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Did a track day couple of weeks ago at Willow Springs raceway in Rosamond, CA. It’s a great track, very fast and of course fun.

For anyone who hasn’t been to a track day before, here is what you have to do to get your motorcycle “track ready”.
1. Make sure you have water in your radiator, and not anti-freeze. All bikes will have anti-freeze mix in the radiator from the factory. You will need to drain it and replace it with water. I also suggest adding some WaterWetter. It does actually work and makes your bike run cooler. I actually noticed that just with plain water, my bike runs cooler than with anti-freeze, so it’s a good thing to do anyway.

2. Tape up anything that can shatter, including headlights, taillights, and any other “lenses” on your bike. Some people use duct tape, I use making tape because its easier to take off (and cleaner). Also, don’t forget to unplug all your lights when taping them up - it will be easier to take off the tape. If you leave them plugged in, the tape and glue might melt on from the heat and then it’s a real pain.

3. Make sure you have good tires. Most track days won’t even let you on the track if your tires are bad. “Bad” is a judgment on their part, so to be safe just have > 70% tread left. I like to have either new or almost new tires when I go, just because its one less thing to worry about when you are out there.

4. Bring some gas with you… It’s possible that you will run out of gas during your track day, so bring some with you. Some tracks, like Willow Springs have a gas station on site, and they have up to 110 octane (leaded race gas), but it will cost you - about $6 per gallon.

5. Remove any mirrors, turn signals and other protruding parts that will scatter over the track if you crash.

Here is what I have to do on my ‘07 Suzuki GSX-R1000 to get the mirrors off. It’s exactly the same procedure on ‘05 and ‘06 GSX-R1000 and ‘06-’07 GSX-R 600/750. Although these mirrors look nice they are a pain to remove.

First, unscrew the mirrors

Next you will have to pull out the windshield since the bolts actually go through it (I took the pictures when I was putting the mirrors back on, so that’s why you don’t see them in the picture)

These are plastic screws so don’t be too hard on them.

Next you will have to take off the gauges. you don’t have to unplug them (although some track days ask you to unplug your gauges, so check with them). You can move the gauges to the side, so you can get to the plugs for the turn signals (that are built in to the mirrors).

Once that’s removed you can also unplug your headlight

Now put it all back together minus the mirrors…

For the back, it’s pretty simple, just open your “trunk” and unplug the cables there for your brake light and turn signals. On the 07 GSX-R its actually only one plug that does it all.
That’s it.

Bring some tools with you to the track as well, you never know if something needs changing or tightening and you don’t want to be stuck there with no tools.

Have Fun.

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