And here's a pic:

 

What were your lap times and what is the average lap time for a 600 and or a 1000?

Which group did you ride the H-D in?

At what track?

 

Bet you were the envy of your peers at the track.

 

I have no idea about lap times - I wasn't worried about them.

I took the Novice class from the 2-Fast school and track day outfit a the The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, WA.

They divide the riders into three groups: 100 Relaxed, 200 Intermediate, and 300 Expert. As Novice school riders we were in the 100 group and wore blue jerseys in order to be readily identifiable as school students. Instructors and marshals also wore colored jerseys.

 

I was a minor celebrity because I was the only non-crotch rocket rider on the track that day. Sample quotes:

Random woman, "I just have to say that I think it's F'G AWESOME that you're out here on your Sportster!"

Two track workers walking by, "You having fun? Because we're sure having fun watching you go by."

 

That's fantastic. Around here the schools have stopped taking cruisers during schools that have crotch rockets due to liability concerns. They're not currently offering classes for cruiser only (even though learning the same functions).

I've always been told that a day on the track with a reputable program is worth months of training. did you learn anything new?

 

Where is there a track day near you?

 

I have the same questions. It's pretty impressive to do a track day on Sportster. Don't take this otherwise but unless it is a pretty hopped up bike and you are racing with H-Ds, you will basically be slowing down other sports bikes.

I contemplated doing the track day on my Sporty but then eventually picked up an FZ6 for this. Best of both worlds ... Sportster wins for street riding and things like poker runs and FZ6 gets the track days. It's a tie for twisties in BRP mountains though ...

 

I don't believe I was slowing anyone down.

I was on the slowest bike, certainly, but I was in the 100 level "Relaxed" (their title) run group, and I actually passed quite a number of other riders. I got passed a lot more, of course, but some of those were instructors and track marshals.

The track day/school provider, 2Fast, is very good about not over-selling their dates and loading the track with too many bikes, so there was plenty of opportunity to go around me. Also, their corner workers and on track marshals keep an eye on things, and if a bike is too fast, or too slow, for any group, they will move that rider up or down the three groups as required.

For the 100 group passing is allowed on the straights or outside only on turns. By apexing reasonably close I thereby left lots of room for passing on the outside of curves, and I just held a steady course down the straights to let the others pass on either side as they pleased. Again, I don't think I was a rolling road block of any kind.

I learned a ton in the classroom and on the track. Some bullet points:

• It would be insane to run like that on the street. If anything, I'll probably slow down some on the street after the track day.

• My personal lean limit is when the pegs start to scrape. The bike still gripped well and was predictable at that angle, but I was not going to find out how far the pegs could pivot up before the low side occurred.

• I do think it's improved my skills as a rider, so that on the street at a given speed I'll be riding at a lower % of my ability than before, and thus have more margin. That's the biggest reason I attended (and took the school).

• I want to do it again. Most likely on my Sportster, but my wife caught me looking at track bikes on craigslist...... :/

 

I bet you would've been passed less, if you had taken the reflectors off.
What the Hell? A shitty day at the track beats the pants off a good day at work. Good for you, 21" front tire, and all. I applaud you. Seriously.
Looks like fun, times two.