The CA Superbike School was on Saturday, Oct. 25. The following weeekend, we signed up with TrackDaz to try out the new skills on our own bikes, at the same track, more or less immediately following the school. The track day was on Halloween, Oct. 31. Those of you in L.A. might remember that it was RAINING that morning!
Before I forget, I should mention here that for my first trackday back in April, I borrowed my brother's pickup truck and went with a friend of mine. He has a full-size Dodge Ram and let me tell you, that bed is mighty high up from the ground! We didn't drop any bikes, but came close a couple of times, in particular when I got home at like 10 pm and tried to unload with only my wife and a random passerby in our alley (God Bless you stranger!). Did I mention that we PUSHED the somewhat-heavy FZ6 up rather than drive it?
Well, a couple of friends of mine concocted this brilliant wheel chock board that fits into the back of a rental cargo van. I am told that because of the entertainment business in L.A., these cargo vans are pretty commonly had if you go through Enterprise and look for an online coupon. I ended up paying $150 for two days (had to pick up the night before to load up and drop off the following day), fully insured.
The cargo van option has two main advantages - your bikes are out of sight when you stop for meals, or if you drive out and spend the night at a hotel or something, and it's MUCH easier to load and unload from the relatively low deck of the cargo van vs. a full size pickup. I suppose your bikes are also protected from the elements as well.
My friends bring out an F4i and an SV650 with theirs, we had the FZ6 and my friend's Daytona in ours. Here's a couple of pics for those who are inspired to copy the design (the credit for which goes to Jim T.), the chocks and D-rings are from Harbor Freight (though I would use different D-rings if I had more time) and the hardware and laminate pine board are from Home De-pot. I used bolts and tee nuts, and a couple of regular nuts and washers, to bring it all together.
I tied down the subframe in the back to stabilize it, particularly after I dropped off my friend and his bike:
The track day was awesome. I felt SO MUCH more comfortable and in my element after the CA SBS. It was great to get some seat time on the FZ6 right after the school, while it was all fresh. The throttle drill / no brakes stuck out in my mind, and I did this for a couple of laps each time just to focus on the basics. I actually bought a rear stand and prepared to remove both the side and center stands, but being as it was raining when we first arrived I thought I wouldn't be achieving those lean angles anyway
so I left them on. Plus, I've been practicing hanging off, or so I thought, so I didn't end up dragging anything save for the peg feelers, which I promptly removed.
The rain stopped and the track dried after the first session, and no one in my group crashed (though there were several crashes throughout the day, no serious injuries). Riding the FZ6 vs. the ZX-6R was quite a change, I felt so TALL on the FZ6 and I felt I was no where near dragging knee though I was very close several times on the 6R.