First Track Day: A Success Story

I had a ton of fun, the bike had no problems, and I didn't fall or get hurt. So needless to say, it was an awesome day. I have to stop smiling before my teeth fall out. We went to Fuji Speedway's Kart Course, a small but fun course that's shared with go-karts. Here's the recap.

Met at Uehara's place in Isehara at 8am. Then took the tollway to Gotemba.

Ready, Set, Go to Fuji Speedway

We arrived at 9am, stopped to buy some food and get gas.

Entrance to Fuji Speedway was ¥1,000. A full day at the kart course costs ¥3,000 and lasts from 10am-5pm.

There was no safety inspection, but we were required to tape all glass/plastic parts in case of an accident.

All set (the bike that is)

 The weather was amazing, and the view was awesome. Got quite a sunburn as the day progressed.

Mt. Fuji watching over the action

Around 11am my friend Sam from Yamanashi showed up. He brought his Ninja 600, and his friend Keith rode a Ninja 250R.

The gang (from left to right):
Me, Taka, Keith, Sam, Uehara

During final checks I noticed that my tire... was on backwards! Another reason you should do work yourself, and not trust a shop to do it. Here's a vid of us getting ready and me flipping my wheel around:

Time to hit the track! I warmed up on the short course (even shorter than the kart course). Sam snapped some pics of me, you can see as I tried to get lower on each lap through this corner.

Too high!

Getting lower

And lower

and lower...

touchdown!

Once I got my knee down, I hit the kart course and was dragging through almost every corner. Extremely fun!

Sam snapping pics of his first time touching knee

tired, but it was too fun to rest

Later on, Keith low-sided two corners from the straight. He was pretty smooth throughout the day so it was a bit surprising. Taka also low-sided on his r6. Both riders were fine, but fairings were scratched.

Assessing the damage to the shifter assembly

"blaaaa, you should have gotten frame sliders"

Here's a video I captured of Keith's low-side.  Skip to 55s for the crash:

Here's a video of Sam showing good form on his Kawasaki ZX636:

Here are some shots of me on the main kart course. As you can see I need to work on my form. I think I should try and be less rigid and hunch over the tank more. Also, I'll try and carry more speed through the corners as I was a bit sluggish. But, I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Here's a video (long) of me warming up on the short course, then hitting the kart course. Sam was kind enough to lend me his GoPro. Awesome camera, think I might pick one up. It was drizzling, and I stopped a few times to check out my front wheel as it was wobbling, yeeks. Time to get a new one. Anyway, skip to the end for the (faster) stuff:

The NSR held up extremely well. A lot of the course was in 1st gear with high-revs, but the engine didn't have any complaints.

love my bike!
<3 NSR

Trip reset before, 49km ridden on the track throughout the day

Here I snapped two shots of my rear wheel. I got rid of my 'chicken strips'. Yipee.

START of day

END of day

Of all the riders, I was probably the slowest. But, I really didn't wanna push it on my first time out and just get a good feel for it. I was impressed with the form and control of many of the other riders as it was also their first time. Especially Sam, who showed excellent control of his 600cc on a track better suited for smaller bikes.

Afterwards, we headed to get some food.

Mt. Fuji with some dangerously deceiving clouds

Traditional Japanese restaurant

Katsu-don with Soba

Katsu-don (or Katsudon) is a bowl of steamed rice topped with seasoned tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork). (source: japanesefood.about.com) This set-menu item cost about ¥1,200 or roughly $USD 15. Well worth it!

Keith excited to dig in. Either that or laughing about something inappropriate :P

Saying goodbye to the gang before I head back home solo

I was absolutely exhausted and the packed-up holiday traffic coming back towards Tokyo didn't help. I pulled off to a rest stop and was approached by this kind gentleman from Belgium. I'm used to getting strange looks whenever I pull up anywhere in full racing leathers, but it was nice to get some friendly conversation from it for once! Alex and his girl were on their way back from a scenic tour of Izu. He rides a 1992 Yamaha XJR 1200 (correct me if I'm wrong). It was obvious from talking to him that he was a bike-lover. I did my best to convince him to do some work on the bike himself and take the over-priced mechanics out of the equation. Best of luck Alex! Hope to hear from you, maybe we can do some cruising in the future.

Overall, it was a great day and got to meet tons of awesome people. I got home at 10pm and if I ever had trouble falling asleep, I wouldn't have known it! Till next time. -M.R.