Took the bike to Poconos this past Sunday ...
With 6 miles on the odometer I happily, but cautiously, hit the track with my new 899 this past Sunday. I hadn't made any modifications to the bike, so I brought a set of tools and a few new parts, nothing major, with me in anticipation of working on the bike at the track.
We were unloaded and in the paddock by 7:20, taped and inspected by about 7:40 and at 7:48 all of my buddies swarmed around my bike and helped remove the mirrors, read sets, install the spools, etc. within about 15 mins. It was a great feeling of camaraderie.
I didn't have new rear sets, but I did have new foot pegs since I heard the stock pegs were very slippery. After getting advice to try the existing pegs before changing them, I found that, at least at the level I was riding at, the pegs were fine. As a matter of fact, I forgot all about them after the warm up lap.
I did however find that the skinny body of the 899 was very slippery and made me very uncomfortable. Luckily I did have a set of clear Stompgrips, which I installed in between the next session. IMO, it made a huge difference. I was a lot more confident of getting off the bike with them installed.
After getting the same advice from several past/present race engine builders I decided to break in the new motor right on the track. Since it was a new bike, new track and I was concentrating on engine braking for proper break in I was more cautious than normal compared to when I was on my Triumph. I'm relatively new to the sport so that factored in as well.
I started out in "Wet" mode, but found the throttle response unsatisfactorily choppy. So after a few sessions I remembered changing from Rain to Track on a '14 Aprilla Factory RSV4 made throttle response much more predictable, I decided to change to "Race" mode on the 899. This made throttle response much smoother and predictable, but the reduced electronics intervention made me nervous, so I changed to "Sport" mode in the next session and this is where I happily stayed for the rest of the day. I understand I sound like a nube and on the track I basically am. Next time I will increase the intervention levels in "Race" mode so I can get back to the quicker throttle response. That way I can get better acclimated with it's response compared to the less aggressive "Sport" mode response.
At the end of the day I was very happy with my new bike and I look forward to furthering my Track and Wrench skills with it.
I am in the process of sourcing some track related gear for it, such as skins, protectors, grips, etc. I'll keep the post updated as I progress along.
My next track day is at NJMP Thunderbolt on the 9th. I know that track much better so it will be one less thing to concentrate on, lets see how it turns out.
