where do i start

[jesus_tricky]

i love my bike and everything bike like, i'm 18 not yet with a full licence, i got my little rocket nsr and i love my newly restored zxr250, all i wanna do is race where do i start?
there isn't a great deal of info on the net and i have no encourage ment at home so you guys may be able to help me out....
thanks you
ricky

[Reevo8]

Start off by doing your test!
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05 ZX10R, (**05 WKR)

[Gazdaman]

Start with doing your test.

After about 3-6months on the road, then get your ass on a trackday, nice easy circuit like brands indy, snetterton or lydden, something easy to remember.

We all want to dive straight into racing, but when you find yourself wallowing at the back of the novice group you'll soon realise you've got a fair way to go.

A ZXR250 definitely isn't a race bike aswell, but would make a perfectly good trackday toy.

So start with those 2 things, and see how it goes from there.

When you're at the sharp end of fast group, then consider racing.

Gaz

[G]

Generally what Gaz said.

Brands Indy is one of the hardest circuits I've ridden - very technical.

However I suspect that a lot of first time riders may not actually get to the point of being fast enough for the technical aspects to make a difference.

As gaz mentioned, I'd say when you can keep up around the corners in the fast group to consider racing - before then you're spending a lot more (it's not cheap at all) than doing trackdays which will offer you more probably.

The ZXR250 will be fine to start with, but you may get frustrated on trackdays as you get faster. No class you could be competitive in racing it.
How long have you been riding?

[Gazdaman]

I've never ridden Brands Indy, just from the layout of it, it looks fairly easy to remember, I've watched you ride it though!

The 250 would be perfectly good for your first few trackdays, then you'd get annoyed IMO. If you really get into it you can pick up a perfectly good track bike for just over a grand, or just under depending what kind of bike you want.

Dusty's thundercat went quite cheaply iirc, and you can pick up 250 2 stroke track bikes cheaply on eBay. That'd be the way to go IMO if road riding doesn't interest you.

If road riding's your thing too, then maybe a sports 600, then you can be competitive on the track too.

Either way it's going to be expensive.

Gaz

[G]

[cunni]

As everyone above has said, get your full licence, get out on the roads more, (but don't go trying to get faster on the roads, you'll end up crippled!) get experiance of riding, just getting used to the feel of the bike, changing gears, etc, but for several months.

Then get yourself onto some track days and get used to track riding, hanging off the bike, picking your lines through corners and then start working at keeping up with thos in front of you.

Once that's sorted, get some average lap times from racers at the circuits you wish to race at. Go back and do track days at these circuits and don't even consider entering a race until you can keep each lap within a very similar time to those near the back of the grid.

The occasional lap at that speed is no good, you need to be consitantly hitting the same points on track within at least 1 foot and getting roughly the same lap times lap after lap.

If you try to join a race before you have all this nailed, you wil be a danger to yourself and others. Trust me, I know, I made this fatal mistake! You will not be fast enough, you will get lapped, you will be overtaken entering corners, exiting corners and even just as you get right over at the apex, you'll notice a front wheel being jammed up the inside on the kerbing! Until you know how to handle those situations and not crash or hit anyone, you need to make sure you aren't going to be lapped too often!

last of all, if you are slow, there is no point thinking to your self, I'll just take it easy, or I'll take it at my own pace. You won't, garanteed! Once you get buzzed a couple of times (overtaken by someone approx. 1 inch away from you or maybe even with their handle bars smacking your ribs) you'll soon get the feeling you need to go faster to stop them scaring you. You'll then end up either highsiding, (getting on the power to early) or outbraking your self and getting all tangled up on the track and probably running onto the grass, due to not having the experiance to control late brake sliding and still make the corner!

Basically, get good, consistant times under your belt that compare with the back of the pack in your chosen class (125's, 600's, etc) and then come back and ask how to actually get into acing itself!

I don't facny hearing about anyone else being killed on track any time soon and this is seriously the best, cheapest and quickest way to get racing and become half decent at it! Hope this didn't sounds harsh, I just want to make it plain and clear, so as not to give anyone false hopes or wrong ideas!
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TL1000R Parts For Sale!

[jesus_tricky]

thank you all for the help,
i have been riding for well over a year now and i think i should get round to doing my test as you all say, imy nsr is welltuned and illegal for me to be riding it, i fell to myself i can handle my bike well and understand all the workings of it.
i have gotton used to leaning my bike and braking just before turns and opening the bike up as i come out of the cornor with out losing it, i have never came off. touch wood.
but thank you all for your help
also the money i will just have to work harder

[cunni]

Just a quicky, on track, with racing in mind, you tend to brake into the corner, most the way to the apex, then get on the gas just before and carry it through the turn before getting on the gas as early as is possible, even if the rear end slides out.

Just thought thi might shine a new perspective of the difference between road and track riding! Most bends if you let off the brakes and then tip in, you wil get loads of people stuffing it up the inside of you and coming round the outside at the same time, cutting in quick and pinching your line, leaving you not many places to go!
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TL1000R Parts For Sale!

[G]

Incidendtally, don't try this on the road.

On the track, you want to be always on the limit of traction if possible. On the road this would lead to death or serious injury very quickly


Get yourself to a trackday, when you find you can hold your own around the corners in the fast group, then look at racing, otherwise you'll be completely wasting a lot of money, rather than wasting a lot of money for a 40 minutes of fun over a weekend .