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cheap race / track bike $1000

Not getting the aversion to allowing emulators when an aftermarket shock would be allowed. $150.00 for emulators isn't much when you're looking at $600.00 for a decent shock. At least there'd be some decent suspension on both ends. (and it's not expensive if you're good at hunting down used parts)
 
i hear you on emulators. i mentioned it - as it is part of the lwt prod'n rules as they stand now. but agreed upon ok among the racers. no aversion to emulators other than cost and labour. you wouldn't have to buy a shock. we are now nearing $1000 or more with labour - for emulators and shock.

250 prod'n and 300supersport perhaps ?

does anyone know if racer 5 has modded their bikes suspension for the newbies? they do use their bikes for endurance racing.
 
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tgold said:
Not getting the aversion to allowing emulators when an aftermarket shock would be allowed. $150.00 for emulators isn't much when you're looking at $600.00 for a decent shock. At least there'd be some decent suspension on both ends. (and it's not expensive if you're good at hunting down used parts)
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The aversion is related to the philosophy of keeping it cheaper. The parts and cost can start to become a slippery slope.

In lightweight bikes small changes make a big difference. On the CBR250 changing the stock header pipe to the Hindle header pipe gives a rise of 4%. Less than 1 hp but with a 25 hp bike that makes a big difference.

Go Google Snorklegate 2016 WERA and see how a simple airbox change can cause such a debate.

And the rules are there for a reason. Like in 2015 when someone changed to emulators to help him. 2nd place for the season went to someone who didn't put emulators in. Fair? Is the difference enough that the results would have been different? The argument was that the emulators were added for "safety" reasons. Slow down to the capability of the bike. Which might have been slower than the 2nd place rider. All an interesting debate.

Now I can't say much as my kid ran Lightweight Production 2016 with the CSBK build Ninja 300 with the K-Tech internals. In fairness, I had emailed asking for clarification and a rule amendment prior to the start of the season but nothing changed. I was told to just run it.

No one used the rulebook to move up grid positions.

If people are racing for fun I guess the entire discussion is mute. If the piece of paper means more than people will make changes or they use the rulebook to their advantage if they wish.

No right or wrong answer in club racing.
 
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Well, if you want to keep it "cheaper" then don't allow an aftermarket shock either. The cost of one crash due to crappy stock suspension isn't going to be cheaper than a set of emulators anyway. But even if I decided to race in the production class with the "no emulators" rule in place, you can bet that I'd custom mix the fork oil viscosity to get the best performance out of the front end.

I'm well aware of the whole snorkle thing with WERA. I was speaking specifically about suspension and not modifications for more power. But really the choice of a CBR250 for the class is a somewhat self-inflicted horsepower handicap anyway. If someone is going to complain about suspension when they're on a CBR250 giving up at least 15 horsepower to an R3 or the RC390, it's pointless.

If you want "fair" then about the only way to really do that is a spec class where you can change NOTHING. When I was in Germany in the 1980's they had what they called the Castrol cup. You bought everything as a package: Bike, suspension, tires, riding gear, oil, ets. You had to use the same gas too. THAT was some close racing. I realize that it would be nearly as cheap as buying your own bike and setting it up, but it would certainly help level the playing field if that's what people realy want.

I'm not really sure what people mean about "racing for fun" anyway. As if there are people who race because it's not fun. I've always raced for fun. I've discovered winning is fun too. As I said, if I were to race in the production class I would focus on using the rules as they are written and maximize my chances of doing well by my bike choice and setup within the rules. And if I were to find that my competitors are not racing according to the rules, well I would protest. IMO, those who haven't protested about the emulators when they know that someone else is not following the rules have no place to complain. I've heard it many times before where racers think that somehow it's unsportsmanlike to protest, but then they complain about others cheating.

There is a right or wrong answer in club racing. If you don't like the way a class is run, then do something about it or go find a class that you do like. When I was racing an SV650, people were complaining about getting whippped by very expensive 1000cc Ducatis when that's what the CCS rules allowed. Those people could simply choose to vote on what they think about how the class is run by racing with another club or in another class. Instead, they continue to race in a class where they get their butts kicked and then whine about it. Now I'm not going to spend $50,000.00 on a racebike, but I won't fault the guy who worked hard and earned enough money to choose to get the bike that would give him the best chance to win in that class. I just raced elsewhere.

This season I made the choice to run in a class where there are more open rules that allow creativity and I think that our team's bike did fairly well in never finishing off the podium. I didn't spend a lot of money doing so. It was a total blast and I plan to run in the class again next year only with a much improved bike. All within the rules.
 
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