i've been in discussion with a couple guys that race CCS, and WERA on Ninja 250's.
it's a great class, and if you've thought about it, go ahead and jump in..... its a blast.
except one thing.....
we cant get any respect from race these race orgs. i drive 7 hours to Jennings, to race one freakin race.
ok,.... no one made me go.... but if i'm driving that far, it'd be nice to be able to run some additional classes.
yeah, yeah..... i know i can "bump up" into whatever classes i want..... but come on, really?
how about an GTUL race? doesnt cost CCS any more time, or additional races..... give us a grid at the back of GTL.
AFM, OMRRA, WMMRA, and other west coast racing orgs have up to 4 classes. WERA, at Barber, made E super stock
go to a 3rd wave start, despite the fact that they had one of the largest grids of the weekend. so those people go to Barber,
and lose laps due to being lapped because of a 3rd wave.
i have the time.
i have the desire.
i have the money.
and i know lots of other people in the class do, too.
people are avoiding the class due to a shortage of available seat time.
just a FWIW, CCS.....unless you dont like money! :biggrin:
i'll go ahead and enter CCS's reply: "we'll evaluate it at the end of the season.... look at class entries, and all"
it'll be dead after this year..... watch and see. :pop:
It would be cool to have a GT race in the morning that we are competitive in. Now that I am on a Ninja 250, I can afford to run a 2nd race. Have I mentioned that I am on my 11th weekend on the same set of tires and they are still in good shape?
Having said that. The ULTB Ninja 250 class is kicking and will continue to grow despite only having one class that they are competetive in. It is the same thing as riding a 125 in GTL, LWGP, and Thunder bike. These are all classes that the 250's can run in uncompetitively. The 125 is not really competetive in those classes either. I used to run GTL as a warm up for 125GP but stopped as it was un competetive.
May be a good idea to consider another race for both of those classes? Say Ultra Light Grand Prix and Ultra GT Lights and run them at the same time with a 2 wave start? This may even open up the doors for others running other classes who may want to participate. I know of a couple of a few riders who would like to ride a 250 as well as their other classes.
How about a class for baggers? A bunch of Ultraglides, Goldwings, Road Glides, Royal Stars and Vulcan Voyagers would be cool to see running around the track radios blaring. :biggrin:
Quote from: Woofentino Pugrossi on May 22, 2012, 01:50:29 AM
How about a class for baggers? A bunch of Ultraglides, Goldwings, Road Glides, Royal Stars and Vulcan Voyagers would be cool to see running around the track radios blaring. :biggrin:
Thunderbike.
Quote from: Woofentino Pugrossi on May 22, 2012, 01:50:29 AM
How about a class for baggers? A bunch of Ultraglides, Goldwings, Road Glides, Royal Stars and Vulcan Voyagers would be cool to see running around the track radios blaring. :biggrin:
No.....cuz if you did that, you'd have to start breaking it down by colors! :D
Good points Jiggy; I almost bought a Ninja 250 over the winter time but ended up flaking out once I realized that there would only be one race to run in. For some reason I imagine the Ninja to be supper fun to race but would be kind of boring at a track day or on the street.
Quote from: alexm on May 22, 2012, 12:18:20 PM
Good points Jiggy; I almost bought a Ninja 250 over the winter time but ended up flaking out once I realized that there would only be one race to run in. For some reason I imagine the Ninja to be supper fun to race but would be kind of boring at a track day or on the street.
Spot on.
I'm kind of intrigued by the Ninja 250...if there are people to race with. Would prefer 125GP bikes, but those have been killed by the manufacturers bowing to pressures. Sad, really.
I agree. I have tried, & tried, & tried to get CCS & WERA to see that the class will grow if you provide the races.
With no races, no entries. It's a cycle....then they say, "see, we tried one class, & the numbers aren't there to support it!"
I raced an RS125. Races with 3 entries sucked!
Last year I was ready to trade my Ninja 250 for a TZ125, to a guy out of Texas. His son, Jay Newton, raced minis, then the TZ. He's fast. It doesn't hurt that they're Colin Edwards next door neighbors, & he attends nearly every bootcamp and gets some personal coaching from Colin. Colin told him to stop wasting his time on the TZ because grids were small, so who are you really racing with? Where's the competition? He suggested he get a ninja 250. It's basically the "new" entry level class for kids, & new racers. Only, IMO, it's better! (remember, I said I raced an RS!)
Their cheaper, easier to build, less maintenance intensive, & teach you the same principles.
At several race weekends this year I've beaten SV's, Ducati's, big motards. I'm not saying its as fast, or as good a handling, stopping, or going as a 125.....& it's def not as "cool".....but it still brakes late, has waaaaaay higher corner speed than you'd think,......oh, and it's cheap! Maintenance? In 5 race weekends I have changed the oil once, & checked the valves once.
Checking the valves was completely unnecessary, & I wanted to do it more to get familiar with it than anything.
Tires will be good for another 3-4 weekends, maybe more! The Florida region expert points leader has run his tires for 11 race weekends/practice days!!!!! Beat that!
Quote from: Super Dave on May 22, 2012, 04:36:33 AM
Thunderbike.
...and lightweight formula forty since it doesn't count to overall points
Quote from: alexm on May 22, 2012, 12:18:20 PM
Good points Jiggy; I almost bought a Ninja 250 over the winter time but ended up flaking out once I realized that there would only be one race to run in. For some reason I imagine the Ninja to be supper fun to race but would be kind of boring at a track day or on the street.
Just rode a PBR track day on my 250 in preperation for this week end's race. There were five of us in the intermediate, one in the advance and one in novice. We had a great time riding together.
I know it is a Florida blog but there are a couple of vids and pics at the south florida sport bike page. See link below. A few guys are actually registering and riding their race bikes on the street. I may put my b bike on the street and join them at the bike nights.
http://www.soflasportbikes.com/forum/florida-track-days/238112-pbir-trackday-may-20-2012-videos-photos-5.html
Quote from: majicMARKer on May 22, 2012, 02:04:52 PM
...and lightweight formula forty since it doesn't count to overall points
I'm thinking the Ultraglide probably is above the displacement limit...
Damn it, Dave! you ruin everything!
:D
Now buy my Ninja! :thumb:
its a good thing we're not bound to super sport rules. Now we can throw lots of money at our bikes and build the crap out of them and run all the light weight classes !!! 1 pair of locomotive pistons, I'll split a bank of flat slides off a ZX10 with someone and some big cams that should put a couple SV's in my cross hairs !
I heard you were flat flyin at BHF!
Low 1;26's but my son got hung up in traffic cause of a bad start, turned som 1;25's but never caught me!
Yeah, I checked both of your times.....that's awesome!
Wish I was there to run with you!
I figured :26's after my race there last fall, but it's hard to say with the damp, cold track we had.
:25's the first race there makes me think maybe :24's-:23's? I think :23's would be difficult!
Hopefully Joe will make the next round!?
Soooo....got those mods done last night on my 250, the results are truely amazing!!!
Nice, Bruce!!!! Did you go with Cat 2M62M-1198 pistons? Or InnerCity 125 pistons?
I wasn't sure, but since "125"s would slide right in....& the InnerCity is the confirmed record
holding diesel powered locomotive @ 148mph......I kinda figured it would be those. But I also
know how much you love cats! :boink:
Also, is that Pedrosa, or Stoner you're wheelying past? Not that it matters!
What I used to build that engine is top secret!!! I dont want to give up my edge by publishing my engine specs here for all the world to see. Also I have to confess that was Nicky Hayden on his old bike just out burnin some laps. He actualy was coming up the inside of me and made the pass several corners after this picture was taken. I quickly pitted and made some traction control and wheelie control software changes and he was unable to hang with me after that!! I was thinking about an aftermarket slip on for the bike, any suggestions?
a single Kenworth stack .
Love this thread - and I'd like a side of leg-yanking to go with the plate full of sarcasm on the menu in here lol (yes please undo the builder class crap and make LW Thunderbike a superstock class...)
Thanks!
Bruce & I know each other......so it's even funnier to us! :biggrin:
The class is a blast, & everyone not racing one that thought about it, is missing out!
I will honor the "super sport" gentlemens agreement for the Ninja 250 class, but the build it bigger itch is starting to gnaw at me. I was soooo close to overtaking some SV's and Buells. The cornering speed and late brakeing on the Ninja is an absolute riot !!! A few more ponies and I could be a GP star ( in my own eyes ). The kids going to throw a leg over my SV next round at BHF in june, looks like I may be loosing my big bike !! But that frees up a 250 to play with in the LW classes, HMMMM?
By the way, if some of you vets think the Ninja class is for beginers , you dont know what your missing!!
Quote from: bruce71198 on May 23, 2012, 07:18:06 PM
Low 1;26's but my son got hung up in traffic cause of a bad start, turned som 1;25's but never caught me!
You and Jody were definitely flying on those things. I think the Ninja 250 class is a great one to develop because the costs to operate are so low, its relatively safer than the bigger classes and you don't have to jump into the arms race like you do with the SV's in LW. If you want any shot of even getting into the top 3 @ BHF on SV it better have 80 hp +. With club racing on the brink of extinction, we need a class that is cheap and competitive.
Quote from: bruce71198 on May 30, 2012, 09:13:45 AM
By the way, if some of you vets think the Ninja class is for beginers , you dont know what your missing!!
I think everyone knows it...
But the competition is individual survival. IRA's, forced collapse of insurance structure through state and federal legislation.
Even then, if one was in the business of club racing, one would think that this would be something to consider for, again, individual survival. Henry's jumped on vintage racing and this. I'd have to travel to do a 250 spec race...and it is interesting to me. But the cost of a 450 mile trip is in the way. But I already have a transmitter for that, so it wouldn't be so bad. That's another story though... :D
Lol Jiggly, I've know bruce more than a couple years now...in June if that spare 250 is idle I might twist yer arm to let me spin it around for a race for grins and see - also check your pm box ....curiosity question in there for ya bruce
I would love to have a 250, think it would be a blast to race and cheap also. Exactly what the Lightwieght class was a couple years ago, untill CCS rule committee totally F'ed up the class. Latest I heard was the Duc749 is now allowed in all LW classes. Think I will make my comeback on a Litre bike. Would be much cheaper to prep than a full Lw superbike!!
I suggested in the Ninja 250 thread to bring back ULWSS and run it behind something like LWSS, ULWTB usually starts behind ULWSB, it seems. If I could have two sprints a weekend on a Ninja 250, I'd race one. It's the one class thing that sucks for me.
Quote from: fzr400tony on June 06, 2012, 06:23:23 AM
I suggested in the Ninja 250 thread to bring back ULWSS and run it behind something like LWSS, ULWTB usually starts behind ULWSB, it seems. If I could have two sprints a weekend on a Ninja 250, I'd race one. It's the one class thing that sucks for me.
CCS won't do anything, in my opinion, until every other organization has done it for about two years. Or it is finally recognized as having been done for about two years. And that make take two years. So, figure about the time that the economy recovers. But, potentially, by then, alternatives will be found by current racers and new racers may not even recognize CCS.
It's the one thing that sucks about ninja 250's.
I started a thread on the WERA forum, (which blew up & got ugly.....hard to imagine, I know.....) about the travel & other cost associated, & it'd be nice if there were more races to enter. Same with CCS. It would literally cost them $20 (or however much those pricy plaques cost!) to add another class to the back of whatever LW grid they wanted to!
As an example: add "Ninja 250 cup" to the back of "ULW superbike", add "250 supersport" to the back of "LW SS", add "250 superbike" to the back of "LW GP", & add "UL GT" to the back of "GTL".
There's no more track time dedicated.......it's with all LW bikes, which I haven't seen pose a problem on track. (for 250 guys anyway! :biggrin:)....
CVMA
CRA
OMMRA
WMMRA
Check their grid sizes. 15-23 bikes. All ninja 250's. All orgs have 3+ races they can run.
Let's say it was only 10 for CCS......all 10 are going to enter all 4 races! Racing a 250, you're not tired, you haven't killed your tires, & you surely haven't used up all if your pricy 89 octane from Shell/BP/Mobil.....
So you've got 40 entries in a weekend, added....at what cost to a racing org?
This is the case of the "which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
CCS will evaluate it in a year or two, & say, "the numbers aren't there to support it",
but there has been enough done to support the growth of the 250 classes. Like I said, look at the other orgs!!!!
Can you imagine BHF with 20 ninja 250's x 4 classes???? It wouldn't be like the "old days", but it's be like "the more recent days"! Lol
I'm going to VIR next weekend. It's a 4-1/2 drive for me. 9 hours of driving......for ONE 8 lap race.
Do the math.....yes, I'll enter the GTL race, for more track time....& if there's any other Ninja 250 guys I'll encourage them to, as well, so we can have our own race-within-a-race. But still. I have no interest in the SV650 arms race. I have ZERO interest in anything 600cc+......Ninja 250's have resurrected my road racing obsession. If it doesn't make it with CCS/WERA.....I guess I'll pack it in.
(FWIW: I was told by WERA owner, Sean Clarke, that there's currently 3 or 4 classes Ninja 250's can run in. I've run 2; E super stock, & Clubman....doing well in both. I think the additional classes would not be competitive, but I'll report back on that.)
Rant, complete.
Jiggy, maybe this is the genious behind the CCS organization. They left Ninja 250 mods unregulated so we can build our bikes to be competitive in a greater number of classes without adding more classes to the event? HMMMM......
Yeah! Yeah! that's it!!!! Let's enter the SV650 arms race with a switchblade!! LOL!! :ahhh: