I need your opinion!

Discussion in 'New To Racing' started by raveracer, Mar 12, 2013.

  1. raveracer

    raveracer New Member

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    Hello everyone! I'm a newby to the forum and have been trying my best to find answers on the forum but have a situation that i can't really find an answer to! I'll just introduce myself before i get started, i'm Maarten, a 20 year old average university student in Kelowna with an undying love for motorcycles! (that's about all anybody needs to know right?) I currently own a triumph 675R and have been riding on the streets for little over a year now but never had the chance (or the balls) to go for a trackday! Over the course of the winter i have been beyond obsessed about track riding and especially racing, having read pretty much read all the "how to" books and having locked myself in the basement a numerous amount of times watching DVD's and races over and over again, drewling more every time i watch it.. i'm sure this is normal for many of you! Now that summer is coming soon i plan to finally make the dreams come true by finally hitting the track! I think that over the course of the winter i may have gotten a little carried away in my dreams as i'm already considering buying a track bike and going into a race at the end of the year! My question to you racers is if this is really possible?! Should i be getting serious about racing right away or is it way out of my reach? I have looked at many articles on how to get started and i think i have adequate money to support the sport. My last question is, if i were to get a track bike should i start with a 250cc or a 600cc?

    Thank you so much for your help!!

    A boy with many aspirations.
     
  2. ctardi

    ctardi Moderator WMRC Exec

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    Absolutely possible! The best place to start is probably with the WCSS school, because you get some class time, parking lot time, track time, and they throw in your race license for the year.

    I started with track days, and ended up buying a cheap track bike. I went with the track bike because I already had a vehicle that could haul it, and it cost less than one crash on my street bike would cost. It was also convenient for when I started racing.

    250 or 600cc . . . I started with a 600 because it was available at the price point I wanted, but I think that a 250 would be as much or even more fun on our track.
     
  3. Andrew Marles

    Andrew Marles Member

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    Having started on a 600, I would also recommend a 250. You might also consider an SV650. But the 250 class is really taking off it seems so you would probably have a lot more fun with one of those. You will improve as a rider faster on the smaller bikes. It will also cost you much less money to be competitive. A set of tires will last all season on a 250 or an SV, and they cost less to buy up front. Spares are also probably cheaper, and there are lots of people racing ninja250s and SVs so it is easy to find used parts.
     
  4. moeracing

    moeracing New Member

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    Personally i prefer track days, no bs about winning just go ride your pace, some great tracks in washington and oregon, bigger and faster turns than mission and your 675r is one hell of a great track toy, if you digit as much as you think you will then purchase a track only bike fter a few days. I stopped riding on the street all together but thats after almost 20 years of doing that.

    Have fun
     
  5. Dean

    Dean Just a beer league racer

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    Yup, it certainly is possible and quite a few of our members don't have long street riding skills, because once they rode a track, they knew the street was no longer for them. The advice above is very sound. Take the West Coast Superbike School and we throw in the license. We've had people come straight from riding school, where they've learned to ride, and then we taught them the skills to use on the track. That was a bit of an extreme case, as the individual had only ever been on a motorcycle starting 3 weeks ago, before they came to race.
     
  6. Ryan Whittle

    Ryan Whittle Rider of Orange V-Twins

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    I would strongly recommend starting on a 250 or an SV650. You can pretty much buy, ride it, crash it, clean it up, then resell it for close to what you bought it for.

    I would be nervous to even do a track day on a bike as nice as a 675R, but that's me.
     
  7. Dean Thompson

    Dean Thompson New Member

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    But if you want to be competitive on an SV, be prepared to dump $10,000 into it to make it as competitive as the above 2 posters. :banghead: I pray for rain! :devil:

    All in good fun though. Kind of. :(
     
  8. Eddie 59

    Eddie 59 New Member

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    Hey, my $2200 SV seems to do just fine. I dont really remember seeing the 2 posters you speak of in front of me for very long last season. haha

    Oh yeah, that was smack talk starting already.
     
  9. Dean Thompson

    Dean Thompson New Member

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    They weren't in front of me very long either. They accelerate away really quick. :hump:
     
  10. raveracer

    raveracer New Member

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    Thanks everybody for the awesome advice! I just signed up for the WCSS school in june and i'll make it my goal to enter at least one race this year (in the 250cc gold cup)!
    I appreciate all the advice given and any hints and tips are more than welcome! My main question right now is how long does it take one to build a track bike? I was thinking in starting in june and having it finished in the first two weeks of july, i also work a full time job.. still a reasonable goal?

    thanks again everybody!
     
  11. Eddie 59

    Eddie 59 New Member

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    haha. been there. haha
     
  12. ctardi

    ctardi Moderator WMRC Exec

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    It's do-able in a weekend, or a bit of tinkering every night after work. Lots of great stuff on how to do it if you search the forums & google. ;)
     
  13. raveracer

    raveracer New Member

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    Yea i've been looking at many articles of people building race bikes but they all seem to take a month to finish, i'm assuming it's because they have added a lot more than necessary..?
     
  14. Dean Thompson

    Dean Thompson New Member

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    A 250 Ninja or CBR should only take a weekend to set up for racing. Safety wiring takes the longest, then change bodywork (or modify stock bodywork to pass tech), bolt on some frame sliders and put some sticky rubber on. Good to go. Other bolt on parts are normally very quick additions, like rear set footpegs, exhaust system, etc.
     
  15. Dean

    Dean Just a beer league racer

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    It all depends to what level you wish to build the bike up to.

    I can tell you that just fitting race body work can take a couple of hours. If it's brand new, then you'll want to prime it, then paint it, then clear coat it, then wet sand it, then polish, etc. That alone will take at least 1 week. If you have to repair your bodywork then doing the fibreglass repair, bondo, sanding, THEN priming and painting can take a long time too.

    If you have a drill press, then drilling out all your bolts for safety wire will take less time, but if you are doing it with a hand drill, it will take more time. I spent about 5 hours drilling bolts, replacing bits that wear out and break, etc. Draining all fluids, flushing the rads until clear of all ethylene glycol, etc will also take a fair amount of time. I'd say plan for a couple of weeks for some evening work, and then a couple of good weekends doing stuff as well. I'd say about 30 to 40 hours per bike is reasonable.

    Now, if you just want to "slap something together" you can probably prep a bike in 12 hours without bodywork. Note that sponsors like your bikes to look good, so it sort of pays to make the bodywork look nice.
     
  16. Ryan Whittle

    Ryan Whittle Rider of Orange V-Twins

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    Try half of that...all in. But its all in good fun anyway. Cost to build from scratch and cost to buy from someone else are 2 very different animals...
     
  17. Ryan Whittle

    Ryan Whittle Rider of Orange V-Twins

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    I didn't accelerate all that quick when my clutch finally gave up the ghost at the end of last year!
     
  18. raveracer

    raveracer New Member

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    Thanks for the info again guys, really helped me a lot! I just got to get over the Cbr250 vs ninja250 dilemma and then i`ll get somewhere..(this should take a while haha) as a side note, i`m liking this sv650 conversation that`s going down!
     
  19. Marbod

    Marbod Rubbin's racin' WMRC Exec

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    Dean's Drill.jpg
    I think it's time you upgraded your drill...
     
  20. ted

    ted asshat

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    Just cause you have some fancy schmancy electric drill don't pick on the regular joes, ok? This is how the Hayden's got started.............
     

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