Looking for a starter track bike

cman2389

New Member
Currently deployed overseas but will be back before jan. looking for a track bike/package deal, the more goodies the better. I am willing to drive just about any distance for a good deal. (will recieve cash in hand)
 

JWZelibor

Member
cman2389;163288 wrote: your bike is sick, im thinking that a 600 would probably best for a first time rider though.
thanks, its a V-twin which are great for learning on the track...dont let the cc's fool you i can ride my gsxr 600 faster and put faster lap times than the sv1000. having the extra torque of a v-twin makes for easy learning because you dont have to keep the bike reved sky high to be in the power like most the newer 600's
 

rk97

Member
cman2389;163288 wrote: your bike is sick, im thinking that a 600 would probably best for a first time rider though.
expound on this. first time, period? first time on track?

what are your goals? Go out and have fun going fast, or gain as much skill as possible in the shortest amount of time?

are you planning to race at some point? how soon?

depending on what you want to accomplish, bike advice can be pretty varied. Adding racing into the equation means class eligibility is a big consideration. an SV650 is a great way to learn, but can be frustrating at a trackday where you're getting the paint taken off your bike by bikes with 30-80 more horsepower...

Do you want to keep this bike forever, or are you ok selling and upgrading in a few years?

etc.

stay safe.
 

cman2389

New Member
first time on the track is what i meant. no i do not plan on racing, just want to pick up another hobby. just plan on going to various track days, having fun and building skill level. Not sure how long i will keep my first bike, once i get into a comfort zone on the track i'm sure i will upgrade, but im not going to buy a brand new bike and go out and drop it all over the place.
 

rk97

Member
Then a decent 600 is probably a good bet. I wouldn't write off a liter twin either, but I find the engine-braking of a twin harder to control. But that's just me.

You should find the best deals on 600's in the 2003-2007ish range. Any bike that's more than a couple years old won't be eligible for racing contingency money, and they become uncompetitive for actually winning a race (says the guy riding an '03 :p). that makes them relative bargains in my book.

I would suggest something with fuel injection and inverted forks if you want to keep it for any length of time.

'05+ hondas, '03+ kawasaki's, '04+ suzukis, and whenver the R6 got its last major update. I can't remember if it was '05 or '06....

any of those bikes will last you to advanced group and will have plenty of parts around.

an SV650 is also a great choice, but better for racing than trackdays, IMHO. As noted, when there are guys with 160hp on the track, having 70 can be frustrating. You WILL learn more, but there will be times it will seem like less fun.
 

cman2389

New Member
Sir thank you for your advice! much needed for a newbie like myself. I'm in no rush to be in the front either, rather learn the technique and be in back then jump up front and be wreckless you know? there's a track down in jennings fl. (about 4 hours east of me) where they do novice days with instructors and small classes, should be a good way to test the waters.
 

JWZelibor

Member
rk97;163295 wrote: Then a decent 600 is probably a good bet. I wouldn't write off a liter twin either, but I find the engine-braking of a twin harder to control. But that's just me.

You should find the best deals on 600's in the 2003-2007ish range. Any bike that's more than a couple years old won't be eligible for racing contingency money, and they become uncompetitive for actually winning a race (says the guy riding an '03 :p). that makes them relative bargains in my book.

I would suggest something with fuel injection and inverted forks if you want to keep it for any length of time.

'05+ hondas, '03+ kawasaki's, '04+ suzukis, and whenver the R6 got its last major update. I can't remember if it was '05 or '06....

any of those bikes will last you to advanced group and will have plenty of parts around.

an SV650 is also a great choice, but better for racing than trackdays, IMHO. As noted, when there are guys with 160hp on the track, having 70 can be frustrating. You WILL learn more, but there will be times it will seem like less fun.


^ this is good advice...this is why i was suggesting my sv1000 it rides like a sv650 (little heavier and more power) but its easy to learn on because V-twins are a little more passive and smoother on the powerband. but the nice thing is since you have more power than the 650 you dont have to worry bout getting eaten up on the straights buy the other bikes....if you look in my thread i have several different "packages" on my bike pending on what the buyers budget is...
 

rk97

Member
^ to be fair, when i suggested the bikes I listed, I mentioned those years because they were the first for inverted forks (as far as I'm aware).

I was out in "A" with another org, and a guy on an '03 R6 was at least a couple seconds a lap faster than me. There's nothing magical about a newer bike that makes you faster.

I've seen '91 F2's in "A" with NESBA. Not many, but it's happened.
 

izer791

New Member
i have an 01 r6 thats race or trackday ready with a bunch of extra crap to go with it. Im not really into selling any of my bikes but if shes going to the right person i may consider letting her go. yes its an 01 but it does 121's and Summit Point and 133's at NJMP. Let me know if you're interested
 

ninja636kid

New Member
iv got a 06 gsxr 600 that still has street plastics on it that you could ride on the track and if you liked it then you could buy race plastics for it and if you didnt like the track you wouldn have to worry about getting street plastics
 

rk97

Member
^ i don't want to ruin your sale, but that is the one route I would not take... converting a street bike to a track bike is an expensive way to go, and the more track-ready you make it, the less comfortable it is on the street.

my track bike has higher rearsets, lower clipons, no side-stand... All of those things would make it miserable for street use.

I'd rather have a $1500 street bike and a $2,200 V7 era track bike than spend the same $3700 on a compromise. YMMV.
 

okstate_fz6r

New Member
rk97, you said that you will learn more on the SV over a 600 so is a Ninja 250 even better? I am looking for my first track bike next season as well. I prefer the smoothness of an I4 over the vtwin, but I want the best learning bike for this coming season. It will be track days only to improve my riding skills just like cman. I will probably upgrade in a season or two. I was thinking about putting track parts on my old Ninja 250. Is a 600 a better idea? Just thought I would throw another option out there.

Thank you for your service cman.
 

blueninja1

New Member
If you have at least a year of experience riding a sportbike then I would recommend using a 600 for a couple reasons. The 250 will not push your abilities where it counts, which is at real racing speeds. You must train yourself to respond at levels which you are not used to. With a 100 mph top speed you will progress fairly fast and after a few trackdays may be kicking yourself when everybody is practicing their skill at 160 mph, braking hard into turn 1 while you are lagging behind. If you are serious about being one of the best you have to go for it and see what you are made of. Getting a 250 is just delaying seeing if you have the ability or not. If you are able, the results will show. It will take practice but I believe a person knows in their heart if they were born to do this sport. Time will tell and good luck.

-brendon
 

Mikey75702

Member
blueninja1;163969 wrote: If you have at least a year of experience riding a sportbike then I would recommend using a 600 for a couple reasons. The 250 will not push your abilities where it counts, which is at real racing speeds. You must train yourself to respond at levels which you are not used to. With a 100 mph top speed you will progress fairly fast and after a few trackdays may be kicking yourself when everybody is practicing their skill at 160 mph, braking hard into turn 1 while you are lagging behind. If you are serious about being one of the best you have to go for it and see what you are made of. Getting a 250 is just delaying seeing if you have the ability or not. If you are able, the results will show. It will take practice but I believe a person knows in their heart if they were born to do this sport. Time will tell and good luck.

-brendon
dude??? slower bikes are not a bad thing. they will probably force you to learn the PROPER ways faster then a bigger bike. Almost everyone suggests an sv650 for learning. they arent much faster then a 250....... both are definitely slower then a 600. but there is alot more room for error, and it forces you to focus on cornerspeed. that is what makes someone fast, you can put any monkey on a 200 hp superbike and make them a point and shoot rider and do decent with that riding style. but they will still get smoked around the track by just about any (if not all) of the control riders on sv650's. You really ought to get out here and see just how much all of us have to learn. Learning at 100mph will still kill you if you are not careful. Learning at 160mph will just kill you faster and easier. Talk to some of the 2 stroke guys and see what they would rather learn on, a ninja 250 or a "fast" bike?.... Those guys will all tell you, their bikes are all cornerspeed. Also, a ninja 250 or an sv 650 will be easier on tires and gas so they are less expensive to run.

A wise person on here once said, "get the smallest bike your ego will allow"
 

blueninja1

New Member
Yes, by all regards only do what you feel is comfortable. I was just trying to say that there are really no limits to what you can do. It is all dependent on your learning curve. One person may progress faster than another. Sorry if I come off snobbishly, totally not intended. :D

From personal experience, I came off of a ninja 250 and I'll tell ya that it is a great bike to learn how to master the corners in. You just have to be smooth with all the controls. If you have mastered gently feeding in rear brake, judging braking points (much different than driving a car), blipping on downshift, and flicking the bike into a corner, there is no reason that you shouldn't be able to do the same on a 600.

Much of the challenge for new riders is to develop their style. At first it feels so foreign, what position do i sit in?, oh no I have bad coordination with the throttle when trying to blip, often times too fast, when I apply the rear brake is it having any effect?, how hard do i brake? etc. It is all experimentation. Your style will come to you with time. Only you yourself know when it is time to excel. This cannot be stressed enough. So instead of asking people when, look inside yourself. The next time you are riding that 250 you will know if it is too much for you to handle. Just be honest with yourself. If you need another season with it, so be it. Maybe you just need that extra month of riding consistently, who knows?

I just assumed that you were at this level since you have owned a 250. However, if you are a little rusty, by all means continue on practicing until your skillset is ready. It took me a couple months to learn these things, but ability is a limiting factor. Some people may take shorter or longer.

This advice should be taken with a grain of salt because I am not perfect, but I believe that I am 'gifted' enough to be taken somewhat seriously.

Cheers

-brendon
 
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