[Half Squid]

Serious question here:

I have lately been thinking of doing something about my riding. I can not seem to keep my speeds down, I just feel myself not having fun if I am not cranking in turns and the throttle always seems to be twisting for more and more speed. I realize I should not be riding like this on the street, but also I can not see myself affording to race. I know it's risky with all of the possiblilities of road hazards on the streets, but giving up the option to hit the back roads after work or a last minute day off because it's nice enough to ride, and those nice group rides on the wekends with friends ar great!

BUT ? How do I keep myself in check and still ride the street??? Mentally I know I should take it down a notch, but cant control it....

Maybe un-registr the RC for the street & signing up for a ton of track days with NESBA and the local private track days would be a good way to keep me in check and still get my fix without going broke racing? I'm just not sure there are enough track days to keep my need to ride at bay.. & With racing, there is still always the chance you'll get hurt racing also...

What to do ? Advise me???

[GMAN226]

I keep the keys on the hook in my kitchen. I rode to work today for the 175th mile of the year. Average speed on the highway was over 100 and most of the time I only had one hand on the bars. I am hanging the keys up again when I get home..


Stupid street bike

G-man

[s a x m a n]

have you done any track time?

that quickly made me relize all the dangers on the street when I got back on the road ...

[Proulx06]

I keep a picture of my wife on my triple tree. Well, ok, not really, but that might work. Would you like a picture of my wife for your triple tree Mike?

[bump909]

buy a cruiser and sell me your RC cheap.

[hessogood]

racing and more track days will just make you push harder on the street. I know I do for the most part. I like to throw the bike around but I don't have to hit tripple digits to do it. Not saying I don't blast tripple digits here and there. Group rides keep me in check, we take a much more relaxed pace and ride more conservative, while still hanging corners and having a good time. My feel for the bike is getting better and better with every tenth of a second I drop that means I can use that feel that much more. Now if I could only keep the front wheel on the ground lately. i've been getting reallly really good at wheelies, and they're way too much damn fun.

[Kham]

somebody is feeling ill like me.

go ride with Wanyne. he's slow. j/k.

[patricia929]

maybe you could get a supermotard or something? still fun on the twisties but without all the speed.

[bump909]

i'm thinking a motard could get somebody into more trouble.

[odduc]

She is right about that!!!!!!!! The KTM is a blast!!!!!!!

[benVFR]

- Get a bike that doesn't encourage blasting around as much. It may not help but your RC sure seems to have the devil in it. I'm pretty sure I'd ride a lot more agressively on that bike too. It has really high limits & sounds good going fast, etc..

- You've gotta be able to afford racing... how much does it really cost? Don't you have multiple cars and like 3 bikes? Get it down to 1 car/truck and 1 racebike and I bet you could do it.

It'd be good if someone who races gave us a really good breakdown of what it costs. My impression is there are wild differences in racing budgets with very similar results. It is just like anything else, you can get caught up in the gadgets & gear and spend a lot more then someone else.

[TheIglu]

Such is my current dillemma also....

Though I can and have been keepin the speeds down. Just not as enjoyable, that's all.

Mike, you think we should pick up a couple dirty bikes and take out our dumb on the dirt?

[oreo_n2]

YES GET DIRTBIKES!!!! I have a blast without hitting the triple digits in the dirt and sand....

...but then i get back on teh Z1K and go "holy crap this thing is fast" and i slow down for a day or two.

[Rice-rocket1]

I give it a rip here and there, but I keep it sane because of Tracy and the boys.....

especially since I started doing track days....

[RandyO]

try some endurance riding and get ahold of your disipline

[Brian_C6]

weird.... because the more I stunted in parking lots and competitions, the less I stunted on the street.

[Bhavesh]

As I responded to another thread on the board...

Dirrrrt-BIKE! Dirrrrt-BIKE! Dirrrrt-BIKE! Dirrrrt-BIKE!

DIRTBIKE!

Still dangerous, but the risk is in your own hands, not that crazed nut who forgot which exit he was supposed to take.

[richw]

Sometimes alone

I work on being super smooth

By fast cruise at 100 ?

or are we talkin 70 to 85

[Nazo]

Racing totally made me slow down on the streets, because no matter how hard I ride the streets its still slow compared to the track.....I can never reach that "High" on the streets, so I kinda just go out and ride for fun.
Agressive fast riding is why people go and race and do trackdays.
I also went out and bought a street bike that i cannot afford to crash! Riding too fast on the streets is also why I sold that R1.
.....Seriously Mike, do more track days or retire your RC to the track. Throughout the season there are enough track days and race weekends to get your fill of riding enjoyment.

[MnM]

WOW and i thought you were the responsible one in the group

JK


I don't know but try to realize that 3rd factor that we can't control on the street (like a car not paying attention, road conditions,etc...) everytime you want to open her up.

[rjh200]

A write-up from the founder of cbr600rr.com on what it costs to race and be competitive. Was in response to somebody who wanted to start racing, and saying how good they were gonna do the first year.

Maybe this will be my final reply...

Nailing a championship your 1st amateur year is absolutely possible. However, you REALISTICALLY need to plan on at least $50k to do it.

This is what I wrote to the last guy I talked to who was going to buy a new GSXR-1K to race (and he'd never ridden a bike before)...

=================================START=================================

wow.. where to begin... To avoid carpal tunnel, I'll try to be as brief as I can.

Racing is not something that is just 'jumped into' and all fun, etc. It's more of a lifestyle than anything. Most people cannot handle racing for more than 2 years. At that point, they're fed up with the unGODLY expense, and tiresome effort required to run a season.

I've seen people lose homes, spouses and sometimes lives (on and off the track) due to racing.

The best possible advice I could give you would be to start as small as you can. Throwing around the comment of buying a GSXR-1000 and removing all the street parts to go racing, is not a very wise move in my personal experience. 3,4 or 5 years from now, if you're still racing, then, sure, go buy a new bike to race. This is what I do, but I've been racing a LONG time, and I'm well sponsored.

Pick up a used RACEBIKE. A used racebike will already have many necessary modifications already done, and you will save and benefit from this. Personally I would not recommend ANYONE "Start" out on a 1000. Start small, learn throttle control, enjoy the fact that a smaller bike uses less tires and is far more forgiving.

A used 600, or better yet, a used SV-650 which you can run lightweight classes with would be a very wise choice.

Here's what I whipped together in about 90 seconds that it will take to get you TO the track. This is "out of the gate, 1st initial costs". There are MANY other costs which I've left out (dzuz's fasteners $3/ea, safety wire, etc etc etc). This takes into consideration your 'new' bike.

Bike $9,000 (I gave you the benefit of a good discount here)
bodywork $600
paint $200
clipons $125
rearsets $300
damper $400
brake lines $100
exhaust $800
rear shock $1,100
fork work $500
power commander $300
dyno work $250
frame sliders $75
tires $350
fluids $200
gearing $100
Chain $100

Bike Total: $14,500


helmet $300
leathers $1,000
boots $200
gloves $100
back protector $150

Gear Total: $1,750

Tire warmers $300
Stands $250
canopy $200
tools $500

Misc Total $1,250

Grand Total: $17,500

And that's assuming you have a truck/trailer/van to GET to the track with. Again, this is day ONE. You haven't even touched the track yet (yep, that will cost you more).

Here's a MODEST race weekend:

Transportation $200
fuel for weekend $150
tires $350
entry fees $200
gate fees $50
practice day $100
food $100

Total: $1,150


This doesn't account for ANY repair or crash damage, or basic consumables (oil, brakes, coolant, gearing, etc etc).

If you've gotten this far, good, you're paying attention... Now that you're turned off and scared, let me go back to my original statements:

START SMALL!!!!

A used racebike already prepped should run you around $3-7k depending on how new, what work and how many spares/etc come with it.

Run 1-2 races per weekend and LEARN... Learn everthing you can, and make decisions from there. Listen to people who tell you to spend money on suspension, and riding schools. We know what we're talking about and we've made the mistakes.

Too many people jump into this, dump a wad of cash which they don't really have, and then give up because they crash a couple of times.

The sport can be incredibly rewarding and a great "lifestyle", but again, it truly is a lifestyle change which needs to be looked at carefully before making a serious plunge into it.

Hope that helps! :-)

=============================END============================

Okay, add to the above a YEAR of good SOLID training, figure $5k for this. Plus some practice days to implement what you're learning $2k, plus the consumables used up during those days (tires/fuel/brakes/etc) $5k (modest).

Now, if you want to do a COMPLETE season, running 3-4 classes per weekend, you can EASILY count on $20k.

Yes, it can be done. Given a reasonably adept student with a sizable budget and one very flexible year of committed training (on and off the track), I could get you a championship...

The problem is that few people have the money to do this.

The vast majority are like you. They think they're fast, they want to race, they end up spending money on the wrong things, crash a few times and hang up their leathers for good...

[Proulx06]

Quick question about LRRS:

How much is each race entry? Any extra for the practice sessions? Camping in the pits free? License fees?

I know the above was a ballpark generalization, just curious what LRRS charges.

[legalspeed]

Originally posted by GMAN226
I keep the keys on the hook in my kitchen. I rode to work today for the 175th mile of the year. Average speed on the highway was over 100 and most of the time I only had one hand on the bars. I am hanging the keys up again when I get home..


Stupid street bike

G-man

[benVFR]

Hey rjh, is that a realistic view of how much it costs to be competitive, or is that one of the guys who just has to have every shiny piece of bling on his racebike?

I have a hard time believing the bike is all *that* much of being competitive until you get pretty far up the ladder. I haven't raced so I can't really know, but there are obviously guys who just learn faster, work harder, are in better physical condition, etc... all things which do not have anything to do with spending money. When almost everyone is racing a Suzuki how much extra speed can you get by spending the extra money?

There is always the old standby of the expert racer being faster on a stock bike then the junior/amateur/whatever is on a blinged out racebike.

e.x. Are the Woods, Greenwood, etc.. insanely good because they have the best bikes, or cause they have the most practice? Did they need the best bikes all along the way to win? It's very hard to tell. A talented rider ought to do OK on a mediocre racebike.

I am sure there is also a price/performance curve on the bikes, at some point the mods just cost a lot and don't improve performance much.

I see the exact same factors in bicycling. There are lots of guys on $5000+ bicycles in lower classes of racing. Absolutely unnecessary. A bike in the $1000-2000 range with a good set of tires is every bit as fast. And if you have the $5000 bike and don't know how to maintain it you will be slowed down by mechanical issues and/or pay even more to have someone else maintain it.

So if he says it takes $50k to win the championship in a 600 class, what does it cost to just get an EX500 or SV650 and go out and have fun?

It'd be interesting to hear from Tony I. about this, or some of our other racers here. Some people just seem to spend a lot more then others and not necessarily get better results.

[Proulx06]

Originally posted by benVFR
So if he says it takes $50k to win the championship in a 600 class, what does it cost to just get an EX500 or SV650 and go out and have fun?

Bingo, my question exactly. We already know the bike is in the 1000-1500 range race-prepped, usually with at least stands. A tent and an EZ up is a few hundred.

So how much are the "normal" race weekends at loudon?