First Season Racing

[Chucky]

Hey guys/gals, going into my "first" season of racing LRRS. I Did a bunch of track days last year, then got my liscense at the end of the year. Raced round 7, had a blast, got bumped to amateur. I learned a ton last year from many passionate and very talented riders, and I am very thankful for all of their help! My goal this year is to continue to learn and understand this madness
I'm looking for some advice going into this season. I'm riding a 2003 SV. It has GMD K-Tech suspension, Woodcraft clip ons/rear sets, brembo rcs, stainless lines, rev2 throttle. Still have the stock exhaust, I'm wondering if its worth it to do the full exhaust, PC and tune it at this point? Or should I just get a slip on for now, and spend the rest on training. I plan on blocking off that PAIR emissions set up. Is there something I should be doing to the airbox? Do you need a tune with the pair removed and slip on? I wore a hole in the bottom of the belly pan going through T3, I think I mounted the body a little low, curious what type of clearance you guys have between the clip ons and body (armour bodies). Do you guys recommend GPR or Scotts stabilizers? Are they pretty similar? Seems like a good investment? I have a bunch of random questions....lol. Thanks for all the help!

[isaac_]

Hey guys/gals, going into my "first" season of racing LRRS. I Did a bunch of track days last year, then got my liscense at the end of the year. Raced round 7, had a blast, got bumped to amateur. I learned a ton last year from many passionate and very talented riders, and I am very thankful for all of their help! My goal this year is to continue to learn and understand this madness
I'm looking for some advice going into this season. I'm riding a 2003 SV. It has GMD K-Tech suspension, Woodcraft clip ons/rear sets, brembo rcs, stainless lines, rev2 throttle. Still have the stock exhaust, I'm wondering if its worth it to do the full exhaust, PC and tune it at this point? Or should I just get a slip on for now, and spend the rest on training. I plan on blocking off that PAIR emissions set up. Is there something I should be doing to the airbox? Do you need a tune with the pair removed and slip on? I wore a hole in the bottom of the belly pan going through T3, I think I mounted the body a little low, curious what type of clearance you guys have between the clip ons and body (armour bodies). Do you guys recommend GPR or Scotts stabilizers? Are they pretty similar? Seems like a good investment? I have a bunch of random questions....lol. Thanks for all the help!

As someone who's spent tons of money on his bike... I advise you to lift up the skirt and spend your $ on track days and racer practice. And then some more practice. Spend your time talking to other racers from all types of classes.

But if you really want us to spend your money for you...

[theducman]

Thank your sponsors now... Visa, MasterCard lol. And the little fast guy is right do practice alot.. It helped me a ton.

[MUZ720]

Welcome to the club. If 3 is the only place your dragging the Body work you may not be hanging off enough or your body position is different in that corner? From the picture of your bike it looks like the you could adjust it up a bit also. You can pass on engine work for awhile and as others have already said time on the bike is more important. There is money to be spent on tires and gas. Good luck..

[iTGbuDeeV]

as an amateur spend all that money on practice. Thursday Racer practice at Loudon is the cheapest track time you will get.

[Chucky]

Thanks for the insight. I deffinitley plan on riding as much as possible. Last year I did over 20 track days before deciding to try racing. I got a membership to Tonys and Penguin. Looking forward to more P.I. and Eric's advanced classes. How do you sign up for the thursday practices? They have a practice every Thursday before a race weekend?

[Paul_E_D]

Just show up at the penguin garage. Yes, all thursdays before LRRS.

[nt650hawk]

practice/track days and suspension! go fast engine bits ....... down the road!

[tsorfas]

practice/track days and suspension! go fast engine bits ....... down the road!

that. You should be able to find a cheap exhaust to throw on, slip on/full wont make a crazy difference and a tune is not that expensive.
Take notes at any advanced class you attend. Its a lot of info. When spectating go to different parts of the track and see what the fast guys do. I did that a lot Saturday morning 1st practice.
Dont worry much about the belly pan, many of us had that issue, sometimes its you, especially if its only in one turn. Make sure its not enough to upset the bike though.

I had scotts on my SVs and GPR in other bikes. both great quality stuff. I think I liked the Scotts tiny bit better and found easier to adjust on the fly

[TheIglu]

Also, consider making your time at the track/pits easier and more conducive to keeping your attention on the track.

Good quality stands, tire warmers, tool set, things organized, good sleeping situation, renting a garage, etc

The bike is only one piece of a vast network of items that make you faster.

[Kurlon]

Ok, I'll be the voice of experienced stupidity! Billet stroker crank, 83mm pistons, bored out throttle bodies, oversized valves, and then we can talk about maxing out another card on suspension.

[nt650hawk]

Ok, I'll be the voice of experienced stupidity! Billet stroker crank, 83mm pistons, bored out throttle bodies, oversized valves, and then we can talk about maxing out another card on suspension.

Uhhh... that was not the GS!


oh and BTW wear good gloves even if it is raining.

[Kurlon]

Uhhh... that was not the GS!


oh and BTW wear good gloves even if it is raining.

The GS was mild compared to my prior projects. Did I ever disclose how much I spent in developing my CRF70?

[tsorfas]

The GS was mild compared to my prior projects. Did I ever disclose how much I spent in developing my CRF70?

to me you did

[Chucky]

Not sure I want to know how you put into the CRF70!
Thanks for all the info guys! I've got pitbull stands, woodcraft warmers, direct wire transponder (didn't want to deal with charging it), tools, no generator. I'm lucky that I live less than 30 min from the track. Looking into the garage deal right now, didn't realize we only have till March 1st to reserve it for the season. Are they completely full at times?

I'm not going to bother with a fancy exhaust, maybe just find a cheap slip on for it. That's quite a bit of weight reduction? Stock can looks like it weighs a ton. Although I'm sure that weight reduction doesn't really matter too much at this point.

Pic of the belly pan

[MUZ720]

People spend hundreds to take grams or weight off there motorcycle. Putting a slip on exhaust on will save pounds. So I say do it. Plus you will sound racier

[csmutty]

Just keep in mind it might limit track options for track days. Such as Palmer.

[Paul_E_D]

Weight reduction is always good on a track bike. Light is right.

[Rada]

Have fun. Make friends. Be a good neighbor.

Brakes and suspension pay the most dividends at Loudon.
I'm a freak and didn't race with a steering damper on the SV.

[Crconnor18]

I did the same thing last year just down south in Jersey and this is what I learned.

Buy spare wheels with rotors and rains mounted. (This will allow you to have a dry season because if you don’t buy them it’ll rain the whole year)

Save all your money for practice sessions, pb&j’s, beers, race entries, a good tarp if you plan on camping, quality gloves and suit and no Chinese paddock stands. Don’t put fresh paint because I’ve learned it attracts tarmac. Buy some nice new Pirelli’s and ride with confidence.

Keep a good relationship with Sergi at mad8vcycles.com. He will be your savior when the time comes. Riding debatably the most common race bike will let you borrow spares track side. I’m going to be new to LRRS come round 2 but look forward to the season. Stop by if you see #782 on a clapped out 2nd gen under a white tent come spring.

[Crconnor18]

Also, I have a devil carbon slip on that came with my bike you can have if you’d like. It was in a box of spares but I was told it was for an SV. Pm me for pictures if you’d like it. Free for a fellow racer

[nhbubba]

Stop by if you see #782 on a clapped out 2nd gen under a white tent come spring.

No shit! Excellent choice of race number! Did not expect that one to get picked again for a while..

[Kurlon]

The March 1st garage deadline is for people that rented last year, if they want to keep their spot. After March 1st, any garage not paid for is up for grabs by new renters.

[Paul_E_D]

I'm not sure Chucky realizes that this is to rent the whole garage. It's expensive. Usually a new guy will just sublet a spot in a long timer's garage for some fee. Like 50/event or whatever you can work out. There are no deadlines for this type of thing. Just ask around.

[nhbubba]

Re: Exhaust. My experience is limited to the gen-1 SV. But I feel there is a night and day difference between stock and a full race system (and appropriate jetting changes). Maybe it's psychological because of the sound. But the stock exhaust makes the bike feel pokey, non-responsive, rather boring. With a race exhaust the bike feels much more exciting.

I would not want to race with a stock exhaust on.

Plus it is a boat anchor.

I hear a lot of track-day types try to advocate that stock exhausts are "fine" and risking getting locked out of a track day because of the noise from an aftermarket exhaust isn't worth it. I feel differently here. I go to the track to make a little noise. I ride a quiet exhaust on the street through neighborhoods. But I want to hear a motor when I'm at a closed circuit track.

Also anecdotally, my gen-1 SV with a full yosh system didn't seem to offend anyone when I was at Palmer last year. I rode half the day with the "quiet" insert installed and half without it. Nobody batted an eye at me. The exhaust had a recent repack. I'm sure that helped. It also sounded good and ran well.

Speaking of Sergi, looks like he's got a couple G2 exhausts in stock for reasonable $.