Streets of Willow Review (ONLY REVIEWS)

[GPTECHMAN]

What you liked what you disliked?
Tell us the conditions, ambient temp, windy, raining?
What bike were running?
Tires?
What turns were your favorite?
What turns could you not get in the groove?
What organization was it with?
How were the sessions run?
Would you recommend doing it again?

[dre_2k2_f4i]

This was my first track day experience. I cannot stop the praises about its layout. Very technical. Great for familiarity with a bike. I have been 3 times, and hope to go again. Though, I could probably use different gearing. 1st was with MTC, 2nd was with CLASS, 3rd was with TrackDaz.

[Captain G Force]

this track was awesome, loved the front straight and blasting thru turn 1.
windy as all hell, but not too hot though. i was having fun railing my bandit 1200 on 208 GP's, those things grip like none other, i loved em...
and would i do this again? hellz yeah!

[Arnold_R1]

Originally posted by GPTECHMAN
What you liked what you disliked?
Tell us the conditions, ambient temp, windy, raining?
What bike were running?
Tires?
What turns were your favorite?
What turns could you not get in the groove?
What organization was it with?
How were the sessions run?
Would you recommend doing it again?

Well, Turn 11 is somewhat fixed! That little dip towards the inside of T-11 is more flat. Yesterday was really, really windy but didn't affect the riding. Turn 4 has always sucked for me, bumps galore!
I was running the BT-002 and really digging those tires-especially for the price! Not as repsponsive as GP's, and do require some suspension adjustments-which I didn't do! Dustin and company and Trackdaz is all I've been to and offer excellent hospitality! :woot:

I was in the race group and the only guys off the top of my head that were killin it were Hunter, 80cc dood, Pete, Shaggy, and Mike, Jiggy, and Luis. Other than that, had a blast and thinking about doing the big track with D-man in July/Aug!

[speedster1219]

The boy cant sleep..so im gonna post up my review...:cry:

I ve done two tracks..SOW and Buttonwillow..and so far done Buttonwillow twice and SOW three times... I have to say that I prefer SOW over Buttonwillow for the mere fact that I have a 600..and I can keep up with some bigger bikes...

Streets i have done in April and December....April of course had much better temperatures, but December was not bad. Both days were breezy buy not anyhting comparable to the last time we were there....ya could of put your moto in neutral, set sail and have enoough speed to pass up arnold in turn one:-p (much love for you).......

Like I mentioned earlier i was on a gsxr 600..more than enough power to keep up with other bikes...more technical and thus sallowing smaller displacement bikes to hang in there if not excel above liter bikes....

Tires..I ran Metzeler Rennesports...RS1/RS2 combo....these tires are dirrent than evryone's usual dunlop's GP..has a more turn in effort than GP but feels planted all around the tire..straight and leaned over...gave it TWO laps to warm up and when they heated up they stuck like glue..gave much confidence...hence all my track days have been run on these tires....

Turn one was a favorite because it allows you to go WOT and lean your bike over..and get set up for TURN 2..the third time around I loved this turn..felt very comfortable..dragged knee and toe slider around this turn...THE BOWL...you can get alot of drive out of this turn...its fun....up high or down low......last day I started low and maintained a lower line and got a drive out...

NO groovng in turn 4...all three times I was there..i hit the pothole...but they widened it a little which helped but i hit the bump and my front end would get twitchy...

Trackdaz twice at Buttonwillow and Twice at SOW..last time with Fasttrack....Trackdaz feels more comfortable for me....

Sessions here were two sessions...Race and Street with Trackdaz...fasttrack they had three levels.... I like 20 minute sessions so you dont beat yourself out there especially in the summer but i also like 30 minutes session becasue by the time comes rolling around 20 minutes im really grooving....im zoned out and just railing


I would definetly reccommend to do it again..especially with a race group when you know alot of individuals...makes it more enjoyable :D

[zx6racer]

hey los did you delete my post?

[zx6racer]

hmmmmm some one did. from this forum. oh well, so much for this bieng a non censored site!!

[GPTECHMAN]

Lets try to keep this thread on topic ;)
Only reviews...

[shaggy]

By far my favorite track, just slightly ahead of buttonwillow. What do i like? the fact that I can hang with anyone on this track, it really suits my more technical riding style and really rewards a smooth rider. All the corners flow together one right after another so it is imparitave to find the proper line or lap times will really suffer.

I've been to this track in all weather conditions from blazing hot to snow on the surrounding hills with first session temperatures below freezing. This last trackday was very comfortable (75-80) but strong winds thoughout the day. In this area of the dessert strong winds are common and just one more thing for riders to worry about. I like the fact that the conditions vary so greatly because it forces the rider to adapt to the changes and learn more about their riding and bikes response to these changes.

You all know my bike, 02' R6, just a gearing change and slip on pipe thanks to Mr. Stroble. My first trackday was on Metzler M1's which worked out very well for my riding abilities at the time. Since then I have run both Dunlop 208gp's and Bridgestone BT-002's with no problems whatsoever...I prefer the Dunlops for sure but that is a topic for another thread.

Favorite turns? all of em! seriously I love turn 2, 4, 7, 11, and the skidpad. 2 and 4 I like because it seems like no one else can find a good line through here and I can make huge gains on other riders, and as many of you know turn 2 and 7 are my big passing areas (watch a video...) with the recent improvements turn 11 is just wickedly fast and you can carry huge lean angle and speed through there onto the skidpad. The skidpad is the hardest corner on the track because you are forced to find your own line with no reference marks to guide you. Most people tend to take this corner way too tight and end up running wide onto the straight while I kinda shoot out wide and then cut it back hard to get a good drive onto the straight. This obviously works very well as I have pulled past or stuck liter bikes regularly down the front straight and into 1...

I have found my grove in every corner of that track, I think my lap times will attest to that...

I've been there with MTC and TRACKDAZ. I have personal reasons for never wanting to do an event with MTC again that don't need to be aired on a public board, however for most riders they do offer a cheap and decently run trackday. (here's a plug for you Trackimp!) Trackdaz is by far my favorite track day organization I have dealt with. I have now run at least 4 trackdaz and am very happy with the organization, safety, and overall atitude of Dustin, Rudy, and the rest of the staff. They really do make trackdays fun and safe for everyone while getting the most tracktime possible. I am now accepting sponsorship from you Dustin...! ;)

I would highly recommend that anyone doing a trackday for the first time to make this the track of choice. The lower speeds and more technical nature of this track will greatly improve your skill set more than a faster more open track. I know that I will continue going to this track as I have learned new things every time I have been there, so I'll see you at the next Trackdaz event!

sorry, that was kinda long huh...