So here it is... Every day i commute to work (26 miles 1 way) and everyday i have to dodge a car from hitting me. I've already been rear ended on the worst freeway in LA (110 in Highland Park) and survived.
Yesterday i almost died, so i'm going on the 105 west to my office, splitting the carpool lane. Some piece of S#$T decided to cut the double - DOUBLE yellow lines. well the carpool lane (cars) are going maybe 15-25 mph while the normal lanes are going 0-15mph traffic, i'm going 60 mph and POS cut right as i was passing. i ended up slamming the front brakes, cutting over right as POS is an inch away from me still going to the lane, then i was thinking i'm going to A. rear end this stopped car in front or B. end up clipping the bumper. i managed to barely miss that and now ended up 1 lane over splitting that lane.
Well i stopped and pedaled back to knock out some windows and realized i didn't know which car it was. i know it was a old white truck. there were 2 of them right next to each other and didn't know which one almost killed me. i looked inside both and either of them were paying attention to anything. decided to calm down take a breath and get my ass to work.
Either way this commute is getting old and i'm sick of risking my life to get to work everyday. i guess i'll be caging it in for a while and decide if i'm going track only or non rush hour commuter. either way i just wanted to hear why others decided to go track only.
P.S. for the lane splitting haters. I already know, however if i wanted to sit in traffic i'd drive.
Something I didn't come across in that link are the initial start up costs: Track day hauler, tire warmers, clip-ons, rearsets, gear, bike crash protection, spares(clip-ons, pegs, wheels, body work), lap timer, generator, tire temp. gauage
Then comes the upgrades usually: suspension, weight reduction, power additives
It gets expensive as you get faster. The only real cost that you need is race fairings. But if you sell your street stuff you can make a nice chunk of change. Once you start getting faster then the first thing that I'd do would be suspension. Set them up for your weight would be a first. But as you go faster and faster the things that you'll spend the most cash on would be tires.
Even with my track fees waived all the time I found myself spending more on tires and fuel. Even if I had to pay the track fee. I think that fee is minimal when you factor other items in. Although there was a couple times when I had some cherry Dunlop Ntecs with no more than a few laps for FREE( I changed tires for continental and ppl threw away perfect tires all the time). Slaps and Christian were there at one incident lmao
I went track only after getting into 2 accidents both involving over-zealous cruiser riders slamming into me (mind you they were both on goldwings). Honestly, the only reason I would ever go back on the street is for long-rides on a naked/streetfighter setup.
I will agree motorcycles are dangerous and it's all about time until you are the one that's hurt however I was always told that you control the majority of stuff that can happen to you. Speed, distances between vehicles, riding position in the lane, looking for hazards etc.
If you stayed away from the joining lane as much as possible, controlled speed, thinking that people will pull out and looking for front wheels turning etc you could cut down on a lot of accidents.
my rule is - "YOU ARE INVISIBLE ON THE ROAD AND RIDE DEFENSIVELY AS IF YOU ARE"
however i do understand that there are some accidents that are just unavoidable, like the story above about the guy losing his friend on the canyon due to idiot truck crossing the yellows.
I have a street bike now but a few years ago I ditched my street bike for a track bike and did the racing thing for a few years. Insurance cost was the biggest reason although once I had a taste of the track it made it pretty easy to give up the street.
I haven't gone 'track only' just yet, but what made me decide to find a 'track only' bike to go along with my strret bike was tossing my precious 09 Repsol down at the track.
So now I have a 08 CBR1000rr for street and a 07 CBR600rr for the track!
I do hill country rides on weekends and rarely ride to work, it's too stressful, sometimes I forget and DO IT , and 50/50 chance that days sucks.
I am getting a used 250 to start track days, will just ride my RR in the Hill Country, and will be upgrading to a Sport Tourer next year.
The 600RR can't be ridden to it's full potential on the street without being highly illegal, and I'm starting to realize the more "FUN" it gets the more illegal I become.
Track days cost less than speeding tickets once you get your initial buy in of gear and stuff.
I'm almost there .. March I do my first TD if all goes well
Yeah I can definitely see it to start getting expensive.
What I was trying to get at which was confirmed by many of you is that initially for the first few track days, the bare minimum is all I would need and that doesn't seem overly expensive.
My previous bike, after having a really close call I went to track only. But then I picked up a 600RR after a couple years of a break Does history repeat itself?
Honestly, I couldn't go "just track", as I enjoy riding on the street too much. My wife and I are both Instructors with Sportbike Tracktime, so we get a lot of trackday weekends, but we both still enjoy the casual mountain riding in our area. We live within minutes of the Smokey Mountains near the Knoxville, TN area and there are great roads in every direction here. Of course there is a total difference between riding on the track and riding on the street, but we still enjoy both. One thing for sure, when you start doing a lot of track days each year, going fast on the street become less and less important. It allows me to ride casually and enjoy the beauty of the land and take in the sights and sometimes just take a short ride that is only 100 or so miles, but takes 5 or 6 hours because we stop and BS with folks we meet along the way. I guess it's not for everyone, but it's what works for us and we are totally enjoying riding on the street still. YMMV!
i didnt care about cruising around, all i wanted to do was go 110% all the time. streets are no place for me. just fyi corner workers like wheelies about as much as the cops do lol... thats the only thing i miss about the street.(long open back roads and long wheelies lol)
I feel you on these dodgy ass LA freeways brother, but I can't help but think that 60mph splitting 15mph on either side was a reasonable choice. As a motorcyclist, or a cager for that matter, you have to always assume that drivers are going to do stupid things. Stupid is the norm. Everyone on here should already know this. that's how it always has been and that's how it will always be And if you can't recognize that and operate under that assumption then there is only yourself to blame.
Obviously there are many situations where it doesnt matter how safe u are riding, but How many motorcycle accident stories do you hear that include the line "some dumbass driver then blah blah blah...". The word "dumbass should be eliminated from this phrase because it implies that a driver did something completely out of the norm. Dumbass moves are the norm. Drivers split double yellows all the time. Drivers don't see cycles all the time. If you are commuting on a daily basis there is a 100% chance that these things will eventually happen to you.
Ok that's my rant.
I also commute via bike to work but its only a 7 mile drive and no freeways. Sort of a noob and never yet tracked my bike.....can't wait for that but want a few more hours on the seat first.
Having a "do it all" bike is doable, but for me a pain in the ass. I'm track only because there are enough trackdays within a reasonable radius for me to be able to get my fix without long periods of time not riding. Saving for another, street/commuter bike.
I started track so i would keep it off the road and you don't have to worry about animals,cop,car,guardrails and if you wreck on track you have a ambulance on site
I was gonna turn my bike as track only but then I would get that random itch to take her out... I doubt I'll ever have a track exclusive bike unless I have one for random riding
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I've said it before, but as much as I love dragging knees on the track and experiencing the rush of riding balls-out, I can't give up my freedom. I LOVE the sensation of getting on my bike and just going.
Doesn't matter if I have a plan or not. Any time I take the bike it is an adventure.
"Honey we need bread..."
-"I'll take the CBR."
"Hey man, meeting up for ramen in LA tomorrow, you in?"
Having been able to do both. I thought I was only going to do track but being without a street bike for awhile now. I just want to go ride. No plan just take off and go. It's great to go fast on the track but you are still limited. Ruckus is nice to go out but it's just not the same. Street/track build almost done. Waiting on some parts to come in, get it registered and I can ride on the street again!!!! I think it's time for a .net MEET!!!!!!!
I went through the same thing when I was commuting from san diego all the way to camp pendleton, which added upto 60miles in one day. After my son was born and coming within inches of getting killed it made it clear to me that I love motorcycles but it was not worth it to continue to ride on the street. Its been over two years since I have ridden on the steet. The bike is only a trackday bike and that is more than enought for me. Besides you can push a little harder on the track without having any other variables coming into play.
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