No Anti-Freeze for MRA School(3-22-08)?

[2Blue]

I received my confirmation letter last night and it states that the bike can not have any anti-freeze in it. The problem is I plan on staying the night in pueblo which means the bike will be outside on the trailer. If the temp drops below 32F then I risk damaging my bike with water wetter installed.

Due to the time of year can't the school over look this? Any thoughts?

[Sully]

You can drain it comletely and add water wetter the morning of class.

[rybo]

I received my confirmation letter last night and it states that the bike can not have any anti-freeze in it. The problem is I plan on staying the night in pueblo which means the bike will be outside on the trailer. If the temp drops below 32F then I risk damaging my bike with water wetter installed.

Due to the time of year can't the school over look this? Any thoughts?

No anti freeze EVER at pueblo.

Drain the system before you travel and fill it with straight distilled water in the morning. Drain it again when the day is done. No water wetter required on these early spring days, the bike will run plenty cool.

Scott

[rybo]

You can drain it comletely and add water wetter the morning of class.

Dang that Sully sure is fast...

[rforsythe]

First off, you don't need Water Wetter. It's never going to get hot enough to matter, and bikes run just fine on plain ol' water when they aren't frozen or baked.

Second ... are you storing it in an enclosed trailer? It takes a fair amount of time for the latent heat in the water to dissipate, which means it won't just turn to a block of ice if the temps drop below 32, at least for some time. The issue with draining it all is that you never get it all out, and those small volumes of water left in there can actually freeze faster.

Depending on the overnight temp, assuming it isn't going to be arctic-cold (like mid 20's or lower), just run it for several minutes in the evening and really let it all get to operating temp - this means running it until the thermostat opens, and then letting it warm back up from the dip. The water and metal will store heat for quite a while in an enclosed trailer and should be fine.

[dragos13]

Due to the time of year can't the school over look this? Any thoughts?

Trust me, you wont want the school to overlook something like this. When you go flying into turn one and find a nice long trail of slick antifreeze, you will understand why. Or any corner for that matter.

The biggest issue is that there will be a lot of street bikes out there. They wont have the lower belly pan that will usually be there incase you start leaking fluids. That means the fluid drops right onto the track, usually right in the race line.

Like they said above, drain it and dont bother filling until that morning. Then, before you leave drain it again. That will make you be sure that everything is out, and can leave the rest of the field confident that they wont be tucking a front on some spilt fluids.

[2Blue]

Thanks for the tips! I'll drain it here and fill it at the track. The current weather prediction for that weekend has a low of 25F.

Any tips on refilling the radiator? Not sure if my bike has a bleeder valve for removing air bubbles.

Thanks again!!

[rforsythe]

Fill til full, then burp the lines by squeezing all of them along their entire length. Cap it, get the bike completely warmed up to circulate the water, then top it back off (you will want to let it cool down a bit before popping that cap!).

[dirkterrell]

FYI, at Bob's trackday I went down the night before and it dropped below freezing. I have an open trailer. I just ran it until it was at 180F, then I wrapped blankets around it and went to bed. I got up in the middle of the night, ran it to 180F again and went back to bed. No problems at all.

Dirk

[2Blue]

Yeah I think I am ready for the class. I have full leathers, boots, gloves back protector and brand new 2Ct's.

Feel free to comment on anything else that I might need or should bring to the track.

Oh yeah.....thought about finding a cheap hotel room to put my bike in.


Thanks!!!

[JPrider]

2Blue
I will see you there and good topic by the way. I was thinking the same thing when I got my confirmation. So is Water Wetter recommended or can just plain water work?

JP

[2Blue]

2Blue
I will see you there and good topic by the way. I was thinking the same thing when I got my confirmation. So is Water Wetter recommended or can just plain water work?

JP

I hear water wetter has the benefit of being corrosion resistent and is better for the water pump. I'm probably going to go with water wetter even though people have said that's overkill for this time of year and distilled water should be fine. I just want to have everything ready before I get to the track. It's my luck that something would leak or break if I tried to do some maintenance that morning! The solution for now is to sleep with the bike in a cheap hotel to avoid the freezing temps. Kind of shady I know, but for now it will have to do.

See ya there!

[rybo]

I hear water wetter has the benefit of being corrosion resistent and is better for the water pump. I'm probably going to go with water wetter even though people have said that's overkill for this time of year and distilled water should be fine. I just want to have everything ready before I get to the track. It's my luck that something would leak or break if I tried to do some maintenance that morning! The solution for now is to sleep with the bike in a cheap hotel to avoid the freezing temps. Kind of shady I know, but for now it will have to do.

See ya there!

Blue, JP,

There is no advantage to water wetter this time of year. Distilled water doesn't have any minerals in it to cause damage to the cooling system and the water pump is lubricated from the outside, not by the water or coolant. Feel free to use it, you won't do any harm, but it's a waste of money this time of year.

As far as other things to bring to the track: Full face made in the last 5 years. Gloves that extend beyond your wrists, boots that extend above the ankles. You'll also need a back protector.

There are lots of things that are a "good idea" to have:

Lots of fluids to stay hydrated. A notebook and pen, something for shade, a basic set of tools just in case.

Good luck, have fun and be safe. The last thing I can suggest bringing is a good attitude. No one wins any money or trophies at race school. Concentrate at being really good at the skills, fast will come with practice.

Scott

[RyNo24]

Oh yeah.....thought about finding a cheap hotel room to put my bike in.


Thanks!!!

Lol, get one of those ground level motel rooms and just roll it straight in for the night. Orange Country Choppers once worked on a broken bike in a ground level motel room in one episode.

[2Blue]

Blue, JP,

There is no advantage to water wetter this time of year. Distilled water doesn't have any minerals in it to cause damage to the cooling system and the water pump is lubricated from the outside, not by the water or coolant. Feel free to use it, you won't do any harm, but it's a waste of money this time of year.

As far as other things to bring to the track: Full face made in the last 5 years. Gloves that extend beyond your wrists, boots that extend above the ankles. You'll also need a back protector.

There are lots of things that are a "good idea" to have:

Lots of fluids to stay hydrated. A notebook and pen, something for shade, a basic set of tools just in case.

Good luck, have fun and be safe. The last thing I can suggest bringing is a good attitude. No one wins any money or trophies at race school. Concentrate at being really good at the skills, fast will come with practice.

Scott

Right on!!

Thanks man!

[2Blue]

Lol, get one of those ground level motel rooms and just roll it straight in for the night. Orange Country Choppers once worked on a broken bike in a ground level motel room in one episode.

I think I found one on the ground floor with roll in access....

[konichd]

Here is a handy track day checklist I compiled with a couple other board member's list. This should give you a good basic idea on what you need and what else you have to do in order to prepare for track days.

[pauliep]

Dave, I know it's early, did ya come up with a game plan for the week?

[konichd]

^^^Can only go down on Sunday. I have to replace the water pump cover, drop the front end 5mm, and finish up some small odds/ends on Saturday.

[RyNo24]

Here is a handy track day checklist I compiled with a couple other board member's list. This should give you a good basic idea on what you need and what else you have to do in order to prepare for track days.

Very nice checklist. I have never been to a track, but that checklist seems to cover all the bases and would be very helpful to a first timer. I know it always sucks when you forget something every important, and a checklist would have made you remember.

One question though on the checklist, are "Joe Rocket" Gloves really required lol.

[pauliep]

Have fun guys, looks like I can't make it this weekend

[konichd]

Very nice checklist. I have never been to a track, but that checklist seems to cover all the bases and would be very helpful to a first timer. I know it always sucks when you forget something every important, and a checklist would have made you remember.

One question though on the checklist, are "Joe Rocket" Gloves really required lol.

Perhaps I should have said its my personal checklist. Weird especially since I wear Alpine Stars

[2Blue]

Here is a handy track day checklist I compiled with a couple other board member's list. This should give you a good basic idea on what you need and what else you have to do in order to prepare for track days.

Awesome!!

Thanks!

[JPrider]

Thanks all for the info and thanks Konichd for the checklist.