Unsure if I should turn my SV into a track bike

[ancosta]

I am constantly debating on the mertis vs. risks of street riding. I've done 4 track days, all of which have been a blast. I have ridden for about 16 months total time for 12k miles, and I am finding myself riding beyond the practical limits of the street on a regular basis. Also I find myself riding on very dangerous roads, e.g. I-93 through Boston at night, rush hour, in congested traffic while raining, etc.

I definately want to continue track riding, although I am unsure if I really want to get competitive. I like having the bike to buzz around town, saves on gas for my ~70 or so miles of in-town commuting per week.

I'll add that my SV is an 03, ~13k miles, and in excellent condition. Aside from the minor nick or scratch, the bike is mint, e.g. not crashed ever. The suspension and brakes have been fully setup by GMD, just installed Woodcraft rearsets, and the bike works great for me. I am afraid of crashing my pretty SV mostly because well, it's pretty. I don't worry about this when I do track days, but somehow I figure if it's a track-only bike, I do more track days, push the envelope, go to Penguin race school, etc. bike won't be looking so mint soon enough. On the other hand the bike is a kick ass, turn-key track bike that I can continue to learn on.

Here's a few ideas I've kicked around:

1) Turn SV into a track bike, give up street motorcycling for now. (I'll probably buy a 49cc scooter to save on gas)
2) Sell SV, get a supermoto, that will be a great track bike, and limit my on-street riding (I think?)
3) Sell SV, get a crashed SV, turn it into a track bike.

I figured I could take off my stock bodywork, lighting & tank, replace with race bodywork (it's a naked, is there any merit to using a full fairing for my purposes?) and find a banged up tank on ebay. This way, the bike doestn't get all uglied up should I decide to go back to street riding. Maybe this is moot because cost to setup with aftermarket parts exceeds cost to replace stock bodywork if I ever need to?

Going with a supermoto would entail selling my bike, finding a new bike, and hoping I like riding a supermoto (never rode dirt before).

If I get a track bike, I am thinking that I'll spend more in time & hassle to set it up when I have a perfectly good track bike already.

Any suggestions? Has anyone else gone through these deliberations? I have to think so!

Thanks...!

[WOTEugene]

Here's a better idea:

Sell your street SV, then buy my track SV, which is already set up (ohlins rear, revalved F3 forks, race bodywork, etc), and you'll end up making money in the transaction, since I'm selling it dirt cheap. It's kind of like your option 3, except it's all fixed up & ready to go. Uh-ha!

http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...threadid=17889

[black]

i've toyed with the same idea..

I would nto buy a crashed Sv and fix it .... u can find a good deal at wera.com or other onlines for track prepped SV's versus spending more to prep a crashed SV

Ii've seen 3200$ sv's fully prepped for the track with ful suspension before.


I think.. ... i think.. body work wil help an sv at a track by possibly reduccing damage to frame and also protecting the sv radiator( unprotected)

my suggestion...

Sell the SV.
Get a track bike for abotu 2400$ old F4 or similar or cheaper.

and buy a street bike like an old 98 zx6r for the street.


What i'm doing is keeping the 6r but track only.. doing lots of track days maybe.. maybe.. buy an old 6r or similar for the street, comuting, sport tour.

[Ken C]

I have several thoughts about this. First, track day riding doesn't substitute for street riding IMO. They are both enjoyable for different reasons. I ride the track A LOT and I ride on the street. What racing and track days have given me is a venue for going fast and learning to ride better. Track riding also gives perspective on what's fast. Most track riders, especially racers don't ride particularly fast on the street, because they know what fast is and it just doesn't belong on the public roads. My point is that track days and especially racing will probably slow you down on the street.

One option: Limit street riding to weekend jaunts where the roads are open. The problem with this option is that you MUST control your need for speed (tickets and deadly crashes). BUt, you won't be riding in the most dangerous situations-- heavy traffic at night. Do as many track days as you can.

If you're not ready or willing to make the commitment to race, keep the SV as a street bike and ride it hard on the track.

And BTW, there's no advantage to a full-faired bike at NHIS. MY MZ is naked and it doesn't slow me down at all.

[benVFR]

It is all what you make of it. There are lots of people who do commute on bikes in heavy traffic, etc.. for years without getting hurt and then there are people who end up badly injured even though they left the bike at home and were in a giant SUV.

That is your personal decision, if you don't think you can control yourself maybe you do belong on the track. But if you really want to ride on the street almost all street environments can be safe if you make your riding decisions wisely.

I've done the 93S in heavy rain at night back into the Boston area a few times. It is indeed dangerous but it didn't set off my warning bells enough to make me choose an alternate route, because on that particular night I was feeling sharp, and as long as I left plenty of following distance I knew I'd be able to stop. (Speeds were reduced anyway)

But then on other days I have gotten off that same road even though it was a perfectly nice sunny day, just because the combination of agressive car traffic plus my own mental condition made me not feel safe.

I don't do 93 all that often but I have to do 128 all the time, proper following distance totally seems like the key. Those roads are only super dangerous because people are making stupid decisions, you can still protect yourself by making your own good decisions.

[Paul_E_D]

This is a no brainer to me. Keep it just as it is. Ride trackdays, and ride the street as you feel comfortable. This will change over time in your riding career.

The SV is a great compromise. You're not likely to find a better all around bike for pavement... And it's the cheapest option!

[TTD]

>Maybe this is moot because cost to setup with aftermarket >parts exceeds cost to replace stock bodywork if I ever need to?
-------

Regarding your comment above.

After checking the prices for a set of bodywork from EBAY... I decided that buying full race plastic and getting it painted just didn't make sense because they are about even. (and the stock stuff is painted beautifully already!)

The way I see it is if I don't crash... I've saved money.

If I do crash and break 75% of the plastic... I'll end up about even.

However, I did add frame sliders, non-folding rearsets, and aftermarket bars... so I hope damage to bodywork will be minimal if it does goes down.

[a13x]

Originally posted by black



I think.. ... i think.. body work wil help an sv at a track by possibly reduccing damage to frame and also protecting the sv radiator( unprotected)

Nah. Naked bikes are wonderful because they crash so well. A SV with proper frame sliders will be just fine and you won't have the hassle of repairing bodywork.

This coming from the guy with fairings on his Hawk..... (hey it came with em )

[ancosta]

Originally posted by Paul_E_D
This is a no brainer to me. Keep it just as it is. Ride trackdays, and ride the street as you feel comfortable. This will change over time in your riding career.

The SV is a great compromise. You're not likely to find a better all around bike for pavement... And it's the cheapest option!

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. It's being able to get such good info that makes this board so useful...well that and the politically correct humor

It's a lot for me to reflect on, but clearly it is one's own street riding 'attitude' that can make or break their personal safety. I'll have to consider all the angles a bit more, and focus on more quality riding time vs. logging as many miles on as possible.

It sounds like keeping my current bike in its present trim would be the best option for me, track-only or otherwise.

I still kind of wonder if a supermoto would be a good option as it would limit potential for high speed shennanigans, which is my biggest concern. I could only imagine what my predicament would be like if I owned a liter bike

[WOTEugene]

Originally posted by ancosta
Thanks everyone for the great ideas. It's being able to get such good info that makes this board so useful...well that and the politically correct humor

It's a lot for me to reflect on, but clearly it is one's own street riding 'attitude' that can make or break their personal safety. I'll have to consider all the angles a bit more, and focus on more quality riding time vs. logging as many miles on as possible.

It sounds like keeping my current bike in its present trim would be the best option for me, track-only or otherwise.

I still kind of wonder if a supermoto would be a good option as it would limit potential for high speed shennanigans, which is my biggest concern. I could only imagine what my predicament would be like if I owned a liter bike

A bike goes only as fast as you make it. I don't think my riding style has changed much when I went from my SV650 to the Z1000. I got a bit faster, sure, but by virtue of better ergonomics and stuff, and passing cars is easier, etc... I still think that I could generally ride the same exact pace on my SV650 as I do on my Z1000, though

[TheIglu]

Don't think a dual-sport or supermoto will slow you down. I took my KLR650 (heavy, slow, old, knobby tires) on Deal's Gap and made about the same speed run as I have with my Z-Rex. You don't feel like you are going as fast, but you are.

I would probably be more apt to getting myself in trouble on a motard than my 1200cc beast any day.

[SVRACER01]

i wonder what i would do?

[Hardcore]

Stop being a pussy-----keep your street bike AND buy a track bike (for short money>under 1500 bucks)
You only live ONCE!

[Lucky13]

I couldn't be happier with my sv. It's my commuter/track bike.

Pro's
Great on mileage (close to 50mpg)
Cheap to insure (not classifed as a SS)
Cheap to repair (lots of parts on ebay)
Comfortable ergos
Plenty of track performance for me

Con's


You've already invested a lot of money into the bike-suspesion, rearsets etc. If it's paid for or close to being paid for keep it, and designate it to track duty. You can always pick up a used bike for slabbing it into boston.

[SVRACER01]

im still making payments on my racebike

[ancosta]

Thanks for the ideas. I am still searching for the 50 mpg, I am closer to 40 on a consistent basis with stock gearing. Other than that your pros & cons are spot on!

Bike was paid for on day 1, so it's mine outright to turn into a track bike, unless I want to keep being a pussy (as they apparently call it).

Originally posted by Lucky13
I couldn't be happier with my sv. It's my commuter/track bike.

Pro's
Great on mileage (close to 50mpg)
Cheap to insure (not classifed as a SS)
Cheap to repair (lots of parts on ebay)
Comfortable ergos
Plenty of track performance for me

Con's


You've already invested a lot of money into the bike-suspesion, rearsets etc. If it's paid for or close to being paid for keep it, and designate it to track duty. You can always pick up a used bike for slabbing it into boston.

[WOTEugene]

*cough* my track SV is still for sale, all set up with everything you need *cough*

I'm really resort to so some serious guerilla marketing tactics now