I have decided I will def be doing a track day next year however I do have a fear of smashing my pride and joy, I know alot of you say the chance of that happening is very slim trust me if its gonna happen to someone that day it will be me! And if it did I'm not in a situation where I can afford to replace or even repair. Anyway I have looked down several routes - track bike hire, track insurance etc and they all just seem to want to shaft you. So here is my current thoughts.....there are a few cheap 'track' bikes on eBay for 1-1.5k is this a good idea? Or do I just buy a cheap scabby road bike and rip the plates and indicators off? Would a 600cc be enough or should I look for a 1000cc? Can anyone recommend a make and model that is cheap and a good bike for track? It may seem silly but the way I see it is if I do come off I loose a grand minus any bits that are sellable, if I crash mine I loose alot more money, my baby, my project, something I have spent all my time and money on to make look perfect.
I personally think you have More chance on the public road of coming off than you do on the track,with all the hazards on the public road from diesel spills ,pot holes ,cars ,etc. You do 20mins sessions where your tyres get hotter than they ever get on the road (except maybe if you ever going riding with Si,Giover,and fireboke)meaning you have far more grip,you ride at your own pace and you have no hazards exempt yourself and your right hand.I have only done one track day and your thoughts were in my head for about 30 seconds then they are gone. I thought about a track bike but as I plan to do a lot or road riding I wanted to use the same bike, so my road riding would benefit from my track day experience,as doing track days will really benefit your road riding and I don't mean speed, your cornering ,riding position etc ,I certainly felt a better rider just after I track day,it allows you to really get to know your bike. Now enough talk and get it booked you will love it .
i think you definately would be doing it right by buying a cheap bike on the run up to xmas, i bought a gsxr 1000 k4 that had never been on the road , and fingers crossed i have been lucky with reliability so far. As to wether to buy a used road bike or track bike , i think i would look for a sensible mileage 600cc road bike that has fuel injection rather than carbs ,as carbs tend to get gummed up when not being used regularly. The amount of time a road bike spends anywhere near the top end of the engine revs is tiny, compared with a track bike that spends all its time going right up the rev range. Also ex race track bikes usually have race tuned engines which will cost a fortune to build back up correctly if they go pop,its much better to have a standard engine unless you are a racer. With a road bike you can take it for a road test before you buy it too... if you buy a track bike , the first time you will find out if the gearbox or engine have any faults ,is when you go on track 4 months after you bought the bike. if you can find a road bike with cosmetic fairing damage ,make a low offer ,as the seller will know that to get their bike back to sellable condition will cost more than they can sell the bike for, even cheap track fairings go for well over £200 second hand, and that is before you factor in the cost of painting.
no need for a 1000. You will learn a lot more about going fast on a 600 than you will on a 1000. As said above I would probably recommend a road bike as you can test it a bit before you buy and usually they haven't had as hard a life. the other thing you have to consider if you get a track bike over a road bike is how you plan to get it to and from the circuit. If you have a trailer or something then that's fine but if not then you can just drive the road bike there but I guess for that you need insurance etc. as for a great tack bike what about one of the original Gsxr600 / 750 SRADs. Can be got for good money and a mighty fun machine for the track
The above statement about learning more on a 600 depends on several factors. how you ride, what size you are etc. The fastest lads i knock around with (and people ive spannered for in past) havent ever ridden a 600, and you cant say they cant ride! Going back to the OP, i would suggest you do a trackday first before going out and buying a track bike, you might get out there and hate every second, if you do like it, yes, have a look at some tidy track bikes, but beware its a very slippery slope and if your even half decent it will end up with you wanting to race!
Cheers guys I gave my 600 srad to my mate for nothing about 18months ago He is a really good friend, was struggling for cash and had to sell his bike and mine was just collecting dust at the time as once I got the blade the gixer felt dangerous as the brakes were as if they didn't work etc in comparison lol. I think I will search for a trailer to save on tax insurance etc and if I do bin it, I can still get home (well proving I'm in one piece this time!) Might look out for a cbr 6 maybe, Im 6'4 and 19st but its not about racing and going 170mph for me, I just want to have a bit of fun and pretend I'm a fat Rossi for the day
A cheap track bike is ideal the reason I want to use my blade is that I just want to and feel at home on it. And want to see what I can do on it. As I have said if you take your time and enjoy and don't rush things you have a lot less chance of damaging your bike on track. I was worried before my first track day
If they were cheap enough I would look at getting another rr5, I may take mine once I go a bit of experience but its my dream bike and sometimes I just enjoy tinkering with it in the garage more than riding it! She's really clean and I just want to keep her that way. But I do see where your coming from Remal
Speaking as a former trackday addict.......... Just ride your roadbike, have fun & trust to good luck. I will however say, if you start doing quite a few trackdays, you will probably crash; most people do at some point & a few quite regularly. The pattern often goes like this: Do a trackday on your roadbike; you love it & do a couple more. You then start getting fed up with not being able to ride the roads like a track, so you buy a track bike & do a few more days. You get faster, meet other addicts & realise you need to buy spares, a trailer, WOW, warmers - its starting to get expensive. In the end, you convince yourself that road riding isn't for you & sell the road bike. You then put the money to a better track bike & buy another set of spares; its okay because you tell yourself that you are saving money on tax, insurance etc. You eventually do a few euro trips, work up to the the fast group & start chasing times. Fast foward a few years (about 10 in my case); you can't remember the last trackday you did where you just had fun. You ride a bit more cautiously because the injuys for past crashes still hurt. You spend time stressing about setting up quickshifters, whether your wets will last another day & getting grief from the wife because you family holiday is now only 1-week per year (the rest of your days are for the track right!). You now have two track bikes, one for the wet; each has all kinds of spares & you spend most evenings glued to ebay. One day, out of the blue, you start to hanker after a road bike again. You decide to sell a trackbike & a few spares & buy one. You go out for a ride & its great fun; you buy a better road bike & decide you have to take it to a track day. Its ace & you decide you don't need a trackbike & sell the one you have left. You do a few more days on it & start thinking of another trackbike. Basically, your fucked! Don't over think it mate. Just do one, stay relaxed & don't think they will always take the place & freedom that having a road bike brings.
dont look at a track bike as an expense .. it may cost up to a couple of grand now,but you can always sell it later . if you buy a bike for 2 grand and sell it in 3 years for say £1300 ,you have only spent £700 for the piece of mind that your road bike is not going to be trashed. i bought my gsxr after the track day season 2 years ago for £2400 ... i could put it up for sale at the beginning of next years season for £2700 no problem.
ideally go with a mate who owns a trackbike and 'share' for the day-on the premise 'you break it ya fix it' track bikes are A LOT cheaper to fix than roadbikes I've done this for a couple of mates for their first trackday My mate gave me £60 towards tyres and fuel and didnt crash I run in fast group so i would come in on red hot tyres and out he went in novice Though I wouldnt dream of taking my track crashed road bike up into the hills and pushing it out the back doors....oh dear,i've had a crash !
I spotted this on ebay the other day and thought to myself then it would be an ideal winter hack or track bike: HONDA CBR600 L Reg FULL MOT £1095 CBR 600 cheap track bike ? EVERY MOT FROM NEW | eBay The auction has ended but only because the time ended on it.
Something like that would prob be ideal, that way if/when it goes slidding down the track it's not end of the world
