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

[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.