Track Newbie: 250 or 600?

[carotte]

Many many thanks Hawk! Really appreciate all the advice. :)

Originally Posted by hawk_racer_116

Yup, this is how the addiction begins!

Please consider becoming a member of the local race club; volunteer at the races and see what the type of bike most folks are running in competition. Then look for an older version of the same model, ex-race bike, and a model you feel comfortable with for service and working on.

This format will allow you access to group knowledge base, and have a bike some may be familiar with and most can answer any questions about.

My advice would be to set a budget of no more than $3000 for the bike, and budget for $3000 for track-essentials. Total upfront budget will be $6000 and you can be reasonably happy with whatever you have. Plan for another $3000 to do over-winter service, so for the first year, a fixed budget of $9000 would be a good starting point.

WARNING: http://weraclassifieds.com/, http://www.ebay.com/, and http://www.roadracingworld.com/ may become daily websites you hit up!

[vg13z]

I have a Ninja 250 and a 675, I took my 250 to my first track day and she will never see the track again. Just way too underpowered. I also scraped the shit out of my exhaust on one side and the kickstand mount on the other side. The kickstand mount is actually attached to the frame, I was scraping the frame of my 250 I was leaning so hard.

[Hokie]

Personally, I'd say go with a very well set up SV650 or a 600. If you ever plan on racing, definitely get the 650. If you're just looking to tool around on the track (like me), then a 600 (or 675) is just fine.

[carotte]

why the need for a 650 or 250 for the purpose Racing?

[kracken]

Originally Posted by carotte

why the need for a 650 or 250 for the purpose Racing?

It's cheaper to race a bike with less HP because tires will last a lot longer. It's also easier to learn how to race on slower bikes.

[FUNGUS]

If the anxiety factor is high, definitely start with a 250. Even though you may be the slowest bike on the track, the 250's low limits will allow you to concentrate on the fundamentals: track etiquette, body positioning, geometry... Not to mention giving you valuable seat time where your mindset is more "how do I squeeze more performance out of this thing" rather than, "OMG OMG OMG OMG."

I went to an FTR track day clinic a couple of months ago, and I was the only 250 on the group. There were quite a few folks there in liter bikes. One that I remember is a canyon convert on an R1. He went into the hairpin on Auto Club too fast and dumped his bike on the grass. He and the bike merely got scratched, but his confidence was shot; the instructors just couldn't get through to him. On the other hand, I was getting passed like crazy, but I was actually pulling faster lap times than a handful of those guys. For a newbie, I think it's vitally important to come into a track day with an "attack" mindset than a "defensive" one.