what would you buy?

[Ben.]

got 5.5k to spend on race bikes.
live in south of england so will be able to make more race meets if i run in rookie super stock 600, and will be able to race at my home track - brands. Wont be able to run all pre injection 600 races and they dont run at my home track, (have little experience with tracks up north as well)

bike options: has to be an in-line 4 jap bike, no experience on a 1000 so doubt i would be great on one.

I'm torn between these options:

1. 3 pre injection R6's - wet, dry and a spare. Only bad point is I wont be very competitive in stock 600's

2. 2 05/6 cbr600rr's - wet and dry. More competitive in bemsee but wont be able to run a PI R6, and i love them bikes.

3. 1 06 cbr60rr and 2 PI r6's. wet and dry R6 and the cbr for bemsee events. Its pushing what I can get for my money. Can run in both events with a spare bike, but if i crash the cbr im pretty shagged for the bemsee events.

4. 08 r6. No spare or wet bike but i will be able to run competitively in bemsee events. wont be able to run in pre injection.

think I'm favouring option 3...
what would you do?


I dont want to run in minitwins etc. the only race series im interested in is stock sport 600/1000 and pre injection. Dont really want to spend 4k and save 1.5k for race fees etc. purely because after 1 year if i sell the bikes ill end up with around 5.5k again. If I send 1k on race fees im throwing 1k away.
____________________
follow my racing season
Race bike - R6
Road bike - sv650

[Gazdaman]

Having a competitive bike will not necessarily make you competitive.

I'd go for a decent carb'd R6, good suspension and a decent engine tune. Then get a rattier carb'd R6 for a wet bike, and save the rest of the money for all the unexpected expense that WILL crop up.

You could have an MV Augusta made entirely from Carbon Fibre and still get walloped by some tosser on a battered FZR400 with some flair.

So save a bit of money, and have some hella-fun.

Gaz

[Ben.]

1.5k for an engine tune. 400 for a shock, 100 for the forks.
going to spend 2k just tuning the r6.

so spend 2k on an r6, tune it for 2k, then buy a shitty r6 for 1.5k?

surely it would be better to buy an 06 cbr for 2.5k that will kick out the same power as a tuned r6?
____________________
follow my racing season
Race bike - R6
Road bike - sv650

[Gazdaman]

Ok, picture the scene. First race, brands.

You all tip into the first corner. Someone comes across you clipping your front wheel. You go down, bike cartwheels across the gravel. You're unhurt.

"Oh no, my only bike is fucked, I need new fairings, new subframe and a new wheel!" "If only I had a spare bike to bring out for race 2!".

"OH NO! And now I don't have any money spare to fix my bike either!"
"Now I'm out for the rest of the season, I'd better take up knitting instead".

And tbh, nobody likes knitting.

So there you have it, R6 or knitting.

And I'd buy a decent ex-race bike rather than buying a road bike and tuning it. www.motoforum.net is the place to be.

Gaz

[Deano]

mmm, 2 bikes are nice but you got the extra cost of maintaining them and getting them from a to b.

dont forgot when you do crash you actually got to be not hurt to carry on riding, presuming your lid and leathers have survived also.
trust me a 100mph crash certainly makes you think twice before going outthere again and trying to push.
____________________
Dean Stone #777
EMRA 2012 final standings, Formula 600s 3rd, Superstock 600s 3rd.
www.triplesevenracing.co.uk: www.ljmotorcyclerepairs.co.uk www.gettaylored.co.uk BN RaceScience, Now officially run out of money to carry on racing

[G]

If you spend £5.5k on race bikes now, you'll probably only £4k at worth of race bikes at the end of the season.
Race bikes generally sell for less at the end of the season, though keep a hold until spring next year and you've got more chance, but then people are still going to be expecting to budget for a freshly prepped bike.

While a sorted bike does make a decent difference and does take a big chunk of frustration away, I wouldn't entirely focus on it - I've seen people do VERY well on much older bikes than their competitors.
In the end, getting on the throttle earlier/better is always a good substitute for peak power .
I'm not sure it's great to be racing two separate but similar bikes at the same time - might get confusing as you get used to one, then next weekend are on a bike that's similar but different in a lot of ways. Saying that, never found it a big problem jumping between bikes myself.

I think all in I'd probably go for option 2. I do like the early R6s too, but not sure I'd choose one for racing if I had a later CBR sitting there.
Personally I wouldn't get too stuck on specific models either - in the end race bikes all tend to have aftermarket suspension etc, so they can vary between two of the same bike more than two different models set up by the same company in some cases!

Out of interest, why are you only interested in those categories?

[Ben.]

thanks guys all helpfull advice

[Kickstart]

[G]

[Damon]

Have you done many trackdays? I hope your running up front in the fast group before even thinking about entering a MRO race.

[Ben.]

im running 55's round brands on a 10 year old completely stock r6. Learning tracks this year and am always one if the fastest in the fast group by the last session.

So what do you guys think then. a tuned pre injection r6, engine work and suspension set up, or a 06 cbr600rr, just aftermarket suspension and set up on a dyno. (in both scenarios ill put away a fair bit of money for practice days and tyres etc).
____________________
follow my racing season
Race bike - R6
Road bike - sv650

[Kickstart]

Hi

For comparison, Bemsee Brand Hatch Indy results:-

https://www.bemsee.net/results/doc_download/585-brands-hatch-results-24-25-july-2010

As you can see, the 50 to 60 second range covers most things from the litre bikes to the MZs.

I would be inclined to say stick with something not tuned at first. Keep it reliable for now.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[G]

The way I see it - when my bike is starting to mean that I'm just stuck behind people of a fairly similar skill level because I'm losing out on the straights, I'd be considering getting a bit more power - then maybe getting on a similar bike will get me chasing that next racer that's a bit faster.

I had an excellent weekend at Cadwell on an SV, a lot spent racing a bike that did have a bit more go on the straights, meaning I got my braking into corners about the best it ever was.
However, I did find it a bit frustrating and got my bike nearer the class limit for the next race weekend.

I think with 55s at brands indy on a 600 I'd be wanting to see how I was doing against the competition when actually racing - I expect you can reasonably improve a fair bit as it was.
Then go from there and see if it money spent on engine, practice, etc that you want.
As an idea, mid-season I was managing low 55s on a trackday on a SV. Was disappointed when I didn't improve racing, however was pleased when I got a best lap of 55.1 and 11th place on the last race of Saturday after I found we'd messed up putting the carbs back together so I only had 35hp for that race!
Dropped a bit for the next race, but I was still only circulating in eighth in clubmans.

[Damon]

[Ben.]

okay im thinking a pre injection r6.

new discs
service calipers
braided hoses.
fork cartridge kit
new rear shock
dynojet +setup on a rolling road
steering damper
wets and spare wheels.
(clip on, rear sets, racing body work already on)

put away some money for engine work if I still think it need to be done / money for practice days etc.

im thinking it will be better to get a properly set up r6 rather than a generally more stock newer bike, as well as being able to have a fairly good bike to enter in a pre injection race meet.

sound good?
____________________
follow my racing season
Race bike - R6
Road bike - sv650