Rider Interview - Kevin hu
Kevin Hu didn’t grow up on two wheels, he was a car guy first. But once he threw a leg over a bike in college, he was hooked. After years of riding the streets, he discovered track days, saved up every dollar he could, and never looked back.
Now, as an experienced Sportbike Track Time (STT) coach, Kevin is known for his smooth, fast riding and his ability to break things down for newer riders.
In this interview, he shares how he got into the sport, what it takes to improve on track, and some of the funniest moments he’s seen along the way.
What’s your motorcycle origin story? How did you get started, and what led you to the track?
Well, I’m actually a car guy turned motorcycle guy. Never threw a leg over a motorcycle until college when a good friend bought a 600RR and I quickly realized how much faster you could go for way cheaper on a motorcycle than a car.
I bought my first bike later that summer and rode the street for several years before a local fast guy told me about track days.
I saved every dollar I could for about half a year, borrowed an SUV from a friend, a trailer from another and the rest is history.
Turns out motorcycles are expensive too though! 😳
What inspired you to become a Track Day Coach? How has the journey been?
When I started on track, I quickly realized how much I had to learn to actually get faster, safer and make it actually translate to faster lap times.
Everybody had an opinion on how to ride a motorcycle and some of that advice was not good advice. Luckily, after riding with STT for years, I was able to build relationships with several great coaches that were crucial in my development.
Ultimately, I wanted to be able to give back and pass on the knowledge that was gifted to me.
It’s been an amazing journey having the opportunity to be an instructor for an eighth year in 2025. I’ve met some people that are friends for life and live for those “ah-ha!” moments with people I’m working with!
For riders new to the track, what are the most common mistakes you observe, and how can they be avoided?
I think the on track error that all riders easily make, but much more so for new riders, is turning in too early corners.
Once we understand why this is a problem and correct this, riding on track becomes so much more fun.
Turning in early happens when we get nervous about not being able to complete the turn so our minds tell us if we don’t start right now, we won’t make it.
To fix this, you really need to understand the ideal path around a corner so you know where you are supposed to be. Whether it’s using a marker or counting an extra split second aloud in your helmet, we have to break that habit, get slightly uncomfortable with starting to turn later and then be purposeful with our turn.
We can not be lazy but yet we can not rush it.
Be purposeful and get that bike turned right away. If we are able to turn in as late as possible for corners, get the bike turned quickly and pointed in the right direction, on the ideal line, you’ll find that exit of the turn ends up becoming more like a straightaway (which is much easier to ride) than a turn.
What’s the craziest or funniest thing you’ve ever seen happen at a track day?
A lot of memories come to mind but I think one that I like to share is there was a rider who came for his first track day years ago and brought a lot of his friends and family.
With that, they brought a huge pit set up to entertain everybody for the day. I’m talking about a sofa, rug, TV, music speakers, grill, the whole party set up. Completely over the top. He was having a blast, his entourage made it feel like he was a celebrity and the whole paddock felt the high energy all day.
It was a great reminder all the way to this day that track days are supposed to be fun. 😎
What advice would you give to someone feeling anxious or fearful about their first track day?
I would say it’s normal to feel that way about a “first” or a new thing.
Especially since when you talk about motorcycles or you pull up videos of motorcycles on YouTube it feels like the first thing that always pops up is crashing.
However, a track day is structured in a way that it limits a lot of unnecessary risks to make it a safer environment to explore the limits of yourself and the bike.
You’ll find nearly everybody is surprisingly helpful and friendly. Your time on track is structured in a way where you are steadily building up your speed. Your confidence builds naturally as you complete hundreds of miles of the same laps over a weekend.
If you could have any pro racer as your personal coach for a day, who would it be?
This is a tough one as I’ve only shared the track with a handful of pro riders here and there. And honestly, any of the top MotoAmerica riders would be awesome as they are the few individuals stateside that ride motorcycles for a living.
But what I learned instructing for STT is that matching a teaching style with a learning style is important in how fast someone can develop.
I had a great opportunity to learn from JD Beach who was a guest instructor at American Supercamp where you ride flat track style bikes and the way he gave feedback worked with how I learn.
I’d love to be able to have a day on a Supersport learning from him.
What’s one lesson from racing that translates directly to track day riding?
I think the most useful one is being able to understand when we need to be on the ideal line and when we need to deviate off that line, even if it’s just ever so slightly, to execute a pass.
Some places are easier to pass than others and some places are more risky, but learning how to move through traffic because I’m being purposeful with my decisions was a great lesson.
“Passing another rider is almost always a planned movement a corner or two beforehand.”
If track days had theme songs, what would yours be?
Friday (ft Mufasa & Hypeman) - Dopamine Re-Edit - Riton, Nightcrawlers, Mufasa & Hypeman, Mufasa, Dopamine 🎵
Huge thanks to Kevin for taking the time for the interview. You can follow Kevin on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/whosekevin/ and check out http://sportbiketracktime.com for local track day schedule. 🏍️