Barber Track Day

[koth442]

16 hours ago, TomTracer said:

I don't do track days, but have some friends who do at Heartland Park in Topeka. It ain't a Tally or Barber though!!!

IMO, Heartland is better than Tally but not as good as Barber. 

That being said, I missed my opportunity to ride Heartland, but did study it intently. I'm very familiar with both Tally and Barber though.

[johnmark101]

I think Barber is the only U.S. track that was designed primarily for motorcycles.  It's a fantastic facility and the museum alone is worth the trip.  The track layout is fantastic with lots of elevation changes.  Yes, track days there are a bit expensive but well worth the price.  I did my last one there in 2013.

 

[Yamajank]

On 10/25/2021 at 1:02 PM, duhg said:

Barber is fun.  I raced there with AHRMA a few times.  Little Tally and CMP were fun, too, but I liked Barber better.

Just a thought about track days - I'd remove the centerstand before hitting the track with this bike, since mine touches down before the right side peg feeler on the street. 

I'm heading to Grattan next week and even though I'm in novice I thought about taking off the center stand just in case. Is it just a case of taking out the two bolts with a "6"?  

[PhotoAl]

I would just to be safe.  Not familiar with Grattan but there are a couple of corners at Barber where you can get a pretty good lean.  From the track days I've seen novice is not that fast but why risk it.  

 

IndyCars will be at Barber next weekend.  Lots of fun to watch.  Always amazed at watching them accelerate out of the museum corner ALL the way down the back straight and only after the left do the let off!  During a test saw one of them catch an upshift between the left and right in the chicane on the back straight.  

Edited April 24, 2022 by PhotoAl

[duhg]

4 hours ago, Yamajank said:

 Is it just a case of taking out the two bolts with a "6"? 

 

It looks that way, but I would remove the centerstand spring on the brake side first.

[Yamajank]

1 hour ago, duhg said:

It looks that way, but I would remove the centerstand spring on the brake side first.

I think you’re right about that.

[johnmark101]

12 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

I would just to be safe.  Not familiar with Grattan but there are a couple of corners at Barber where you can get a pretty good lean.  From the track days I've seen novice is not that fast but why risk it.  

 

IndyCars will be at Barber next weekend.  Lots of fun to watch.  Always amazed at watching them accelerate out of the museum corner ALL the way down the back straight and only after the left do the let off!  During a test saw one of them catch an upshift between the left and right in the chicane on the back straight.  

Indy cars are crazy fast.  Moto America Superbikes run 1:27's at barber........Indy cars run 1:10's!!!   

[TomTracer]

On 10/26/2021 at 8:27 AM, koth442 said:

IMO, Heartland is better than Tally but not as good as Barber. 

That being said, I missed my opportunity to ride Heartland, but did study it intently. I'm very familiar with both Tally and Barber though.

When Heartland first opened the road course was about 2x as long. Then some pin heads made a big deal about a gas line running under the course and shut down the S half. The drag strip has always been fast. But Barber is awesome. I lived in the Topeka area and liked it. Birmingham and Barber beat it no contest. Enjoy all the tracks before some contrived reason evolves to shut 'em down.

[1moreroad]

On 4/24/2022 at 4:33 PM, Yamajank said:

I'm heading to Grattan next week and even though I'm in novice I thought about taking off the center stand just in case. Is it just a case of taking out the two bolts with a "6"?  

How did Grattan go? I did 1 track day at Tally on the FJ.

[PhotoAl]

On 4/25/2022 at 5:18 AM, johnmark101 said:

Indy cars are crazy fast.  Moto America Superbikes run 1:27's at barber........Indy cars run 1:10's!!!   

several IndyCars qualified in the 1:06s this year.  I shot the green flag and was standing across track from the starters station - WOW what an experience when the whole field went by at speed and so close.  Not the first time I've done that shot but this year it was incredible.  Ran up to where the Newgarden crash was last year and grabbed some photos as they came thru there - was hoping history wouldn't repeat!  Was standing behind Armco but it is only a bit over 3 feet hight and won't keep flying debris away, or flying cars for that matter.  

Edited May 6, 2022 by PhotoAl

[Yamajank]

On 5/5/2022 at 4:53 PM, 1moreroad said:

How did Grattan go? I did 1 track day at Tally on the FJ.

It was cold, but I liked the track a lot.  The tracer did fine, but scraped a feeler in one corner and kind of spooked me.  I probably could have pushed harder after that but just didn’t.  I picked up a dedicated track bike since bc I’m just not willing to sacrifice the Tracer.  

[1moreroad]

2 hours ago, Yamajank said:

The tracer did fine, but scraped a feeler in one corner and kind of spooked me.  I probably could have pushed harder after that but just didn’t.  I picked up a dedicated track bike since bc I’m just not willing to sacrifice the Tracer

Same thing happened to me at Tally. Sportbiketracktime let me keep the centerstand on so long as I zip tied it. The FJ touched pegs before centerstand. Like my old Ninja, my FJ has never touch anything down on the street but touched pegs down in the 2nd session on the track. So much easier to ride hard on the track. 

2nd bike makes sense if you want to do track days.