Track-Day Bike Prep

In your first year of track-day riding, don’t go crazy with extensive bike modifications. The cash spent for major tweaks at this stage of the game could be better put into simple bike prep, track days and riding instruction. Once you can outride the capabilities of your safe, well-prepared bike, further tuning can be investigated—but not a lap sooner!

Before signing up for your first track day, study the technical requirements of the clubs with which you’ll ride. At first, a well maintained bike with good tires, mirrors removed and all lights taped up is usually all it takes. Generally, as track riders progressively go faster, they are required to take further steps to keep vital fluids in their bikes’ engines and various fasteners from unfastening.

NOVICE-LEVEL PREP

Clean Bill of Health
Start with a clean bike that’s had a recent engine oil and filter change, brake fluid refreshing, good brake pads, well-lubricated cables, a thorough fastener torque check (the motor’s oil drain plug and filler cap are of particular importance), properly adjusted steering head bearings and swingarm bushings.

Skins
In addition to the common-sense suggestions above, competent track-day-capable tires are a good idea. The modern street skins that come from the factory on late-model sportbikes are sufficient for beginning track-day riders, but purpose-built street/track tires such as Michelin’s Power Pures were designed for quick warm up, provide good grip and amazing longevity. On the Kawasaki ZX-6R shown here, its original OEM-supplied Bridgestone BT-016s safely went 800 miles; Power Pures did twice that distance before being replaced with stickier rubber.

Tape It Up
Painter’s tape or duct tape—in matching colors, of course—should be used to cover the headlight, taillight, turn signal lenses and reflectors, so they don’t shatter if they come in contact with the racetrack, necessitating lengthy cleanup and hence, less track time for all. Unplug lights or pull fuses so lights are off as the tape can melt onto light housing from bulb heat. Remember to replace fuses after the track day. Duct tape should also be affixed over the wheel weights to keep them from flying off at speed.

Schooling
The first bit of schooling every rider must attend is a rider’s meeting. This is where you’ll learn about the club’s paddock rules, track egress and ingress, flag procedures and other important information. Get close to the speaker and pay attention!

Many track-day organizations have mandatory new-rider courses for first-timers (or riders returning after a long period of time). In a classroom and out on the track, these sessions will help you learn the track’s lines and, at some clubs, receive one-on-one instruction. They are a very worthwhile track-day bonus.

Intermediate-Level Prep
Building upon the basics, for dedicated track-day addicts who do five to 10 days per year and/or whose skills have moved up the ladder to intermediate—and beyond—a good mid-level prep is suggested.

Lighten Up
After making sure your machine is safe, clean and healthy, you may want to remove the 20 or so pounds of unnecessary hardware hung all over the motorcycle. You can get rid of lighting equipment, horn, mirrors, side and center stands, grab rails and anything else that is unnecessary to the mission. Note: be careful when removing the “curb feelers” (extensions) on the bottom of the footpegs; if you’re running a stock exhaust, check to make sure that you won’t grind major hard parts such as the exhaust before the footpeg touches down, otherwise you may end up levering the rear wheel off the ground without warning.

Drill and Wire
Safety wire is the best way to ensure that important bolts and hardware stay fastened. Safety wire is .025–.032-inch malleable steel wire that is used to prevent fasteners from loosening; this keeps oil and coolant in the motor, as well as brakes calipers, axles and exhaust pipes and other tackle from abandoning ship mid-session. The various fasteners are anchored to a stationary point on the motorcycle or other bolts; when done properly, the wire should be pulling the fasteners tight and preventing them from somehow working loose.

But, before fasteners can be wired, they must be drilled to accept the wire. This can be done (with great care) using a hand-held drill, but is best accomplished with a drill press. A brilliantly simple, but more expensive route is to buy pre-drilled bolts in steel, aluminum or even titanium. For this project, Pro Bolt (www.probolt-usa.com) supplied a bunch of lightweight titanium fasteners ($5.61-$14.02 each).

Safety wiring is one of the most important (and sometimes frustrating) tasks you need to do with a track-day bike. Drilling the fasteners for safety wiring is best done on a drill press, although you buy pre-drilled fasteners as well. Many riders use safety clips for the larger fasteners, which is not only easier and quicker to remove/install, but also negates having to rewire the fastener each time it’s removed.