Motorcycle Track Day Prep

For Beginners & Experienced Riders

So, you’re thinking about track days.. Are YOU Ready? Is Your Bike Ready?

We are motorcycle fanatics at heart. We didn’t start selling products because we wanted to get into e-commerce, we started selling products because we know what real motorcycle enthusiasts want, and what they need. For just a small family-owned company here in a small town in Western New York, we’ve been able to make a big impact on riders across the country by partnering with some of the best brands that we feel strongly about. 

With products from companies like Clake, Furygan, HM, Translogic, and other brands we believe in, we’ve been able to create a dual-threat brand that helps riders enjoy their ride from front to back. 

But what do we really love? Track Days!

Any real rider knows there’s nothing better than opening up your bike in a safe and contained environment you can only find at track day. You gotta start somewhere, and if you’re new to track days, you don’t need to spend a bunch of money on mods to get out there. 

Today, we wanted to talk about Motorcycle Track Day Prep! If you are a beginner, listen up, and if you’re not new to track day, maybe you can also learn something here today! If you need help or have any questions regarding track day prep, just give us a call or reach out via our contact form. We can service your bike and have you ready to ride. Here’s what you’ll need to do to get out there…

Motorcycle Track Day Prep for Beginners

It’s important to note that each club or track will have its own technical specifications required, so wherever you plan to ride, study up on their requirements first. (Or ask us, we’ve been to a few!) We’ll go over a few things to break down what is typically expected and what you need to know if you’re new to track days. 

Clean & Healthy Bike

First of all, your bike needs to be in proper condition. This means ensuring you’ve had a recent oil and filter change, good brake pads, fresh brake fluid, and lubricated cables. You’ll want to make sure you have no leaks and have proper coolant and chain tension. 

Good Tires

If you plan on hitting the track, you’ll need proper tires. Typically, modern street tires are good enough, but street/track tires that are designed for a quick warm-up will provide better grip and longevity. Once you decide to level up, you might want to consider Dunlop or Pirelli Race tires. 

A Little Tape

To get on the track, you’ll need to tape up your lights and signals, and reflectors. Why? Well, if someone doesn’t tape up their lights and they take a spill or make contact with the track, there's going to be debris on the track, which requires cleanup, which means less time on the track for everyone else. You’ll also want to pull your light fuses so lights don’t turn on, because the bulb heat can melt the tape onto your light housing. You won’t need your turn signal when you’re out there!

Motorcycle Track Day Prep For Experienced Riders

Once you’ve got your first year or so of track day experience under your belt, you can start making some adjustments to your bike to speed up your lap time and really start riding. 

Lighten the Load

By the time you’ve taken a few rides around the track, you may want to remove some excess weight. This includes the 20 or so pounds of hardware that's meant for the street, but you won’t need on the track. Things like mirrors, lighting equipment, horn, side and center stands, grab rail, and other items. 

However, you want to be careful how and what you remove and make sure you talk to someone who knows what they're doing before you start taking things off.  (We can help!)

Warm Tires

Once you’ve got a good set of tires, you may want to look into tire warmers that will have you ready as soon as they hit the track. Otherwise, you’re first few laps will be spent warming them up. 

Bike Storage/Presentation

You may want to look into some sort of bike stand, especially once you start taking some things off for weight. We recommend Pitbull and Woodcraft stands. Of course, you’ll want everybody to see how sick your bike is…

Speed Up Your Ride.

There are certainly some things you can do to take your bike to another level. We particularly recommend Translogic quickshifters, as well as HM quickshifters. You can shop QuickShifters with Moto Z right here.

Have a question about prepping your bike for track days? Let’s Talk! We help riders from all over the country to get their bikes ready, and we take the trip to track days here in the Northeast as often as we can! Follow our social media to see where we will be this summer and if you live within a few hours of WNY, we’d love to help get your bike ready! Check out our Services page to see what else we can provide to help get your bike ready!