What does it take to get into racing?

[wiggeywackyo]

Hi guys,
This seems to be a board where a large portion of people actually track and race their bikes. I am fairly new to riding but there is nothing I love more than competition.

Anyways, to get to the point, what does it take to get into racing (i.e. license, tech, support...) and how much would you say your budget is in a given year? This seems to be a very expensive addiction but one that I want to dabble with.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[butcher bergs]

Being that you're fairly new to riding I highly suggest you do some trackdays before you even think about racing.

EDIT: To answer your question of "what it takes": Money and lots of it.

[union]

Youll need;

Money
A bike that is race prepped (safety wired, proper fluids, race bodywork)
Gear ( leather suit, boots, gloves, a good helmet)
Complete Penguin racing school http://www.penguinracing.com/
Trackdays are nice to have under your belt but its not mandatory.

Come on up and watch some of the races to get an idea of what its about.

[Karaya One]

You start with is....




You end up with this....

[Dieseldan]

I assume it is all fun and games on your way to the poor house??

[Pittenger5]

I assume it is all fun and games on your way to the poor house??

More than you could ever imagine.

[Dieseldan]

Well i am starting out on trackdays and I im in for over 2 grand so far

[Evil_Weasel]

I assume it is all fun and games on your way to the poor house??

very much so.


getting into motorcycle racing is dangerously easy. all it really requires is time, money and a motorcycle. i showed up to the track one summer afternoon afew years ago to spectate and hang out with jamie and afew other board members.... the next month i was back at penguine getting my race license. from spectator to racer in 3.5 weeks, that's how easy it is.

ofcourse i had about 10 years of street riding under my belt but no track experiance before that. if you are fairly new to riding i'd recomend doing some trackdays first though.

the best (or worst) thing you can do is go up there and hang out with some of the racers from NESR. they will be more than helpful in getting you started out on the right foot.

[Pittenger5]

Well i am starting out on trackdays and I im in for over 2 grand so far

Thats a good number of peoples tire bill for 1/2 a season.

[Dieseldan]

Thats a good number of peoples tire bill for 1/2 a season.

HOLY SHIT!

[Evil_Weasel]

Thats a good number of peoples tire bill for 1/2 a season.

yeah if you are crazy enough to race a 600 and happen to be good at it..


alternatly that is just about an entire seasons budget on an EX or GS if you are slow and don't crash often.

[Dieseldan]

My goal is not to race, of course i say that now but I am taking the whole track day thing seriously it is not about speed just the idea of preparing for the trackday

so far i am right on schedule I have cut my Bf to under 10% and as I sit now i am 203 I have dropped about 12 pounds. It doesnt mean shit but o well

[union]

My goal is not to race, of course i say that now but I am taking the whole track day thing seriously it is not about speed just the idea of preparing for the trackday

Ya I said that too. Didnt quite work out for me.

[Dieseldan]

lol shhhhhhhhhhh dont tell my wife!!!

[daviid]

a metric fuckton of money is what it takes

[Pittenger5]

lol shhhhhhhhhhh dont tell my wife!!!

Best advice I can give you, forget the track, get into a nice crack addiction. In the long run its cheaper and healthier.

[Dieseldan]

lmao naaaa I am not going to crash
















hahahahahaha yeah right, but then again u SHOULD not crash on a TD but racing anything goes

[Pittenger5]

hahahahahaha yeah right, but then again u SHOULD not crash on a TD but racing anything goes

You SHOULD not crash racing either. It happens more often, but you should still not do it.

[Dieseldan]

good point

[nt650hawk]

$280 http://www.penguinracing.com/index.cfm$120 Anual Race license
$25-$35 entry into NHMS
$60 per Race
And you’re Racing...


Oh don't forget food, gas, bike, replacement parts, tires & gear. This cost varies on the type of bike.

Corner working will help defray entry fee, food for Saturday and help pay for a race entry.

I don't know about you guys but I made $ last year with only 6 races. Thank you BRIDGESTONE I wish all other companies (beside tire manufactures) paid out for ULSB.

[legalspeed]

You need leathers, a good lid, and a bike. Start with either a track day or the penguin school.

Once you complete the school you are allowed to do practices on Thurs. and Fri without obtaining a license. If you want your license, then you do the school, complete the rookie race on Sat (3 laps without falling), and register and pay for one race (you don't have to do the race, just pay the fee).

School is around 280, leathers are about a grand, the bike is your choice; there are people on dirt bikes out there.

Here is a link. http://www.penguinracing.com/index.cfm

You can offset the costs by corner working.

[Ken C]

I HIGHLY recommend starting off with at least a couple of track days. This will give you experience without the risk of racing.

Race an SV650 or equivalent, rather than a 600 supersport. It's cheaper all around.

Invest in good leathers, boots, gloves, and helmet. Also, tires.

I raced cheaply using a reliable, Lightweight-class bike that was left STOCK (except a pipe and ride height). I was competitive until I entered the expert ranks where I finished mid-pack, on the same stock bike. Being competitive in the top 5 expert class requires more commitment.

Once you have some racing experience, then you can decide whether spending more time and money makes sense for you.

[RyanNicholson]

+1 on everything Ken said. I didn't do any track days and I had only been riding for 4 months when I started racing my R6. Was it stupid? yep. Did I survive? yep. Did I crash a lot? yep.

If you want to compete then racing is great, but the more you compete the better you'll want to do and the faster you'll get, the faster you get the more you spend, the more you spend the faster you get, and on and on and on. That said "its better to be a racer for a moment than a spectator for a life time"... it'll be the most exhilarating, exciting, intense, and fun thing you'll ever do... and you'll become part of the most generous and helpful community you could ever imagine.

Trying out racing can be done easily, but remember that gear is not the area to cut your costs down.

[OreoGaborio]

A good way to cut costs WITHOUT cutting corners is to keep your eyes open for good used stuff like leathers, back protectors, etc.

Example: I got myself a 1000 dollar Dainese suit (plus back protector, extra pucks, etc), lightly used, lightly crashed (once) for 350 bucks shipped :

You can also find people selling gloves, boots etc for various reasons, sometimes the stuff is pretty new.

The WERA board (http://forums.13x.com) is a good source for deals like that.


for a rough estimate of costs: I raced an EX500 for 3 seasons... the bike was 1500 bucks and I was spending a total of ROUGHLY 300 bucks per race weekend. Tires lasted forever.

The more you get into it & the faster you wanna go, the more you gotta spend.


And I'll echo the track day thing... I owe my early racing success & safety to all the guys at Tony's Track Days.

[seth399]

1. what pete said! I got an expensive helmet (on sale), used boots, used leathers etc

2. rob some bitches!

3. have fun