Looking for my 1st Track Bike

Discussion in 'STT General Discussion' started by ebart, Apr 17, 2017.

  1. ebart

    ebart Rides with no training wheels

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    I want to ask some of the folks that actually do this instead of some of my friends that have never been on a track. I am looking for my 1st track bike and wanted to know if 300, such as a Kawasaki or Honda would be a good starter. I am currently riding a FZ1 and have had a few bikes throughout the years. If there is a thread that I missed in searching will someone please point me in that direction, thanks for any input. Looking forward to riding with yall once I get things together....Bart
     
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  2. indy

    indy What's an apex?

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    If you haven't killed your self on the FZ. Can manage it well. IMO you will be done with a 300 real quick.
    The huge upside is, cornering will be fantastic.
    My street ride is a Tiger 1050, bought a Speed Triple for track. Sold it and have a ZX600RR.
    I would be leaning towards a 600, 636 setup for track.
    This was up yesterday.
    http://www.sttforum.com/index.php?threads/2005-r6-for-sale.18654/



    OH, welcome to the forum.
    Why not take a minute, tell us a little more about yourself. Location might be good.
    You found the best track day organization I know of. Have been involved with 6.
    Great way to start out.
     
  3. tigerblade

    tigerblade What's an apex?

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  4. Prufrock

    Prufrock traffic

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    Second. They force you to get good where it matters.

    That being said, I have a pretty well set up SV for sale if you're interested. What's your location?
     
  5. 196paul

    196paul Track Day Junkie

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    +1 on the sv650! I started on a cbr250r, did one weekend on it and got hooked. I traded it in on a new 2013 zx6r and rode that for a year but I had a loan on it and insurance was expensive. It also consumed a lot of rear tires so I sold it despite really liking it to get out of the loan and insurance since I no longer ride street. I bought a Ducati 748 and turned it into a dedicated track bike. Had some issues with reliability and needed something quick and cheap because I had an expensive date at COTA so I found a good deal on a 2004 sv650 that was already track prepped. I've been riding it for almost a year now and I love it for many reasons. First is cost, I paid $2500 for it with a clean title. It's also very easy on tires, 9 days on a rear compared to 3-4 on the zx6r. It uses less fuel and I've been running it with regular pump gas! Second is reliability, almost a year now (over 16 track days) and zero issues. Third is fun factor! The zx6r was way faster but it also gave me some "oh shit" moments! The sv650 is just plain fun to ride and has enough power to run a fast pace sans "oh shit" moments. Cheap, reliable fun, you can't go wrong with the sv650!
     
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  6. tnskydivr

    tnskydivr Shut up and Jump!
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    I'd come out and ride the FZ1 for the first weekend...after that, you'll have a better idea of what bike you might want to have...
     
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  7. ebart

    ebart Rides with no training wheels

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    Thanks for the information. I am very interested in getting to do some tracks days but I have to figure out the money. Being in Mississippi leaves me pretty far from most tracks (except Nola). That will probably be my 1st track to ride. I just have to get some things together before I can make it all happen. I am thinking probably next year unless my friend lets me borrow his track bike while he is gone (military). I would be asking him a bunch of questions, but he is hard to get in touch with. He told me to ask on here so this is where I am. I will be checking on the classifieds here to see what is available, gear wise and bike wise, just not ready to buy a bike yet. Thanks for the offer Prufrock. I will continue to read different threads on here and will gladly take any other information yall want to give. Thanks again.....Bart
     
  8. Duts87ss

    Duts87ss n00b

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    I've done a few track days on my FZ1. I even did a weekend of DiSalvo Speed Academy on it. They're capable bikes, but a upgraded suspension makes all the difference. I'd also suggest Ivan's flash to help smooth the light throttle areas.
     
  9. ebart

    ebart Rides with no training wheels

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    The 1st thing I did to my FZ was suspension. I am 240lbs so I had to adjust things lol. I swapped forks from an R1 and put an R1 rear shock on it, with an adapter to fit. I had both forks and shock sprung for my fat butt. The issue I have is that if I mess up and dump it I will be out a bike. This is the main reason I want to find a track bike, and I am asking questions about it here. I am looking for what people think is a good beginner track bike and how they got started. From what I have read: You just need to get the money to invest in it. A short list of things are Bike, gear, transportation, and more money for the track day. So basically I need to start saving "a lot" of money lol. I want to thank everyone again on the feedback, it has helped.
     
  10. TLR67

    TLR67 Cheers!
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    FZ1? I would go straight to a well prepped 600...... Just my opinion....
     
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  11. Ohio_1199DUC

    Ohio_1199DUC Knows an Apex when he sees one
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    Well... I just bought a R3 and saying you will be done quickly with a 300 is the incorrect answer... just ask every 600 and 1000 I motored around the outside of corners on all weekend long. #littlebikelife ~ 300 FTW ~

    Anybody want a nice 1199 Panigale?

    Honestly though, take what you already own to the track for now and get used to track riding. Once you have a feeling for where you want to be... you can better prepare for the next step.
    In my humble opinion however... I would start small and add bikes as you get better. It is a proven system and one that I wish I would have followed.
     
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  12. Nate

    Nate n00b

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    Not sure if it was you or not but i was chasing a coach on an R3 at Grattan this past weekend...I could easily pass on the straight but i could just keep him in view as soon as it started getting twisty. The corner speed on those are ridiculous.
     
  13. BP41

    BP41 n00b

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    For sure this. Get on track and ride the FZ. It'll do main things for you, understand your bike and understand your riding. After you will be more in tune to what you want from both.

    I like the 250s and 300s but for a starter bike I don't think there's anything that's better than the SV650. 300s are awesome! Love them and are a blast to ride, but they lack punch and that "I'm going somewhere feeling". I can see how they can "get old" for newer guys. If I had to start all over again I guess I would do it like this , SV,300,600,1000,old school 500cc two stroke GP bike, 300. :D
     
  14. Ohio_1199DUC

    Ohio_1199DUC Knows an Apex when he sees one
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    Most likely it was me. I had my turn signals taped off with green tape.
     
  15. VernLux

    VernLux Knows an apex

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    Green tape is what makes you faster...you know that! :D. Green smilies make you......smile.
     
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  16. Nate

    Nate n00b

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    It was fun watching your lines and entry speeds. Whether or not it was me or the bike or a mixture of both a 1k does not follow a 300's lines very well.
     
  17. Ohio_1199DUC

    Ohio_1199DUC Knows an Apex when he sees one
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    After I read my reply just now... I can see how it would seem that way and its funny you mention that as I was using my buddies green tape and he mentioned that the green tape would make it faster. I was merely trying to give Nate another visual indication of the 1K slayer!:cool:
     
  18. Ohio_1199DUC

    Ohio_1199DUC Knows an Apex when he sees one
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    My goal is to transfer the things I learn on the 300 over to my 1199. Funny thing about the 300 is its only 50#'s lighter than the 1199 according to the claimed wet weights.
     
  19. Nate

    Nate n00b

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    I watched your line coming into the first corner after the straight ( you were doing 110 or so according to my speedo) and all i could think is "hes gotta brake soon....maybe....well i definitely need to slow down a bit....did he even let off the gas?"

    Very entertaining to watch. I got to follow you through about half a lap before you pitted and i was able to tag a long behind another coach.

    I really need to get my wife's 250 running well so i can steal that for the next track day. Learn not to rely on always having an excessive amount of power. (maybe i wont get kicked out of a session for wheeling that way too. haha).
     
  20. sjelliott21

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    My first several tracks days were with a 2nd Gen FZ1. It worked perfectly fine for my first few track days and then I went to a 'race ready' GSXR-600. The riding style was completely different and it forced me to really improve my cornering skills since I couldn't just juice it on the straights anymore. I liked the GSXR because it was inexpensive, also for the availability of parts/spare parts if you do go down. I have since moved to a Ducati 996 track bike, again a completely different animal, but man is it fun!
     

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