Went for a ride today. And from what I hear the racetrack in Longtan closed down. But I went by there and it’s still open. So I took my one week old bike on the track and did a few laps for fun. It was pretty cool. Here are some pics…none of me…I took the pics.
First some FZRs that were racing when I got there:
These weren’t everyday type FZRs…
My bike parked with theirs (looks fat) in the “racer” prep area…
Then after they finished the cars went on the track…and they were good. I commented on it to the bike guys…and they said the car drivers were proffesionals and I believe it.
So then I swung by another track that focuses more on scooter racing. And these guys are good as well. I saw some stuff today done on scooters that I’ve never seen in my 8 years living here. One guy was riding a Cygnus around the parking lot…on one tire. It was cool.
In these next two pics take special notice of the guy wearing all black on the red cygnus…
He was really good. Fastest guy out there…I talked with him later…and took this pic:
Any Saturday when the weather is good…I’ll be there. No better way to perfect your cornering skills then by doing the same corners again and again.
I’ll get there early so less chance of an audience (I’m shy ). It costs 100nt to just get in. Then 250nt for 25 minutes on the track. Which is a pretty long time.
Oh and the scooter track has a special “race day” once every two months or something. Their first race day of the season is on May 14th…but the Forumosa bike ride is that day.
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Good for you Mordeth. :bravo:
Not much run-off on that corner. That has to play on your mind cornering a new bike!
HG[/quote]
Right about the run-off…there isn’t much run-off anywhere on that track, and even less evenly paved surface…and it’s got lots of patchwork done on it as well…I guess it’s good for getting a feel for a bike, but not for pushing the limits safely…A lowside on turn 1 would likely guarantee a 150kg+ bike to slide and slam into that retaining wall…followed by the rider!..
but like I said, for just getting a feel for a bike, it’s ok…
[quote=“skylarkpuma”][quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Good for you Mordeth. :bravo:
Not much run-off on that corner. That has to play on your mind cornering a new bike!
HG[/quote]
Right about the run-off…there isn’t much run-off anywhere on that track, and even less evenly paved surface…and it’s got lots of patchwork done on it as well…I guess it’s good for getting a feel for a bike, but not for pushing the limits safely…A lowside on turn 1 would likely guarantee a 150kg+ bike to slide and slam into that retaining wall…followed by the rider!..
but like I said, for just getting a feel for a bike, it’s ok…
Cheers[/quote]
It’s good enough for riders to get their knees down…on every corner…every time. Which is more than I or any of the other big bike riders on this forum could do (that’s my guess anyway).
[quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“skylarkpuma”][quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Good for you Mordeth. :bravo:
Not much run-off on that corner. That has to play on your mind cornering a new bike!
HG[/quote]
Right about the run-off…there isn’t much run-off anywhere on that track, and even less evenly paved surface…and it’s got lots of patchwork done on it as well…I guess it’s good for getting a feel for a bike, but not for pushing the limits safely…A lowside on turn 1 would likely guarantee a 150kg+ bike to slide and slam into that retaining wall…followed by the rider!..
but like I said, for just getting a feel for a bike, it’s ok…
Cheers[/quote]
It’s good enough for riders to get their knees down…on every corner…every time. Which is more than I or any of the other big bike riders on this forum could do (that’s my guess anyway).[/quote]
Getting a knee down isn’t an indication of speed, so I’m sure several members could handle it!..let it be said by me, “there is no finesse in being able to go fast on a track that otherwise looks like a Bosnian road”!..now, if we were talking about Suzuka, Motegi or Philip Island, then I would be in total agreement with you…but TIS get’s no love from my side!
Getting a knee down isn’t an indication of speed, so I’m sure several members could handle it!..let it be said by me, “there is no finesse in being able to go fast on a track that otherwise looks like a Bosnian road”!..now, if we were talking about Suzuka, Motegi or Philip Island, then I would be in total agreement with you…but TIS get’s no love from my side!
Cheers[/quote]
No, getting a knee down isn’t an indication of speed…if it’s only a for a second. But getting your knee down for the full length of a sweeping turn…is an indication of speed…of the fastest possible speed for that particular corner…on that particular bike.
Often people ask “how to get their knee down” and an answer I often hear is…“you don’t try…getting your knee down is something that happens when you are taking a corner at speed.”
So yes…I can get my knee down at 20km/hr…for about .5 of a second…if I kept it down longer I’d be doing donuts. These guys are getting it down for the full length of the corner…which means their speed is fast…and near perfect. Faster they’d go off the track…slower…and they wouldn’t be getting their knee down because they wouldn’t need such an extreme lean to complete the corner. So yes…an extreme lean angle (draggin knee) is an indication of speed…and skill.
And instead of you saying how it takes no skill or “finesse” to go fast on that track…why don’t you come and prove it?
The guys who ride on that track…cook their tires the same as the guys who ride on the larger nicer tracks in the states. And I’ve yet to see ANYONE cook a tire like that on the street (I’ve read magazines that say it’s physically impossible to get a tire that hot on the street)…and I’ve seen your worn in tires on your CBR Skylarkpuma. So…no…it doesn’t compare to some street. It’s a track…a small shitty track…but still a track. And the fact that these guys fly around it like pros…and the surfaces are shitty…just gets them more respect from me. So you can make fun of them all you want…because the only track available to them isn’t very good. While you’re at it why not make fun of kids who play street hokey because they their city doesn’t have a skating rink…that’d be just about as cool.
see that’s all anyone ever said about the place, no?.. it’s a shitty track, but it’s all there is… I’m sure those kids are super quick around it on their scooters, NSR’s etc… more power to them for accessing the only form of motorsport available to them on this idiotically run island… same goes for the young local guys out in the weekends on their heavily modded 125cc and 150cc, Hartfords, 2 strokes etc… they are making do with what they have and can afford because they have a passion for riding bikes… plenty of respect for that as well…
the only criticism, and it’s a valid criticism, of TIS is that it’s dangerous… the surface is worse than many run down public roads and there is NO runoff… crash and you hit a concrete wall or a tire wall that’s been out in the elements so long it’s about as hard… racing and pushing the limits on a track that dangerous isn’t clever in my book, the “danger” element earns little or no added respect, if anything the opposite is true… when I was a little younger and had less sense and fewer responsibilities I’d probably not have given a second thought to pushing the limits on a track as obviously dangerous as TIS… these days… not so much…
I’ve seen scooter monkeys “knee-dragging” through long sweeping corners but with the bike almost upright. All pose and no finesse. Cooking tyres is impressive though.
What a pity there isn’t a better track. Taiwanese names should should fill the 125cc road champion lists . . . in a better world.
see that’s all anyone ever said about the place, no?.. it’s a shitty track, but it’s all there is… I’m sure those kids are super quick around it on their scooters, NSR’s etc… more power to them for accessing the only form of motorsport available to them on this idiotically run island… same goes for the young local guys out in the weekends on their heavily modded 125cc and 150cc, Hartfords, 2 strokes etc… they are making do with what they have and can afford because they have a passion for riding bikes… plenty of respect for that as well…
the only criticism, and it’s a valid criticism, of TIS is that it’s dangerous… the surface is worse than many run down public roads and there is NO runoff… crash and you hit a concrete wall or a tire wall that’s been out in the elements so long it’s about as hard… racing and pushing the limits on a track that dangerous isn’t clever in my book, the “danger” element earns little or no added respect, if anything the opposite is true… when I was a little younger and had less sense and fewer responsibilities I’d probably not have given a second thought to pushing the limits on a track as obviously dangerous as TIS… these days… not so much… [/quote]
Well, first of all the pic you posted is of a go-kart track…not TIS. I’ve never once seen or heard of a scooter racing at TIS.
It’s dangerous…I guess. Less dangerous than the street? Of course. I know that Skylarkpuma takes his bike to near full lean on the street. I saw his tires when he sold me his CBR. So instead of taking the bike to full lean on a public street. I’m going to do it at a race track. Most people would commend that…but not you.
Meanwhile you prefer to do your riding on twisty mountain roads. With blind corners…and dogs…and people coming at you head on in your lane. And a dozen other dangers I could name…hmmm…I’ll stick with the shitty track…thankyouverymuch.
huh?.. what about the all the other threads on this forum where you are arguing “there are no race tracks in Taiwan so I ride fast on the public streets…” you’ve said many times you like to ride the Number 3 because it has faster knee down corners, open corners that you can take faster than the technical roads… you’ve also said you regularly ride at over 250km/h on public roads… you even regularly try to get people to race you on public roads… which is it then? do you “take it to the track” or do you “ride like a maniac on the street”?..
aaah… sorry, my bad… in the future you’ll be sticking to the track then, cool… like you say, probably better that way… there may a concrete wall 3 feet away from the fastest corner on the track, but they painted “Jesus Loves You” on it… you’ll be fine… give 'em hell…
But I do applaud your efforts Mordeth. You may recall the astonishingly high death and injury rates in early Isle of Mann TTs. No one would dare say those chap’s, err, not just the one’s who died, weren’t giving it their all.
huh?.. what about the all the other threads on this forum where you are arguing “there are no race tracks in Taiwan so I ride fast on the public streets…” you’ve said many times you like to ride the Number 3 because it has faster knee down corners, open corners that you can take faster than the technical roads… you’ve also said you regularly ride at over 250km/h on public roads… you even regularly try to get people to race you on public roads… which is it then? do you “take it to the track” or do you “ride like a maniac on the street”?..
aaah… sorry, my bad… in the future you’ll be sticking to the track then, cool… like you say, probably better that way… there may a concrete wall 3 feet away from the fastest corner on the track, but they painted “Jesus Loves You” on it… you’ll be fine… give 'em hell… [/quote]
Yep, I ride a little quick on the streets too. But I’m trying to cut back…and do more hard racing in a more controlled environment. It’s just odd that you feel that is something worth insulting. :s
And there are no "concrete walls around the track…it’s wood…and very very thin wood at that.
How many big bike riders died on the street last year? A few, right? How many died on the track last year? Zero…right?
So spit out what you are trying to say already…You should only ride fast on the road, because the track is sub-par? Or you should spend a million nt on a bike…and then ride it like a scooter? Or…what? If I was talking about going fast on the road…you’d make fun of that…if I mention trying to improve my skills on a race track…I still get insulted. :loco:
This is coming from the same guy who talked about doing 150 in a 50 and almost being killed by someone turning a truck across his path to enter a small side street. Well, last time I checked…there are no side streets leading off of the race track…and no trucks either.
Where are the insults?.. there aren’t any in this thread, unless you count the one where you say that in your thumb suck opinion all forumosa’s posters are worse riders than girls on scooters…
I’ve already said what I’m trying to say, but let’s recap for the people in the cheap seats… “The track is rubbish and dangerous, but it’s the only one on the island… I wouldn’t want to push the limits there, it’s not a safe place to do so, but good luck to those who do…”
hope you’re not feeling insulted… I did my level best on this one…
Here is something I made as I just live 5 min with my mountain bike from it. My first impression: A bigger Kart track.
Well, grow up next to Salzburg Ring and lived there for 30 years, so I compared it to this when I came first to there.
Safty standards are definatly a little bit lower I think.
Oh, and sorry about the gaps between the different pics, should take once the time to smoothen them.
Where are the insults?.. there aren’t any in this thread, unless you count the one where you say that in your thumb suck opinion all forumosa’s posters are worse riders than girls on scooters…
I’ve already said what I’m trying to say, but let’s recap for the people in the cheap seats… “The track is rubbish and dangerous, but it’s the only one on the island… I wouldn’t want to push the limits there, it’s not a safe place to do so, but good luck to those who do…”
hope you’re not feeling insulted… I did my level best on this one… [/quote]
I guess that many of us pointed out the safety aspects or lack thereof at TIS…That’s what I posted in my original reply…so let’s leave out the “it’s cool cuz guys get their knees down so safety is not of concern”…It IS an unsafe track wether you get your knee, your elbow, your footpegs or even back it in anyway you want it…as long as that wall is 3 feet from the track with no runoff, It’s unsafe!..nuff said…no disses to the guys riding on it at top speed or slow speed…just bitching about the track…
haven’t you? i have… plenty of “tests” covered in ‘Cool Biker’… though last month they did it at TRM… but i have plenty of evidence of scooter racing at TIS…
one of my mechaincs, and an old friend, professionally (well, as professional as a small shop can get) races scooters… and yes, they do usually race on go-kart tracks… but he has still raced on TIS before…
anyways… back to topic… good on ya for taking it to the track… even as crappy a track as it is, track is still safer than street… sure, there’s walls 3 feet from the edge of the track… but how many concrete barriers are there along the mountain roads? not to mention that wonderful feeling of flight you get going down the mountain if you happen to miss that barrier… and i’ve seen a bike dropped down the side of the mountain by a guy who was riding at only 40… don’t ask me how it happened… but it did :loco:
now, i’ve been riding with puma and plasma… and i can honestly say that while they do ride fast, they still ride fairly safely… i can point out a rider or two in taiwan who have a lot less notion of safety… one of whom is now bikeless because of this fact… and it was a ducati too and i’m sure that much like me, they’d probably hit the track occasionally too if there was a more local one for us… but unfortunately, the ride to TIS and back would use the whole day anyway…
there is a difference between riding fast and riding dangerous… if you look at my past record… i’ve NEVER had an accident at speed… they always seem to happen when i’m trying my best to ride slower and safer… go figure…
I hear you… any red blooded male can’t help but enjoy a bit of good honest adrenalin but I’m not an experienced rider and give myself a safety margin accordingly. I don’t like to see the scooter kids weaving in and out of parked cars unnecessarily because that’s how people get killed. I guess it’s not so much the speed but what you do with it.
The two spills I’ve had in ~75,000km of riding on two wheels have both been at low speed (and on scooters… and in Taiwan). The first was when I got ran into the side of a mountain road last year by a blue truck doing 80km/h+ and lost traction on loose gravel (my fault really, I should have just tried to widen the turn instead of slowing down). The second was… yesterday… when I dumped at almost exactly the same place trying to negotiate a mudslide at ~10km/h. Again, my fault, I wasn’t concentrating. D’oh d’oh d’oh. Speaking of which, I’m poised and ready to buy a big bike as soon as my local license allows simply because I think they’re safer… I never quite feel 100% in control on a scooter and I’m half-worried that the things will fall apart at the seams.
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). It costs 100nt to just get in. Then 250nt for 25 minutes on the track. Which is a pretty long time.
huh?.. what about the all the other threads on this forum where you are arguing “there are no race tracks in Taiwan so I ride fast on the public streets…” you’ve said many times you like to ride the Number 3 because it has faster knee down corners, open corners that you can take faster than the technical roads… you’ve also said you regularly ride at over 250km/h on public roads… you even regularly try to get people to race you on public roads… which is it then? do you “take it to the track” or do you “ride like a maniac on the street”?.. 
and i’m sure that much like me, they’d probably hit the track occasionally too if there was a more local one for us… but unfortunately, the ride to TIS and back would use the whole day anyway…