perfect bike

[HondaRC51]

what would u say would be the perfect bike for a bigginner?R6,GSX-R600, etc....................?

[Xian_13]

Unless you have alot of time on a bike in the dirt/ice...
My humble most recomendation would be a SV650.

[dwilson]

Oh if only I had money...  I would definitely go with either a SV or R6.  R6 rocks the middle weight but SV can race in sooo many classes.

[bweber]

DUCATI 748.  You can race almost any class, including the SUPERTWINS class which is always fun and one of the safest classes to race.  Plus, a v-twin will allow you to be sloppy with your shifting until you learn the tracks and everything else about racing.  You can come out of a corner at 5000 rpm and it will pull (try that on an r6 or CBR).
The front-end feel is magnificent and the brakes are top-shelf.  The stock suspension is 95% as good as any revalved race setup or aftermarket suspension.  At tracks like BHF (last year), Grattan, Gingerman, Gateway, etc. a 748 would run with the 750's since the straight away is relatively short and corner speed was important.
Don't let people convince you the Ducatis are too expensive to race.  You can buy a 748 for the same price as a late model 600.  Check out e-bay and you'll find spare parts are always available, no matter what you need.
I raced two 748's and a 996 over the past few years and loved them.  I won an amateur Supertwins Championship on a bone stock (except for Arrow slip-ons) 2000 748.  I did not have any suspension work done and never touched the motor.  It had 3500 street miles on it when I purchased it at a salvage auction.  Great bike!

[tshort]

SV.  Buy one already set up for $5-6k, and go racing.  There is no less expensive way to get in, and there is no more versatile bike in terms of being competitive in multiple classes.  

748?  I have one.  Was going to race it, but came to realize how spendy it is to set up, and then to fix when you crash.  Oh, and it's not very competitive in the classes it is legal in, Supertwins perhaps not withstanding (but 99x's are legal in that class, too - ouch).

[Nate R]

SV --- It's been a fun bike to learn to go fast on that's relatively easy on tires/crash parts, and it's competitive if you are as a rider.

[bweber]

I never understand why people think it is ridiculously expensive to setup a Ducati.  Race bodywork costs about the same as other models and so does the GP Tech fairing stay, exhaust choice, e-prom or Power Commander.  That is really all you need.  You could add after-market rearsets and a quick-change sprocket carrier, but those are not necessary.  Ducatis already come with steel braided brake lines and the OEM clip-ons use standard replaceable handlebar tubes.  The stock chain on a 748 is already 520 o-ring and like I said, the stock Showa suspension and even the cheapest Sachs rear shock perform very well on the track.  Even if you chose to send the forks to Traxxion and buy an aftermarket rear shock, it is no more expensive than other bikes.  Thinks like fuel tanks, forks, wheels, etc are all about the same as Japanese parts on e-bay.  Lockhart-Phillips carries cheap replacement clutch and brake levers as well as Speedscreens.  The bike had adjustable rear ride height and some models have adjustable steering geometry.  What more could you ask for?
As far a 996's, I beat plenty of them on my 748 at BHF and the other small MW tracks.  

[tshort]

What more could you ask for?

And it's competitive (and legal) in which classes?

[MightyDuc Racing]

My 944 (slower than a nice 748 ) is competitive in Supertwins, so the 748 has to be!  I have run at the front with RC51's and 996's, etc before a sticking throttle cable sent me off track at Homestead (Horsepower friendly track) and would've probably won at Jennings last weekend if not for a crash the race before.  748 is a great bike, but I don't think it's a good beginners bike.  But what do I know...lol?  As long as it's in the budget and the rider is comfortable on it, buy what you want...IMHO. :)

[ScubaSteve]

Unless you have alot of time on a bike in the dirt/ice...
My humble most recomendation would be a SV650.

  Ive spent a crap load of time in the dirt Raced motocross since i was 11 was a privateer pro and i ride a SV nothing like kicking the crap outta guys on bigger bikes and its cheaper to run especially compared to a Ducati. ;D.

[james-redsv]

Let me chime in on this one. I race a SV and a 748 thats been punched to 800cc. For a newbe you cant beat the SV. The 748 is competive in MWSB, MWSS, MWGP, I have beaten plenty of R6s and GSXRs, its competive in Supertwins I have beaten TL1000, RC51s, 996s. It mostly comes down to the rider with the AMs. The SV, you put gas in it and go. If you can work on the Ducati and have access to cheap parts you would be one step ahead of the game. To me it depends on what floats your boat and stirs your emotion, if you love ducatis , by all means find one for the best price you can and go racing. If you want to get into racing the easiest, cheapest way go with the SV. I would no way get into the MW classes just starting out, too many wannabes in those class. You really cant go wrong starting out with an SV and in the right hands they are very fast. Just look at the top experts in the Mid-atlantic and southeast, they are on SVs. Darren D. is fast as H$#& on one. I should know he kicked my butt all last year. ::)

[cuda]

I also own one of each.  Seems to be a great combo.  The SV is much better all around, and totally dominant in it's classes.  The748 dominates nothing.

The 748 can run middleweight well, but the 600's do have a small edge.  They just have a little more power and speed.  As far as beating 996's goes, i do that all day on my SV.  I got 3rd in heavy twins on a superstock SV at VIR.  It is a fact that most guys that  ride Ducs (most, not all) are just slow.  They are more costly so the guys that run them are doing so for reasons other than winning.  No matter how much you have done to a Duc, you would be better off putting the same money into a jap bike.  

But one thing the Duc has is style, tons of it.  Sometimes I go out just to look at the bike.  If racing is more to you than just trying to win,  they are hard to beat.  I love my SV, don't get me wrong.  But as the bridgestone guy so eloquently put it, they have no soul.  It's a Suzuki, what do you want.