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Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

  1. #1
    Senior Member Crconnor18's Avatar
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    Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    I think I'm going to take the jump to racing next spring and looking to get some insight on what to expect for a full season of racing as a novice.

    I spent the last two summers doing track days learning a lot and now I'm getting the itch to join the grid come spring.

    I will be riding a 1st gen sv650 that is fully prepped and wired for LRRS. I already have a box of zip ties & fiberglass repair kits for when she goes sliding down the track numerous times.

    I will be using my Explorer as my camper, plan on doing practices each Friday thanks to a flexible work week and staying up there friday to sunday for the full experience.

    Does anyone have any reccomendations for a newbie in the grid? Any ways to pinch some coin over the season? Anything I should be aware of before i take the plunge? Other than the addiction and how broke & scared up I will be come october? I am curious on what my wallet will be looking like come end of September. Do you burn through a set of tires each weekend on the SV at the novice pace?

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  2. #2
    Wizard loudbeard's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Budget 5 grand.

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  3. #3
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Buy take off tires, make your own food, sleep in your vehicle, still looking at $2500-$3000. I have to say, not the most comfortable way to do it. But I did it, on an sv too.

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  4. #4
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    If you count some up front initial license/school/transponder fees, assume 4-5 races per weekend, Friday practices, new rubber, and odds/ends you'll want (but not required, such as extra wheels/rains), I think the $5-6K estimate is pretty good. You'll be able run 2-3 weekends easily on new tires and stretching them on practice days, so assume 2-3 sets of tires max. You can definitely reduce that down $1-2K with take-offs, not running practice each round, etc.

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    Last edited by drubin43; 12-17-17 at 09:12 PM.

  5. #5
    Lifer Chippertheripper's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Priceless.

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  6. #6

    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Depending on how many classes you run, tires are your biggest expense, Fronts should last close to a season. but that depends on how many races you run and how fast you get. so figure on two.. Rears should be times two, so figure on four, again the faster you go the more they wear. take offs are hit or miss in my long career, some times you get a good one then other times there shit.. so I would get new.. you will be happier with good rubber... food PB and J was a staple for more then a few years and sleeping in my trailer save a lot of bucks. I would say 3 to 4 G as long as crashing is not in the budget. stock up on spares levers pegs and bars and run 93 pump gas. also take a friend with you to share the fun.. good luck..

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  7. #7
    Senior Member Mgiossi's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    I know im the first to say what we all know but racing is expensive. More expensive then track days and will take more out of your body and your wallet. Figuring out how to do it cheap is everyones dream but come october we all look back and say "where did that money go?" most guys i have known that try to make it cheap as possible end up quiting in a year or 2 due mostly to the expense. There is nothing wrong with trying to do it cheap you just need to understand and accept what you're getting into. Ill put it like i was told by a racer when i first wanted to get into it "racing is nothing like track days. You get so so much more out of it but you risk more and spend more. If you want to get into it you will meet more people and uave more fun then you ever imagined. Ar the same time you will spend more money then you thought possible." so anyways i did track days for 4 years before i started racing and i thought i knew what i was getting into. I didnt even come close to inderstanding BUT racing has been the outright highlight of my life so far and i wouldnt change anything. Racing will bring you to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows but ITS WORTH IT! Lol

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  8. #8
    Powered by Kurtz theducman's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    I miss it so much, I wish I can grid up, multiple concussions suck. Get use to close passing... everywhere lol. I plan to go backwards and do track days to fill the void.

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  9. #9

    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    The only thing I'll say is be wary about trying to run tires too long.

    In the end, it's often false economics by resulting in crashes that end up costing way more than replacing the tire would have cost.

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  10. #10
    Posting Freak Philkinson's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    4000 should be a good ballpark for a season. 4 races a weekend, 3 sets of tires, 7 weekends, food, gas. Just don't crash hard

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  11. #11
    WMC original sdog30's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Jesus, your scaring the guy.

    We are talking a novice on an sv that is race prep'd. $250 for basic school, $125 for a license. $750 to do all 7 practices. You can't run more than 4 races in a weekend as a novice, so $240 for races. Novice pace, take offs should be fine and last a couple weekends on a lightweight. $100/set. Wristband is free if you prereg for at least 3 races. Maybe 10 gallons of overpriced 93 octane from the track pump, $40.

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  12. #12
    Lifer
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Quote Originally Posted by sdog30 View Post
    Jesus, your scaring the guy.

    We are talking a novice on an sv that is race prep'd. $250 for basic school, $125 for a license. $750 to do all 7 practices. You can't run more than 4 races in a weekend as a novice, so $240 for races. Novice pace, take offs should be fine and last a couple weekends on a lightweight. $100/set. Wristband is free if you prereg for at least 3 races. Maybe 10 gallons of overpriced 93 octane from the track pump, $40.
    School, license practice = 750
    Races 240 * 7 = 1680
    Tires 100 * 4 = 400
    Gas 40 * 7 = 280

    3110 right there before transportation to and from, food, parts, oil, gear, etc.

    Can't see where others are scaring him, if fact I think the point of a lot of these helpful replies is that he should be prepared for a lot of seemingly small expenses to easily add up to a sensible minimum of $5,000.

    If you've got the fever to do it, do it now or regret it later. (useful advice from an old guy)

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  13. #13
    Soul Rider Paul_E_D's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    5k minimum is a good bet. However, guys. How much do you spend on incidentals? Food, camping, easy ups, etc. Gloves, helmets, leathers can be destroyed in one crash. Not to mention SV forks are made of spaghetti. LOL. I would bet a full season is very rarely done for under 8k. If it is, the deferred costs will catch up in season 2 or 3.

    That said, it will be a peak experience.

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  14. #14

    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Let me amend my 1st post a bit. 4G was before the costs of bike prep. Suspension, chain, sprockets, and so on. Also racing at Loudon you will need a rain setup either just tires or spare wheels with them mounted. Didn't figure in the cost of transport either. So I will say 6 Grand is a better number. Cheap racing is always a dream that's hard to achieve. As stated in other posts this sport will tax your wallet like no other...... Do the best you can with what you have and enjoy

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    Last edited by MUZ720; 12-18-17 at 08:32 AM.

  15. #15
    WMC original sdog30's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Quote Originally Posted by SteveM View Post
    School, license practice = 750
    Races 240 * 7 = 1680
    Tires 100 * 4 = 400
    Gas 40 * 7 = 280

    3110 right there before transportation to and from, food, parts, oil, gear, etc.

    Can't see where others are scaring him, if fact I think the point of a lot of these helpful replies is that he should be prepared for a lot of seemingly small expenses to easily add up to a sensible minimum of $5,000.

    If you've got the fever to do it, do it now or regret it later. (useful advice from an old guy)
    Hmm, I guess it adds up if you put it like that. Lol

    Easier to think of it per race weekend. Imagine the shit we could buy with that money instead? That's like a porsche payment.

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  16. #16
    WMC original sdog30's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Here's a tip. Camping is $50 for the weekend. Renting a spot in a garage is usually $60 a weekend. If you have a garage, you can camp in your vehicle in front of it for free.

    So for an extra $10 over the cost of camping, you get a garage and all the wisdom and comradery that goes with it.

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    14 Triumph Street Triple R, 18 TM 450SMX sumo, 15 Husky 250SXF tard, 14 KTM 250SXF and Cole's Grom
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  17. #17
    Senior Member Crconnor18's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Thanks guys. My sv is relatively prepped with spare sprockets, clipon tubes, rear sets and some levers. The only bike cost I'll need to get is a set of spare rims and rains. I already have the typical ez-up, chairs,grill etc..

    I wasn't sure how much tires get eaten up on an sv since I was using a zx6 for track days and the cost of tires for that at the rate it went through them worried me. I've come to terms that it won't be a "cheap" or even a "not expensive" addiction but I wasn't sure if there were any ways to make it more feasible.

    Sleeping in the truck, packing a cooler of water and pb&j's, 4 sets of new Pirelli's, set of rains and spare rims, boxes of spare pegs, levers and bars, camping chair, old canopy, over priced 93 at the track, 7 practice sessions because I'll need the practice for sure and that just leaves race entry fees and a transponder.

    I knew there had to have been a few guys on here that started out doing the same.

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  18. #18
    Senior Member Crconnor18's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    How would I go about getting a spot in a garage? I always thought they are filled up before the season with teams/groups already.

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  19. #19
    Lifer
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    My SV forks held up to many crashes. I'm not the only one. The SV handles most routine low-sides without issue. If you're at the pointy end of the stick looking for tenths you better rush that bike over to PK and get it dialed back in, probably replacing "spaghetti" forks. .. But for the rest of us. Meh.

    I raced my SV down to 1.23 territory with a twisted front end. What the fuck ever. It's an SV and I'm an AM. The SV is probably the best choice for low-buck racing these days.

    In 2015 I raced an SV. I did the Penguin basic in 2014 and raced one round, so that is not reflected in these sums. But I raced all 7 rounds, save the one round I crashed out in Friday practice before hand and missed.

    I spent:
    • $3500 on the SV itself : This included wear items like tries and brakes plus repairs and "upgrades". I had the rear shock rebuilt by Computrack, for example. It also included a large cache of spares I built up-spare forks (used 'em), tank (didn't), radiator (used it), lots of Woodcraft rearset bits (used, used, used!)
    • $1400 on "track days" : This included the full season of Penguin Friday practice.. but also includes Sausagefest 2015, so lets say I spent about $900 in track days for practice time
    • $1575 on race entries
    • $1200 on gear : This included new helmet and the suit I replaced after a crash mid season
    • $375 on misc "racing" items : Includes the transponder and mailing it to Australia for repair

    I used tires a HELL of a lot faster than I ever did doing track days. With Friday practices and 3-4 races/weekend I was getting 2 weekends out of a rear and 4 out of a front. So I would budget for 4 rears and 2 fronts for a season. I found good, fresh rubber was the #1 best thing for my confidence on track. I would not fuck around with takeoffs.. but that's me. For me this was money very well spent.

    I do not have a sum spent on medical treatment, fortunately. Also fortunately; I did not require much from racing. Most of my injuries were treated with ibuprofen. I did have one visit to an urgent care center. I had three crashes racing in '15. Two were simple low-sides. One the bike was 100% operable after the crash, just required some plastics rework. The second I managed to destroy my clutch, but the bike was otherwise fine. The third the bike cartwheeled in the martian soil off T9. That's where a lot of the money put into the SV went buying spares to repair that incident.

    This also does not include the $3500 trailer I bought and built out to live in track-side.

    Based on this, I'm going to agree that $3k is the bare minimum as well. $5k is a much more reasonable number.
    And all of that is based on already having a prep'ed bike and the basic gear from doing track days.

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  20. #20
    Where is my fast? GixerJockey's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Quote Originally Posted by loudbeard View Post
    Budget 5 grand.
    Provided you don't crash.

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  21. #21
    Lifer
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    I should add that I dumpster dove for my rains. My rear came with the wheels I bought. The front was picked from the MTAG trash pile outside the garage.
    Do sometimes wish I'd pony'ed up for a fresh set of rains to call my own. I have since (or the SM) and they were worth the $.

    +1 on the garage. I had planned to rough it in the infield but wound up getting suckered into a garage spot via a friend. Glad I did, that worked well.

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  22. #22
    Lifer Kurlon's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Re Garage: Most of the garages are indeed already rented by the start of the year, but that doesn't mean the renters don't have spots open to take in bikes.

    Fling me a resume, references, pics of your bike and social security number so I can do a credit check...

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  23. #23
    Soul Rider Paul_E_D's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Quote Originally Posted by nhbubba View Post
    My SV forks held up to many crashes. I'm not the only one. The SV handles most routine low-sides without issue. If you're at the pointy end of the stick looking for tenths you better rush that bike over to PK and get it dialed back in, probably replacing "spaghetti" forks. .. But for the rest of us. Meh.

    I raced my SV down to 1.23 territory with a twisted front end. What the fuck ever. It's an SV and I'm an AM. The SV is probably the best choice for low-buck racing these days.

    In 2015 I raced an SV. I did the Penguin basic in 2014 and raced one round, so that is not reflected in these sums. But I raced all 7 rounds, save the one round I crashed out in Friday practice before hand and missed.

    I spent:
    • $3500 on the SV itself : This included wear items like tries and brakes plus repairs and "upgrades". I had the rear shock rebuilt by Computrack, for example. It also included a large cache of spares I built up-spare forks (used 'em), tank (didn't), radiator (used it), lots of Woodcraft rearset bits (used, used, used!)
    • $1400 on "track days" : This included the full season of Penguin Friday practice.. but also includes Sausagefest 2015, so lets say I spent about $900 in track days for practice time
    • $1575 on race entries
    • $1200 on gear : This included new helmet and the suit I replaced after a crash mid season
    • $375 on misc "racing" items : Includes the transponder and mailing it to Australia for repair

    I used tires a HELL of a lot faster than I ever did doing track days. With Friday practices and 3-4 races/weekend I was getting 2 weekends out of a rear and 4 out of a front. So I would budget for 4 rears and 2 fronts for a season. I found good, fresh rubber was the #1 best thing for my confidence on track. I would not fuck around with takeoffs.. but that's me. For me this was money very well spent.

    I do not have a sum spent on medical treatment, fortunately. Also fortunately; I did not require much from racing. Most of my injuries were treated with ibuprofen. I did have one visit to an urgent care center. I had three crashes racing in '15. Two were simple low-sides. One the bike was 100% operable after the crash, just required some plastics rework. The second I managed to destroy my clutch, but the bike was otherwise fine. The third the bike cartwheeled in the martian soil off T9. That's where a lot of the money put into the SV went buying spares to repair that incident.

    This also does not include the $3500 trailer I bought and built out to live in track-side.

    Based on this, I'm going to agree that $3k is the bare minimum as well. $5k is a much more reasonable number.
    And all of that is based on already having a prep'ed bike and the basic gear from doing track days.
    Deferring costs for a season is plausible. If you want to race longer than that, it will cost more. I was doing 4-5k seasons 12 years ago... costs have nearly doubled for most things.

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  24. #24
    Lifer Imbeek's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    NHBubba’s experience is pretty similar to mine, although he raced more weekends... especially the stuff about tires.

    Doesn’t seem like the OP is scared away by the cost estimates for a whole season but if they become an issue, I’d start by asking how necessary it is for a first year novice to run every single round. When I gave it a shot, I just cherry picked the warmest, most competitive rounds in the middle of summer. That plan both decreases the total expense of giving racing a shot, and decreases the chance of a big crash expense (financially and physically) when you won’t likely be racing when it’s 50 degrees out and traction isn’t optimal, like you may end up doing at the earliest and latest rounds.

    In other words, unless you are going for rookie of the year award or something, why not commit to simply trying road racing and maybe bumping to Amateur, and then make a full season run at an amateur championship in your second year of racing, if all the pros and cons you discover along the way lead you to do that?

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  25. #25
    WMC original sdog30's Avatar
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    Re: Bare bones cost to a full LRRS season

    Probably easier to break it down into cost per weekend, too. $550/weekend seems a little more feasible in the mind than $3-5k.

    Jimmy is the only guy I know who registers for all his races in January. Everyone else I know does it the week before. Seems there is always a spot available in someone's garage. I surfed between garages for the first year.

    And I do agree that getting faster and continuing racing is the expensive part. You buy a second set of wheels and rains and then get sick of doing the dance right before a race...so you buy a second bike. You think the bike isn't fast enough...so you spend a bunch on suspension and engine. Then you want something newer or think a different class might be fun...Lol.

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