Disclaimer: no, this is not AI. This is us partnering with a certain video game developer to help create educational short-form video.

How often do we use the rear brake on track?

The answer is usually "it depends." Often, we hear that "it depends" is really "I don't, because I'm concerned about when, where, and how to use it correctly."

Volume up as we give a quick overview.

That's it, nothing more to add

thunderhill east this weekend

I learned a lot reading up in here from everyone’s track experience, the wife and I got into track riding after many years off street bikes. I got a cheap Gsxr 1k already set up and she got a fresh 600. We’ve done 3 tracks days and can’t wait for next season if we can.

I got my 20 year old nephew into bikes when he was 10, so he got a bike also and didn’t have the best ride unfortunately, but he has the bug and we are looking for a 300 for him to get on. He looks abit defeated but he’s young and hungry still!

Now some pic dumps haha.

What’s your preference for TDs and racing? I’ve always been an inline 4 600 guy but picked up a Ninja 400 as a kart track/practice bike and love the different feel of the power delivery and sound. It’s very similar to 2 stroke vs 4 stroke in my opinion. Been actually eyeballing trading my R6 for an RS660 next year, look like awesome bikes.

As the weather is turning in The Netherlands, I have no more track days planned. Time for a quick wrap-up of my 2026 season. The season started impromptu with a quite cold and quite damp trackday on the Meppen track in January. Where we were invited because we organised our own trackday there in 2025. The real season started in April with 2 races in Assen. My winter upgrades (other gearing ratio, quickshifter, launchcontrol), worked really well, with a 4th and a 5th place as result.

The second weekend in May also started well, but during the second race, I got a technical black flag because my rear axle protector decided to act like training wheels. After a quick pitstop, I managed to overtake a part of the back of the field, but a 5th and a 22nd were my best results.

June was focused on organising another trackday on Meppen, where we got 80 very enthousiastic participants looking for their own track bikes and more track time.

The third weekend (July) we had 3 races, with a 4th, 5th and 7th place as final classifications.
August was three days of very hot Ecuyers. Ecuyers is a small track, with a lot of corners and not a lot of time to rest.

It seemed like the training had worked, because during the fourth weekend (September) I first managed to break my PB on the Daytona by a second, and then managed to find another second to also break my overall PB during the qualifying, landing me on the 5th spot on the grid. And then I opened the throttle to enthousiasticly in the first real left-hander with tires that were not up to temperature yet. The bike slid into the gravel. The bike was quite okay with only the left rearset that needed replacement. I was worse off. Concussion, bruised ribs and a trip to the hospital because I lost about an half hour of memory. This also meant that my 10 point advantage in the championship turned into a 2 point deficit.

Which brings us to last saturday. Where every race so far the conditions had been sunny and dry, suddenly we were plagued by weather that changed every few minutes from dry to wet. We were supposed to have 2 more races, I had to finish a cumulative of at least 3 places in front of my main rival to be sure of the championship win. And then someone blew their engine during free practice and spilled oil over half the track. So we had to wait for the track to be cleaned. Instead of 2 races, we had one longer race. Looking at the weather and the predictions, I chose to go out on S23's as a kind of intermediate. My rival chose wet tires. In the first few laps I managed to overtake quite some people, but then it started to rain and I had to decrease my pace and got overtaken by a few people on wets. Luckily, the rain stopped as quickly as it started and the track started to dry up, giving me more confidence to increase my pace. My rival ended 8th, I ended 6th. So we were even... And then the organisation decided that the last race counted double. So suddenly I was champion!

(In the lowest, slowest, most amateur class, but still, I got the trophy and the shirt!)

I’ve seen a few guys track sumos, and given how cheap a decent used drz is I’m thinking about building a track bike out of one.

To be clear, I’m a total novice to riding and have never been on a track. Looking to get into it on the budget side of things. Also considering doing some suspension and brake upgrades on my MazdaSpeed build and taking that car to the track here and there to get a better idea of just track environment in general.

So yeah, sumo or no? My dads potentially looking to sell his low mileage DRZ and it’s got a few power mods, I’ve ridden it a few times and I love how light and nimble it is, just curious what some of the truly dedicated riders think about them? Thanks!

Just started track riding a month ago and have been having a blast!

This clip was a pretty common theme for me this track weekend. I can usually pass 600s/liter bikes initially on the exit into these passing zones, but would usually end up getting reeled in quickly before the end of the straights. This usually ends up with me having to park behind them going below my preferred pace where I find I learn the best.

The passing zones are usually only in the straights, and not allowed in braking zones or turns. They are the only time we can pass.

I had a lucky break when they included another zone I made use of near the end of the clip, where I could secure reliable passes. Unfortunately, this zone was not allowed again the next day.

Listening to advice, I’ve tried pitting in to make a gap. This ended up having me sent out behind a group each time. I also tried not going full pin on the straights to make distance, but it would usually only last a couple of turns before catching up again or I would get passed by more riders.

I try to make the most of it by focusing on improving elsewhere, though it still gets pretty distracting trying to keep a safe distance. It also feels like it limits how much I could potentially be learning during the limited time on the track especially considering all the red flags this weekend.

Any suggestions to prepare me for next season is appreciated!

Hey, I’ve been building 130R, a free lap-timing app for iOS and Android. It includes lap and sector timing, lap comparisons, and a catalogue of over 3,000 circuits worldwide.

Support for external GPS antennas is in development and should be coming soon. If you try the app, I’d love to hear what you think or what features you’d like to see. An honest store rating or review would also help a lot.

iOS: 130R on the App Store
Android: 130R on Google Play

Been a while since i’ve posted. Had my suspension dialled in professionally where they stiffened things up a bit — and on a cool autumn morning under heavy braking this now happens..would this be considered “backing it in” (yes, i know i blew the corner. Thank you)

Let me know your thoughts and what I can improve on!
Best lap of the day 1:44

I used to race mini bikes as a kid but none since then. I mentioned I want to get a motorcycle for track days and she lost her shit saying it's super dangerous. For the ones that do it, is it ? I wouldn't ride on the highways as that's what is probably her fear but I'm trying to rationalize it with her because track days have rules and safety or am I wrong

Decided to put the 2027 RSV4 on full time track duty. About to add race fairings. Those who've done their own work, are you just zip tying the bundle together to the bracket? Seems simple enough. TIA.

I'm new to track riding.

Apart from the wear indicators in the tyre is there any other cause to replace them?

I have done 5000 km and 3 tracks days on my tyres, they are Bridgestone s22

My concern is that after my second track day they turned bring blue and after the third with a faster pace they turned a lot darker you can see them a bit blue bit kinda burned looking.

Have they lost internal properties or tyres are just rubber and while you have meat on the tyre am good to go?

Am I paranoid about this?

Bike is 2023 rs 660
I need tires soon and was looking to upgrade. I’m mid/lower A group, ive only ridden on Rosso 3 and q5s. Didnt really like the Dunlop, cant tell where edge is until too late. I’ve come down to 3. Bridgestone RS11/12, Pirelli SPV4, and metzeler TD slick. Leaning towards the rs11/12 and spv4 just because they’re still DoT and I can take the bike to work or canyon if I feel like it (I have other bikes so it’s not a deal breaker but would be nice not having to juggle tires/be rideable whenever I want) the spv4 can be ordered in a 180/60 profile which I’ve never ridden but interested in trying. Is that a noticeable difference? The metzeler is cheap, 180/60 profile, and is a slick, but wondering about grip compared to the other 2 as I wouldn’t consider them a “true” slick. I’ve also considered the ContiRace attack 2 mediums lol, Ive seen a lot of continental hate which is making me want to try them 🤣 the people I’ve heard of running them say nothing but good. Can’t find anywhere to order from that isn’t out of stock so kinda out the window with those

Is Thunderhill East running a lot faster after the repave? It’s been a year since I’ve ran it, and I am getting fucking obliterated - being passed left and right.

I’m usually middle of my group, maybe slightly above that, but I feel like the slowest in the group today. I have taken a 11 month break, but it still feels like something else is off. Is the track running a lot faster and my usual reference points are now outdated?