The bike you have is the right bike for your first track days. Come out, have fun, learn what it's all about. If you have to buy a track bike, I like the SV650. Plenty of torque down low to get out of the corners. Plenty of speed. Very capable in the hands of a skilled rider. You could start on this bike and grow all the way to A group.
The 250 4 strokes don't have much torque. They need to be kept in the power band. If you own one, great come out. If your buying for the track, there are better options.
blueninja1;163969 wrote: The 250 will not push your abilities where it counts, which is at real racing speeds. It will take practice but I believe a person knows in their heart if they were born to do this sport.
Pushing your abilities has nothing to do with the bike. Someone can ride at their limit and learn no matter what their limit is. Very few of us are held back by the capabilities of our bikes. Having heart and being born with "the right stuff" has nothing to do with trackdays. It's about friends, motorcycles, having fun and doing something that most people don't have the opportunity to do. The guys with "the right stuff" are Ben Spies and Colin Edwards. Guys that rose to the top with mad amounts of skill. I've seen plenty of "fast guys" from "their group of riding friends" come out and be humbled very quickly on their first track day. (I was one)
blueninja1;163999 wrote: 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.
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.
The majority of new riders should not use rear brake. It's skill to be added to your riding package when other skills are already established. My opinion. 250's are not ridden like 600's. 600's are not ridden like 1000's. Except at the very beginner level. Each has it's style and nuances. I can out drive a 1000 out of most corners on an SV. They don't have the traction available leaned over. But they quickly motor by when they can get on the gas. There is not much left to experimentation at the beginner level. There are some solid fundamentals we teach at trackdays. What is experimentation are the little nuances that you develop into your own style. People rarely know when it's time to excel. Yes, you need to take a look at yourself and evaluate where you're at. You need to decide where you want to go. But you also need someone on the outside to take a look. Someone with experience that can offer guidance. Hmmm. If only those people existed. If we told everyone to evaluate themselves and tell us when they were ready for the bump, it would be quite a different world.
blueninja1;164006 wrote: With regard to the cr being so much faster, anyone can gun it out of a corner as well. It sounds like you have to build confidence with the front end. You should start with a bike as stock as possible because who knows how even a minute change may affect the bike. Maybe it may be a change in the wrong direction. Get familiar with it as stock as possible before you 'upgrade' to race settings. If you can't throw a bike into a corner with the utmost confidence stock, there is no point in upgrading. Onto the next part, mid corner. You want to scrub just enough speed throwing the bike into the corner and maintain the bike, either by using maintenance throttle or letting the bike roll through if the corner is very slow.
Gunning out of corner. Has nothing to do with being fast. Thats a good way to put yourself on your head. Building confidence in the front end is another story. Again, most of us don't get enough feedback from the front to build confidence. Sometimes the feedback is misinterpreted. Perhaps you have a false confidence in the front end. Maybe the feedback you're getting is normal, but overwhelming to you. Most bikes are ok stock. However, some, like the SV and Ninja 250 need upgrades to work well. The SV is a commuter entry level bike. The suspension needs some basic attention to work well. That being said, a great rider can ride the snot out of a bike with stock suspension. But they know what to feel and how to adjust. It really depends again, on the rider, the bike and what your goals are. You don't throw a motorcycle into a corner. How you attack a corner will depend on the corner. I'm not going into a sharp decreasing radius corner the same as a balanced or exit corner. So the entry mid corner and exit all vary depending on the corner, the rider and situation.
Amac955;164113 wrote: I'm a big fan of the SV650. SVs are cheap to buy, maintain, and are very easy on tires if the suspension is set up correctly. And when you get your black sticker on an SV, you know damn well you earned it.
And I will say that I've seen guys 60 lbs heavier than me (I weight 170) pass liter bikes and expensive italian machinery on SVs like they were standing still.
A very wise man. The SV is great. Plenty of power. Easy on tires and gas. Great to start on. Great to ride in Advanced. But it does need a good suspension.
And just for the record, it's more then 60 extra pounds.
Winter is a great time to learn from each other.. Let's keep the threads going and keep sharing.
