From road to track: a guide!
There’s no scrutineering at track days so it’s up to you to make sure everything’s safe and secure on your bike. Here are some to-dos…
1/ THROTTLE
You want a throttle that snaps shut like Bertie’s wallet and it needs to do this on full left and right lock. Any cables that foul or snag need either re-routing or a cable tie or two to keep them in place. A squirt of silicon spray (on the outside) helps a cable glide nicely.
2/ LEVERS
Brake and clutch levers need to be in line with your arms so your fingers create a straight line from your forearm when you rest your pinkies on top of the levers. This is the best way to avoid arm-pump.
3/ BRAKES
It pays to change your fluid regularly – perhaps once a season as it’s hygroscopic: it absorbs water over time. Check the forums for what pads work best and do invest in braided lines, but don’t go for the ones that loop over the mudguard: lose that, you lose your brakes.
4/ WHEELS
Wheel alignment is always a good thing. If you’re on the tight spectrum like us the next time you adjust your chain you could use two strip light bulbs (gun-shot straight) and hold them against either side of the rear tyre and measure the distance between them and the front tyre on both sides. Chain adjuster marks are not to be trusted.
5/ ENGINE
Change your oil as often as you can afford it. Some say that 100 track miles is the equivalent to 1000 road miles. Keep air-filters/boxes clear – especially post gravel-trap visit!
6/ TYRES/PRESSURES
Stick to road legal tread depths. For £50 I bought a bead breaker, balancer, rim protectors and levers and now do all my own tyre changing (local shop wanted £25 per wheel) you do get quick at it with practice. Pressures: ask whoever you buy them off. Every manufacturer is different. Measure and adjust the pressures from cold at the start of the day.
7/ SUSPENSION
Needs to be in good order, be it stock or uprated: if you don’t understand it enlist the help of experts. If you do, keep notes and only make one change at a time.
8/ REAR-SETS/COMFORT
You want a bike that’s comfortable: don’t worry about hi-rise foot-rests just yet. Tank grips make a huge difference in braking zones as it allows you to take some pressure off your old, emaciated arms.
9/ RACE BODYWORK
Cheap and better than crashing in (often rare/pricey) 1990s fairings.
10/ EXHAUST
While everyone loves the sound of the current Motogp bikes and the 1960s Honda sixes, this may not win you friends at certain race tracks. Many have quite stringent decibel/noise levels and your bike must hit these. On this SV we’ve got a standard can, but many aftermarket cans come with removable baffles for more/less noise.
Also... TOOLS
Buy a torque wrench to avoid those ‘did I tighten them enough?’ moments.
LOCKWIRE/LOCTITE
You can go mental and lock wire everything but, to be honest, you’re just making stuff difficult for yourself. Same with thread glue. If it rarely gets taken off the bike for routine maintenance, apply a dab of Loctite to the threads. If it’s on and off, just torque it to factory settings. There’s no need to lockwire sump-plugs unless you’re going racing: just refer to that workshop manual and use your torque-wrench. DO lockwire both handlebar grips: avoids that horrible ‘two throttles’ feeling.