Racing Small Bikes vs Big Bikes

[csmutty]

What group was this?

No idea. I'm thinking blue?

[tsorfas]

Just run race tires.


Just get a used SV650 that's already been race prepped. Gen1 or Gen2, doesn't matter.



Done.

Simplicity is key

[Crconnor18]

SV650 1st gen race bike Part out
^This and one weekend of maintenance/prep/Assembly plus a fresh set of Pirelli’s from Mike and you’ll be good to go

[DJ1991]

Seems like racing smaller bikes as a novice makes more sense in terms of building skills and familiarity with the sport as well, The more track days I've done on my 600 I've always thought to myself if I ever started racing it would be on something smaller. I know a lot people jump right into it with whatever they have though, I'm sure it all depends on the person

[tucktuvak]

SV650 1st gen race bike Part out
^This and one weekend of maintenance/prep/Assembly plus a fresh set of Pirelli’s from Mike and you’ll be good to go

Yeah I've been looking at this as I'm not stranger to electrical issues but I have four bikes already and need to get rid of at least one before I buy another!

[tucktuvak]

So some updates, I went a little crazy over the winter and picked up a couple more bikes for the track, and am now looking for some sage advice on whether or not I've gone too far. They are both race bikes:
Gen1 SV650 - Cartridge emulators, zx6r shock, race bodywork, otherwise stock, 2 sets of wheels
07 cbr600rr - Setup to track/race with lots of juicy mods, not an R6 though
And I raced my 98 superhawk in October 2019 so that's also race prepped too but very basically.

So now I have 3 bikes, one each for LW, MW, HW. Which seems like too many, especially considering a track season that may never come
My thinking with having a LW and a MW/HW bike is that it will let me double my practice time on track weekends. Since I'm a new racer, and relatively new to the track as well (started last year), more practice time seems like it would be advantageous for my progression But, I've also seen a lot of people at the track who only race one bike. What are experienced racers' thoughts on this? What are the pros and cons of racing different bikes in different classes on the same weekends? Do most people have 3+ race bikes??

[Kurlon]

So, I did a season with a similar setup, one Ultralight bike, one MW. Extra practice time was great, and it also meant one misses session wasn't as big a deal as it would be with only one bike. It can be a bit of a rush at times coming in on one, getting it back on stands and warmers, warmers off, stands off on bike 2 and right back out without help. I'd skip the third bike, your CBR will do better in HW then the Superhawk, most of what you'll be running against are other 600s anyways. Actually, I usually skipped HW and went right to Unlimited as fewer bikes on track and those that were there didn't think Yamaha was in the stands looking for a Rossi replacement.

That said, the two machines rode VERY differently on track, I could get away with mistakes on my UL that'd cost me huge time penalties on my 600. The 600 forced me to try to be more precise, the UL taught me roll speed. In the end I never did get really comfortable on the 600 but it was a good learning experience, I just personally prefer smaller machines. If you've got help to deal with the bike shuffle in the garage/pits I wouldn't tell you know. The only caveat I'll add is at the base of the learning curve, when you're just starting out I suspect jumping back and fourth between two very different beasts like that may slow your advancement down a bit?

[Crconnor18]

i Have seen a good amount of experts with multiple classes of bikes and a few amateurs but then again that is more added costs( 2x’s tires, stand, warmers & spares), time and maintenance.

You can always race up a class with your SV to get more races. I’m not sure about the practice rounds though. I’ve seen some LW guys really give MW riders a run for their money in the Amateur dash for cash.

[tls25rs]

I’ve seen some LW guys really give MW riders a run for their money in the Amateur dash for cash.

I seen some LW riders give some MW riders a run for their money in the Expert Dash For Cash..............one of them that is on here quite a bit (realized after I typed this and posted that more than one are on here quite a bit and on both sides of the equation)

[csmutty]

I seen some LW riders give some MW riders a run for their money in the Expert Dash For Cash..............one of them that is on here quite a bit (realized after I typed this and posted that more than one are on here quite a bit and on both sides of the equation)

Petaaahhhh haha!