Testing a 'special' at track days

jjdugen · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Jun 2011 Karma :

Hi all.
I have a little paying hobby of re-building older spares/repairs or accident damaged bikes (retired and all that).
At the moment I'm slowly putting together a mongrel Fireblade that is incorporating some of my more oultlandish ideas, progressing nicely, but I have some ideas for fairly radical chassis and suspension mods that I am working on.
Obviously, without wishing to spend some time at her Majesty's pleasure, I can't fully test this to the limit on the road.
What is the policy for using a trackday as a testing session. The bike itself is fully legal, but I would be doing say, a lap or two, then coming in to check and make alterations or adjustments as neccessary. Would that be frowned on or simply not allowed?

Cheers
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

It would be frowned upon if you were dangerous on the bike and obstructing other people in your group.

I'd recommend looking out for an 'open pit lane' trackday, as it means ducking in and out of the pits is not going to cause as much of an issue. However, my feeling is that testing the bike on the road would be safer and a lot less hassle. If you can get the bike MOT'd then you shouldn't need to mess around with trackdays.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

lihp · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Karma :

The only open pit lane days I see though are ACU Test Days. Which means you will need an ACU license + the bike must meet ACU regs, in terms of braided lines, steering stops, and bellypan.

I would do it on a trackday. but do the full 20minute session, then do the adjustments over your 40 minute wait. Unless the bike is unrideable.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

No I've been on an open pit lane trackday. Was at Brands hatch.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

jjdugen · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Jun 2011 Karma :

Thanks people. The bike will have been shaken down on the road so will be perfectly safe and rideable at road type speeds. But, as you know, pushing it out to its limits can throw up unexpected problems.
It may well be that it runs fine, but I have no doubt that a track will show up weakness' that the road cannot. Looks like the easiest route is a track day session and then do the work in the down-time. (Cheaper than hiring the Nurburgring for a day or two!).
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

Any bike can throw up unexpected problems when pushed to the limit.

Make sure you approach those limits carefully and if in doubt, not near other riders.

If you haven't done any trackdays, using it to test a bike at the limit isn't ideal.

Do some trackdays and get an idea of what "the limits" are - you're probably nowhere near most of the anyway if you haven't done any, I'm afraid Smile

.

jjdugen · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Jun 2011 Karma :

Hi
I haven't bothered to much with UK circuits as I found the 'ring a good few years ago. I've had sessions at Oulton and Donnington so I'm not a stranger to the track but they were with riding schools so the details were all taken care of.
One more question. Can two riders use the same machine at a trackday? i.e. Me on one session and my fast lad on the next, just so I have some idea of his feedback.

Cheers again.
____________________
The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

lihp · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Karma :

That is fine so long as you pay for both people in the appropriate groups, and both attend the briefing etc.
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Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

We need pictures of this special...

https://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w462/MattB70/this-thread-is-useless-without-pich.jpg
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jjdugen · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Jun 2011 Karma :

This is how it is at the moment. Its a '97 blade fitted with R1 front end and the 190 rear wheel from an '08 'blade. I've put an '08 blade fairing set on but that's being changed as soon as the Chinks deliver a new set of plastics.
This was built up from an E-Bay engine and frame and bits I had lying around from other builds. First just to see what state the engine was in and then to allow me some cheap experimentation. My intentions are to develop a mechanical anti dive front brake system and a parallelogram rear swinging arm over winter, if that goes well then I have a nice little turbo to try out.
____________________
The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?