BMWMCCWA

I got a call from our Narrogin club member JD. "I'm going to do a track day down at Collie... Do you want to come along?"

It's been years since I got involved with this sort of organized event on an actual race track, so what the heck...

So I plotted a route by checking the ol' Google Maps for the most wriggley line. Headed off at 06.30 in the cool of the day.



Slabbing it down the Forest Highway to the South-West Highway, I got into Harvey at a decent hour, then headed east to the wriggly lines. About a third of the way, the road suddenly turned to dirt... loose, slippery, thick layer of pea gravel, but mostly dust! Did I mention slippery... Coffee and Breakfast at the Colliefields Coffee Shoppe. Good coffee and brekky!

I was curious to see where all the government funding went with the recent refurbishments. The track is actually quite a way out of Collie. It could really do with a few more sign posts.
The entrance to the Track is via a tunnel under the actual track. All the facilities are inside the circuit. There is a bit of elevated land for spectators. It's a long track, not really designed for spectators. If it was, someone got it badly wrong...

With a bit of assistance, I found the appropriate covered garage, complete with shade! It's important. It got very hot. The breeze kept the temperature reasonable under cover. The poor sods with garages attached to the building, it was like an oven in those...

So, I found him... Just finished the first set of six laps.



"I swapped the knobbies for decent road tyres," he said... Yeah, in reality 5-year old dual-purpose tyres! He's joined up the 'Rookies' group and started off steadily, trying not to repeat another rider's feat of only completing a couple of laps on the 1st or 2nd outing. Can't quite remember, but it was short-lived and really ended in tears. No significant human injury, but... you can see...

So he comes off the track and we're discussing progress. How does the big, tall Kato enduro fitted with trail tyres feel on the road racing track?

"She's plenty squirmy on the front!"

Check the tyre pressures... 24 psi! Over to the compressor and topped 'em up to 29 psi.

The front dives into the ground under brakes. Wind up the fork compression to max to slow that down a bit. Add a little rebound.

Thinking about the rear, but let's do one thing at a time...

Out he goes again... slow and steady please...
Cornering looks a little more normal... from a distance at least...



Here's the pack on a charge...



Still a long way back... But rider and bike are starting to settle in. Confidence building SLOWLY...



Doing better than some other riders... Funny really, when JD runs off the track, he just stands up and rides through to the hard stuff again...



Back in for another pep talk!



How the front end holding out? "Vastly improved," is the reply.
We look at the adjustment on the rear, but it looks a little more complex to change without the proper tools. So it stays.

Spectators should note that it is cash only at the gate on race days.

So we're starting to iron out a few bugs...

There's a head-shake at 150 kph.

After discussing the problem, it was highlighted that it was only coming out of a corner at the back of the track where there was a slight undulation along the centre of the track.
The outcome was to avoid the undulation... Realistically, the high off-road front fender was always going to provide plenty of un-wanted lift at big speed.

With those easy issues discussed and sorted, all that was left was to knuckle down and start improving laptimes without crashing...

The pack is starting to spread out as seen from this shot at the end of start-line straight...




JD is picking up a little bit of speed, still a solo race...






Trying to decide Track Bike or SuperMoto corner entry...




Thankfully there is opportunity to pass slower machines, like this Honda XR 400 with 17" wheels.




Or this little KTM 390 Duke...




And it's getting a little hot out on the track... and in the shade...




Cornering technique is improving by the lap...




Last set of laps now...

Rider technique coming out of the turn to the start-line straight.








It's all over. The few remaining riders are pretty exhausted... There was only a small group of hardy riders left to complete the final set of laps. JD's one of 'em. But he's essentially broken. It is pretty hard going.




The Metzler Saharas did a stirling job keeping the big tall trailie upright.

https://www.metzeler.com/en-au/products ... o-3-sahara

That's an awesome ride report Spacey, thanks for taking the time to post. When is JD going again and has he some more suitable tyres. Are you going to give the GS a run? Cheers

Thanks APe,

Somehow, I don't think I will be bashing the GSA around the race track... The big girl has 198,000 km under her belt. I want to see many more