Couple of basic questions for a track novice.

[Fiery254]

Is water wetter a good product for a track only bike? And can it be left in through the winter or should it be drained?

Do I NEED tire warmers? Bear in mind i'm a track noob and will need track time to build up confidence, which should also build up tire heat.

[meme]

Is water wetter a good product for a track only bike? And can it be left in through the winter or should it be drained?

Do I NEED tire warmers? Bear in mind i'm a track noob and will need track time to build up confidence, which should also build up tire heat.

yes, no and no

[Dan Dubeau]

Is water wetter a good product for a track only bike? And can it be left in through the winter or should it be drained?

Do I NEED tire warmers? Bear in mind i'm a track noob and will need track time to build up confidence, which should also build up tire heat.

Water wetter is great. DO NOT leave it in for winter. Drain, and add proper antifreeze mix.

Can of worms on the warmers. I say dont bother for now. Just use an extra lap to get your tires up to temp (and brain up to speed). As a track beginner there are more important things to worry about spending you money on than tire warmers (like gas, tires, and more trackdays for more seat time).

[Fiery254]

We can close this thread now before it wanders off at a tangent. Like some of my cornering.

[JohnnyP636]

Water wetter is great. DO NOT leave it in for winter. Drain, and add proper antifreeze mix.

Can of worms on the warmers. I say dont bother for now. Just use an extra lap to get your tires up to temp (and brain up to speed). As a track beginner there are more important things to worry about spending you money on than tire warmers (like gas, tires, and more trackdays for more seat time).

Depending on what tires your using and how hard you ride, warmers can really help with tire wear management. I was killing my tires without warmers on the first few laps, as they would slide alot more...Taking it easy for the first few lasp will do, but warmers are great if you can afford them.

That being said you dont "need" them, my friend raced the rookie race in SOAR round 5 without them and placed 5th...

[Fiery254]

Depending on what tires your using and how hard you ride, warmers can really help with tire wear management. I was killing my tires without warmers on the first few laps, as they would slide alot more...Taking it easy for the first few lasp will do, but warmers are great if you can afford them.

I noticed your tire pictures, and concerns when I was searching for an answer to my question. I'd need a decent supply of clean underwear before tire warmers if I tried to ride at your pace. You are one or two levels above me to say the least!!

[infernobuster]

I noticed your tire pictures, and concerns when I was searching for an answer to my question. I'd need a decent supply of clean underwear before tire warmers if I tried to ride at your pace. You are one or two levels above me to say the least!!

Chris, just keep the antifreeze in your bike for this year. No sense draining it now .. unless your planning to do a track day before the seasons over.

As for tire warmers .. i wouldnt bother. Wait to see how you manage with next year's track season and than decide. I still havent bought them myself ... ill i do is take is easy on the first lap around.

Come with us to Calabogie next year, and ill show you the dark side .. muahahahahah ..

[JohnnyP636]

I noticed your tire pictures, and concerns when I was searching for an answer to my question. I'd need a decent supply of clean underwear before tire warmers if I tried to ride at your pace. You are one or two levels above me to say the least!!

Dont get me wrong they are nice to have, but I only got them for racing...Now that I have them I will use them at track days too, to help manage tire wear and be able to push hard right away...There are a dozen other things you should get first, they are on the end of the track day needs list...

[Fiery254]

Chris, just keep the antifreeze in your bike for this year. No sense draining it now .. unless your planning to do a track day before the seasons over.

As for tire warmers .. i wouldnt bother. Wait to see how you manage with next year's track season and than decide. I still havent bought them myself ... ill i do is take is easy on the first lap around.

Come with us to Calabogie next year, and ill show you the dark side .. muahahahahah ..

I was going to ask you if you're doing any more, funnily enough. I'm picking up my track bodywork tomorrow and already have everything else I need (I think) waiting to go on so should be good to go by the end of this weekend. I know it's late but I want to ride again this season, and I aint buying a street bike. Yet.

[BBC]

Water wetter can be left in if your storage area doesn't drop much below freezing. At this stage don't buy tire warmers. Calabogie is probably the best place to go start up on track. At Calabogie you will be around tons of Racers, riding instructor and guys that know how to set up bikes for the track. My experience is most of the bike racing people are very approachable and will help you to get started for little or no money. If I was you I'd spend some money at the track (maybe $60) and get the suspension set up.

If you are running street compound tires and you are not riding hard, you won't really need to worry too much about getting the tires up to temp. If you start noticing that at the end of your sessions the bike is starting to squirm around a lot then maybe the street compound is over heating. Eventually you will start running faster and you will need to think about running race tires but before that there are all sorts of very good street/track tires available - bt 003rs, DC III. Even after you start running race compounds for track days you won't need tire warmers. Your 1st lap should be a sighting lap (%80) anyways, unless you are racing you don't need to leave pit-out on tires that are up to temp so who cares.

So if you go to Calabogie talk to the guys from Pro6 and or Turn2. Sandy, George and their Staff know a lot about bike set up, tire wear and set up for that day and they can also suggest to you what you should spend $ for the best bang for the buck.

Bike lapping/racing is expensive. Talking to guys that have done it a lot can save you a lot of money and headache.

[Fiery254]

I went down to the GP Bikes track day at Mosport RDT a couple of weeks ago, just to wander around and look at what goes on. You're right, everyone I stopped and spoke to was friendly and helpful. I can't wait to get out there.

I have a friend who lets me store my bike in his heated factory space over the winter. It never drops below 15c so maybe the wetter will be okay. I should have mentioned this at the outset because it obviously affects the situation. Thanks for your answers.

[geoff-9]

tire warmers are a huge debate, not really necessary for beginners in my opinion, but they are nice to have if you have money sparring and a track only bike.

go onto the 13x wera forum for some long winded debates about them, a lot say not to use warmers if your running street tires as the compounds arent designed for warmers, i cant debate this as i only run race tires with my warmers.
if your running slicks and/or racing id for sure buy warmers

[toastman]

I can't agree that Calabogie is the best place to go on track being that it is one of the more dangerous tracks.

Cayuga is must safer and easier to learn.

Water wetter can be left in if your storage area doesn't drop much below freezing. At this stage don't buy tire warmers. Calabogie is probably the best place to go start up on track. At Calabogie you will be around tons of Racers, riding instructor and guys that know how to set up bikes for the track. My experience is most of the bike racing people are very approachable and will help you to get started for little or no money. If I was you I'd spend some money at the track (maybe $60) and get the suspension set up.

If you are running street compound tires and you are not riding hard, you won't really need to worry too much about getting the tires up to temp. If you start noticing that at the end of your sessions the bike is starting to squirm around a lot then maybe the street compound is over heating. Eventually you will start running faster and you will need to think about running race tires but before that there are all sorts of very good street/track tires available - bt 003rs, DC III. Even after you start running race compounds for track days you won't need tire warmers. Your 1st lap should be a sighting lap (%80) anyways, unless you are racing you don't need to leave pit-out on tires that are up to temp so who cares.

So if you go to Calabogie talk to the guys from Pro6 and or Turn2. Sandy, George and their Staff know a lot about bike set up, tire wear and set up for that day and they can also suggest to you what you should spend $ for the best bang for the buck.

Bike lapping/racing is expensive. Talking to guys that have done it a lot can save you a lot of money and headache.

[You Know]

I can't agree that Calabogie is the best place to go on track being that it is one of the more dangerous tracks.

Cayuga is must safer and easier to learn.

I agree that Cayuga is a better place to learn simply cuz' it's dead flat! However if you can keep yourself in check Calabogie is the shizz. From a safety standpoint(runoff aside) I prefer Calabogie. Calabogie is SO BIG, that noone gets in yer' way or vice versa! My first two trackdays at Cayuga I had guys passing me so f'n close that I nearly sh*t myself..........no matter what were told in the riders meeting there always seems to be a handful of a**hats that don't listen, pass to close, aggressive, inside etc. Now that I've done a few trackdays I'm much more comfortable when this happens. Calabogie is so big it lends it self to safer passes and less traffic, again this is simply due to the size, not bashing cayuga, I like it too. If your a beginner, put a big X on your back, in most cases other riders will give you lots of room.

[CBRJOHN]

I can't agree that Calabogie is the best place to go on track being that it is one of the more dangerous tracks.

Cayuga is must safer and easier to learn.

What, You don't think Armco to keep you on the track is a good learning tool ? Blind corners are fun too !!


Shanny or Cayuga are better tracks for your first time.

No need for warmers if you're running a street tire like a BT-016. They're designed to heat cycle.

[toastman]

another excellent way to get into the track is the intro to track school at TMP

We plan on offering even more dates next season

Donald

Is water wetter a good product for a track only bike? And can it be left in through the winter or should it be drained?

Do I NEED tire warmers? Bear in mind i'm a track noob and will need track time to build up confidence, which should also build up tire heat.

[toastman]

Newbies often think they are going around a corner too fast and stand the bike up and run off, then you can either ride the grass at Cayuga or Shannonville, or try out the hard barriers at Calabogie.

I just got back from 2 days at Calabogie and had a blast, but when a red flag happens there it's usually quite bad.

Sandy from Pro 6 had an incident there Friday, but is doing much better now.

Donald

I agree that Cayuga is a better place to learn simply cuz' it's dead flat! However if you can keep yourself in check Calabogie is the shizz. From a safety standpoint(runoff aside) I prefer Calabogie. Calabogie is SO BIG, that noone gets in yer' way or vice versa! My first two trackdays at Cayuga I had guys passing me so f'n close that I nearly sh*t myself..........no matter what were told in the riders meeting there always seems to be a handful of a**hats that don't listen, pass to close, aggressive, inside etc. Now that I've done a few trackdays I'm much more comfortable when this happens. Calabogie is so big it lends it self to safer passes and less traffic, again this is simply due to the size, not bashing cayuga, I like it too. If your a beginner, put a big X on your back, in most cases other riders will give you lots of room.

[CBRJOHN]

My first two trackdays at Cayuga I had guys passing me so f'n close that I nearly sh*t myself..........no matter what were told in the riders meeting there always seems to be a handful of a**hats that don't listen, pass to close, aggressive, inside etc. If your a beginner, put a big X on your back, in most cases other riders will give you lots of room.

What group were you in ? That makes a big difference. If you're in the beginner group no one should be passing like that.

In the hot group, it's standard practice. But there is a big difference between a clean inside pass and stuffing someone.

After the last crashfest in intermediate at Cayuga the Marshalls policy is.. 1st time You get warned, 2nd time you sit out a session. Third time you're out for the day.

[You Know]

What group were you in ? That makes a big difference. If you're in the beginner group no one should be passing like that.

In the hot group, it's standard practice. But there is a big difference between a clean inside pass and stuffing someone.

After the last crashfest in intermediate at Cayuga the Marshalls policy is.. 1st time You get warned, 2nd time you sit out a session. Third time you're out for the day.

1st two times at tmp I was blessed with tons of track time becuase they had only two groups! This may have been why? Beg/int mixed both times. I haven't had much trouble since being in intermediate. My point was that cayuga is smaller and NOT everyone excercises caution when passing. At bogie, it's so big it hasn't been a problem that I've noticed.

My last tmp day on the labour day long weekend was quite good, but the one I went to in june was a red flag fiesta? I'm fully aware of a clean inside pass and actually enjoy seeing that happen, getting stuffed however aint cool, don't think there contingency money at trackdays, lol.

I have also noticed there are always several riders in INT. that should be in hot, they don't always get bumped. Kudos to all the faster folks that are considerate of the rest of us. IE: Sunny750 was in my group at two seperate trackdays and passed clean, and I know for a fact that she was later moved to Hotshoe. Others, not so nice...Just a fact of life at the track I guess. : )

[toastman]

If you are a newer rider and require more space wear a duct tape X on your back, other riders are to leave you alone in the corners