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Tracked the 8th Gen over the weekend


Matty231

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...And she was great. My first time tracking a motorbike admittedly. However very fun and loved ringing that VTEC to the redline on the straights.

 

The bike suprising handled well and kept up with other bikes in most cases (not the super pro riders on super sports) and was able to pull in the straights on some others.

 

When I compared the weight of my bike with some others, the VFR is very well balanced and suited to the corners despite the extra +50KG. The braking was really nice too.

 

We did the track day at Pukekohe Park here in Auckland, NZ. It's apparently one of the quickest tracks in the southern hemisphere (or maybe Australasia)... When I took my Merc on the track I was able to lap times still quicker than the bike but I put that down to the cornering and the 'first-time' on the track cautiousness I was using. But at the end of the day it was more about learning the bikes characteristics (and also trying to get a top speed on the straight ;)

 

I managed around 205kph on the back straight which I was happy with; other bikes were doing around 230 in some cases but they were lighter & more HP.

 

Hope you like the pics!

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WOW - awesome pics!   The 8th gen looks white-hot and right at home out on the track!  Did you do any mods in preparation for the track?  Any vids?  What tires and pressure were you running?  Quickshifter?  I've never had mine on a track but I concur the bike handles wonderfully in the curves - at least the puny curves I have in Fla anyway - LOL.  I need to get mine to a track now!

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Tidy pics hope you enjoyed your track day. I love them but live sooooo far away.

 

im surprised they let you on with textiles. Must be leathers in uk 

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46 minutes ago, fink said:

 

im surprised they let you on with textiles. Must be leathers in uk 

 

My first thought too. Some places here even require them to be one-piece.

 

The 8th look really good in white too. Growing on me.

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10 hours ago, GatorGreg said:

WOW - awesome pics!   The 8th gen looks white-hot and right at home out on the track!  Did you do any mods in preparation for the track?  Any vids?  What tires and pressure were you running?  Quickshifter?  I've never had mine on a track but I concur the bike handles wonderfully in the curves - at least the puny curves I have in Fla anyway - LOL.  I need to get mine to a track now!

 

Thanks... yea I had lots of people come up and say either 'aww i want to buy one of these' or 'that looks great in white'.

 

There was also an RC36 VFR700 there too (or 750?) which was mint; it was the oldest bike at the track day; with the nice gear driven cams!!

 

I was running 40 rear and 36 front... I think 42 is normal for rear.

 

And no quick-shifter, that should be a good choice though when I get round to it ;)

 

Yea the hairpin was maybe pushing it when taking it at speed but it's very capable for it's weight... They've done a very good job of balancing the bike and refining it which a VFR I believe is always built to be in it's blood.

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10 hours ago, fink said:

Tidy pics hope you enjoyed your track day. I love them but live sooooo far away.

 

im surprised they let you on with textiles. Must be leathers in uk 

Interesting; because textiles don't fear well to the heat! Probably time I got leathers, what do you recommend?

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4 hours ago, Matty231 said:

Interesting; because textiles don't fear well to the heat! Probably time I got leathers, what do you recommend?

Any leathers from a reputable company will suit your needs (see what I did there, suit...yeah, pretty lame, I know....) Make sure they fit properly, that is most important! Try them on, get in the position that you'll be wearing them in, and make sure that they are tight enough where they need to be, and loose enough where they need to be. If you go to a reputable shop, the people there should be able to give you advice. I have a 2 piece Arlen Ness suit, and I like it. I am able to wear just the jacket on nice days, or if I'm going for a spirited ride, I put the whole thing on. Colors, well that all depends on your taste. I prefer mostly white leathers, as you get hot enough in them, and I've had darker leathers in the past, and totally cooked in them. A color scheme like what you have on your textiles would be decent. Suits are like tires, and helmets, lots of good brands out there, it all depends on what you like. 

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5 hours ago, Matty231 said:

Interesting; because textiles don't fear well to the heat! Probably time I got leathers, what do you recommend?

Douglas said pretty much what I would have said with addition to what I have here. Some stores will have bikes in their shop where you can hop on all geared up to see how well the suit works in different riding positions. If the suit does not have a back protector insert, be sure to try the suit on with one of the stand alone protectors strapped to you. I was pretty lucky in all of my leather suit purchases, I found them either on closeout or used on a forum similar to this one. On the latter, it did help that I knew my size and it was in the same brand I already own. Of course I still tried it on to make sure but ultimately, finding the deals is the key to saving money as good leather suits are not cheap and conversely, cheap leather suits are usually not good :wink:  Best thing to do is get sized, find out which brands fit you and what their sizing options are. Most two-piece suits come as a set, but you can always mix and match separates but that route usually cost a bit more.

 

Based on how loose the "rules" were for your track day, i.e. Textile suit, not having to tape up lights, etc., you could most likely get away with a two piece suit. I prefer the ones with a "360" zip, meaning it zips almost all the way around. Some two piece suits have short zippers at the back to allow attaching pants to jacket, I recommend not getting one of this type. The main benefit of a two piece is that it is usually more comfortable when off the bike as well as allowing you to remove the jacket without having dead weight hanging around your hips knocking into things! And as Douglas pointed out, you can wear the jacket on it's own if you're so inclined.

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Some venues allow textile, aerostich type suits in their begginer groups. Good tires and tuned suspension are all a vfr needs to feel at home on the track.

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  • 1 month later...

Wow. That's great. Tracked my white 2014 Viffer 800dlx too! Down at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington USA.

Here's a few pics. Weather wasn't the best but running in the rain is good practice for smoother control inputs. Though counter intuitive to me at the time the instructors said to over inflate the street tires for the rain to open the treads which yield better grip. It worked! :wink:

 

 

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Hey cool,  I'm like 25 minutes from the Ridge. Great track,  be nice to see it in a finished state though.  Good to see another Viffer fan on the track,  can't wait for way better weather.   Gota chuckle a here,  the one dude I know at "Track time" a riders school,  Gives me crap when I say I ain't signing up with this weather, he in turn says riding in the rain will make you foucas more and be smoother. I tend to agree to a bit with a smirk. 

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DiscoStu,

My chance at a wet TD with my Interceptor turned into a beautiful dry day. How did the electronics do in the wet? Any obvious interference from the ABS and TC?

What tires were you using?

 

I'm always amazed at the grip that Pilot Power 2CTs have in the wet.

 

How does the new carousel compare to the old one? I haven't been to TRMP since 2014, but I'm going in July for California Superbike School :D

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1 hour ago, DiscoStu said:

Wow. That's great. Tracked my white 2014 Viffer 800dlx too! Down at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington USA.

Here's a few pics. Weather wasn't the best but running in the rain is good practice for smoother control inputs. Though counter intuitive to me at the time the instructors said to over inflate the street tires for the rain to open the treads which yield better grip. It worked! :wink:

 

 

JAYT4628.jpg

JAYT9107.jpg

JAYT9777.jpg

JAYT9488.jpg

JAYT9966.jpg

 

Oooh those are awesome pics - I bet the Delk mini sounds awesome out on the track!

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Yeah man it sounds great. I really wish someone would come out with a full header kit and it would sound even more throaty.....grrrrrr. I chose this model as it's the best I could find at the time to showcase the beautiful rear wheel. For me actually it's my only real gripe about this new model.......with the plastic molding and even with a tidy tail you can't fit any pipes under the seat like the older model Viffers. Twin Delki mini's would be off the hook!

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23 minutes ago, DiscoStu said:

Yeah man it sounds great. I really wish someone would come out with a full header kit and it would sound even more throaty.....grrrrrr. I chose this model as it's the best I could find at the time to showcase the beautiful rear wheel. For me actually it's my only real gripe about this new model.......with the plastic molding and even with a tidy tail you can't fit any pipes under the seat like the older model Viffers. Twin Delki mini's would be off the hook!

  Stay tuned.  I may have a fix for this.  though the 8th gen is a whole other animal to do,  there might be some easy twinks to what I have going on that may work.. we'll see  

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Yep.  This started off as a 5th gen build, then the 6th gen folks would like to see this.  Being the engine for the most part is the same,  it should fit an 8th gen less a couple re done bends there in front.  Honda went back to the front radiator, so those tubes need a bit different bend. From there all the way out pretty much a 5th gen layout.  You and a couple others have had a wish for a header,  so while at this one. I have it to see what it's going to take to make that happen. Could be 2-3 months out, but it's in the pipe to figure out now that the go to VFR is the 8th gen.  ;) 

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On 4/13/2017 at 8:47 AM, lazyeye said:

DiscoStu,

My chance at a wet TD with my Interceptor turned into a beautiful dry day. How did the electronics do in the wet? Any obvious interference from the ABS and TC?

What tires were you using?

 

I'm always amazed at the grip that Pilot Power 2CTs have in the wet.

 

How does the new carousel compare to the old one? I haven't been to TRMP since 2014, but I'm going in July for California Superbike School :D

Lazyeye,

 

Apologies as I just saw this post. Kinda new to this stuff.

I can't comment on the old carousel as my time there was 2015 onwards, but overall The Ridge is epic in my humble opinion. A lot of great corners, changes in elevation, good open ground, good visual references, and the only barrier to contend with in on the lower straight so a good safe track. They now have a 1/5th scale go kart track which replicate the main track....it is super fun. The make things even better they recently built a motorcross track too!  Anyways the electronics were fine. I didn't experience any interference from the rider aids. That being said those pics are from the first time I was ever on the track so I wasn't near pushing what the bike can do...not even close :wink:. Maybe someday. Ha!  Point of interest. Have you heard about Area 27 over in Oliver, British Columbia? We're gonna try to run there this summer. I'll let you know how it goes.....

 

Those pictures on wet track day I was running the stock Dunlop D222 tires. They did okay, but I have since switched to Metzeler Sportec M7 RR's.  I like these tires wayyyy more than the Dunlops. The tip in really quick and have a good solid grip.

 

 

 

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On 4/13/2017 at 2:41 PM, RVFR said:

Yep.  This started off as a 5th gen build, then the 6th gen folks would like to see this.  Being the engine for the most part is the same,  it should fit an 8th gen less a couple re done bends there in front.  Honda went back to the front radiator, so those tubes need a bit different bend. From there all the way out pretty much a 5th gen layout.  You and a couple others have had a wish for a header,  so while at this one. I have it to see what it's going to take to make that happen. Could be 2-3 months out, but it's in the pipe to figure out now that the go to VFR is the 8th gen.  ;) 

Just pitched in. Hope that helps. By the way Delkevic makes full systems for 5th & 6th gens. www.delkevic.us. Hopefully you can beat them to the punch for the 8th gens....pleeaasssseeee. 

 

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I was pleasantly surprised by the RC79's competence at the track. Front brake is mediocre with OE pads and lame master cylinder, but otherwise I was very satisfied. There is something to be said for riding a slow bike fast:

 

 

 

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