Which bike should a novice racer get?

[Nbot]

Howdy ya'll, newbie to this forum, but I've got a question for ya'll: I've done a couple track days on my '94FZR1000 (great bike;) but want to get into racing next season. I'm debating which bike to get (I'm sure you've seen this Q before, but I tried searching, weird search engine). I'm trying to decide between the SV650 twin or an R6/GSXR600 inline 4. Which would be better for a novice? I definitely want to do 600's just so that I learn to ride properly.....

From what I understand the SV would be a great beginner bike b/c it doesn't have the mid/high hp which forces you to really learn to get good at corner speeds. But is it hard to be competitive in the classes that the SV races?

I'm also on a budget here, so a used race bike for less than $3,800 or so is what I'm after. The cheaper the better so that I can afford a trailer/tire warmers etc, but I still want to be somewhat competitive, so probably a late 90's/early 200X is what I'm after. I've seen an older R6 or two for sale that I could get for less, and from what I understand these are great track bikes. Are they very forgiving? Am I asking for more wrecks with a GSXR/R6 than with the SV b/c of the high rpm corners?

Any advice or suggestions? Thanks ;D

[Jeff]

SV all the way...  

600's are readily available but the classes are so much larger, plus they go through tires far quicker than the SV will.

I believe it's harder to be competitive on the 600 vice the 650 due to the sheer number of people in the class...

A good rider on a 650 will absolutely give a 600 a run for its money.

[racerhall]

you should buy my 2000 750
i started on a 750 after doing trackdays on a R1
and had no problems and no regrets
its a little more money but its ready to go
Brian

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I raced Lightweight when I started, although not on an SV.  They were new then, and beyond my budget.  It was the most fun I've had in my entire life.  
After a few years, I got a 600, and then a 750.  Racing stopped being fun.  Why?  Costs went through the roof with the larger bikes, and there was a newer model introduced every 2 seconds to make whatever I owned at the time a stone before I even finished it!  My GSXR750 ate tires, brake pads, gears and chains like a crack addict uses up tinfoil and steel wool!  And the thing wasn't even built!  All it had was suspension and a slip-on muffler.
2005 will be my 7th year of racing.  I sold the GSXR, and am trying to find the money to get an SV.  I know that I will actually be able to afford to keep it running.  Besides, Lightweight has become a spec class these days.  If you have an SV, you'll be racing for the podium against all the other SVs.
I'll bet you know which bike I'd recommend, don't you?

[motomadness]

If you're going to start racing, you might as well start off on a bike that's going to really teach you how to riding and forces you to work on the bike and not be afraid of working on it.

Therefore, my choice is a two-stroke 250.  Either an Aprilia RS250 or a TZ250.  You'll have a great time and get to ride a pure bred racing machine.

[motomadness]

Oh yeah, all of the best riders in the world have ridden two-strokes.  Even a Super somebody on this forum.

[MELK-MAN]

THIS ONE... :D  ready to go racin for your price. Spare set of wheels, extra rear sets, all the gearing you could ever use..
http://www.jenningsgp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2678

[Eric Kelcher]

The smaller the bike the more it makes you work on corner speed and the minimal amount of braking needed to maintain control. The bigger the bike the more fear you have going into a corner as it goes through a corner slower(generally) and makes up for it by speed on the straightaways. Other good thing is the development and changes to the lightweight field is generally slower (IE OEM come out with a radically new class dominating bike every 10-15 years for lightweight as opossed to 600 or larger classes which has a new dominating bike every year or two, by dominating talking about a bike that is ~.5 second lap faster than its competitors for the most part in AM ranks a good rider can be behind the curve ie a bike that is 1 or 2 even 3 or more times removed from the top of the heap and beat riders on cream of crop bikes)

So in closing I would get the smallest bike you physically fit on that has a competitive class to ride in and go with that. A small bike that is so outclassed that you are out powered everywere is no fun IE YSR50 in ULWSB  :P Other thing is the first year of racing is going to be your most expensive year (again in general) you buy a bike, gear, shade(canopy), trailer (in many cases then have to get bigger vehicle to tow the trailer that salesman said a Yugo could pull but needs a 3/4 ton truck in reality), set bike up (suspension, bodywork), school, crash damage (most riders find the ground more their first year than any other year). any thing you can do to minimize the costs is better (hell I started out with a 33' trailer, a 3/4 diesel, GSXR750, and stayed at hotels and backed down to a single and had more fun the last few years loading it in the back of the truck and camping at the track) and a lightweight bike is a cheaper bike to start (the FZR, Hawk and SV have all been or were sold for many years; spare parts are fairly plentiful and inexpensive) Other is the are easier on parts they abuse tires less, tires are normally a little cheaper, and when you do crash since the bike is normally going at a slower speed it is not damaged as much and even more important you are not as damaged (that is not to say a lightweight bike is "safe" a rider on a YSR50 was killed at a race in Waco a few years back).

I started this two days ago and maybe your questions have already been answered but I was determined this morning to finish this so I knowing K3 he has probably pushed the small bike thing already with better reasoning and I know for sure better writing skills.

[Super Dave]

Oh yeah, all of the best riders in the world have ridden two-strokes.  Even a Super somebody on this forum.

Scott Russell tried a GP bike once before winning World Superbike Championships.  Times have changed.  

An Aprilia RS250 is NOT a GP bike.  

TZ250's are.  They require reasonable maintenance and care that someone getting involved in doesn't need...unless they have a fetish for playing with and maintaining a bike during a race weekend and between race weekends...or you have lots of money and pay a decent road racing two-stroke mechanic.

Reality is that if you get so good on a race bike that someone pays you...you're probably gonna be riding a four stroke.  Additionally, there really hasn't been too many problems for MotoGP riders getting comfortable with their bikes vs the 500 two strokes.

You're new?  Cost has to be a consideration.

Tires can cost you more than a bike and there is no residual equity.  At least you can sell parts off the bike.  Unfortunately, I usually have to run the tires on my 600 down to nothing...they really aren't sellable after I'm done with them.

So, an SV is the current king.

Turn key, push button, ride.

Remember also, that its not the number of laps you turn in practice, but the quality of those laps.  If you can get outstanding instruction...do it.  If not, latch on to someone that really knows something.  With a racing community filled with riders that last only a few years...well, there are a lot of conflicting messages out there.

[Eric Kelcher]

And K3 comes through    :D

[motomadness]

With the Aprilia RS250 I was trying to suggest riding it as a means to learn about corner speed, while also have a bike with a full assortment of adjustments built in.  Besides you can run an entire season or more on a base level RS250 without ever having to open it up.  In many ways that is why I would say it is a superior beginners bike.  

You can just hop on an SV and ride, but eventually you're going to have to adjust the suspension.  In it's stock form it's full of compromises, which could generate bad habits and a lot of wrenching depending on how much the rider desires to "get-it-right".  

The down side of the Aprilia is the power.  SV's can consistently run under 1:20 at Blackhawk all day, while the Aprilia can do it, but it will definitely be pushing the limits.  At that time, the TZ becomes the superior two-stroke racing machine, which bring a more regular maintanence routine.

[Nbot]

You guys rock...thanks for the input ;D

I've got two bikes now, both fourstrokes and can do most of the work on them, so no, as far as two-strokes go I don't really want to spend a bunch more time learning how to work on them and then spend a bunch of time working on them :o I guess I'm being a pansy, but I'd just rather stick to something familiar....

So yes, I'm definitely now leaning towards the SV, seems like the general response I get is that the bike is just really fun to ride, and that it will force me to become a good rider, not just lazy and whack the throttle in the straights!!

We'll I've already got my leathers and boots (I did some trackdays last year on my FZR1000 but lowsided it...well actually twice :-[...decided I've already got the gear which I can't sell b/c all scratched up, and I've got the taste in my mouth of racing, so I might as well pay up and get a good bike to learn on.....something a bit more forgiving and cheaper to repair than my street bike!!!). Actually, even though getting into racing is expensive, I'm justifying it with the rationale that I'm kindof bored w/ riding on the streets now, and that means I won't be trying to get my kicks on all the mountain passes around here (so more $$=less danger on the highway, which is probably smart)...gaurdrails, gravel, other cars, cliffs etc=bad news bears!!

Yeah, I've been looking for trailers, I'm figuring $500 is about right for an open 6X8, and I'm going to just put a hitch on my fiancee's '96 Subaru legacy wagon for $200 (I would like a truck, but the bike purchase is going to wipe me out....). Besides, between a bike and trailer, probably only 1000lbs, well under the Subi's 3500gtw. Then I'll most likely camp out at the track...doesn't sound so bad to me ;D

So then I'm on the race-prepped SV hunt!! I've seen a number of 'em around for under $4K with Penske/Traxxion/dampner/sharkskinz/sliders/etc...I'm real glad to hear that their tires are cheaper in the first place and that they won't eat as many of them as well. I'll probably take the fairings off of the one I buy to help avoid the paintshop!!