[Chain]

If so, do the tracks already have a transmitter at the START/FINISH line or do I need to buy my own?

What brand should I get, or is this the "only" one?

http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/ultra-lap/index.html

Or should I and not worry about lap times?

(I'm a relative n00b when it comes to track riding and I wonder if I'm best served not knowing what sort of times I'm logging in my slog around the track.)

[ConqSoft]

No, you don't.

[SomeStrangeGuy]

this thread should be titled "Am I taking a racing school?"

Few trackdays near me will toss your ass out if you're running a timer.
Not a bad idea to slap a piece of duct tape over your speedo too.

You'd be suprised how sub-legal you ride on the street after that too

[abtech]

First of all, no one "needs" a lap timer. Secondly, if you have one, most tracks/events will have a transponder at start/finish. Thirdly, I own an XT and have yet to get an accurate time with it even after sending it back 3 times. The latest round of MyChron timers are far and above the XT product.

Don't buy anything yet, as we will have MyChrons for sale or rent at the Grattan event.

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by Chain

http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/ultra-lap/index.html

I refer to these guys for my lap timer needs, you'll probably find faster lap times with this then the one above in your busa:
www.fastlaps.com/riderimprovement/timers/...435.html

[Chain]

Originally Posted by SomeStrangeGuy

You'd be suprised how supra-legal you ride on the street after that too

After I did the track school at MAM last year, I found myself riding more conservatively on the street than ever before. Slower, not faster.

Don't misunderstand. I still enjoy sport touring and/or an occasional straight line blast of acceleration on a deserted country two-lane, but I don't push like I used to, not after experiencing the track.

[HondaGalToo]

Not necessary at first, IMHO. I have one, but I didn't get it till after I'd been riding many seasons. It can be a double-edged sword, depending on your mindset. It can be a useful tool to gauge improvement, or it can get you into trouble if you become totally focused on only speed and hell-bent on beating your last session's lap time. Your first couple of seasons would be better spent focusing on technique and smoothness, rather than speed and laptimes.

To answer your other question, someone always seems to have the beacon out, so you'd just need the transmitter part for your bike. UltraLap and Micron are good, and both work with each other's beacons. HG and I will have a beacon to put out at Grattan if no one else has one. Just gotta get a new big 12v battery for it.

[Chain]

Originally Posted by abtech

First of all, no one "needs" a lap timer. Secondly, if you have one, most tracks/events will have a transponder at start/finish. Thirdly, I own an XT and have yet to get an accurate time with it even after sending it back 3 times. The latest round of MyChron timers are far and above the XT product.

Don't buy anything yet, as we will have MyChrons for sale or rent at the Grattan event.

Great, thanks!

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by Chain

After I did the track school at MAM last year, I found myself riding more conservatively on the street than ever before. Slower, not faster.

Sorry, I did not mean to put supra- (edited my post), I am awake at this hour too, huh.

I sold my 954 after my first/last trackday, realizing that streetriding didn't appeal to me in the slightest...or at least the "ROI" wasn't in it for me at that point in time.
Truthfully I had much babbling in my head similar to what you post on here with your indifference to riding and your bike changing-ism's
...3 years later I have a KLR and a YZ, heh you've been warned

[Chain]

Originally Posted by SomeStrangeGuy

Truthfully I had much babbling in my head similar to what you post on here with your indifference to riding and your bike changing-ism's...3 years later I have a KLR and a YZ, heh you've been warned

Don't phock with me, I'll trade this beotch and buy a new Respol quick enough to make your head spin.

[Red Rider]

Originally Posted by SomeStrangeGuy

this thread should be titled "Am I taking a racing school?"

Few trackdays near me will toss your ass out if you're running a timer.
Not a bad idea to slap a piece of duct tape over your speedo too.

You'd be suprised how sub-legal you ride on the street after that too

Really? I've never heard of laptimers being forbidden at track days. Chain, I'd say save your money for now. I'm sure you can borrow someone's (mine) at Grattan if you want to try one. You should only concern yourself with laptimes after you've become comfortable on your bike and know the track. Until then, it's just a distraction.

abtech, I've noticed my XT giving erratic readings lately too. It seemed to work fine when I first bought it but I question it's reliability now. Have you tried the new Michron?

[Chain]

Originally Posted by Red Rider

Chain, I'd say save your money for now. I'm sure you can borrow someone's (mine) at Grattan if you want to try one. You should only concern yourself with laptimes after you've become comfortable on your bike and know the track. Until then, it's just a distraction.

10-4.

(Thanks to Conq and abtech for the similarly good advice.)

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by Red Rider

Really? I've never heard of laptimers being forbidden at track days.

http://www.tonystrackdays.com/rulesmain.cfm

[tnarinen]

Originally Posted by abtech

Thirdly, I own an XT and have yet to get an accurate time with it even after sending it back 3 times. The latest round of MyChron timers are far and above the XT product.

This pretty much sums my feelings about XT stuff too, they appear to be bit overhyped. They had leading edge features two years ago, but today they have nothing over MyChron Light's (MyChron displays for example are way better), and I've heard way more stories about unreliability issues with XT and actually I've heard zero trackside issues about MyChron.

As for the original issue, HG2 speaks words of wisdom. IMHO the timers should be used by people who are seriously targeting improved lap times (racers/racer-wannebe's etc.). If you're taking a big sport-tourer to track to improve your bike handling skills and have fun you have zero use for lap timer. And until you are really confortable with your bike on track they can distract your focus (tape your speedo too, I've seen people overcook corners because they wanted to see XYZ mph in speedo on the main straight) and hurt the effort of remaining level-headed (you might get the idea of breaking the lap record with Busa before you buy abtech's RC after lunch ).

Just my few cents; I have around 60 track days under my belt and only recently added lap timer as I converted my 1000RR to track-only duty.

[Chain]

Originally Posted by tnarinen

(you might get the idea of breaking the lap record with Busa before you buy abtech's RC after lunch ).

The only way my busa will be breaking the lap record for 560 pound sport-tourers is when abtech hisself takes the controls for a couple hotlaps.

[abtech]

To qualify what I was referring to regarding the XT's, several riders at last years' event were discussing the random 1:23 that appeared on their XT timer after a session. For everyone that attended, please note that Bojan's best time on the third day was a 1:25 and change. If anyone that attended thinks they were 2 seconds faster than Bojan, please send me your resume and I will sponsor you for the rest of this season after we get some accurate timings.

According to my XT, I usually turn mid 1:35s even though the dbCom system says I usually run 1:26/27s. The kicker is the time that I broke the all time overall lap record (58.7 seconds set by the Jaguar GTP team) right after running a smokin' 1:39 (according to my XT timer).

[Red Rider]

I'm not the only one who's had erroneous readings. A couple of other XT owners have said the same thing. Not sure if there's a correlation, but a couple of us noticed we never seem to have problems if an XT beacon was used, but did sometimes if a MyChron beacon was used.

I'll sell you my XT real cheap

[abtech]

Originally Posted by SPEED

I'll sell you my XT real cheap

[CBRVFR]

Chain, stay away from those things like they carried plague.


They TOTALLY **** up your bench racing.....

[RRWANTR]

Couple buddies of mine have the XTs and only have problems. I have a mychron lite that works 100x better than the xts as far as getting accurate times. Heck, it doesn't give temp etc, but I bought it for a lap timer not a PDA or weather station.

[Baketech]

Yes...my XT has been defective since I bought it...it consistently records laps 3-4 seconds slower than I think I am running...