Okay, so that title's not exactly accurate... I'm 44, not 40. And I've been to the track many, many times; but only in cars; never on a bike.

I haven't had a motorcycle in at least five years. The last one was a CBR954. My riding experience is very limited... I've only owned three (a CBR600F4i and a SV650S being the other two).

Some time in last few years I decided I wanted to try riding at the track, before I got even older/more scared/uncoordinated. Last June, I got rid of my "serious" track car—an '06 Evo 9 that I ran in NASA TT1 Time Trials—and that freed up the money and time/attention to pursue the motorcycle thing.

In December I bought a 2009 CBR600RRA (ABS-equipped model). I had also been considering the 2013–14 ZX6R for its technology-enabled rider assists (and for the extra 36cc of power), but decided that it didn't make sense to buy a brand-new bike for more than $10k if there was going to be a good chance of me laying it down.

My plan is to do a bunch of track days at HPR this summer. I don't expect to do much street riding, both because of the added inherent risk of "playing in traffic" with cagers, and because my objective with buying this bike really is to learn how to ride on the track.

You will probably want to ask, "Why didn't you just buy a track bike then?" My answer is that I believe it will be easier to sell a street bike down the road than a fully built track bike, and also at this point I haven't obtained a trailer to take it to tracks yet (although that's probably coming). Maybe I'll go to the track and be really into this for the next five years. Maybe I'll go a couple-three times and decide it's not for me. We'll see.

I'm thinking about preemptively taking the bodywork off and replacing it with something more disposable.

These are the options I was considering:

Optimal Racing fiberglass, $478.48 shipped including 6-piece Dzus fastener kit (I'll need to paint it, but I'll probably just go cheap/ghetto and rattlecan it myself):

http://www.weridemotorsports.com/Opt...r-20092010.htm

Factory plastic replica ABS straight from China off eBay, prepainted and with replica decals/vinyl already applied (in the case of the red/black kit), $693 shipped. Feedback on these kits for this vendor range from good to "the paint is very cheap and chips off easily":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291108843798?



I like the idea of changing the color of my bike from black/red to all white:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301132599667?



Having the Optimal fiberglass fairings with Dzus fasteners would make doing oil changes more convenient. Plus it's more than $200 cheaper. Fitment of the Optimal Racing fiberglass could be better than the Chinese-made ABS plastics too. Opinions?

I'm committed to trying not to get hurt on this thing, so beyond the requisite one-piece leather suit, boots, gloves, and helmet, I'm also looking into buying back protection, armored shorts/underwear, possibly even a Hit-Air MLV vest.

I realize that at my first track day at HPR, I'm just going to be crawling around the track, building confidence and familiarity with the lines and getting comfortable with braking and turn-in points (and clocking some blistering 2:30 lap times), but eventually I'd like to learn how to move on the bike and lean properly.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this (mentally)? I've read through these articles; I'm assuming what's in them in accurate:

http://www.ridinginthezone.com/body-position-tips-2/
http://www.sportrider.com/body-posit...ing-techniques
https://rideapart.com/articles/10-th...r-sport-riding

Here's the bike... not that any of you are unfamiliar with what a nearly bone-stock '09–'12 CBR600 looks like. Aside from HID headlights, an LED tailight, the Zero Gravity double bubble windscreen, and frame sliders and spools, I believe it is 100% stock.

I've already ordered a set of TechSpec Snakeskin tanks grips for it. I'm also considering swapping out the OEM levers for FP levers... was thinking about the medium length for the clutch, and shorty length for the brake. Pretty affordable at $135 via motomummy.com. Opinions regarding the lever lengths?

NOTE: it has mirrors; I just hadn't reinstalled them yet after swapping the windscreen when I took this pic:



I'm assuming these stampings on the tires (Michelin Power, unfortunately not the dual compound 2CT version) are the build dates? They're in great shape in terms of tread depth, but 2011 seems kinda old to me... but this is coming from a mindset where R-comp tires for cars like Hoosier R6s or BFG R1Ss are considered "old/crusty" if the build date is more than about 18 months ago... I'm assuming they're fine for my first few track outings?

And should I bother swapping out the front brake pads to something like the EBC Double-H sintered pads, or just go with whatever is in there (assumedly the OEM pads, at only 8k miles) to start out?









And in case any of you have ever been out to HPR or Pueblo for a NASA racing weekend, you might have seen me in one of these two cars (the Evo is gone; I still have my S2000):