so I'm considering racing at NHIS in 2007

[SilverDragon]

Okay, so I'm considering racing next season, money permitting.

I'm leaning toward a 125, but am not ruling out other bikes/classes, depending on what I might find and/or find out about the classes. I'm having a hard time finding 125s for sale, and the ones I do find are our of my price range.

My street bike is not on the menu. I must get a second bike.

I would consider an ex500 or maybe an sv650. Also, I am considering a few year old 600, any make.

I'm looking to spend $3000 maximum on the bike.

The 600 is my last choice, because of the tire budget mainly. How do the sv650s and the ex500s eat DOT race tires? What are the caveats of each? And dont just say that one is a kawi. lol.

I'm looking for any input anybody has.

I ride an 03 R6. I've done 3 track days at NHIS, but this past one I clicked off a 1:27.5 (on film, no timing device) and another few laps felt even faster, but no way to verify.

I'm taking a rather systematic approach to nixing my bad habits and trying to slowly make progress instead of trying to make big changes.

[OreoGaborio]

back when i was trying to decide between SV or EX, it pretty much came down to cost for me.

As you already know, EX's are dirt cheap. U can get one fully race ready & sorted with extras for under 2 grand easy & they're suprisingly fun as long as the starting grid around you is competative. Two sets of tires can last you the whole season and as long as the suspension is already sorted, the handling really isn't as bad as someone would expect... it's definitely teaching me to be smooth, that's for sure.
If you find a pre-'94, check to see that it has 17" tires. If it doesn't, it's not all that hard or expensive to convert so talk to Daviid to get more info on that if you need to.

The SV is obviously more expensive... race ready ones seem to be in the 3-4 grand range and depending how fast you are and how many races & practices you do, you'll probably need a set of tires about every other weekend.

Both bikes really need suspension work if they haven't had it done already & that's pricey to do (as i'm sure you know already, hearing from Jamie ), however the chasis on the SV is obviously alot more solid than the EX (what other bike's chasis ISN'T more solid than the EX's ) But like I said, that's what makes it a good learning tool... teaches you how to ride smooth.

Aside from the bike costs, there's obviously alot of other costs involved, which is why i went the Cheap Bastid route & got an EX. I got it for 1500 bucks which left me enough for everything else i'll need for racing.

I'm sure there's alot more to this than I covered & i'm lookin forward to seeing what else gets added in here & how this thread progresses

[s a x m a n]

i was looking at the expert ptwin times ... you can really get those things moving


if cheap is what you are looking for, then take the oreo approch. I was never looking for cheap, i'm just looking for fun, and for me, my bike is fun, and when first purchased was eventually going to be used for racing, just got there faster than I thought (=

yeah, suspension can be costly, but its the best money I have spent ... i would spend it all again if I had too.

the rs125 is very tempting, but as paul and tony have said, requires a pretty good maintence schedule. I am becoming more mechanically inclined, but enjoy the fact that I wake up in the morning on race day and just fire up my bike.

in talking with people I find that I might not be learning as quickly as I would on a 125 or ex, just because of the size of the 600 (covers up mistakes), but I love riding my bike, and love even more racing it.

who knows ... i'm just a n00b anyway


(=

[Paul_E_D]

Dan Murphy has an EX to sell for 1500 buck. It's an ex-penguin bike in good shape.

That's a no brainer to me.

[TTD]

Racing is dangerous... those guys are crazy!







But IF I was going to race... I'd probably spend the last few race weekends walking the pits at LRRS.

Check out the times. Ask questions. Narrow down your choices and then let the word out that you're looking for one of those bikes.

See what classes the bike(s) runs in. Go talk to the guys/girls that are running at the front of the Expert class. See if they're thinking of selling (since you know it's already capable!)

[TTD]

Agreed... if that EX is still available... grab it!

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by Paul_E_D
Dan Murphy has an EX to sell for 1500 buck. It's an ex-penguin bike in good shape.

That's a no brainer to me.

i was SO close to buying that... it was a tough choice between that one & the one i got. That'd be a good PTwin bike for sure! Once the times start dropping into the 20's all it'd need is an aftermarket rear shock.

[13]

Originally posted by 35racer

See what classes the bike(s) runs in. Go talk to the guys/girls that are running at the front of the Expert class. See if they're thinking of selling (since you know it's already capable!)

Finding out what class(es) the bike runs in is KEY. You don't want a bike modified to hell and just as fast to find out you can only run in one or two classes and be competitive. Every race weekend I have 5 different classes to choose from(not that I'm competitive)! I haven't done all 5 in one weekend yet, maybe before the end of the season.

[Paul_E_D]

This is true. If you have the money to race, it's better spent on more races than on a fancy bike. After 2-3 years in the sport, if you still have the drive to do it, upgrade to a sweeter bike.

The 125 is like starting in a ferrari. Nothing else will satisfy after this bike. It's also limited in classes. 125GP, GTL, and LWGP is all you can run... It may not be the starter bike of choice for a hobby racer, but if you want to learn to go fast, I mean really fast, it's the proven choice.

[capt1014]

I also am considering starting to race 07 year, What are the total cost I can expexct aside from the bike, I have one of those pick out already, tires, gas liscencing and crap like that?

[legalspeed]

SV650; best bike for NHIS (Unless one of the locals are on a Superbike - even then "Elvis" may be entered to give 'em a race).

[Awesome]

Including bike, I would say I shelled out between 10 and 15K last year for racing.

[TTD]

Yeah.... when I STOPPED racing... it felt like I hit MEGABUCKS.

It was a weird feeling to see a bank book ... with MONEY IN IT!

[TTD]

But I wouldn't have traded those 8 years for anything!!!


Well... maybe just the 4 months or so total that I was hurt.

[Hardcore]

Originally posted by hessogood
Including bike, I would say I shelled out between 10 and 15K last year for racing.

wow-- that's an expensive bike!!! Not including my bikes I only spent a few hundred $ cash !

although that credit card bill is another story

[R7]

Originally posted by 35racer
Yeah.... when I STOPPED racing... it felt like I hit MEGABUCKS.

It was a weird feeling to see a bank book ... with MONEY IN IT!

Tell me about it...more money and time available for sure That meens more dirtriding
I wouldn't trade off the 2 years and who knows how much money I spent on racing... for anything though. It was well worth the time and money.
Not including the bike purchase and set-up costs of racing, I was spending on average, $500 per race weekend.

[trackdog]

Originally posted by R7
Tell me about it...more money and time available for sure That meens more dirtriding
I wouldn't trade off the 2 years and who knows how much money I spent on racing... for anything though. It was well worth the time and money.
Not including the bike purchase and set-up costs of racing, I was spending on average, $500 per race weekend.

I always said...." You can't take it with you"....don't want to be the richest guy in the cemetery either!.........

Enjoy things like this while you are young....when you get old, then you can relax!

There will be plenty of time to lie down when you are dead.

[trackdog]

Originally posted by hessogood
Including bike, I would say I shelled out between 10 and 15K last year for racing.

Yup...sounds about right to me!............

[trackdog]

I haven't even started racing yet and I have already spent $1000.00....engine rebuild, general maintenance, license...

[SilverDragon]

Anybody have an easy way to get ahold of Dan Murphy about his EX? Should I just go to the Loudon Classic weekend and hunt people down?

I worked some numbers for race prepping my R6, and I came up with $2000-$3000 depending on if I keep stock rearsets/clipons etc. While the initial investment is around what I was planning on, the racing costs I keep hearing are scaring me away from racing it.. Cheap (relatively) and fun is my goal. Currently, it appears that an EX is the way to go.

[Awesome]

to race prep an 03 R6 you need saftey wire, a belly pan and swap out the coolant. Done. Until you can get sub 20's you don't really need anything else, and when you crash it, you can replace the broken stuff with those fancy race parts.

[bentbryan]

Originally posted by hessogood
to race prep an 03 R6 you need saftey wire, a belly pan and swap out the coolant. Done. Until you can get sub 20's you don't really need anything else, and when you crash it, you can replace the broken stuff with those fancy race parts.

They also require case covers for the R6 to pass tech. I would also get a damper. Like hessogood said, wait until you crash to start replacing other parts.

[Hardcore]

Originally posted by SilverDragon
Cheap (relatively) and fun is my goal. Currently, it appears that an EX is the way to go.

EX's suck---cheap yes, sucky yes, fun ?

now, I have a raceready GS500 for ya! $1800 bo

come to the classic weekend, watch me win the prod twins race sat, + take it home with ya!

[R7]

Originally posted by trackdog
I always said...." You can't take it with you"....don't want to be the richest guy in the cemetery either!.........

Enjoy things like this while you are young....when you get old, then you can relax!

There will be plenty of time to lie down when you are dead.

I'm enjoying dirtbike riding more than I was racing at the moment, and I'm still young. My license will get renewed every year "just in case" I get the urge again

When are you going to get a dirtbike and come riding with us?

[SVRACER01]

i dont know about the EXs, but the SVs crash pretty well. with frame sliders on them they can handle a pretty good drop (i should know ) i took some pics but they didnt come out very well... ill try to take some tomorrow in some light....