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.

[KBOlsen]

Best $:  Suspension upgrades (Penske/RaceTech) followed by expert instruction and track time (VisionSports and NESBA), my trailer (again, thanks to Super Dave!) - being able to sleep comfortably at the track is invaluable... also, having rain tires and tire warmers (thanks to Monte Nichols and Lonny Michels).  Spending $ on good quality gear has also paid dividends by helping keep injuries to a minimum (thanks to Alexa for all the maintenance!)

I really can't think of any "bad" $... we've accumulated several sets of bent forks via eBay (took 4 to make one good pair)... and we learned that five days on the track in a row is too much for me... but other than that, we've been very careful with expenditures.

[Team_nuclear123]

Thats kinda what I figured I was gonna hear, was the suspension...

For me... I just got my Ohlins stuff for my Zx6RR Havent even put it in yet, getting ready for Vegas and all. Best money spent.

Best money spent this year? Taking a trip to Road America to go do 2 days with CLASS. Hadn't been to one of Reggies schools in 5+yrs.

Track days? Hell, I spend lots on track days, I try to do about 50 a year, at a minimum.

BTW, My name is Will, I own team Nuclear, and currently have 14yo racer Tristan Schoenewald riding for us. Im a fat old man, and much better with a wrench than I am with a throttle so I take a new rider every couple of years and walk em through the development, and then hand em off to an AMA team. I have worked for Ducati Corsa, in WSB and AMA, as well as with Honda in Europe and Japan.

Anyways, Dave asked who I was...

[Xian_13]

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

I don't know K3, Spyders work only dropped 2 sec.s for me...  :-/
Maybe I was slowing to let the fans get a better look at her great work.. Yeah thats it, thats the Ticket! ;D

[Super Dave]

BTW, My name is Will, I own team Nuclear, and currently have 14yo racer Tristan Schoenewald riding for us. Im a fat old man, and much better with a wrench than I am with a throttle so I take a new rider every couple of years and walk em through the development, and then hand em off to an AMA team. I have worked for Ducati Corsa, in WSB and AMA, as well as with Honda in Europe and Japan.

Anyways, Dave asked who I was...

Thanks for the intro...

I recognize Tristan's name, but I can't place it anywhere.  Drop me an e-mail if you can.  Would like to talk...  
visionsprt@netwurx.net

[Jeff]

$12.95 Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist II

Then obviously suspension, followed by brake lines/pads.

Motor work is always last.  What good does an extra 5,10,25 HP do you when you can't stay upright?

[StuartV666]

Best money spent? Suspension? No. Getting my suspension setup right? YES.

I got the most expensive Penske shock and my forks totally redone - all by Traxxion Dynamics. Then I spent a year racing the bike and trying to see some improvements. I took it back to Max at the racetrack several times to get him to tweak it. After a year at it, I wasn't any faster than I had been with stock suspension and 10 less horsepower.

Then I spent one weekend working with Kent at GMD Computrack and having him do a GMD Optimization on my R6. In that one weekend, I picked up 2 seconds a lap at Jennings, and my next trip to Roebling I went from mid-1:19s to high 1:17s.

That Optimization was the best money I ever spent on my racebike. $700 for 2 seconds a lap is CHEAP!

Great suspension is only great if it's setup right. It can easily be worse than stock, if it's not.

- Stu

[Bernie]

Stu, that is interesting.  I also spent a bunch of money on suspension.  After I jettisoned my stock trash and bolted up Traxxion forks and a Penske shock, I went 5 seconds a lap slower at Summit Point. :-/  I know I've got good stuff on there, I just feel lost setting it up.

I've looked at Computrack's stuff on the web, but I think the Maryland office has closed.  Where did you get yours done?

Anybody else willing to share about how much a visit with GMD is?  I've never really heard dollar amounts, (except for Stu) just that it is expensive.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

You're an East Coast guy, so this won't help you.  I had my suspension rebuilt by Trackside Engineering in Milwaukee.  Ed is a Showa engineer who moonlights as a racing suspension builder.  He showed up at the track, recorded, measured, reset, fiddled, tweaked...  Acting as his test rider during this process taught me a lot, and the final result is that my bike handles like a dream.  Ed does not charge extra for this service.  It is included in the price of the rebuild.

[Jeff]

FWIW, Ed will do this with you over the phone or by email as well.  

He isn't satisfied until you are, plain and simple...

[SE#39]

Top of the list must be track time.
Stu V666 was outstanding at Roebling this past weekend with his optmimized suspension and a switch to Michelins.
Bottom of the list are some track schools that are heavy with classroom instruction and light on track time.

[StuartV666]

I've looked at Computrack's stuff on the web, but I think the Maryland office has closed.  Where did you get yours done?

Kent from the Atlanta shop did mine, but he did it all at the track (at Jennings). You can call him and talk to him about it if you want to figure out the best way to get hooked up with him for some help. I definitely think working with him when he's at the track for a weekend is best. But, if there's any doubt about whether your frame is straight, you'll want to get that taken care of first. Kent can measure bikes and straighten triple clamps at the track, but he cannot straighten frames at the track. He needs the bike at the shop for that. You can call him at (404) 297-8464.

- Stu

[StuartV666]

Stu V666 was outstanding at Roebling this past weekend with his optmimized suspension and a switch to Michelins.

Thanks, Doug! It was undoubtedly my best weekend ever. I'm still recovering, though. 14 races in one weekend kicked my butt. I don't know how Hector does it. I think he runs 17 or 18 races every time there's a Twin Sprints weekend.

I definitely wish I had tried Michelins sooner! I had a couple of good weekends with Dunlops last year, but the Michelins seem to be even better suited to my riding style. And it seemed like I'm not even pushing their limits yet. Too bad we don't have another round at Roebling this year. I don't know if I can stand to wait until next March to see if Michelins and a new motor will be enough for me to break into the 1:16s.

- Stu

[Litespeed]

The best money spent:  Safety equipment.  No amount of training or go-fast parts are worth anything if you aren't safe while out on the track.  Second best money spent:  the TZ125.  Not only do you not have to upgrade anything on the bikes, they are easy to pick up when you fall over and more fun than any other bike I have been on.  Fairly economical too considering they don't eat tires very fast.  I'm pretty sure you could fit it in a carry-on bag too if you have the urge to race across the country with it :>.

[Bernie]

Thanks for the scoop fellas. :)