Snetterton noob day

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Steve
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Snetterton noob day

Post by Steve » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:58 pm

They have a novice day coming up next week for £99 and was a little tempted
http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/snett ... ity=novice

I know from looking at it it aint gonna be the greatest track for trixy but hey it's relatively local and i'm a noob at tracks,
just wondered if anyone has been there done that :?:
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idl1975
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by idl1975 » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:15 pm

Steve wrote:They have a novice day coming up next week for £99 and was a little tempted
http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/snett ... ity=novice

I know from looking at it it aint gonna be the greatest track for trixy but hey it's relatively local and i'm a noob at tracks,
just wondered if anyone has been there done that :?:

Just an IMHO, but Snets is (a) fast and (b) pretty boring. As to (a), note the recent death on a Hottrax TD.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if Snets is local, Rockingham ain't very far at all, and Rockingham's national circuit is probably "the" TRX friendly track. If you haven't done a lot of track days, why be alternately bored and scared to death by going to a very fast track? Rockingham also has a good variety of corners, which makes it a good introduction to track riding.

Would really recommend you buy or borrow copies of Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist" books. Very valuable for keeping the rubber side down on the track and understanding what's going on (as long as you ignore the credibility destroying dedication to L. Ron Hubbard). Unless you are very, very brave on the road, you will probably find track riding on a dry day is a completely different experience. A bit of theoretical background will help you approach the experience safely and sensibly.
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slow codger
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by slow codger » Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:58 am

:? I can see where Steves coming from, Snetterton is by far his nearest track, Rockingham is a bit of a trek from Yarmouth!
However as is said above Snetterton would be soul destroying on a TRX, as all the inline 4's have time and length of straight to come past you, Oh and the bomb hole will sort out your suspension If you haven't got it sorted. I would go with the Rockingham suggestion. Maybe worth your while going down and watching, It will give you a taste whilst saving money, and you can then look at somewhere like Rockingham knowing your not going to be dicing with a tuned XS250!
Keith Codes book is excellent to get your head around some of the techie side of what your bike is trying to do whilst your getting your knee down, but then you just might have a doctorate in physics and understand all that.

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Steve
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by Steve » Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:06 pm

Appreciate the input guys, kinda guessed what some of the comment were going to be as trixy does prefer more corners and so do i tbh - only about 2mm from the edge of the rear now.

Dave E is bang on, 130 mile trek to rockingham is a bit much for my backside, around 60 mile and i'm starting to get dead leg as well as numb butt
so i'd possibly end up as a viewer for the 1st couple of sessions at rocky not to mention having to leave at an ungodly time of the am.

Might just have to pass on this one anyway as just been tweaking the chain this morning and noticed half a dozen rollers are showing signs of being wobbly and the front sprocket's teeth have seen better days so i'm leaning towards doing that instead of snetterton and still having a left leg for next year!
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Silver
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by Silver » Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:23 pm

I know its not that local but how about an evening session at Cadwell. They are great value at £45-£49 and excellent for the TRX.
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Steve
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by Steve » Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:41 pm

Sorry Silver but Cadwell is just as far away, and to me looks less bendy!

Be so much easier if i lived 100 miles further inland!
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by slow codger » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:43 am

:D I'm sure you could have a tea stop / butt rest at mine If I wasn't working. Plus I would probably go and watch as well, take a few pics as you do.

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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by idl1975 » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:38 pm

Steve wrote:Sorry Silver but Cadwell is just as far away, and to me looks less bendy!

Be so much easier if i lived 100 miles further inland!
Cadwell's actually OK for TRXs. "They" can get you at the end of Park Straight, even if you get good entry speed onto it, but the rest of the track the challenge is mostly linking up the apexes (a few of them blind!) correctly and getting your track position right. People who just rely on the throttle will end up off the track there, or at least very confused. Not really one for beginners, unless you're a naturally talented 14 year old on an RS125. It's very hard to figure out where you should be or what you should be doing with the throttle. Of course, even if you don't, we all know about the Mountain! :)

However, having lost a chain Oulton on the TRX, I definitely recommend the new chain and sprockets instead. :lol: Much easier than pushing a TRX 130 miles. :shock:

If you don't mind staying overnight somewhere, Rockingham next spring or summer is definitely worth doing. Or if you have a "cage" licence, split van rental with someone and leave about 5am the same day. I've done that from Guildford - it's fine, if you take a quick nap during the lunch break or don't do all the sessions.
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by Steve » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:09 pm

slow codger wrote::D I'm sure you could have a tea stop / butt rest at mine If I wasn't working. Plus I would probably go and watch as well, take a few pics as you do.

Dave E.
Nice one Dave E :occasion5: Coffee, Black, 2 sugars mate, ps. might have to have a ride up your way before the weather gets even worse than it already is! Note to Australian friends Can we swap ya a shi£load of rain for a week or two of sunshine :D

Rockingham next year sounds like the best idea of the lot tbh although with snetts being so close it's tempting to go see/play anyway, sod the tuned up fs1e's :lol:
the main reason was just to try a track and see how it feels pushing a bit harder when over, as it is i rely entirely on the tyres, never had a knee down but then i dont stick the bugger out in an attempt to grind it into the road, as Baz Luhrman said in that song "Sunscreen" Look after your Knees, you'll miss them when theyre gone :)
I'm not short @ 5'11 and tend to find i'm more leg than body if that makes sense, even the knee protectors in the leathers end up on top of my knees, and really dont find it that easy to get the leg in such a position as to stick me knee out and never can be arsed to hang off the seat - esp like some of the babboons on youtube who probably corner like jessies but hang off just to scrape the shine off their sliders, so perhaps my cornering techniques is shite anyway and would be wasted on a decent rack hence snetts would do for a sampler ya see.

Enough of this i'm going to start getting the bike ready for the new chain (did) & sprox arriving tomorrow.
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Re: Snetterton noob day

Post by Triton » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:34 am

Despite other posts by me about avoiding "power circuits" with the mighty TRX, once your bike's sorted I'd actually go to Snetterton and have a go. I raced there many times in the 80s, and even got a 1959 Triton into 2nd in the BOTT class of the NMCC in 1989 so power ain't everything there, having a bike that stops, steers and remains predictable is the secret. After the Bombhole there's a long right hander called Coram (forgive me Lord, I may have sinned and misremembered the name of it... OOOSDC card carrying member number 1!) which is ideal for experimenting with lean angles, and there are some fairly technical changes of direction after that. It's actually an easy circuit to learn, but a difficult one to learn well if your bike is going faster than you're used to... ie most of the other noobs. So yes, the TRX will get blown away by 600s on the straights, but at least there are corners where you will find yourself gaining confidence and maybe even catching them. Good luck, I suggest get your chain etc sorted first and then take it easy when you get there... let us know how you go. [-o< =D>

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