New York Safety Track — Local services in Town of Harpersfield

Been there last year. The track layout is nice but that's about all the good I can say about it. Now this written from the perspective of track car not a bike. Compared to New Jersey Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen, etc it's not as good as other tracks in the region. Safety: There is very little of it. One fire extinguisher that needs to be driven where it's needed. If there is an accident they have to clear the track before an emergency vehicles can enter. The corner workers are on there cellphone if they are even awake. The owners house is in the middle of the track and they come and go as they please, people on the track need to yield to them. The guy was mowing his lawn on the edge of the track on one of my sessions. Oh and when someone dropped oil in the track they only had one bag of kitty litter to clean it up. Construction: It's new and the layout is nice as mentioned. But the track for the most part sits about 3-4" above the ground next to it. So if you go even a bit off your going to damage your car unless your in an SUV. Saw three people damage there cars, differential cover ripped off, oil pan damaged, bumper torn off. It does prevent water from getting on the track so once the rain stops the track dies fast. The end 1/3 of the track, running CCW, is very narrow and impossible for any passing. Small and muddy ponds and trees litter the edges so beware. The tow vehicle is a pickup with a strap, any real damage your getting dragged off the track. Nothing is near by. Fuel, food, lodging, bring your own or you'll have to drive 30+ one way. I was a bit concerned with getting 91 in an area where almost every car...

This was a great experience. The facility is perfect. The crowd is friendly and helpful. Best of all the instructors really like what they are doing and want to help each participant get better. After one day in the novice class I am geometricly better than I was the day before. The instructors were good at pointing out how one might be doing something less than optimally, as well as offering concrete advice for improvements.

They have novice classes most weekends spring through fall. They rent track suits and track motorcycles. But you can bring your own street bike. Check website for how to prepare it (basically, just painter tape the mirrors and heights.) The novice classes include classroom instruction. While most people have sport bikes there are also other sorts ( touring bikes, cruisers, etc.) So don't think you need a particular sort of bike to ride here.

There are numerous places to stay nearby. I had a a good time at Worcester Inn. But track is also close to Cooperstown and Catskill resorts. There are also many more AirBnB rentals nearby than one might think.

I...

If you ride a motorcycle or want to learn how to ride, this is the place to do it (street is not!). I've taken motorcycle safety course in a parking lot to acquire my license & learn the basics (balance, clutch, throttle, etc). However, that lacks real life conditions (speed, turns/corners, elevation changes, etc).

I've learned about my bike's limits, & my limit as a rider, more on a track in 3 days than 3 years on the street. Just 1 good example is braking - you'll learn the proper way of applying heavy braking & understand the power & potential of your bike's braking system. Your body will also learn via muscle memory that "slamming" on front & rear brakes is not the proper way, even in an emergency situation.

Lap after lap, you hone your skills & understand your machine. There's no doubt you become a safer, smarter rider even just after 1 day on a track. I'll go even further by saying it should be required by law to go thru a training session on a track in order to acquire your...