Which class/bike?

[squarewheels]

Looking at going racing, but which class should I enter. I'm 90kg ish with minimal experience. Should I look at pro twins, F3 or superstock. would It be dumb to think that I could manage a 1000 around a track without getting lapped?

Cheers

[Shaun]

How old are you?

Have you done any track days before?

600cc is best, as in the club scene you can race in F1 ( 10000 and the F2 (600) class

[squarewheels]

thanks Shaun, i'm 30, and have done about 6 track days.

[Shaun]

thanks Shaun, i'm 30, and have done about 6 track days.



If you ride a 1000 now mate, sell it, get a 600, learn how to go fast with better throttle control, then go back to a 1000, when you are ready for one man, You watch Jimmy Smith on his 1000 this year, he is going to SHOCK a lot of people

Riding a thou on the road is easy, to ride one fast on the track, takes time/knoledge

[scracha]

How much do you want to spend?

[quickbuck]

Riding a thou on the road is easy, to ride one fast on the track, takes time/knoledge

Yup... True that.
I just watched in awe as one Mr Tanner went around the outside of me through the infield at Manfeild today...... Realising my Road going 600 is no good on the track.... He was on his RSV1000...

And to top it off, Sparkybills gave me a ride on his Supersport.....
Now I see why there are so many riding in the 600 class! Competitive: Yes.
FUN? You Bet!!!!!

As Scratcha asked though, what is your budget??

Oh, and to make a small fortune in motorcycle racing, start with a big fortune....

BUT, if you want to get out there and go racing.... Do It!
There are worse habits to spend your money on.

[SWERVE]

you could always try a pro-twin 650.
Our guy Pete rode one this year........ he is 50 with years of experience on bigger bikes. he says he learnt more on one season on the sv than 20 years on the bigger bikes. and had the most fun.

Agree with you Shaun...Mr J Smith is one fast package this year:cool:

[squarewheels]

budget, I know it's going to cost. I don't want it to cost a arm and a leg that makes it just hard to ride. So I'm looking second hand not new, not sure what it will cost after the buying the bike or what a decent bike will cost. Am thinking anywhere up to 12k for a bike, I may be way off the mark not sure.

[oyster]

Pro twin is the way. We built one that did a mid 39 for around 8k. F3 is pretty well dead as the front runners on the track are mostly pro twin these days.

600SP is not for novices.

Even at national level (at the GP) only Williams/Fitzgerald were ahead of the Pro twins.
Cheap to buy and run, reliable, lots of fun and you'll learn heaps. In Canterbury there are plenty of mighty good coaches available who will help you ride it safely too.

[Shaun]

budget, I know it's going to cost. I don't want it to cost a arm and a leg that makes it just hard to ride. So I'm looking second hand not new, not sure what it will cost after the buying the bike or what a decent bike will cost. Am thinking anywhere up to 12k for a bike, I may be way off the mark not sure.



$6 _$8 K for a K5 GSXR600 mate, Sketchy Racer has a great one for sale, I am confident my one is sold already!

Check for Sketchy racer post in the racing forum for bike for sale

[neil_cb125t]

Pro twin is the way. We built one that did a mid 39 for around 8k. F3 is pretty well dead as the front runners on the track are mostly pro twin these days.

600SP is not for novices.

Even at national level (at the GP) only Williams/Fitzgerald were ahead of the Pro twins.
Cheap to buy and run, reliable, lots of fun and you'll learn heaps. In Canterbury there are plenty of mighty good coaches available who will help you ride it safely too.

Depends on what scene you are keen on - i doubt you'll be flying into nationals first up. 6 track days is very little track time and racing a 600/1000 is very different to riding one on the road.

the club scene has heaps of F3 AND Posties..

the F3 and posties scene is a great starter, tyres last and costs are low. you'll learn heaps and have alot of support from competitors - but it is more of a class where you like to tinker. Pro twin is the way to go if you dont like to get hands dirty. I know too many that go to 600's to early, crash or go broke and relent back to another class.

[k14]

$6 _$8 K for a K5 GSXR600 mate, Sketchy Racer has a great one for sale, I am confident my one is sold already!

Check for Sketchy racer post in the racing forum for bike for sale
Buy that bike, convert it into a 450, race F3 for 1-2 seasons and then convert it back to a 600. I can't believe anyone hasn't suggested this. Surely this is the mostly recently proven method of how to learn the ropes with the lower costs in F3 and then move up to 600's when you are ready!

[steveyb]

Not sure the K5 GSXR can be successfully converted.
Please correct if incorrect.

But otherwise this is now a very good option. A bike like this gives you many more options than a Pro-Twin bike (which is also to be recommended depending on how you feel) as you can fit quality suspension and tyres and really learn about racing on a bike that works properly.

[k14]

Not sure the K5 GSXR can be successfully converted.
Please correct if incorrect.
I'll correct you, chris said himself it would be a good 450. Not sure what would stop it being done to any I4 600?

[vtec]

Not sure the K5 GSXR can be successfully converted.
Please correct if incorrect.

But otherwise this is now a very good option. A bike like this gives you many more options than a Pro-Twin bike (which is also to be recommended depending on how you feel) as you can fit quality suspension and tyres and really learn about racing on a bike that works properly.

One of the guys on this forum who was doing marshalling at Hampton Downs, is building a Triumph TT600 > 450 triple hehe. He's extremely confident that it's going to work.

Glen Skachill's K5 is an amazing bike as cheap as chips (it's the bike in my avatar), clubmans on a bike like this would be a great start. I'm doing pro twin on an SV650 and I'm quite excited about that.

[scracha]

I'd consider myself fairly average/typical. Even after 14 years road riding, a 600 would have been way too much for me to start with on the track. I certainly wasn't as relaxed* about running wide, locking up the front or sliding the rear. Regardless of riding ability, you still need to learn to anticipate some of the lines and crazy shit that other racers do. Trackdays don't teach that and a supersport race is a fast and expensive way to learn. Fuel and tyre costs are horrendous compared to the 400, I can only imagine how expensive the litre bikes are to run.

I see a lot of new racers jumping on 600's and litre bikes. They often crash or run out of money (or both) within a season and you don't see them again. The main part of the budget isn't the initial bike purchase**. You push a bike a lot harder when you can afford to crash it. You'll have more fun on a well funded SV650 than racing a 600 with shot suspension, worn tyres and a whopping credit card bill.

In order of budget I'd say cheap as chips old 400, pro twin or 450 triple. If you get bored then they're easy enough to sell and move on up to the bigger stuff.

Obviously if you're loaded then most of the above does not apply.

*I said relaxed, not skilled :banana:
** Entry fees, track days, decent accommodation, suspension, good tyres, crash protection, instruction, bike transport costs, lost wages, tools, fuel, flights, servicing, engine tuning, medical insurance and most importantly, beer.

[Wingnut]

Yep - tend to agree with Scracha. On a cheap as old 400 is how I got started also. It was seriously cheap racing really

[squarewheels]

Thanks there is a lot of good advice so far, I get the feeling the general censes is to forget 600 and opt for f3 or pro twins. I'm just wondering if pro twins give you a good learning platform or would I learn more in f3 on a 400 or 250 two smoke.

[Yow Ling]

Dont laugh, get a FXR150 and go bucket racing. supported by MCI, Bears and Cams usual feild is 30 or so bikes, the fast guys are real fast, you wont get to the front real quick ! Cheapest racing of all the classes. FXR prize money is better than most classes too

[oyster]

Yup, totally agree.
Once you get a totally standard FXR round Ruapuna under 2 minutes, (as James Hoogie can) you will be well ready for a pro twin!

[Deano]

90kg isn't a bit heavy for a 150 ?

[woodyracer]

90kg isn't a bit heavy for a 150 ?

nope, there's fella's 100kg plus riding them fast......they just have to mantain corner speed.

Buckets is good, but if you feel like you want to ride on a big bike, get an old NSR250 they go alright for a cheap bike.

[Sidewinder]

get a new DOG (gsxr1000 "K9")
send it to RCM get him to pimp everything he can out on it, see robert taylor and waste some more money and then go stck it on the first coner

[puddytat]

I started racing last year in Clubmans on my R6 with MCC & did alright I thought but....
I soon realised that to be competitive takes a lot of $$$ & a skill set that I didnt possess. Crikey, like Oyster says those little 150's are fast & the fastest were only 9 or 10 secs slower than my personal best or put it another way only 7-10 km/h per lap slower:gob:. Which made me realize that its all about corner speed , into,thru & out of....
F3 is where I ultimately see my self, but you'll need slicks & warmers etc to be anywhere near competitve which = more$$$.
So not having the skills or the bucks I opted to try the new 250 twin class that runs with the streetstocks & Im feeling very happy with my choice.
I think you'd be happy in F3 but you could try a cheaper class for a start to see how you feel, without the outlay & the pressure.

[koba]

Buckets is good, but if you feel like you want to ride on a big bike, get an old NSR250 they go alright for a cheap bike.

Show me a cheap NSR250.

Better off on a bucket, streetstock or protwin.

[slowpoke]

What do you want to achieve? What do you want to spend? How much fun do you want to have? What envelopes do ya wanna push? Are you racing for yourself? To impress others? Is bang for buck important? Or just bang? Cheapest possible thrills? Is it important to be at the pointy end? Or just competing

Only you will know the answers to these questions. You can spend years getting "up to speed" or just jump in the deep end and start swimming. It's all about having fun so do your own calculations regarding bang for buck and get stuck in. You don't have to please anyone except yourself, it's your money after all, so race whatever gives you the result you want.

[woodyracer]

Show me a cheap NSR250.

Better off on a bucket, streetstock or protwin.

ok, http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=1129510073

[koba]

ok, http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=1129510073

Damn!

Anyone want to buy an RG150?

[squarewheels]

Thanks guys to everyone that has given me good information and advice. I'm going down the pro twin route and have just brought a SV650 already set up to pro twin spec. Cheers again

[Kickaha]

90kg isn't a bit heavy for a 150 ?

There's a few of us around that 90kg mark and we still do fairly well