Basic bike prep for the track

Basic bike prep for the track is not that bad, actually it's alot easier than many may think and is something you can do in a relatively short period of time. The main purpose of prepping a bike for the track is to increase safety by preventing fluid leaks, stopping things from coming loose (especially things that become an immediate safety concern if they loosen or come off), and minimizing debris in the event of an incident. The following is advice based on the race and track day organizations I personally have dealt with so make sure and check with the specific organization(s) you will be dealing with to verify what their specific requirements are (or lack of) for getting on the track with them.

The debris that is of specific concern is the various lenses on a bike, from the headlight, to the tail lights & turn signals, to the lenses over your gauges. Any of these lenses can break into many pieces in the unfortunate event that you find the contact patch of your bikes tires no longer touching the ground. Lens fragments have the potential to rupture a tire or cause loss of traction momentarily if another bike runs over them, also of concern is the Corner Workers getting cut by them as they hurry to clean up any debris on the track - often times while the bikes continue to go by. To try and prevent this situation many Track Day Organizations require you to remove or tape over ANY lenses you have on the bike, race organizations will most likely want or prefer all lenses off the bike (except for the guages). The tape will help to keep any broken lenses stuck together and minimize any pieces from ending up on the track. The lenses over the guages should be taped over leaving only the number portion of the tachometer, the temperature guage, and any 'idiot lights' able to be seen. Your speedometer is more of a hindrance than a help and should be covered completely, the distraction of looking to see how fast your going can take valuable focus off the track and in some cases cause you to go faster or slower than you should be based on how fast you 'THINK' you should be going at that time.

Anti-freeze (Ethylene Glycol) is one of the slipperiest substances known to man, for this reason almost everyone (Track Day or Race) will be required to remove all of it from their bikes cooling system (including the reservoir). The exceptions to this rule will probably be limited to 1st timers on the track in the beginner group or possibly some riding schools. The specific requirements of each Track Day or Race Org will determine if you can use anything other than straight water in your bikes cooling system, when using water in your bike without any additives USE DISTILLED WATER! Anti-freeze serves multiple purposes, it increases the boiling point of water, it stops freezing down to a certain temperature, acts as a lubricant for your water pump, and helps to stop corrosion in your cooling system. Tap water has minerals and such in it that can cause problems in your cooling system over time, distilled water has most impurities removed and will help to keep cooling system corrosion to a minimum. Additives like Water Wetter are designed to be added to your cooling system to act as a lubricant and help increase the boiling point of water, these additives are approved for use by most of the track day and race org's - but check with them directly about the specific type you may want to use. If you do go with water as your coolant - MAKE SURE AND DRAIN ALL THE WATER OUT OF YOUR BIKE OR ADD ANTI-FREEZE BEFORE WINTER! I race with CCS and we are allowed to use a high tech coolant that is called 'Non-Aqueous Propylene Glycol', this coolant is run straight with absolutely NO water in the system what-so-ever. The big advantages of this coolant is it's non-toxic (you could actually drink it - though highly NOT suggested), it's not near as slippery as Ethylene Glycol (but it's still a water pump lubricant), it doesn't allow corrosion, it doesn't freeze till all life on Earth has ceased, it doesn't begin to boil till 370*, it's a lifetime coolant - meaning it NEVER has to be replaced, and it transfers heat better than most anything else out there! The $25 per gallon price scares some people away from using it, but when you only need a gallon or two for a bike it's really not that big of an investment and the stuff is truely amazing.

Fluid leaks are of major concern with motorcycles, many race organizations now require 'fluid retaining lower fairings' on all race bikes, these have the ability to hold the fluid contents of your motor and radiator in the event of a catostrophic failure. Track Day org's generally won't require a fluid retaining lower except for possibly the advanced group - which will be mainly comprised of alot of racers anyways. Make sure that your radiator cap fits correctly and that your overflow line is connected to the overflow resevoir, also check to make sure all fluid carrying lines are connected with some type of retention device whether its radiator clamps, pinch rings, safety wire, or etc. and that they are fastened firmly and correctly. Though I don't believe any Track Day org's require it, Race organizations will most likely also require a 'catch can' of some designated minimum volume to be used as well, this container is used to capture any fluid overflow from ANY fluid overflow lines on your bike. There are actual 'catch cans' out there, but many people just use a sports drink type plastic bottle with a screw on cap that fits securely (CCS says you have to have a container which is heat resistant - so it basically just can't melt from overflow from the engine). You can drill holes thru the cap, stick the overflow lines thru the holes, poke a piece of safety wire thru the sides of all the overflow tubes under the cap and twist the ends of the wire to itself creating a loop (to stop the tubes from falling out). Make sure there is a vent hole or tube on the overflow container so any overflowing fluid being fed into it isn't trying to be forced into a sealed container (which won't work). The vent hole or tube from the catch can should be at the top of the container and should route to the airbox for your engine. If you don't use a catch can you need to route all overflow lines to the engines airbox so fluid will be burned by the engine (as per CCS rulebook).

The purpose of safety wire is usually to stop things from unscrewing and is available thru your local automotive supply or motorcycle shop in small spooled cans, if they don't stock it, they can get it. Since a can of it may last you for the rest of oblivion you could just ask if they would give you some of their's because your such a great customer - even offer to bribe...oops...I mean...pay them a couple dollars if you have to (you should only need several feet of it - so if you get 10 feet of it that will last you a while). This wire is very durable and is designed just for this purpose, I would highly suggest using actual 'safety wire' over something else. I won't go into the depths of safety wiring since there is info out there on how to do it, I will probably make a subject on it in the near future in this section as well. What I will say here is that you basically drill a small hole (apx 1/16" to 3/32") thru the head of a bolt or screw and a nearby tab or bracket, then insert a piece of safety wire thru the hole in the bolt head till there is a little length of it on each side of the bolt, now wrap one end of the safety wire around the outside of the head of the bolt till it comes back to meet the other end of the safety wire (not over the top of the bolt head), now twist the two together (not too tight) until you have enough twisted length that it's almost to the fixed object you also drilled, insert 1 end completely thru the fixed object, continue twisting the two ends of the wire together on the other side of the tab or bracket for another inch or so, now cut off the excess. The wire should be somewhat tight so as to not allow the bolt to unscrew during intense vibration from high RPM's. I realize this may be somewhat difficult to visualize, but I'm without a digital camera currently so I can't get any pic's to show an example, search the web if you need more info immediately. The main bolt you will need to safety wire is the oil drain plug under the engine, if you have a water drain plug that will need it as well. The Oil filter is also required to be safety wired usually, this is done by getting a radiator clamp from an auto parts or hardware store that is big enough to go around the filter, just tighten the radiator clamp down firmly around the oil filter over a piece of safety wire and wire it to a fixed object as described previously to stop the filter from coming unscrewed. Another requirement is to safety wire the oil filler cap, some race org's require the radiator cap as well. WERA race org in particular is known for having a shopping list length of things you need to safety wire in order to race with them, though that can be somewhat time consuming, it ultimately is for your safety. Something else that will probably be required to safety wire is the kick stand if you don't remove it, I probably don't have to describe to you how bad it would be if your kick stand flopped down during hard braking and when you went to turn the kickstand pivoted on the pavement instead.

Lastly you want to have some general maintanence things up to par as well. Your chain should be adjusted properly (check your owners manual), a chain that is too tight will inhibit swingarm and suspension travel, if it's too loose it has the potential to come off or skip teeth under hard acceleration. Make sure that you have plenty of life left on your FRONT brake pads as well, minimal friction material on the pads will transfer heat into your calipers and brake fluid quickly and can boil your brake fluid much quicker causing loss of braking performance. There are many aftermarket tires available, but the main thing to just get out on the track is to have tires that are in decent shape, you really don't want tires that are 'flat spotted' in the middle of the tire from street riding, this causes poor handling when you transition from verticle to leaned over. Street tires will definately begin to slide sooner (when pushed hard) than actual performance tires, but street tires should be fine when 1st getting out on the track for a track day (unless your an ultra-fast street rider). An advantage track/performance tires have is in the construction and orientation of the belts in the tire, race tires are designed for cornering where as street tires are generally designed for comfort while riding vertically, high cornering loads are not the focus of many street oriented tires. Frame sliders could also be some cheap insurance to help limit or reduce damage to your bike in the event of a "whoops", but they are not require to the best of my knowledge.

What ever you choose to do (track day or race) make sure and have fun, that's what being on the track is all about!