need help choosing a class.. | GTAMotorcycle.com

need help choosing a class..

gtm

gtm

Well-known member
hey everyone, I did the racer5 thing this past weekend with soar and had a blast. Im likely going to do it a few more times and then come out next year with my own rig.

I just dont know what class to choose or what classes are really available. I guess the no brainer class with lots of entries is one of the 600cc classes, but in a way I dont really think I want to step up to that size of bike, but I dont think there is any middle ground between the cbr125s and 600s other than the 2 stroke GP bikes right?

I saw that at soar its pretty much have a 600 or race alone (4 gp bikes total on raceday?)

How is shannonvilles field stack up? I know csbk brings everyone out, and i may do a race or two, but I'll stick to regional races for my first real season racing..

What bike though??
 
Hi Glenn,

You did awesome this past weekend!
The Racer5 program is developed so that you can use our 125s to hone your skills and race all season long.
Once you are ready transitioning to a 600 should be very easy.

If you are purchasing a bike then I would recommend a 600 and racing if rookie cup if you had your sights set on SOAR. 600s are great because you can sell them much easier than anything else, and have access to much more used parts, scrubs, etc. I wouldn't be too worried about the transition between the 125 and a 600. Some of the most successful AM 600 racers at CSBK came from the CBR125 cup, you get the same training with the CBRs and get to race in the CSBK Honda CBR125 cup as well with the program you are in.
If you are racing in Rookie cup try and get any modern 600, some suggest to look for one with a factory slipper.

Another slightly lower budget way of getting into a 600 would be racing in LW Lost Era (open to any bike under 600cc and at least 10 years old). The class is nowhere near as competetive as the Rookie Cup and being competetive on a lower budget is possible.
If you are racing in LW Lost Era a well sorted first gen R6 would be a good choice.

Fawaz
 
Well I am looking to be competitive, and I am looking to have competition too, its no where near as fun blasting around the track essentially by yourself. Which was kind of why I was so peeved I messed up in the race.. I dont know what kind of lap times we were doing but I was set on dicing around with the top3 which Im pretty sure I would have been doing..

Hope I didnt scare you too much the first day :p I knew I'd catch on fast though
 
BOTT on a SV or maybe a Ducati,TL,RC51 etc
Lost Era would put you on a 12yr old bike maybe a R6 or CBR
 
not that I can really put a limit on a season before its even begun, but Ill be looking to git'rdun in the 10-15k range for the season.. if I cant be competitive in rookie 600 at that range then I guess I'll look at lost era, but then again it is 90% rider ;)
 
$10 - $15k for a season including the cost of a *new* bike to run a modern 600 class competitively, including all of what you have to do to the bike, is not going to happen.

The SV650 route has the advantage that the bikes haven't been changing every year - there are only two generations of them and there is not a whole lot of difference in performance between them. You can run those bikes in a few different classes, they're pretty easy and forgiving to ride, still quick enough to be plenty entertaining, and it avoids the mayhem in the modern 600 classes ...

Lost Era has the advantage that you can buy a pre-abused already-prepped track bike from back in the day for a couple grand or maybe three, ride it for a year, and probably still sell it for about what you paid as long as you don't write it off. And you can still run the modern classes with a '99 R6 ... they are not all *that* much off the pace (ask Andrew Westbrook LOL).

Vintage is another choice, it has not caught on at SOAR for some reason, but there is always the VRRA.

As for depreciation ... I bought a 1989 FZR400 back when it wasn't a vintage bike, and just kept it until it became one :)
 
haha well, Im certainly not going to buy a *new* bike as you mentioned, that there takes away my entire funds lol. I will most certainly be going the used route. I am well aware that a new bike, all decked out with every goodie imaginable will run well over 20k..

if a 5k bike with an engine rebuild wont be able to be competitive in a rookie class then I guess I am sol. Really though my numbers were a rough low end estimate of what I would *like* to spend, not factoring in crashes/repairs etc. After the bike is purchased and running, I know i am looking at around a thousand bucks a race weekend which I think is a pretty fair estimation no? I certainly wont be racing every weekend and I certainly wont be able to follow every series going on..

I guess I am hoping the skill I build up will make up for my lack of funds and not being able to have anything and everything on the bike I want at the blink of an eye lol. Im pretty confident in myself I guess you could say..
 
No need for touching the engine at your level.

If you're worried about lack of funds then any modern-bike (600cc etc) class is not for you.

Get an already-race-prepped older track bike. It almost doesn't matter what it is. 10 - 12 years old will get you into the Sportsman classes at RACE or the Lost Era classes at SOAR. SV650 will get you into several different classes, also. Or go the vintage route.
 
This is interesting to me. I was there racing with gtm/Glenn, so I'm just as interested as him. So Brian, you're saying that with the cost of a used, sorted 600cc track bike, gas, trailer, tires, canopy, tire warmers, genny and race fees, it's not possible to race at SOAR for under $15k? How much cheaper is it going with an SV650? I don't think the difference in costs for the actual bike is that large, and the other costs are the same. So just wondering, how much would someone need to budget to race at SOAR?

And Glenn, dude, you were definitely very fast. But next round, I'll be right up there with you. I just need to get over my stupid fear of passing in the corners. :-D
 
Haha bring it on, sorry but who are/were you?For what its worth, its Glen with one n, but I'm not going to be anal about that.Just pass, don't think about it, just do it. When you start thinking of consequences of your actions you realize those consequences. I know there was A LOT of room where I could speed things up, but I'm content with where I ended up considering I've got less than 5 hours seat time on a motorcycle in my entire life LOL.. You missed it but I couldn't even start the thing without stalling the first day and I had fawaz pretty worried hahaha
 
Cost of roadracing has been discussed many times before.

If you're going to enter 3 classes plus do the practice day you are looking at $350-ish in entry fees.

A modern 600 will easily chew through a set of tires in a weekend ($400). Tire usage is exponential with horsepower if the bike is being ridden somewhere near its capability (so in the beginning, it might not quite be like this, but just wait until you get faster). An SV should go a couple weekends on a set. My FZR400 will go 3 or 4 weekends.

Then there's depreciation on the bike. I bought my FZR as a used street bike 15 (!) years ago for $3500. Depreciation cost is not very much :) For a new 600 if you pay full pop, what's that $16,000 bike (including taxes and race prep etc) going to be worth when you're done with it? Don't forget that you need a shock, steering damper, forks reworked, bodywork, exhaust, etc. And that's not counting internal engine work or anything exotic. There is a wide spectrum in between.

There is also a huge difference in what it costs to get to the track and stay there. I tow an open trailer behind a diesel Jetta and I have no generator or tire warmers to lug around and I sleep in a tent. That's pretty much the lowest cost that it can be done at. Hotel? More money. Pickup with enclosed trailer? More money. Motorhome? More money (although Aubrey Bailey's dad got a sweet deal on an old one ... but still, my Jetta uses 8 L/100 km and that gas-engine motorhome probably uses 30 L/100 km).
 
Brian P said:
Cost of roadracing has been discussed many times before.

If you're going to enter 3 classes plus do the practice day you are looking at $350-ish in entry fees.

A modern 600 will easily chew through a set of tires in a weekend ($400). Tire usage is exponential with horsepower if the bike is being ridden somewhere near its capability (so in the beginning, it might not quite be like this, but just wait until you get faster). An SV should go a couple weekends on a set. My FZR400 will go 3 or 4 weekends.

Then there's depreciation on the bike. I bought my FZR as a used street bike 15 (!) years ago for $3500. Depreciation cost is not very much :) For a new 600 if you pay full pop, what's that $16,000 bike (including taxes and race prep etc) going to be worth when you're done with it? Don't forget that you need a shock, steering damper, forks reworked, bodywork, exhaust, etc. And that's not counting internal engine work or anything exotic. There is a wide spectrum in between.

There is also a huge difference in what it costs to get to the track and stay there. I tow an open trailer behind a diesel Jetta and I have no generator or tire warmers to lug around and I sleep in a tent. That's pretty much the lowest cost that it can be done at. Hotel? More money. Pickup with enclosed trailer? More money. Motorhome? More money (although Aubrey Bailey's dad got a sweet deal on an old one ... but still, my Jetta uses 8 L/100 km and that gas-engine motorhome probably uses 30 L/100 km).
Click to expand...

None of your costs are surprising to me, except the quote on a $16k track bike. I'm sorry, but why would it be necessary to buy a brand new bike for the track? There are plenty of used track bikes between $3-6k. And I don't understand why you would account for depreciation. These are sunk costs. Anything you recover when selling the items is a bonus in my book.
 
HorizonXP said:
None of your costs are surprising to me, except the quote on a $16k track bike. I'm sorry, but why would it be necessary to buy a brand new bike for the track? There are plenty of used track bikes between $3-6k. And I don't understand why you would account for depreciation. These are sunk costs. Anything you recover when selling the items is a bonus in my book.
Click to expand...

essentially what I gather from him is that you cannot be competitive in rookie (ie. beginner) 600 unless you have a brand new bike with every removed and all th ohlins goodies.

That being said, none of the costs are surprising to me other than the bike as well. I already accounted for 1k a weekend, I plan to get an open trailer and tow behind my car, camp at the track minimizing costs as much as possible.

I never planned to buy a new bike and i cannot see why a 4-5k bike from a few years ago, already track ready would not be able to keep up. The differences between years arent huge and it is mostly set up and rider that make the difference. I never expected to have the ohlins shock, reorked forks and damper, and i do not see myself needing one in my first year anyway.. maybe once I move up to expert or something of those likes lol.

Internet **** talking aside, watch me be competitive next year at 1/4 the budget you claim.

see you at the track
 
I think what Brian is getting at is there is a W I D E range in equipment and what you call competitive and what someone else might. You may be happy with top ten another may be talking podium. You can absolutely buy a used race bike and to be honest likely should. But to run at podium pace you need relatively new and it better be set up right (read more $$$) but to get your feet wet and play with the boys a few year old bike thats got some spares is a great option and someone else has eaten the deprecation and the bike will stagnate somewhat in its value allowing you to sell it when your ready to move up.
For example I will sell you a 05 or 06 (I forget) Ducati that would own the Lightweight Twins class for $5500 that will be worth $5500 5 yrs from now. Parts are expensive. A SV while not as fast is cheap on parts but doesnt hold its value untill you reach the couple grand mark then it stagnates.
Bottom line is your the best/only person that can decide what you want from racing and what your best avenue is to get there.
 
I am the epitome of what is being explained here.

Last season I got a crashed street bike for $1600.
Spent 3 grand making it raceworthy, only to find out on it's maiden race weekend that it had no 2nd gear. a long chain and a +6 rear sprocket and a -1 front sprocket was my cheap alternative to 2nd gear repalcement. Was it effective? A little. Not a genuine replacement for the drive you'd get exitting a turn in 2nd gear, but I was trying to economize.I was also trying to learn how to ride. Still am.

This season I started with a beat up (very) old 99 R6 that is pretty tired. Put tires and a shock on it, had someone smarter than me play with the clickers, and began racing it. Bike was less than 3 grand and I was racing it 30 minutes after buying it. This was alot less painful than the way I did it last season. I do feel like a sellout for replacing the bike after only 3 races, and in my heart, the old bike makes me smile more than the new one......I should really fix 2nd gear on it and endurance race it,LOL.
Entry fees in 3 classes, tires, gas, camping stuff, generator, etc, adds up to about $600/weekend if I don't crash.

$3000 bike
$600 x 6 weekends = $3600

I'd say if you were smart you could easily go racing at SOAR on $7000/yr or less if you can make due with scrubs. I get beat up on by Dan Dubeau almost every round at SOAR, and the guy doesn't even own a set of tire warmers! Try not to get too caught up in the stuff yet.......work on the nut holding the clip-ons. As Ken said, it depends what you want to put into it. (This costing is assuming you have helmets, gloves, boots , leathers etc already.)

In SOAR, Cameron, Brian, and Chris need some company in Vintage. I'd love to grab up some old late 80's or early 90's sportbike like a ZX7 and go out there and play with them. The old sportbikes are what make my heart pitter-patter. Modern sportbikes are iincredible, but just don't do it for me- maybe I am old,LOL
 
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I'm looking into getting involved with learning how to track. How do I get involved with the cbr125 track classes?
 
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