What do you consider the MOST

[Team_nuclear123]

In light of the other topic I'm involved with at the moment, I got to thinking...

What do you consider the best money you have spent on yoru racebike? (steering damper, fork work, shock, 225hp engine?)

Where do you consider your money best spent, and what was a total waste of your hard earned dough??

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

     I spent three 8 hour days at a RACE TECH suspension seminar in Indianapolis a few years ago put on by Paul Thede (suspension guru who started RACE TECH). Though this cost me quite a bit of money overall ($500 seminar, $200 hotel, $125 gas, and 3 days worth of missed wages from work) it was the best thing I have ever done to improve the performance of my bike. Understanding suspension helps to de-mistify why your bike does what it does in different situations and makes it so much easier to go fast and not be fighting the bike. If I did only one upgrade to a bike it would be suspension upgrade/set-up.

     Somewhat of a waste of my money has been my trailer and the costs associated with it. Though my trailer can be used for other things too, it rarely is, therefore the $185 a month I pay for a storage shed year-round adds $2220 a year to my racing expense (that's about 7 sets of new race tires per year). Hopefully I will be relocating where I live soon so I will no longer have this expense and can apply that money toward productive racing expenses like tires.

[dave333]

Best - advanced training KSSS, VRS, etc...,

Worst - more power

[MELK-MAN]

sent my forks to Traxxion DYn. Stuck on lap times for 2 months (4 track days). Same day i got them back i took 1.5 seconds off my best lap time at JenningsGP.. Cost $700.  

[lil_thorny]

school and track time.
fresh tires make a world of difference too.
30

[bmfgsxr]

suspension ... bar none...

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I had SPYDER LEATHERWORKS put a cool logo on my back...  3 seconds faster instantly!!!

After that I would rate Visionsports and suspension work by Trackside Engineering as the two best "Bang for the buck" places I have ever spent racing money.

[Super Dave]

Team-Nuclear123...(Still need a real name for you...)

I think three of the guys responding on here are students of mine.  Getting them in the suspension ball park is paramount.  Unfortunately, I don't have a GMD thing or access to factory info, so we go by seat of the pants or by information that I am lucky enough to have.  The GMD info that my bike has is for my bike only...that's because of the support of my sponsor http://4and6.com  ...it's their information not mine.

What was best for me?  I didn't ride my R6 without the GMD numbers, but it gives me a great reference.  If I get lost, I can go back to it.  The rest to me is kind of intuition now.  I still have to play a bit, and I'm always searching, but I'm in the ball park.

[lokisdog]

Best money spent on the bike itself is definitely suspension work. LE forks and a Penske Shock, totally transforms the GSXR 600, esp. with my weight. (225 lbs)

Overall the best money spent however is/has been in track time at track days. Nothing beats seat time, esp. in an atmopshere where you don't have the pressure of racing on you and you can diddle around with whatever you need to work on. From the seat time comes the experience all else is built upon and without which nothing can help you. At least in my opinion.

Biggest waste of money has been when I tried to cheap out on things, e.g. cheap rear stand instead of a Pit Bull, inexpensive leathers that don't quite fit properly instead of a custom suit, etc. I've learned the hard way to do it right the first time.

- Eric
#235 Pac Region

[MightyDuc Racing]

Best money spent so far...new motor for $3K.

Worst money spent so far...new motor for $3K.

 ;D

[twg]

The best spent money on the race bike was $20.00 to Marcus Mcbain to set up my suspension.

The best money spent in racing was the $2,400.00 for the Freddie Spencer school.

The expense with the least value was a set of Vortex rear sets ( the non-adjustable type) they just did not suit my riding position.  No fault of Vortex, I just did not like the fit.

twg

[lfg929]

Suspension is the best money I have spent as well. I still don't know what the heck it does, but I know people who do and it helps keep my bike planted when others aren't. Unless you are a really fast expert class racer then an extra 5-10HP isn't going to help you out a whole lot. How do I know this? Because the guys who won my Heavyweight classes in the AMA/WERA races this past week were all on 600's and were probably 10HP or more down on me (I have a 929). However, their lap times were fast enough to finish ahead of a lot of people in Forumula Extreme today for the pro races. HP makes a difference, but not as much as you would think.

Best money I haven't spent would be track days this year. If you live near a track then try to get in with someone who runs the track days in your area. Chances are you might be able to instruct or do control rider and possibly get the track time for free. You help them run their event smoothly and in return you get some free track time to practice and get the bike to your liking.