My Brother In Law is considering getting a SV for a Track/Race bike. Bike is stock. $ for $, what's the best upgrades to do on the bike OTHER than any engine modifications? All opinions will be appreciated.
It's a 650 by the way.
Suspension would be first. Have Emulators installed in the forks and a shock (Penske or Ohlins would be my choice).
Brake lines are real important. I usually use up the stock pads before changing to something different. I like Vesrah's. Following Brian's though process, a good set up with a good shock is important, proper spring rate for the forks too. You don't need engine mods.
Tires. Good tires. Replace the tires when they wear. Tire warmers. How far do you want to go.
Buy mine! It already has everything!
http://www.racemotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=ccsclass;action=display;num=1138319957
Suspension upgrades are an absolute necessity. Penske rear will run $750 (very rarely found on ebay so don't count on that. Even if you found a used one there it would probably cost more than $500 and you'd have to have it looked at anyway to know what you're getting and that would cost another $125 or so). Front suspension is critical. On the front suspension, the least you have to do is springs, emulators and brazed damper rods. You can save $100 or so doing it yourself if you know what you're doing but Traxxion used to charge $400 plus shipping which I considered worth it to make sure the job was done correctly. Those mods must be done to make the SV competitive. The GSXR front end is the next step up, which this bike has, and much more expensive. Brakes are a quick and inexpensive upgrade and wouldn't factor much into your cost.
I don't think you can do better than the bike that Chris posted unless you go to an older bike, and the older these bikes are the more stress is put into them. If I were looking, I'd be all over the one Chris has posted. I've seen it and it's very well cared for and has all the right bits for racing, including the GSXR front end rebuild.
Even if you got a great deal on a raggedy salvage bike, there's no way you'd be able to build one as nice at that price. Plus, Chris is a totally straight up guy who would go the extra mile to share his knowledge with you if you asked.
Suspension is definitely important, but you don't neccessarily need the absolute best shock. I bought a Penske rear for about $600 for both of the SV's last year and loved it. It's only the 6 clicker, but works great. Other than that like it's been said already brake lines are important, the front brakes on the SV's well they fade and just do the best you can there. Other than that emulators for the front forks, some bodywork, and go race it.
Oh, and if it doesn't have an aftermarket pipe, that's pretty much a must just for ground clearance. At least a slip on, anything is better than that huge stock one.
Does he want to race supersport or superbike? Can't do the Gixxer front end for supersport. Definitely suspension/brakes/tires before anything else. We get a lot of SV race bikes in the shop, so we occasionally have used Penske's available, don't have any right now but depending on how much of a hurry you're in I can keep an eye out for one for you. We do have a used Fox shock for the SV that has been set up with a race valving kit, resprung, etc. which one of our guys raced on last year.
That bike that Chris listed is a great deal, someone should jump on that!
I wouldn't worry too much about keeping it SS legal - you'll be competitive in more classes if you don't fixate on SS. Engine mods? up to 2002 jetting/pipe/airbox are pretty straightforward, and will give you enough HP to do well - but you'll still have to learn how to ride.
After suspension mods as people have said (btw, might check out Elka (sp?) for rear shock), and the power upgrades I mentioned, might consider dropping weight - lose the stock subframe; and maybe the battery (total loss).
But before I spent a dime on any of this stuff, I'd make sure I'd invested heavily in the best race suit you can find, along with best helmet, gloves and boots. Once the wingnut that holds the clipons is adjusted properly (attitude-wise ;)), you'll be amazed how fast the setup will go. Skip it, and you'll struggle. (This advice came courtesy of one of the track schools I attended).
Just watch out for Butched improperly modified and rebuilt SRAD GSXR750 shocks floating around for SV650's