Choice of three track bikes for next year, which one?

[Dark]

My other half's old man wants a winter project and says that hes willing to get us a track bike for next year, what a nice man!

Hes been umming and arring about renovating a classic bike for a while and it looks like hes trying to kill a few birds with one stone.

Hes suggested three bikes and to choose from, a 400 sports bike (ie CBR400, ZXR400, VFR400), a TZ350 or a 500 Triumph (i presume a classic).

What would you choose?
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Slickfish]

I'd go for the 400 from them, but not on the list a cheap 600, steelie CBR maybe.

[Dark]

I've never ridden a TZ350, but i must admit thrashing an old two strole race bike around does have its appeals.

My initial though as soon as he told us our options was a 400 straight away, but i kept my gob shut and agreed to think it over
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Jack_Cheese]

Thought of building a Mito YPVS 350? 3502t power in a mito chassis

Jack
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Quacker_boy: "Jack, you really are a dick!"

[G]

I don't think a triumph would be practical as it's not really very 'track focused' by today's standards.
TZ350 would definitely be very interesting, but I expect would still be quite a lot of hassle to run.
Would definitely get attention and if you could make use of it's lean angle maybe suprise a few. However if you crash, something goes wrong or you just need new tyres, then you'll probably be regretting choosing it .

The 400 is the obvious choice of the three, presuming you want to have fun riding it, rather than trying to source parts for it.
Modern tyre choice (make sure you have 17" wheels!) means cheap tyres and there's plenty of spares and knowledge floating about thanks to the various race series etc that use them.

Personally, I prefer to have at least around 100hp for trackdays. A fairly well ridden 100hp bike won't really be held up by many people.
While I've found with under 70hp I tend to get litre bikes lapping a similar speed to me who I don't have the 'go' to get past and stay past, but I am going a lot faster than on the corners.

So, in an ideal work I'd start with something like an r6 or maybe 98+ ZX6r, or a bit-older CBR6, ZX6 etc.

[ram_doom]

400, cheap and competitive, and loads of tyre choices (maybe less so on an nc30's 18 inch rear wheel) and there must be a certain satisfaction about mixing it up with/defeating newer more powerful machines
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TL1000s, KDX200

[Dark]

[Jack_Cheese]

Yeah, and you can get kits to do it and then there's the tuneability of the ypvs motor...

Jack
____________________
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Quacker_boy: "Jack, you really are a dick!"

[Dark]

[Dark]

[G]

Is that 1:37 around cadwell with the chicane? Can't be /that/ clapped out if it is!

I thought I'd be happy enough with an RS250 for the track, but found it frustrating too quickly - and the same when I was on a trackday on the SV at Snetterton.

A 400 will be harder work to make go fast, but will also be less likely to bite, so you can be a bit less cautious when you are properly using it.

[edit]If you're other half's going to be riding it and she's not that confident I would definitely go for a bit moderner bike over a GP bike or an old triumph.[/edit]

[minesweeper]

nc30 or zxr400 would be sensible choices. Plenty to be had cheap already setup for racing, cheap on tyres and much easier to maintain.
1500 quid should buy a good one.

Matty
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Rvf400, 955i daytona, 954 fireblade, cbr1000rr fireblade 06 Hm plant

[G]

I'd want to get a 17" rear for the NC30 - that way you can get cheap scrubs off racers easily.

[Dark]

[G]

[Dark]

Nope, its Richie Welsh, i think i remember him saying that his bike is making around 75bhp and yes i presume the bits that need to work do work well and its just a mess cosmetically.

I suppose it helps to be a nut case too

Towards the end of my second trackday at Cadwell i was getting constantly held up through the twisty sections and was having to rely on the power of the 10R to get me past on the straights.

So it sounds like i'll have to think of another strategy to get past the dawdlers! (mind you i might just be really slow on a 400 and not need to overtake anyone )
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[G]

Ah, well best lap he did in the race weekend was a 1:39.6 then, still not a bad pace .

[Dark]

[Luke_Retrofly]

Hi
a 17" wheel for an NC30 costs between £250 £500 so quite pricy.

The zxr CBR and gixxer 400's all have 17 inch rears as standard afaik.

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RVF400-NC35-VFR400-NC30-17-rear-wheel-in-black_W0QQitemZ290012287924QQihZ019QQcategoryZ10460QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Luke
____________________
Flounced - Long overdue
Fuck you bitch I'm in the top 10 list I can do the what the fuck I want!

[Dark]

Looks like the missus has her heart set on a ZXR400 now

and here is our budget and instructions from the missus's dad:-

"if we get a race ready one then we won't have anything to do over winter

Find a road bike or a crash damaged bike or even better a box of bits for 30p

Budget is £1,000"
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[G]

I would like at an ex-race one ideally - these are probably best value for money. Over the next few months there should be a decent range for sale as people's seasons come to an end.

Even an in-one-piece and good exteriour condition will still ideally need quite a lot of 'refresh' work, never mind one that people have crashed loads, etc.

A race bike will mean you get decent suspension that may need a rework and setting up, rather than having to shell out lots for this afterwards.

As ever, keep an eye on the for sale section of www.motoforum.net .

[Dark]

Thanks G, i'll consult the man with the money to see if he agrees and hopefully we'll be searching for a cheap 400 race bike that needs some work
____________________
My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Luke_Retrofly]

Hi
I sold my NC30 race bike not long ago for £1000 and it was sound as a pound, I only lost £115 from when i bought it so held its value quite well

Luke
____________________
Flounced - Long overdue
Fuck you bitch I'm in the top 10 list I can do the what the fuck I want!

[Dark]

Thats ok Luke, i don't think we'll be blowing the whole £1k on a bike in one go.

It seems that the missus's dad wants a project we can both work on in his workshop over the winter to either a) interrogate me b) time to bond with a future son in law or c) just generally suss me out

So the £1k needs to buy a bike that needs a few months of off and on work and all the bits needed to get it running for track use
____________________
My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Whosthedaddy]