying X feet back from him was always a matter of holding back on twisting my wrist..... and I've been in 3rd gear the whole lap. Yeah, I probably had a lot more steam coming onto la banane then they did but still - what a motor.
Here I am all by my lonesome with the footpeg and fuel overflow tube dragging along. At this point, I still wasn't hanging off the side balls-out.
Notice the distance and elevation difference between the left turn behind me and the right turn I'm approaching. See what I mean about tight & twisty? What a great fun track.
The previous day, I couldn't have ridden this way confidently, as can be seen by comparing the before & after shots of my chicken strips. I don't intend to ride near the edge of my tires from now on. I just needed to be ABLE to, in the event I find myself in a pickle. I am now a safer rider as a result.
All in all, that was the smartest (and most fun) money I could have spent, taking a refresher course and getting in some "sensible" track time on a safe track. I put "sensible" in parentheses because I stopped mid afternoon, when many of the riders started to believe they were ready for Laguna Seca and the crashes started. I didn't feel safe anymore, tooling around at my desired pace and didn't want to be the replacement-clog for the kid on the red R6.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Ride safe everyone.
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