Lane Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hello all, New poster here. Signed up for a 2-day course in Vegas in April, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've ridden for quite a number of years on the street, but am pretty new to high performance superbikes and track riding. I've mostly ridden sport-tourers. Last year I bought an Aprilia RSV1000R Factory and I've put a few thousand miles on it. My other bike is a BMW K1200RS sport-tourer that I generally ride year-round. As the title suggests, I did a test ride on a S1000RR today. I managed to get the very first demo ride at our local dealer in Seattle. They had just broken it in and it had a slim 70mi on the clock. An impressive bike. As I said when I got off the bike, "Wow, they really nailed this one". Those crazy Germans managed to take what is essentially a standard modern liter bike design and make it their own. The ABS is great for street riding and a testament to their years of experience in that area. I wasn't able to get any "real" cornering in, so I can't comment much on the handling of the bike in more extreme circumstances. But I take the word of many of the reviews I've read on that subject -- the bike performs. I've read about the handling and power of the bike, so I wasn't exactly surprised on those fronts. The power is very usable and throttle response was excellent. The fit and finish is also excellent -- it's a BMW, no real surprise there. The main thing that surprised me was the ergos and the handling at freeway speeds. I expected it to be a lot rougher, and it was impressively smooth. It was far more comfortable than I expected. My overall takeaway from the bike was this -- my Aprilia is a bike that you must order it to do something, and it will submit with incredible precision. The S1RR is a bike that seems to want to do your bidding. Really looking forward to riding it on the track. So, as I said, I'm doing a 2-day class in April. I'm a pretty experienced street rider, but I've never done any track work. Even with the Seattle weather I'll probably still get some time on my RSV before April comes. Any suggestions on prep work I can do before the class? I'd like to get as much out of it as I can, since I'll be flying to Vegas. Buy the books and videos? Any other suggestions? It might even be possible for me to squeeze in a track day up here before April. Edit: Annnnnd I just saw there's a forum for "new to the forum" posts... so a Mod is free to move this one there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hi Lane, Just now getting back up here, so first off welcome! The books and DVD's are excellent prep for the schools, for sure Twist 2. As for doing a track day, since this will be your first one, in Cobie's Perfect World, I'd have you at the school, then do some track days. For sure can do it the other way around, but the 2-day camp will prepare you really well, and almost for sure side-step some of the drama that can happen at track days. Any questions in particular, or areas that you would like to know more about, what to expect, that sort of thing? Best, Cobie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane Posted February 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Thanks Cobie. OK, I had thought that the DVD and books were a good idea, so I'll go ahead an do that. Think I answered my own question there I suppose. The camp includes helmets and leathers. Any of my own gear I should bring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Thanks Cobie. OK, I had thought that the DVD and books were a good idea, so I'll go ahead an do that. Think I answered my own question there I suppose. The camp includes helmets and leathers. Any of my own gear I should bring? Hi Lane, sorry for the delay, wasn't up on the forum for a few days . You can bring any of your own gear that you like, but we'll have it all there--boots, helmets, leathers, gloves and we might have back protectors by then too. Our gear is all good, but sometimes if you have something that fits really well, hard to match that. If you are a normal size, not really extreme, our gear works pretty well. Sometimes on the helmets it helps (not just our helmets) to put a little foam in the top, if the helmet sits too low, cuts intot he vision. Boots and gloves can be another issue, but we have Alpinestar this year, they make nice gear. CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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