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Aug 2024 TWO Track school

We had another track school at the Madras International Circuit towards last week of August. It was just for two days with a mix of Level 1 and Open sessions. There was a fair bit of cloud cover, so we were shielded from the scorching sun for two days. The rains in the late night also made it a bit more cooler and pleasant to ride on the track.

This time it was a full house on both the L1 and Open side, and it was nice to catchup and meet with many old timers at the track. As always, we had a mix of people with varying age groups and a mix of bikes from the quintessential KTM's to fire breathing litre class machines. We also had multiple times national champ Rajini Krishnan and his son Kabilesh come over for practice. It was a treat to watch them ride, felt as if the throttle was never closed and the engine was always kept on full song. Sagar was there testing the RS457 with the accessories like quick shifter and he was having a great time as well.

I really did not have much time to chase my personal best this time, and most of the two days went in listening to people, chasing them and giving feedback for improvements. However, we did finally identify the issue with the secondary injectors not getting activated. So, initially we thought it was due to the injector color codes getting mixed up when the airbox was put back. The actual issue was due to the injectors actually gumming up. I've been using HP 99/100 octane fuel for the most part and looks like whatever blending/additives have caused this. I suppose if the bike was ridden on a daily basis, this wouldn't have been an issue. Anand helped to clean up the injectors this time and I was eager to try it out. She was back to her angry self, with the power coming on very strongly after 7k rpms and after 9k rpms she just flies. It was just a magical feeling to be accelerating hard out of the last turn to the start finish straight in 2nd gear, with the front wheel few inches off the ground, and staying that way after clicking to 3rd and 4th. I did notice a new high terminal speed on the back straights so that's the testament to Gabro's tune coming into full effect. The Metzeler TD slicks have been very predictable in terms of grip and haven't tapered off. I can do another track weekend with these tyres before the rear gives up. I would heartily suggest these for any track day riders vs. the full on slicks like Pirelli SC2/SC1s. There is some movement in the rear on hard acceleration but that is expected with any tyre on a litre bike.

I also got a chance to ride Anand's Panigale V4 - this is a 2021 year model. The ergonomics felt a bit different compared to the Aprilia. You sit more inside the bike on a Ducati vs. on the bike on an Aprilia. Powerwise, yes, the Ducati punches through given the extra 100cc and the crazy 15k redline. Brakes were on par I'd say. The handling was where I got the surprise - with the Ducati needing a lot more muscle to force the bike to turn vs. the Aprilia's telepathic steering. I'm sure a more experienced rider would be able to ride the Panigale well, but I was feeling puzzled. And then I realized the riding style needs to change for the Ducati. The front end doesn't give you much in terms of feel, but you just need to learn to trust it and chuck it into the corners.

The next track weekend is coming up towards end of October and hoping to make some incremental improvements in terms of personal best laptimes then.

Catching up to a student


Attending to a student


Italian thoroughbreds


End of Day 1


The gang

Been trying to attend these session for a long time and always missing out. Hopefully soon. The calling is intense. Good to see you all had a great time this time around.

Thanks Shashvat, hope to see you soon in one of the weekends. Would be nice to catchup and ride with a fellow RSV4 aficionado.

Awesome! Need to try a session one of these days, esp being a localite! Looks like Sagar Sheldekar was there too! :cool:
I hear folks like Shumi are also a regular here!

March 2025 TWO Track school

Just got back from another fantastic track weekend hosted by the folks at IndiMotard. With summer just starting to roll in, the weather was still quite bearable — enough to push hard without cooking in your leathers.

This was a 3-day event, giving us ample time at the track.

Day 1

Day 1 was all open sessions, which gave us ample time to dial in — familiarize ourselves with the track, the bike, and the heat :)

We went with our usual setup: Metzeler TD slicks, banking on their quicker warm-up times and consistent grip across their lifespan — and they did not disappoint. The tyres came up to working temperature quickly and gripped beautifully all through the sessions. The front wheel came up easily in the first three gears, and I relied on the brilliant aPRC suite to keep things in check. Even under very hard braking, the front end was solid and ABS never kicked in. The bike fell into corners telepathically and the solid torque from the V4 motor allowed me to settle quite comfortably into a decent pace.

Data logging
The team from @ddrs.moto were present, helping out fellow riders with data acquisition via AiM Solo laptimers, and the difference was visible. We saw lap times drop significantly from morning to afternoon sessions. Mithesh who is the brains behind this, is a trained and qualified analyst; he can analyze your AiM data log and tell you what you are doing and what corrections need to be made. He gave me some feedback around braking. I wanted to try that out immediately, but with the heat peaking post-lunch, I decided to hold off and save it for later.

Days 2 & 3

The next two days were a nice mix of Level 1 coaching and open track sessions. We had a smaller batch this time, which meant more focused attention for each rider. There were quite a few Aprilia RS457s out on track, and it was awesome to see them being pushed properly. A few ADV bikes also made it out - a Desert X and a R1250GS. Full respect to those riders for stepping out of their comfort zones and investing in skill development.

What was really heartening was watching the students grow more confident across the two days of riding. The open session riders had their fair share of excitement and fun, with some of the kids from national championship also coming in for their practice sessions. Watching them push their bikes with no fear was something to be experienced first hand.

A dear friend took my bike for a few laps and came back pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to ride in terms of handling, power delivery and braking.

Final Day

I got a couple of sessions on the final day to implement the feedback from Mithesh around braking. Focussed on the fast entries into C1 & C4 primarily. C4 in particular was a revelation. Another good friend had suggested a different approach through this corner many moons ago, but I never quite got around to trying it. I then had a chance to follow Varun (another RSV4 owner & gifted rider) for half a lap, and suddenly, it all clicked.

I was able to trail the brakes deeper into C4 and reduced the coasting time by doing that. The ideal state is you are either on the throttle or on the brakes. I realized I was over-braking here, leading me to get back on the throttle as soon as I entered C4 earlier. I also tried a similar approach with C1, over here just touched the brake enough and got back on the throttle earlier. How did I know this was right, the motor was bang in the power band when I picked up the throttle again allowing me to hit my personal best exit speeds coming out of C1. Still lots to learn, but it felt incredible to have everything come together.

The bike is incredible, the feel from the front end under braking and corner entry is a strength I need to learn to use better. Only thing is she chews up rear tyres in no time when you start pushing. I need to learn to transfer a bit of that to the front end and make that balance.

L1 batch


With the students



Some fast laps

Thanks for that wonderful and crisp report. After some hit and miss attempts at another track day I am really hoping to be able to make it to the June end edition of T.W.O., if I can land myself a suitable rental bike like an RC or something.

I'm curious to know more reports on the 457. It seems to be an incredible product but I've anecdotally heard reports of power loss which a lot of customers are supposedly facing. Not sure if you heard similar issues from 457 owners while at MIC.

I saw the 1250 on some social media and remember connecting it to Sri. Nice to see him at a trackday - I've met him once at a GMT off road training. Wonderful rider and capital bloke too.

Thank you. Do try to make it. Rental bikes are available these days, so it should not be an issue.

I haven't heard anything regarding power loss till now. I did have a chance to ride the bike for a few laps, and found the handling to be top class - typical Aprilia DNA. The front end had lots of feel and the motor felt torquey & punchy for its class. I could ride a gear higher and the motor pulled through effortlessly even in the slow corners.

Yes, he did pick up quite well and seemed very comfortable with the GS on the track.

I was at the event, riding open intermediate, but totally didn't strike me that the RSV4 is yours!

Missed the chance to connect with you.

Was lovely seeing the bike in action- the V4 exhaust is a true pleasure when heard from the pits. :loveit

Built and ridden with Passion!! Such a lovely machine..

Hey, hope you had a great time. Let's connect next time for sure. Would love to catch up.

Thanks for this beautiful capture Kapil :)

Had a great time, without a doubt! Hoping to be back for the next two events this year as well.

I just wished I had connected the dots earlier- on who you are. Seems all too obvious now, but I didn't connect the dots earlier :D

Still very early days for me, but I absolutely loved the track time and the pleasant, chilled out atmosphere at T.W.O. I was supposed to do L1, but Anand shifted me to Open Intermediate when I visited the shop to drop my bike for transport, since I did CSS two consecutive years.

This was me - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5945285

Awesome to hear that. Nice thread btw :) Looking forward to meeting you in June at the track. If time permits, we could coordinate and depart at the same time while leaving for Chennai.

Thanks Vignesh, yours and @CrAzY dRiVeR's posts are very helpful for people like me who are thinking of attending for the first time. I had a couple of questions about T.W.O.

1. Did you ride there or have the motorcycle shipped? Is it even feasible to ride there from Bengaluru and then attend the session (fatigue, weather, etc.)?

2. What months are the best with respect to weather?

3. Regarding gear, I understand leather suits are mandatory and I'll have to rent it. I currently have ADV-style boots (Forma Adventure Low). Since they have no sliders, I'm afraid I'll damage the leather if it ever scrapes (best case) or my foot gets yanked off the footpeg by the tarmac (worst case). I have 0 track experience and don't expect to hit high lean angles, but wanted an opinion. For context I ride an R3.

4. If you could provide an approximate cost breakdown, it'd be really helpful.

5. Lastly, I will be stretching my finances a little to attend any of the schools, but if are there ways to save costs that you know of? I can trade time and energy for money, for example by riding to and from the track instead of shipping the motorcycle if it's cheaper. Of course, waiting is the simplest option to solve this issue but this is something I've been dying to do, hence the urgency :)

Cheers,
after

Edit: I did not know you were an instructor there. Somehow didn't put two and two together to realise that you are the Vignesh mentioned by Shumi and others.

Indimotard takes care of the shipping of motorcycles to the track and back. Most including me make use of this vs. riding down there. Having said that, I have seen people ride down to Chennai and do the track day. I would advise against it primarily because it’s not a short ride and you would need to take extra days off from work (depending on your nature of work). Also, if it rains etc during the journey then it can be tricky. You can do it once just to experience it, but would suggest shipping the bike via Indimotard to make life easier.

Chennai has only one weather - summer :D jokes apart, March, April, May will be worse in terms of the heat, rest should be manageable.

With regard to riding gear, MMRT does mandate one piece leather suit. You can rent the gear and that should be cost effective for you. Only thing would be the helmet - make sure it’s a double D-ring type.

The breakdown would look like:

• L1 coaching sessions (two days of instruction & riding)

• With bike transport is 39,200
• Without bike transport is 33,000

• Accommodation - it’s approx. 6,000 per night at Pleasant Days (including breakfast). You will be spending min 2 nights, so that would be 12,000.

• Food - breakfast will be covered with hotel stay; lunch will be served at the track pits; dinner you’ll have to manage (800 for two nights)

• Fuel - given you are riding a R3, expect to spend approx. 12-15 ltrs of fuel for both days. It’s on the lower side because you will be doing the L1 drills primarily. Say approx 1,300

• Transporting yourself - you can take an over night bus, train or get a spot with someone who’s driving from Bangalore. Most likely you will find a spot with someone as quite a few travel from Bangalore on their own cars.

• Gear rental - not sure of the charges here.

So it works out to about 39200+12000+800+1300 ~ 55,000 if you pool in for travel from Bangalore to Chennai & back. You can deduct 6,000 from this if you ride to the track yourself.

I would suggest the following

• Share a ride with someone driving to the track & back
• Share a bike with someone (who rides in open sessions) so that you can split the transport & fuel costs
• Share the accommodation to again split on the cost