Track Day – Part 5

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The Day Before Your Track Day

Hey, welcome to part 5 of my Track Day series, and this blog is going to talk about what you should do the night before you head out to the track.

Assuming you did everything outlined in Part 4, your bike should be pretty much ready to go. Now, these instructions refer mostly to a street bike, not a track bike that has been customized to run only on the track and is no longer street legal. That’s a whole different story. I’m writing these article for the beginner track rider who’s doing their first track day or weekend. So, at this point your bike is pretty much ready to go, but you want to check things over one more time just in case.

Most people like to head out to the track the night before their track day and spend the night either at the track or in a nearby hotel. That way they can be up early and ready to ride. However, it’s still a good idea to do these checks before you leave your home so that you have all your tools and your favorite bike shop nearby in case something is missing.

The first thing you should do is tape up all your lights. You can do this earlier in the week but if you ride your bike to commute, you can save it for the night before you leave. Using painter’s tape, the kind that doesn’t leave a sticky mess, tape over all of your lights. This will include your headlights and all turn signals. This is especially true if the light is glass. There are two reasons for this. One, in the event of a crash, the tape will prevent the glass or plastic from shattering on to the track. Two, it will prevent other riders from being distracted by your brake lights, headlights or an accidental turning on of the turn signals. Some track day providers don’t require you to tape up plastic light covers, but it is a good idea to do anyway and it doesn’t take much time. Besides, it looks cool when you’re transporting your bike to the track.  All other motorcyclists on the freeway can see that you’re going to do a track day and they get really jealous.

Another option is to remove the fuses that control the lights, or disconnect them completely. This will prevent them from coming on while on the track and distracting other riders. However, I tried this once and realized that the fuses that controlled my lights also control my instrument panel so I had no speedometer or tachometer. Not a big deal, but I kind of like seeing how fast I’m going. Also, it depends on what kind of bike you have, yours may not have this issue.

Check your tire pressure again. Yes, you may have just checked it a few days ago, but do it again. You’ll be checking it in the morning right before you get on the track and a couple of time during your track day too, so get used to doing it.

Start your bike up, just to make sure it will start. Rev your engine a few times. I’m not sure if this does anything for the bike but it will get you in the mood to race around the track and will put a smile on your face.

Put your bike on the battery tender for the night to make sure your battery is fully charged. No one wants to get to the track to find a dead battery and run around hoping to find a jump start.

Getting your bike ready for a track day may seem like a lot to do, but really it’s simple bike maintenance that can be done in an afternoon. You can do it yourself if you are mechanically inclined and have the tools, or you can take it to your favorite mechanic and tell him or her to make your bike track ready. I always think it’s more fun to do it myself. Besides, if you ride, you should know how to do basic maintenance or at least have a desire to learn it. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. That’s why we invented soap.

I hope you’re enjoying these articles and part 6 is going to be about what to expect when you are at the track.

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