Racing 2 Different Type of Bikes

[TonyC]

Has anyone raced an inline 4 and v twin in the SAME season/weekend?  Would you recommend or discourage it?

Thinking about getting a twin for lightweight, but don't want to stop racing middleweight with my inline 4.

[Spooner]

I raced an SV last year with my R6.  It was cool, but setting up two bikes every weekend can be a pain.  Really I just normally rode the SV however it was and messed with the R6.  The brake markers and shifting are generally quite different so the warm up lap on the second bike can be interesting lol!

[weggieman]

Several times I rode two different bikes in the same race (endurance stuff). An inline 4  Kawasaki and a BMW twin. First time was a little weird but once you get used to it it's no problem.

[rugbymook]

I currently race a Triumph 675 and a SV650 with WERA. 

Big difference riding both back to back and i'm sure i'd be faster focusing on one bike, but it's fun!

[TonyC]

Thanks for the comments.

As mentioned, I did think braking would change and my speed might suffer since I'm focusing on 2 different bikes.

Part of me thought my speed would increase through gaining experience with different engines.

[dylanfan53]

I tried (emphasis on "tried") an R6 and SV650 at the same time one year.  It was very expensive, a whole lot more work and not worth the trouble for me.  The race schedule was also a problem sometimes with back to backs.  Some people have done it, but they usually don't run two classes for very long. 
I'd like to ride/race a 600 sometime, but for now I still like racing LW.   

[bambam]

 Hollywood ... Chris Cooke has been doing it almost all year. He has an sv650 and an gsxr 600. Yes he does at least 1 or 2 back to back races every weekend but he is doing pretty well in most of the classes he runs. Usually 8 -10 races per weekend. You would have a very hard time doing it with out some one to help you full time. For the back to back races you need the second bike and rear stand on pit road ready to go when you come in. Shoot him a pm, e-mail or just stop by his pit ( rpm motorsports ) at vir in 2 weeks I'm sure he wouldn't mind talking to you about it.

[TonyC]

Hollywood ... Chris Cooke has been doing it almost all year. He has an sv650 and an gsxr 600. Yes he does at least 1 or 2 back to back races every weekend but he is doing pretty well in most of the classes he runs. Usually 8 -10 races per weekend. You would have a very hard time doing it with out some one to help you full time. For the back to back races you need the second bike and rear stand on pit road ready to go when you come in. Shoot him a pm, e-mail or just stop by his pit ( rpm motorsports ) at vir in 2 weeks I'm sure he wouldn't mind talking to you about it.

I'll definetely give Chris a call.  I was actually pitted across from him at Shanedoah in late August.

[SV88]

For a short time I considered campaigning an SV650 and my R6.  I then found that I barely had to time prep one bike let alone two different ones.  The I started racing a G2 SV and friends advised me to sell the G1 - less spares, easier.  It depends if you have the time/skill/interest to wrench nonstop between race weekens.  I prefer to concentrate on my riding.  Two diffent bikes .. too many variables.

steve.

[123user]

Running two different bikes can be a pain... especially if one is homemade and has an affinity for the ground and breaking shocks.

If you run a european bike, many find that having two of the same is necessary.

Choose the slowest bike of the two, ride the wheels off it.  Its much more fun.  You may also find that in the rain, your slow bike just became the fast bike.

[truckstop]

Or you could have your sig. other start racing a different bike and then trade bikes every so often. That's worked out pretty well for us. :D

X actually discoverd some things riding my little bike that helped him on his 600.
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure at this point, that riding his bike would only make me poop myself.

[Hollywood]

Hey Tony, I find that riding two different bikes works out really well for me. As long as they are both working well, anyway. Practicing on two different bikes during the track day previous and during the practice sessions in the morning gives me a good layout of the track and how in can be ridden differently according to the bike. I also like the way that even though the track doesn't change, the speed at which you adapt to the track dramatically changes, forcing me to react faster and really focus on learning how to ride in all situations. If I was just doing this because it was "fun", I would just stick to one ride and leave it at that. The SV gives me the opportunity to learn the track and try new things while the GSXR lets me learn at a much faster pace. The whole purpose for me to have the GSXR was to get familiar with riding a four cylinder machine on the track, which I had never done prior to this year. I figured that doing it while riding the SV wouldn't be that hard to do. Thankfully, I've got a really good friend that helps me out by staging the bike and getting it ready for any situation in all of my back to back races. I usually have about two back to back races every weekend, and usually they are on different days. We usually do between 8 and 11 races per weekend, depending on the way the schedule looks. If I had to do it by myself, it would be much harder to do. Maybe a team situation with some other riders you are friends with would be more helpful for you to ride two bikes.  Whatever you decide, good luck to you!