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Big and tall and wanting to learn track riding

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  EricV 
#1 · (Edited)
So I’m 47 years old 6’5 260lbs and would love to learn to ride track. Hopefully I’m not to old to learn. No desire to race just do track days. I live in Southern Utah so Las Vegas would be the closest track to me. I actually work for the Fire Department in LA County stationed in Lancaster which is basically where Willow Springs is so I have track options. I’ve never really ridden a track unless you consider riding the corkscrew at Laguna Seca once while working the Amgen Tour of California. Haha. But in all fairness I wasn’t going fast and was only one the track for a short section of it. But ever since then I’ve had a desire to learn to ride track.



I’ve been riding for over 30 years. First bike was an 87 Honda Hurricane then a 90 GSXR 750 and also a 92 GSXR 600. Loved riding sport bikes back in the day but it’s been along time.

For the last 20 plus years I’ve been on more sport touring bikes like FJR’s and BMW Rt’s etc or Adventure style bikes like BMW GSA or Yamaha Super Tenere. I still ride a ton probably 20k miles per year as I’ll often do my 360 mile commute riding my bike to work but that doesn’t mean I can ride track. I feel like learning track would help me immensely in my bike handling skills that despite years and years of riding I’m sure I lack. I feel like I’m a decent rider but I’m sure on a track it would be an entirely different animal.



I guess my question would be at my size what would be a good track bike for me? I’m not super excited about using my BMW GSA for a track day since it would be a slow pig on a track so I would like to find something for maybe around $5k or under that I could use on the track and also let my 16 year old learn on also. But not sure if that’s a good idea or not. He’s a decent dirt bike rider and has been riding dirt bikes since 5 years old and would love for him to learn track also. But there is a huge weight difference between him and I like 120lbs difference so that’s probably not going to work. I’ve been thinking of buying him like a Ninja 300 to learn to ride street on. Seems like that would be a pretty mellow starter street bike for him.

So just curious what a good starter track bike would be for an old tall fat guy to learn and have fun on would be?

Also would it be best to start with something like the California superbike school? I definitely don’t want to show up at a track and just ride. I want to have instruction and learn how and to ride properly.

Any help appreciated.


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#3 · (Edited)
Hi lacofdfireman - I know you from the Super Ten forum. Track riding is a lot of fun. Best size is probably a 600 bike. Bonus, not too much for your 16 year old to handle, but more than enough power for either of you to get into trouble with and have a ton of fun on the track. You might want to explore some bikes like the Yamaha FZ6 considering your stature. If you can fold up on a modern sport bike, look at those, but if you're not comfortable on those, Sport Touring bikes are the next go to. Don't be afraid to pick up a bike with higher miles. Anything under 50k is next to nothing for a modern Japanese bike. I just bought an '05 FZ6 for $1600 with 45k on it. Well maintained and runs like a champ.

For a dedicated track bike, you want less plastic. You're probably going to toss it at some point. Sliders and flush mounted turn signals help with lower repair costs. If you can do a dedicated track bike, strip all the other street required stuff off too. If it has to be street-able, try to pick a bike that's cheaper to repair. Nice thing about the 600s is there are several options that are EFI bikes and plenty of choices out there that can be had cheap and still be solid, good looking rides.

In terms of learning more, consider the MSF ART course before you do something like a Superbike course. Fast is about being smooth and learning the line for the track/corners, not about power. Learning the track's braking points for you on each corner and the apex, how you want to take the corner to set you up for the next corner or the strait after it all comes into play.
 
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