05 ZX10R Track bike? Street Bike? Opinions please | GTAMotorcycle.com

05 ZX10R Track bike? Street Bike? Opinions please

Goocati

Goocati

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I'm looking at an 05 ZX10R, I've read the reviews and it looks like a track weapon. Not sure of practicality on the street, though lets face it, what litre sportbike is. This one is in good condition with 22 000 kms, Full Akropovic Titanium exhaust system and PCIII. I may take it to the track a few times but mostly street use, not in the city, waaay out of town. This would be my 7th bike in 25+ yrs of riding, so don't consider myself a noob anymore but would still like opinions on the bike if anyone has ridden one, the price, is 5 200.00 too much? Are people still riding litre bikes at the track? The last time I was at Shannonville was 2 summers ago when I took the Fast course on my first gen. Multistrada. I was the only guy with a glovebox and a luggage rack, but I had a blast and I'm thinking I want to get back out there. If any of you track regulars have any experience with the bike I'd appreciate the feed back.

Thanks
 
I've never rode one, so I don't have any first hand experience to share. I believe Caboose on the forum here used to race/track an 04-05 ZX10R, he might have some insight for you. I do know that the 04-05 ZX10R's have a reputation as being a bit brutish/unforgiving, even for litre bike standards. $5200 seems fairly reasonable for that bike, although there is probably some room to move on it. Its a buyers market right now with the current insurance conditions.
 
Brian p has a 10r on the street. He puts more km's on his 125. There is an awesome thread of his about setting up the 10r as a drag bike, I'm not sure how often he runs it on the strip.

Personally if I was getting a track bike, I would try to find a properly prepared track bike and avoid the expense of converting one (and what I assume is very unfriendly insurance for a street 1000).
 
That bike would probably be fine, but you definitely need a steering damper if it hasn't had one put on it. $5200 might not be too much, it all depends on the condition of the bike. The full system and PC3 put it into a better position for that money, as long as it's been properly tuned and not just slapped on. It'll be a lot of bike, and they love a good wheelie, but I have ridden liter bikes at the track for years and oddly enough it's the 600 that I keep crashing, lol
 
Are people still riding liter bikes at the track?

Yes I ride my 2006 GSXR1000 at the track.

I would much rather ride a liter bike on the streets than a 600.
 
Thanks Guys,

KV - I'm hoping my insurance company will be gentle, if not, do I need insurance for track only?

GG - When you say converted to a track bike does that make it not road worthy? I was hoping to use it for both if insurance works out.

S - I was considering a steering damper, I will now consider it mandatory.
 
Goocati said:
Thanks Guys,

KV - I'm hoping my insurance company will be gentle, if not, do I need insurance for track only?

GG - When you say converted to a track bike does that make it not road worthy? I was hoping to use it for both if insurance works out.

S - I was considering a steering damper, I will now consider it mandatory.
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Crashing pretty street bikes is expensive and on dedicated track bikes many people give the suspension some love. Fibreglass fairings, safety wiring, better suspension etc make the bike safer and cheaper to use on the track. If you want a bike that does both street and track, ignore my comment.

As far as insurance goes, track only is very hard to get. Talk to the racers, iirc somebody was writing policies, I'm not sure if they are still available. If you are getting a street policy, I wouldn't mention the track, they may refuse the policy. Apparently, back in the day there were a lot of crashes on the roads surrounding tracks (crash your bike on the track, then drag it out and throw it in a ditch beside the road)
 
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Goocati said:
Thanks Guys,

KV - I'm hoping my insurance company will be gentle, if not, do I need insurance for track only?

GG - When you say converted to a track bike does that make it not road worthy? I was hoping to use it for both if insurance works out.

S - I was considering a steering damper, I will now consider it mandatory.
Click to expand...

Just change the antifreeze to water tape all the lights do the sag for your weight stiff the suspension and give it to try.
It's pretty simple to me to keep it street/track.
 
S1 - That's what I did with the Multi, no coolant swap though. Thats ideally what I'd like to do with the Kawi.
 
Goocati said:
S1 - That's what I did with the Multi, no coolant swap though. Thats ideally what I'd like to do with the Kawi.
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That's Exactly what i did when i start, then the year after i decided to buy a dedicate track bike;)
 
fyi, choose your tires carefully, those years DID NOT like any kind tire that was triangulated. more so the front. get a set of adjustable clamps and put alot of trail into it.
 
racepro171 said:
fyi, choose your tires carefully, those years DID NOT like any kind tire that was triangulated. more so the front. get a set of adjustable clamps and put alot of trail into it.
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What do you mean by triangulated tires?

The adjustable clamps will allow Rake (and therefore) trail increases I'm assuming? That's pretty cool. I Probably won't be pushing the bike that hard, but good to know. Thanks
 
I have a number of bikes, boats, cars, homeowners and business insurance through a well know bike friendly broker. When I brought up the issue of insuring our race bike and related gear, their reply was simply "don't go there, not happening". There are provisions in my homeowners policy that covers race gear as "property" while at home and in the trailer, but at the track it's at my own risk.

If you're going to ride your street bike on the track be prepared for the associated risks, both physical and financial. Part of the game.
 
I have one as a street bike (with 84,000 km on it). It is a wild and crazy street bike. They need a steering damper. I've never had mine on track (I have something else as a track bike) and wouldn't really want to.

What are your objectives. If you are going to do a track day here and there just for fun then by all means swap the coolant, put on good tires, and go. If you are going to really build a track bike, I'd pick something else - and probably buy something that is already set up as a track bike.

There are a couple of side effects from these being the lightest litre bike.

Inspect carefully for cracks in the frame. Common spots are along the welds running along the top and bottom of the frame rails roughly under where the frame aligns with the gas tank, and at the engine mounts recessed in a tube in the same vicinity; look for a crack at the weld where that tube joins the main frame. I've never had an issue with mine but cracked frames are not unheard of with these. They don't fail catastrophically by breaking in half with no warning the way a certain competitor of comparable vintage does ...

The bodywork is flimsy. I betcha the tabs inside the tail section that the taillight bolts to are broken. There's a good chance that, if you take the passenger seat off, the tail section will be cracked where it bolts to the subframe. I gave up trying to keep mine together. It's wibbly-wobbly.

Mine has been a good street bike but I wouldn't want to race it ...
 
Thanks again guys for the info.

RP171 I had no idea those are considered V shaped is there a noticeable difference?

Tomcat Having taken my daily rider to the track, I'm versed in the, "track it at your own risk" scenario, I was leaning more to not insuring it at all and just using it as a track bike, do the tracks require insurance was my original question, which you just answered letting me know you cannot get insurance for a track bike.

Brian P. steering damper, I've been schooled earlier in the thread and will get one, objectives, for now a dedicated track bike, I won't be able to ride it anywhere near its potential as it sits, so no need to spend anything upgrading at the moment, I haven't checked the frame for cracks but I will now, and you are bang on about the flimsy plastics, specifically the taillight section being a bit loose. I've never seen thinner plastics on a bike before this.
 
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