Advice looking for first race bike

[Petorius]

I finally got to the track for the first time a few weeks ago (7/2). Had an absolute blast even with the rain, and it became immediately apparent that I need to do this more. Unfortunately, I travel M-F most weeks, making it very difficult to do track days, especially at NHMS. The obvious solution is to race.

So, I will be beginning my search for a race prepped bike with the goal of testing the waters in racing next season some time.

What I have gathered so far:
I should not plan to race an EX500; that is being killed next season.
MW's destroy tires in a hurry.

My initial thought, then, is to look for a Hawk or SV.

Any big considerations I need to keep in mind if I plan to start down that road?

[jasnmar]

Buy John's bike and be done.

http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...V650-race-bike

[The Snowman]

^This. John is meticulous. This is an awesome bike at a good price!

[GingahNinjah]

Buy my sv and ill turn around and buy johns bike...

[csmutty]

Buy johns bike. Done.

[marshdrummer]

I with everyone else.

[tsorfas]

Busa

[butcher bergs]

What I have gathered so far:

MW's destroy tires in a hurry.

Untrue and don't listen to anyone who has no experience racing one or is running slower than 20's at Loudon and changing tires every weekend. A shitty set up and/or poor riding habits is what will burn up tires on a MW at that pace.

[Chippertheripper]

Sv. It's the most universal of ujm's.
(I've run 20's)
If I were to start over, it would've been on an sv. For serious.

[Petorius]

Johns bike looks great, but I'm not sure if I can make moves immediately.

A buddy of mine has a gen1 that he may be unloading in the near future, but its had some motorwork done to it. I believe that would prevent me from running Supersport? I read through the rulebook, but its all pretty foreign to me. What races should I be aiming to run as a (slow) novice?

[nhbubba]

I love my prep'ed SV. Although I don't race and haven't a fucking clue what my times look like... also I crash. So YMMV.

[maxim_X]

Obviously you have an SV. Do you like it, is it something you can be comfortable riding hard? Personally for me, I really do like my SV and if/when I start racing it's likely it will be on that. But, I'm not entirely comfortable on it. It's a bit cramped for me. It's something to consider. Race what you want to ride and figure the rest out later.

[Rada]

As for classes as a Novice. You have the 3s. Novice 3, Starter 3, Rookie 3 if you race a LW bike. That would be a SV650 or the like.
That is where I started. I love the LW races.

[csmutty]

Untrue and don't listen to anyone who has no experience racing one or is running slower than 20's at Loudon and changing tires every weekend. A shitty set up and/or poor riding habits is what will burn up tires on a MW at that pace.

Mw bikes burn up tires.

[tsorfas]

Mw bikes burn up tires.

Aren't you supposed to be working?

[MellowYellow]

http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...-for-sale-4500

[tsorfas]

Ill sell you my hawk

[Trouble]

An SV is the go-to bike at Loudon. Lots of support and knowledge at the track. From what I've found it's a reliable, seemingly bulletproof bike.

[butcher bergs]

Mw bikes burn up tires.

Read the entire statement again. They are no worse than anything else when the pace is that slow.

[nhbubba]

The SV is also skinny and compact. I believe this helps it crash better.
Also it is a V-twin, which sound frickin' cool.

[golden chicken]

The SV is also skinny and compact. I believe this helps it crash better.

I'm not sure I want my bike to be good at crashing...

[csmutty]

Read the entire statement again. They are no worse than anything else when the pace is that slow.

Mw bikes eat tires.

[OreoGaborio]

Read the entire statement again. They are no worse than anything else when the pace is that slow.

I ran the same tires on my EX for two years doing 1:24's - 1:30's. You trying to say I could have done that on a 600 running a similar pace? Not time.... PACE. Same rider, different bike, so say, 20-25's?

Not buying it. More power = more stress and wear on a tire no matter what your times are. There's no avoiding it. You can't defy the laws of physics. Put a rider, doesn't matter what their pace is, on a 600 and they're going to go through tires quicker than if they were on a bike with 30% less HP.

[carsick]

The obvious solution is to race.

Any big considerations I need to keep in mind if I plan to start down that road?

Yes, do you have a shipping container full of money and loads of spare time? I would recommend finding a way to do many more trackdays before racing, but some jump in at the deep end and swim... Racing costs much more per time on track, but the excitement is priceless! SV's are a very common racebike for many reasons, a few that come to mind-
You will learn to brake and carry corner speed without scaring yourself and others on a MW ( Capable riders on SVs, Hawks, and motards run well ahead of many 600s). Many people have spares and know how to fix the bike at the track. The midrange torque makes it easier to ride without needing to keep the motor wound to the moon and shifting constantly. It is humbling to ride a cheap slow bike in a race. It is conversely insane fun to pass fast expensive bikes on your POS (piece of Suzuki). The bike and I have been down a few times in my first season of racing, and other than a voracious appetite for rearsets it seems unharmed. Whatever your choice, hope to see you at the track!

[butcher bergs]

I ran the same tires on my EX for two years doing 1:24's - 1:30's. You trying to say I could have done that on a 600 running a similar pace? Not time.... PACE. Same rider, different bike, so say, 20-25's?

Not buying it. More power = more stress and wear on a tire no matter what your times are. There's no avoiding it. You can't defy the laws of physics. Put a rider, doesn't matter what their pace is, on a 600 and they're going to go through tires quicker than if they were on a bike with 30% less HP.

There is a considerable difference in tire compound as well as weight between an EX and a MW machine and I can't figure out how you managed to include the EX into this conversation.

Unless I missed it, we are discussing Hawks and SV's in this thread so with that I'm saying that, a MW compared to an SV or a Hawk, anywhere in the 20's (or even 30's) tire wear isn't going to be much different when the conditions are similar and repeatable.