how much does racing actually cost?

[brady]

wouldnt it make me "slower" therefor even less chances for podium and good times?

It's a thrill to earn a podium finish, but I soon found out most of the fun and challenge of racing was having close competition at my level, not the "glory" of a podium.

[The Snowman]

I'll vouch for this...it also will cost your "significant other" if you have one...

Annalisa enjoys coming up to race weekends with me. She shoots photos, which she loves to do, and gets to hang with some really awesome people.

[tsorfas]

doc's typing a response right now that says novice podiums don't count...
now that that's out there, i've gotta tell you everyone's case is different. a "slower" bike is cheaper to run at first. easier on tires, yadda, yadda, yadda. eventually as you get faster, you'll start burning up tires real quick, and it gets more expensive.
if the grids are as small as they've been in novice, there's a real good chance you'll get a little taste of victory and automatically move up. especially at 20's. the autobump threshold for amateur is 23's in middleweight (600 i4's). unless you were talking about 28's and 29's as being "20's".

the other proponent for slower bikes is being able to hamfist the throttle without it flicking you like a snot, like a high powered machine might.

lrrs has made it real easy for racing noobs this year: do penguin. run the rr, and 3 races your first weekend with a xponder for $90. best deal going. (penguin cost separate)

Yes i remember the pricing topic you showed me.. looks like the start up is pretty cheap.
and I was talking about 28s 29s unfortunately.

[tsorfas]

The 04' gixxer you ride should be fine for racing and will keep you plenty competitive well into amateur racing in my opinion. If you are running high 20's now, you'll be doing low 20's or better by the end of your 1st season if you are a decent learner/rider. There are some guys doing teens on old bikes and are on the podium in am. races. The cost for me running a stock r6 this season has averaged about 400 bucks/month doing 2 or 3 races per weekend. I used 2 sets of tires all season. Basically $200 for races and $200 for spending, gas, and food. I personally don't see any advantage to buying a lightweight bike except for maybe lower tire costs down the road. Some people say that learning to race on a twin is easier, but if you are already doing track days w/an inline then you should be fine.

thats pretty much what i was thinking too..
IM sure LW can be fun and better to get STARTED but i have been on 600s for a while now and just dont see the benefit of me having to learn a whole different bike (besides the reduced cost of tires and *crashes apparently).
how are you doing on a stock r6?

[TheIglu]

thats pretty much what i was thinking too..
IM sure LW can be fun and better to get STARTED but i have been on 600s for a while now and just dont see the benefit of me having to learn a whole different bike (besides the reduced cost of tires and *crashes apparently).
how are you doing on a stock r6?

STARTED with racing is not the same as started riding.

[tsorfas]

STARTED with racing is not the same as started riding.

agreed but im sure theres major differences in riding a 600 and a LW.
or i might be wrong.. like I said Iv never ridden/track dayed/ raced an EX or an SV

[Chippertheripper]

Yes i remember the pricing topic you showed me.. looks like the start up is pretty cheap.
and I was talking about 28s 29s unfortunately.

You can go as fast as your wallet will support. Tracktime/tires/being away from family and work. Those seconds will fall off pretty quick with a teal competition. You'd be pretty surprised and stoked at the same time.

[tsorfas]

You can go as fast as your wallet will support. Tracktime/tires/being away from family and work. Those seconds will fall off pretty quick with a teal competition. You'd be pretty surprised and stoked at the same time.

Im not rich, neither I can take a lot of time off from work.
and on the top of that I am planning on going back to school part time next year.! LOL

[TheIglu]

agreed but im sure theres major differences in riding a 600 and a LW.
or i might be wrong.. like I said Iv never ridden/track dayed/ raced an EX or an SV

You are right. It is a lot easier to develop bad brake/cornering/line habits on a high HP bike. You can't get away with brute force on a LW bike. Only bad habit you can get away with on a LW bike is hamfisting.

[tsorfas]

You are right. It is a lot easier to develop bad brake/cornering/line habits on a high HP bike. You can't get away with brute force on a LW bike. Only bad habit you can get away with on a LW bike is hamfisting.

what are the classes on LW? and hows the competition seems like the people who are into LW are very passionate about it and the times you guys broughts up 19s!!! are LOW

[BrianC]

I did alright for my 1st season... won most of my novice races and moved up to amateur halfway thru the season. Am. is a bit tougher but just like novice you just chip away at your times and get faster and faster. It's fun no matter where you are placing but getting some wins as a novice just kind of hooks you and makes you want to win more. It is definitely a challenge to keep getting faster but it's a fun challenge that feels awesome when you make progress. Crashing hasn't cost me much yet... I went down twice this season and the most damage was a broken clip on.

thats pretty much what i was thinking too..
IM sure LW can be fun and better to get STARTED but i have been on 600s for a while now and just dont see the benefit of me having to learn a whole different bike (besides the reduced cost of tires and *crashes apparently).
how are you doing on a stock r6?

[BrianC]

Yes i remember the pricing topic you showed me.. looks like the start up is pretty cheap.
and I was talking about 28s 29s unfortunately.

28's will turn into 22's real fast when your racing!

Im not rich, neither I can take a lot of time off from work.
and on the top of that I am planning on going back to school part time next year.! LOL

Don't let anything hold you back if you really want to do it... I have a family and a job that doesn't really allow time off and have managed to do it all year. I can't do track days or friday practices but I can still show up to race and have fun. It only gets expensive if you start tricking out your bike or crashing hard or frequently. If you want to make it happen you will just do it, and you won't regret it.

[tsorfas]

28's will turn into 22's real fast when your racing!



Don't let anything hold you back if you really want to do it... I have a family and a job that doesn't really allow time off and have managed to do it all year. I can't do track days or friday practices but I can still show up to race and have fun. It only gets expensive if you start tricking out your bike or crashing hard or frequently. If you want to make it happen you will just do it, and you won't regret it.

thats how i see it im just trying to decide if i should get a whole different bike EX or SV OR just take the 600 and test the waters. I would be interested in doing the whole season though i like to finish what i start

[Rada]

My plan for next year and keeping it real is to pick 4 rounds and then maybe only do 2 races at those rounds. Keep it fun and low buck.


That's the plan.......

[Doc]

thats how i see it im just trying to decide if i should get a whole different bike EX or SV OR just take the 600 and test the waters. I would be interested in doing the whole season though i like to finish what i start

Just run what you got. It is what you WANT to do anyway.

[tsorfas]

28's will turn into 22's real fast when your racing!



Don't let anything hold you back if you really want to do it... I have a family and a job that doesn't really allow time off and have managed to do it all year. I can't do track days or friday practices but I can still show up to race and have fun. It only gets expensive if you start tricking out your bike or crashing hard or frequently. If you want to make it happen you will just do it, and you won't regret it.

Just run what you got. It is what you WANT to do anyway.

I want to do it right! I do want the competition and the podiums and the trophies. I want to have fun before anything.

[brady]

My plan for next year and keeping it real is to pick 4 rounds and then maybe only do 2 races at those rounds. Keep it fun and low buck. That's the plan.......

2 practices plus 1 race each day is still plenty of fun. You already have a track SV, so it's an easy plan. After racing your first round you may decide to trade the extra laps of track days for the extra intensity of racing, and do every round you can.

[tsorfas]

can someone guide me towards the classes? and some kind of schedule like how many races and rounds per class?

[Chippertheripper]

A round is a weekend. We had 7, April-oct this year. As a novice, you can only run 3 per weekend this season. Maybe 4 with a gt, I forget.

http://www.lrrsracing.com/2011/2011_...y_Schedule.pdf

[Chippertheripper]

Ok, so 2 practices Saturday, one race of your choice.
2 practices Sunday, 2 races, one of them being a 20minute gt.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

When I started racing, my only street/bike experience was i4s. I started racing on an ex and did pretty well. Funny thing, I can do 25s on my ex but probably only run ~30s on an i4 (last time I rode one was at a ttd and I was too slow to be comfortable in blue group). It can be done cheap if you try (a few hundred/weekend) if you try.

That said, run what you want. It's a blast no matter what. I'll run other classes but plan to always have a ptwins bike (ex500).

[butcher bergs]

I want to do it right!

There is no "right" way. There is however a "preferred" way, generally speaking, and it doesn't always work for everyone, IMO.

If you wanna use your MW just to test the waters then by all means, do it! The comments about people using HP to make up for poor cornerspeed might get you by in NV and at the back of the AM field but I can assure you that, as you get your speed up, you will quickly learn the value of cornerspeed no matter what class you are racing in. The difference is, there is a higher risk of being spit off a MW than you have on a LW or UL bike.

[tsorfas]

so dan and bergs what is YOUR advice/opinion?

[csmutty]

so dan and bergs what is YOUR advice/opinion?

I'm not ddk or bergsie, but you are over thinking this. Just race man. Generally speaking a lw bike will help you learn to carry corner speed. But you should be fine on a 600.

[tsorfas]

I'm not ddk or bergsie, but you are over thinking this. Just race man. Generally speaking a lw bike will help you learn to carry corner speed. But you should be fine on a 600.

I am doing it next year, Im just trying to see if I need to buy another bike or not