Track Day/School

[Middlepatent]

I bought the XR in August and used it for two days at the CA Superbike School at the Thunderbolt Track in NJ. Two days ate up my Pirelli Corsa's, its a right corner oriented track and it was very hot. Other than that the bike came through just fine.
These were my first track days so I had my hands full but the power and handling made for a stable and safe ride. I had the only upright bike on the track as they provide RR's to the few riders who don't have their own superbike to ride. The bike is great on the straights but even with my limited skill set I could feel that the bike didn't quite want to hold the corners as well as the RR's. Easily understood when you look at the differences in weight, length and steering angle. The XR might be the best sport road bike but it wasn't built for a tight track. I have almost 7,000 fast miles on the roads in CT and NY to demo that.
The reason I was not riding the RR has to do with my own body mechanics which make the neck position very tough on the sport geometry. I am also tall, with long legs and quite used to the room on my upright GSA's.
Now I am planning for next season, track skills are what I am after, not the best times or the finding out where the limits of grip appear.
I have three options. 1) get as good as possible on the XR and leave it at that. 2) get an R which has a moderate body position and more appropriate rake/trail and steering angle between the XR and RR. or 3) modify an RR with bar risers and try to make that work.
The CA Superbike School is fantastic but everyone is a bit quick and I don't want to get in the way. I know my limitations but I think I can go a bit harder on a bike designed for tracks riding. The S1000R is compromise but has all the issues that naked bikes bring to the table.
Anybody have a opinion?
Thanks.
 

[grnmtvt]

You lucky devil!!  Envy you the opportunity to get to that school in such great weather.  With the August temps I bet the tires were glued to the pavement!
Totally understand the attraction to upright riding when you have neck issues.  I moved from the k1300s to the XR for just that reason......well, that and my wrists were playing hell.
Must ask you.......what were your top speeds on the track........and did you experience any high speed wobble?  Shield in the up or down position???  Someone in another thread mentioned that they had experienced the wobble in the top end.
Thanks for the post.........   

[Gilly76]

Go for the R and get a larger screen for tracks with long straights.

I think you'll find the RR too extreme, and if your new to track riding you'll get more out of the R anyway.

HTH

[Middlepatent]

To grnmtvt, It was really hot and the track is also used for cars and they leave a lot of rubber on the surface. My tires were a gooey mess. I will try and figure out how to post a photo we took after the first day. As funky as they looked, all that rubber held like glue. I had no problem using the full radius of the tire but without more body hang my corner speeds were limited. I found that the XR will lean pretty well but it tend to want to sit up and rather than hold a tight line. That impression doesn't surface on the roads.
Thunderbolt Raceway, named after the P-47's that were built and trained on that site in New Jersey, is a short course with 12 corners so no blazing speeds. Also, CA Superbike tapes over the dash, we had no data on speeds. I am guessing that by the time I was at 105 mph at the Start/finish straight I was mostly concerned with getting in and out of Turn 1. I rode with the shield down. I have had the XR up to 130 mph without experiencing that wobble. But this bike seems more about 20-100 than the top end.

To Gilly76, I am leaning that direction. There is a demo XR, with full exhaust and tune available at my dealer. My garage is getting full, can't part with my 2013 GSA oil cooled bike.

[grnmtvt]

Hey Middlepatent!
Great info thanks!!  I can just imagine the tires in those August temperatures in New Jersey!!  Gooey for sure.  I'd welcome some of that up here in Vermont right now where the riding temps at night going home from work are sometimes in the upper 20's.   
Good to hear you weren't getting any of the wobble.  Have been up well over 100 and haven't experienced any of it myself as yet.
Good luck to you with whatever bike you choose!