Question on which Honda for F3

[jnr]

Budget would be anywhere from 8-15K depending on a few factors

[JJ58]

Hey JNR, I'm not trying to steer you one way or another, but just a word of warning, I've seen people try to go a little left field before and generally it ends up in them either:

*being disillustioned because their bike is slow, they get fed up and quit racing,
or
* they spend so much time, effort and cash trying to get their bike to work that they get disillustioned and quit racing.

Even if you don't want top ten, don't handicap yourself or you may not enjoy your racing as much as you could, and you may waste a lot of cash and time.

...On the other hand, going left field always gives you an excuse for poor performance

Saun's offer of a bike sounds like a good deal, and when time is taken into account would be the cheapest option......... Get on the track and have some fun!!!

[skaz]

Im glad I went for a 400 to start with. It was much more affordable than getting a 650 and I reckin they devlop your riding skills better than a 650 would.
Because the 400 dosent have the power of a 650 you have to learn to keep it in the sweet spot out of corners, carry higher corner speed and have better lines in order to stick with the 650's.
I totally agree however that at the pointy end of the field they arnt really competitive unless you put a lot of $$$ and effort into them, then again the result is kinda cool, I reckin 450's are awesome.
My main complaint about my 400 is that it dosent really do wheelies

[jnr]

Hey JNR, I'm not trying to steer you one way or another, but just a word of warning, I've seen people try to go a little left field before and generally it ends up in them either:

*being disillustioned because their bike is slow, they get fed up and quit racing,
or
* they spend so much time, effort and cash trying to get their bike to work that they get disillustioned and quit racing.

Even if you don't want top ten, don't handicap yourself or you may not enjoy your racing as much as you could, and you may waste a lot of cash and time.

...On the other hand, going left field always gives you an excuse for poor performance

Saun's offer of a bike sounds like a good deal, and when time is taken into account would be the cheapest option......... Get on the track and have some fun!!!

No, I understand where you are coming from, just trying to sort ideas out, I won't be at the pointy end but do want something that is fun to ride and won't be handicapped with - thats more the rider

[jnr]

Im glad I went for a 400 to start with. It was much more affordable than getting a 650 and I reckin they devlop your riding skills better than a 650 would.
Because the 400 dosent have the power of a 650 you have to learn to keep it in the sweet spot out of corners, carry higher corner speed and have better lines in order to stick with the 650's.
I totally agree however that at the pointy end of the field they arnt really competitive unless you put a lot of $$$ and effort into them, then again the result is kinda cool, I reckin 450's are awesome.
My main complaint about my 400 is that it dosent really do wheelies

Totally agree with you, I had a 400 a few years ago and racing against the SV's. Your riding skills come into it a lot more, the SV's used to bang down a gear and throw it into the corner later with the engine braking and if it was the wrong gear the torque would pull them out. No offence to any SV riders out there but they are different!

[roogazza]

Rather than wonder what Honda to race in F3 .
Why not find an SV650 and enter Pro twins ?
I mean thats gotta be cheap racing and the way it is at the moment they are struggling to get 6 to 10 bikes on the grid. ( top ten finish for sure !!! ha ha)
If pro twin falls on its face you can switch to F3 and be competitive there as well.
I don't know where some of these costs come from ?
(30 or 40 grand is just garbage) Gaz.

[lostinflyz]

sorry JJ you are right that you cant beat a SV money wise. but he wanted a honda.

To sleave down a 600 is nigh on a rebuild as well not to mention trying to sort out all sorts of bits and bobs with a new 600.

yes 450's are time bombs. but they have shown to be competitive.

theres a guy down here who rides a really nice setup (and looking) 750SS. im jealous of it.

but for the money you wanna spend and convenience get a SV really. Its not a whole lot that needs doing to be a good bike and its smack bang in your price bracket. for 12 grand set up off shaun sounds good as gold.

but for cool factor a 450 RVF would be awesome. Once i start making money im keen as pig shit to build one.

the 30 grand figure is what everyone says the front boys (f3 not pro twins) are dishing out on their SV's. paddock banter but thats the number im told.

[avgas]

ZXR SP would be my pick......but they are as rare as RVFs......
if you have a look around some ZXR's came here with the SP spec engine. These were mainly the H1 models.
Klowns/Steved old bike would have been perfect if they didn't blow the motor up........
Had about the same torque as the VFR, RVR, a bit more power then them, but lacked top speed (about 200-220 MAX) and lacked the handling. But better handling than the CBR RR and the FZR.

[TonyB]

Budget would be anywhere from 8-15K depending on a few factors

Then buy an SV off Shaun!! Go pro-twins racing- it wont get you to the front of the F3 grid, but when you race against other pro twins bikes you'll know exactly how good you are. If the other Pro-twins bikes kick your arse, you won't be left wondering if its because of their budget

And you wont be forever pissing around trying to fix a 20 year old bike. Seriously, it might seem like fun, but you'll soon get sick of it. Nothing is worse then breaking or having problems on race day. Get an SV and spend time developing your riding, not your bike.

[Ozzy27]

This is the Dyno Graph of my new project for a 450 F3 bike.
this engine is currently STD!!! I plan to develop some more.
If you are interested I would be happy to build more please PM me for details.

[gav]

Budget would be anywhere from 8-15K depending on a few factors

If it had to be a "Honda" I'd buy an SV, paint it red and slap some wing and HRC stickers on it ........

[Shaun]

This is the Dyno Graph of my new project for a 450 F3 bike.
this engine is currently STD!!! I plan to develop some more.
If you are interested I would be happy to build more please PM me for details.

Good work that man

[JJ58]

Ozzy, that's a lot of power for a 450, well done! I'll be looking forward to seeing it on the track in the future.

[svr]

the 30 grand figure is what everyone says the front boys (f3 not pro twins) are dishing out on their SV's. paddock banter but thats the number im told.

Its not rocket science, just look at the 3 or 4 national sv's and start adding it up (most of the money is in the chassis). Front-end, Ohlins TTX shock & cartridge forks, carbon wheels, brakes, etc. + motor work (cams, pistons, valves, springs, rods, crank lightening and balancing, porting, full system, etc...). Plus, 80+ hp sv's are fairly high maintenance devices.

[svr]

Ozzy, that's a lot of power for a 450, well done! I'll be looking forward to seeing it on the track in the future.

So `standard' 450 triples have standard sv's beaten on all fronts then? - chassis and power?, with no limitation on modifications (unlike the intake limitations for sv's). 10hp should be easy to find huh?