Standing around, grinning a lot

A

AussieRider

New Member
Hi everyone,

It has been a LONG time since I have ridden, and I'm enjoying the great memories of being trackside yesterday at Summit Point, only about 60 mins drive from where I live.

My first observation yesterday, trackside, was the generosity and friendliness of everyone I met (thanks to you Jason, Simon, Ricky, Kathy, and many others, all met in the space of a few hours).

Right behind that, my attention was drawn to the fact that the current generation of sports 600's have horsepower to the wheel, damned near to what my GPZ-1100 had in Australia (mid-80's) but with a fraction of the weight.

Gulp!

Grinning stupidly, and now it's back to the various boards to find that first bike. See you out there. Off to Barnes and Noble locally, to pick up the one Ken Code book that they have on the shelf.

I have a trailer (but no hitch) and slowly gathering opinions on a good starting machine.

Grant.

By the way - I need everything - starting from scratch - and I'm about 5' 11 1/2", 175 lbs. If you have any protective gear for sale....

If any of you are going to the CA Superbike School in southern VA this week, I've messaged them and am waiting to see if there are any spaces available. Maybe we'll meet there.
 
jsin38

jsin38

Member
Welcome! If you are still sans bike, you may do well to look for an already track prepped SV650. That is my very biased opinion :D
 
A

AussieRider

New Member
Jason and BigKid, thanks both for the early welcome. One question - and I'm hearing this a lot about these V-twins for starting out - are there any years of manufacture that are best avoided, or are they all pretty good?

Also I've noticed that there is a little bit of a consensus that getting a bike made within the last 5 years is a good idea. Could be to do with parts availability, etc.

Grant.
 
jsin38

jsin38

Member
As for the SV, mine is a '99 so it is carburated. Not an issue unless it is a cold morning and I am running late getting the bike to tech as it can be a bit temperature sensitive. Fuel injection would have been nice, but I chose this bike because it already had suspension upgrades and that is where a bike is made or broken if you ask me.

Sure, I would love it if the bike were younger but so far this one is serving me well. One way to tell the age of an SV is by the frame. Mine has the round frame tubes sometimes called a 'curvy' on the BBS. Younger versions will have squared or angular frame tubes.

I haven't heard of any years to avoid with the SV line, but others may have more information. They seem to be very popular bikes and in the right hands can give bigger bikes absolute fits :)
 
Jiggy

Jiggy

Control Rider
Hey Aussie,

I spoke with you briefly during one of the last races up in the T10 tower at Summit yesterday. It was nice chatting with you. Welcome back to THE Life. My 3 cents and recommendation, attend the Superbike school and ride their Kawi 6r's before deciding what type of bike you want to purchase. If you are taking the two day course, i can guarantee you will have a pretty good feel as to the riding positions/power bands that the inline 4's have. If its not your can of worms, look more towards the SV vtwin market. From the description of the class, it looks like a Golds Gym of motorcycle equipment to rapidly progress your technique, they have Lean, Slide, Panic, Video, and No-BS bikes all with different learning tools attached to get you more comfortable and intune with the track. Good luck in the class and we'll see you in the near future on the track.
 
Slowzuki

Slowzuki

New Member
Welcome Aussie. Another SV rider here. Mine is an 03 and its fuel injected...but like Jason said, no big diference compared with older models. Another thing...its much, much cheaper than a 600cc 4 cyl. Welcome!!
 
A

AussieRider

New Member
Recommendation acted upon!

Jiggy;80448 wrote: Hey Aussie,

..... My 3 cents and recommendation, attend the Superbike school and ride their Kawi 6r's before deciding what type of bike you want to purchase. If you are taking the two day course, i can guarantee you will have a pretty good feel as to the riding positions/power bands that the inline 4's have.
Click to expand...

Jiggy, thank you - and I'm right on it. Although it's very last minute, I signed up for the 2 day camp yesterday, and will in fact be heading down to VIR in about 2 hours from now (anyone want a fun ride down in a Z3 M Roadster?)

I've got the alternating knots-in-the-gut with elation - I've felt this before - it's the precursor to stretching yourself!

Cheers, and see you on the track soon.
 
rk97

rk97

Member
Slowzuki;80539 wrote: its much, much cheaper than a 600cc 4 cyl. Welcome!!
Click to expand...

that depends on the 600 ;-)

You can find older 600's for cheaper than SV's. They return about the same power-to-weight ratio (more power, and more weight), and use the same 160 rear that an SV does. I really loved my F2, and an F3 or F4i makes a great long-term 'teaching' bike, IMO.

In no way do I mean to knock the SV's - i just don't like the engine-braking of a twin on the track. the inline 4 feels better to me. it's all about personal preference, and what you're used to.

If there's one piece of advice I think everyone will agree upon, it's to buy a bike that's already set up. You'll save a ton in the long-run.

no matter what you end up with, look for a bike that has the expensive add-ons included and installed. And remember - it don't have to be pretty to be fast.
 
R

RandyO

New Member
Welcome to the madness.... the book you are looking for is "Twist of the Wrist" and "Twist of the wrist 2" by Keith Code...

you might forgo the first and just get the second book.. It should be available on DVD as well... there is a lot to take in for sure..

I may still have 1 on disk... PM me with your contact info and I will see if I have it still..
 
Court Jester

Court Jester

New Member
Well hey Grant. How's the riding going thus far? From your e-mails, you had a total blast at the school. Good to see you found this place. Nesba's a really good organization to get hooked up with if your just getting started on the track for sure.
 
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