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Reasonable budget for racing costs
- Thread starter Web
- Start date
This is the number i'm at as well. Just don't crash.
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Pick a class that's less expensive to run. Vintage, lost era. Tire bill goes up exponentially with horsepower. FZR400 I get 3 weekends out of tires, the class is not competitive enough to warrant tire warmers which means no generator, which means I travel with a diesel Jetta towing an open trailer as opposed to a big enclosed trailer that needs a huge truck to pull it. Therefore I've kept going long after others have gone broke.
This exactly along the lines that I'm thinking. I was already looking at used open trailers. From what ive read, the only issue with the older bikes is that when something does break it costs a lot to fix? Any input?
Thats lucky! I'm guessing a stock replacement?
This is the route I've been considering.
Unfortunately, a knee injury kept me out of the game this year.
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Even if you want to go race in one of the feature classes you can save a lot of money if you're smart about it.
Being slow is no one's fault, but yer own CarbonKitten.
how else are they going to take those perfect pics of me!
You ain't quick..... I can guarantee next round we will both finish at least 5 places ahead of ya on the results page. Hell, if the old lady races, I'm sure she will get a better finish than you as well.
Hahaha with me not being there, you might get 3rd out of 5 !
Lend me your bike and leathers (i'll squeeze into em) and I'll go show those punks whats what!
Lookin forward to it.
how so? (honest question)
I think spending less applies more than saving money.
I can think of a few ways,
-run stock motor with pump gas
-use tires until shot/sell scrubs
-few sponsors don't hurt
-learn to do your own service/set up
-avoid expensive canopies/trailers/tow vehicles
-lose weight(saves fuel)
-cook meals at track
-dont drink beer
-stratigically plan your race entries, so you never get bumped to expert, and never have to worry about riding very fast/challenge yourself
-dont crash
-use stock parts if possible, until aftermarket required from damage etc
-do not ever allow your girlfriend to get a race bike and start racing(doubles your costs)
-get your mom to come to the track
Seems spending money won't really make anyone fast. I've spent a lot of coin this year, a lot, and I'm still just an average rider.
Tire management is important. As Carbon said, tires is the biggest expense in racing. My budget for tires in 2012 was $266/wknd, that is one new Dunlop KR449 rear per weekend. The Dunlop fronts last forever. I mount a new rear before finals on Sunday, then save and flip that tire for qualifying for the following round, then I can get a few practice sessions out of it. So you'll need extra wheels and provisions to change/flip tires to make this work.
You don't need race fuel. Premium pump fuel is fine. Learn to ride the bike.
You don't need a built motor, a reliable stock motor is fine. Learn to ride the bike.
Don't over think suspension adjustments. Get it set up by someone who knows what they're doing then go ride it. I have never made any big suspension adjustments, just some small geometry changes. If you're still learning a particular track configuration or your riding ability is progressing at a rate that means your lap times are dropping quickly, don't make suspension adjustments. Say you're racing at SMP Pro Track and you're still learning the track. 1st session out you run 1:20s. 2nd session out you run 1:16s. 3rd session 1:14s. Why are people making suspension adjustments when they're still taking big chunks out of lap times by learning the track? Of course the bike feels like crap at 1:20... they're not riding it hard enough to make it work properly. Does that make sense?
You look around for deals on oil and supplies. When you go to the bike show in January you can find deals and get enough oil for the full season at a good price. I'm not particular to any brand of oil, I will get whatever good full synthetic I can find that's a good price.
Unless you're a National Pro rider the biggest gains will still come from rider improvement. Not equipment. Get some decent parts and get it set up reasonably well. Then go ride.
You don't need race fuel. Premium pump fuel is fine. Learn to ride the bike.
You don't need a built motor, a reliable stock motor is fine. Learn to ride the bike.
Don't over think suspension adjustments. Get it set up by someone who knows what they're doing then go ride it. I have never made any big suspension adjustments, just some small geometry changes. If you're still learning a particular track configuration or your riding ability is progressing at a rate that means your lap times are dropping quickly, don't make suspension adjustments. Say you're racing at SMP Pro Track and you're still learning the track. 1st session out you run 1:20s. 2nd session out you run 1:16s. 3rd session 1:14s. Why are people making suspension adjustments when they're still taking big chunks out of lap times by learning the track? Of course the bike feels like crap at 1:20... they're not riding it hard enough to make it work properly. Does that make sense?
You look around for deals on oil and supplies. When you go to the bike show in January you can find deals and get enough oil for the full season at a good price. I'm not particular to any brand of oil, I will get whatever good full synthetic I can find that's a good price.
Unless you're a National Pro rider the biggest gains will still come from rider improvement. Not equipment. Get some decent parts and get it set up reasonably well. Then go ride.
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