Help Needed to Buy a Track Bike

eonan

eonan

New member
I really want to start doing track days, but I just don't see me risking binning the Monster...not after the amount of feckin time and money I've spent :comp2:

In an ideal world I'd love to have a 748/916, but everytime I look I find myself going into that "hmmm, for another couple of hundred I could get this one...hmmm only another couple of hundred and I could get this one...and so on" Before I know it I'm looking at my dream 748...a bike that like the Monster I probably wouldn't take onto the track...not until I really learnt how to ride properly anyway.

So...I remember last year when I was thinking about buying one, there were some suggestions flying about, but I can't remember what they were?

I think the VFR400 was one...no? There seems to be plenty of them around at great prices.

Any thoughts on this for a track bike? Or any other suggestions would be greatly appeciated.

I'm 6ft 4" and don't have much money :D
 
Seem to recall at the time there were a couple of 916's for sale around £1500.
The vfr400 was certainly suggested. Met two guys in Inverness last week who had a VFR400 and a RGV250 and were getting big fun per £ out of them. The Aprilia RS250 is basically the same bike as the RGV but a bit more money usually. Not sure at your size how comfortable they would be. How about (given Dseered write up on his track experience) a KTM or similar style?
 
Nc30's are great bikes,handle wonderfully and are relatively cheap to fix when you bend them.
I bought an ex race bike and also have a nc35 which I ran as a trackbike and a roadbike for a bit.
Have a look here:-
http://www.400greybike.co.uk/Forum/default.asp
everything you need to ask can be answered here.
I even saw one advertised for about £850 today on one of the sites I visited.
If you look around you can get a bargain,they are generally bought by new riders who dont look after them,fortunately the motors are pretty reliable,they suffer from weak reg/rectifiers and use expensive little spark plugs. They are only problematic to work on from the viewpoint there isn't a lot of room in there ,everything crammed into the frame.
If you find one with a 17" wheel already on it,bite their hands off,otherwise they come with 18" rears which limit tyre choice a bit (still good tyres for them though).
Hopefully I'll get mine on the track this year as last year was a non starter and I haven't even sat on it for a year and a half.:rolleyes:
 
239desmo said:
Seem to recall at the time there were a couple of 916's for sale around £1500.
The vfr400 was certainly suggested. Met two guys in Inverness last week who had a VFR400 and a RGV250 and were getting big fun per £ out of them. The Aprilia RS250 is basically the same bike as the RGV but a bit more money usually. Not sure at your size how comfortable they would be. How about (given Dseered write up on his track experience) a KTM or similar style?
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Yeh that tasty black one up Aberdeen way ended up going for well over £2000 :( Trouble with buying a Duc is that I love them so much. I just know there's no way I'll be able to leave it alone. I'll start fettling away at it and end up spending a bloody fortune!

Thanks for that info Dave...I'll take a look at that site. The other thing about the NC30 is it looks pretty cool too...I think anyway :)
 
Niall mate, I'm sorry but you are just too tall (at 9ft) to fit a VFR. I had a lovely one just which was one of the victims of my move up here, I am six ft and only just fitted it. Brilliant track tool but don't go there mate. Cheap 916/748 are options but expensive to run. Have your thought about a CBR600RR of '03/04 era, cheap to buy now and will go and go and go and take so much thrashing on the track it's untrue. You need something that you ain't gonna be bothered about dropping whereby the replacement bodywork isn't going to cost you the earth and something forgiving - like the CBR as an example.
But hey what do I know; I take my dream bike onto the tracks and thrash its pants off every time!!!! :p
 
ProjectImola004 said:
Niall mate, I'm sorry but you are just too tall (at 9ft) to fit a VFR. I had a lovely one just which was one of the victims of my move up here, I am six ft and only just fitted it. Brilliant track tool but don't go there mate. Cheap 916/748 are options but expensive to run. Have your thought about a CBR600RR of '03/04 era, cheap to buy now and will go and go and go and take so much thrashing on the track it's untrue. You need something that you ain't gonna be bothered about dropping whereby the replacement bodywork isn't going to cost you the earth and something forgiving - like the CBR as an example.
But hey what do I know; I take my dream bike onto the tracks and thrash its pants off every time!!!! :p
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Ah bollocks :( You reckon it would be a real problem yeh? How much smaller is it compared to the Monster? Cause I don't fit on that either :p
 
If it was me and you wanted a cheap bike to run, service and parts are ten to the penny get a CBR6 or an R6, doesn't do anything for me personally but I don't think you'll go far wrong.

Unless you can find a ridiculously cheap 748 and don't mind the running costs of course.
 
Buy a 748 :thumbs:

There's the odd one appears on e-bay already tracked up and ready to play.

Ask MacShazaam to show you how to do the valves, belts etc.. (if he hasn't already)

Realistically, how many track days are you gonna do in a year?

I don't think the running costs will be outrageous, providing you don't scatter it :D
 
Scottch said:
Buy a 748 :thumbs:

There's the odd one appears on e-bay already tracked up and ready to play.

Ask MacShazaam to show you how to do the valves, belts etc.. (if he hasn't already)

Realistically, how many track days are you gonna do in a year?

I don't think the running costs will be outrageous, providing you don't scatter it :D
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Heheheheh...MacShazaam has already shown me :D Yeh you're right, I guess I'd only really be doing the monthy Ducati ones. Mate I'd really love a 748, but as Freak says, it would have to be RIDICULOUSLY cheap :o
 
Why not try phoning Martin at DG.

He might know where there's a bike that's got some questionable history that's going for buttons.

There's a few tree's to shake before you exclude a 748 I'd say.

Besides, which would you rather have? ;)

And if you already know how to look after a 748 mechanically, then surely, your running costs could be less than Jap scrap?
 
Just keep a lookout on fleabay there is bound to be an early 748 that someone can't sell and offer them a silly price and they might take it just to get rid. How would you feel on a DG trackday riding a jap bike with all those Ducati riders on the real deal?
 
I'm all for you buying a Duc for trackdays, but remember an early 748 etc. is going to be a bit worn by now and replacing engine internals and servicing a 4V engine is so expensive in relation to what you are doing with it. I'm sticking with something to 'thrash-out-of-the-box' japanese. Or even a 2V Duc, theres nowt wrong with them and a well oiled 904cc can push out - whatever mine's pushing out, pear down the weight and it can be fun keeping up with 748's and 9's. - cheap too. But hey, a man of your means Niall, go buy a RC45 for the track mate - bigger than the 400!!! :p
 
eonan said:
I really want to start doing track days, but I just don't see me risking binning the Monster...
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Was that not why you bought another Monster in the first place? :rolleyes:

eonan said:
...not after the amount of feckin time and money I've spent :comp2: ...I'm 6ft 4" and don't have much money :D
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That's 'cos you spent it all on the 900 Monster. :p
Get the 750 sold and you'll be halfway to your track bike.
 
Scottch said:
Blasphemer!! Unlcean unclean!! :lol2: ;)
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...yes I know, I know, but but.....

oh just go and buy the NC30, you ain't much bigger than me (well 2ft taller ain't much) I miss mine very much! hey, wasn't there someone recently selling one very simular to mine i.e. an early, nicest, one?
 
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eonan said:
Yep, the money (if any) I get for it is for a track bike. Unfortunately this may require MacShazaam to work his magic to get the heap of sh*te to work :D
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Well you keep buggering off at weekends when MacShazaam has some free time. :rolleyes:
 
Worth a look on universal vehicle services website, you will find loads of damaged bikes (some only light damage, ie fairings scratched etc) Lots available at very good prices, and as you only want it for a track bike not too many worries about a bit of fairing damage!! if you see one you want to bid on you will have to register though!
 
bigchunk said:
Worth a look on universal vehicle services website, you will find loads of damaged bikes (some only light damage, ie fairings scratched etc) Lots available at very good prices, and as you only want it for a track bike not too many worries about a bit of fairing damage!! if you see one you want to bid on you will have to register though!
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I'd be very very carefull about buying bikes from salvage companies.

Rumour has it that some dodgy characters remove valuable parts from these bikes. ;) ;)
 
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