Which bike should i get for the track ? ? **poll**

Which bike would you Recommend ?

  • Total voters
    11
weeian

weeian

New member
ok im gonna buy a track bike as i think i am going to die soon if i keep up riding the way i am on the road, im not allowed to track the 749 & i think it would be too much for me anyway.

so i have 3 options

option 1 = Honda VFR 400

option 2 = Kawasaki ZXR 400

option 3 = Yamaha FZR 400

only wanting to spend around 500 quid as im only testing the water with the track riding, theres plenty for aronud this price.

so whadya think & has anyone had experience with any of these bikes ?

thanks in advance.

/ian
 
Hey mate...have you seen this months RIDE magazine? Blindin' article on the VFR and why it's the best bike that's ever been built :thumbs:
 
Can you afford an RC30?

blimey, can you lend me some money?? ;)

VFR 400 mate, brilliant little screemer. wish I'd never sold mine:mad:
 
I've ridden both a VFR400 NC30 and a CBR400RR NC23 and for me the NC23 was a far better bike. It's got a funny size back tyre though so an NC29 might be better.
 
had a ZXR400 as a road bike, did several trackdays on it and loved every minute of it. Not too expensive to run either.
 
why not track the 749??

your are far less likely to damage it to the saem extent as you would on the road yet you will happily ride it on the road :confused:

I never get it when people say this. Having ridden track and road the incidents on the road have done far more damage to my bike than the ones on track.

Considering the amount you are spending none of the bikes are gonna be much different in performance so I would look more at getting spares and ease of maintenance.

Be wary of ex race bikes as 400 bnikes are often heavily tuned to get performance and become very unreliable. To be honest you might be better going for a steelie 600 an examle of how much you can get for your money is here http://www.visordown.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276075 I know this is more than you want to spend, but if you are just looking for the bike then you could find something in your budget I am sure

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130012553547
 
Lily said:
why not track the 749??

your are far less likely to damage it to the saem extent as you would on the road yet you will happily ride it on the road :confused:

I never get it when people say this. Having ridden track and road the incidents on the road have done far more damage to my bike than the ones on track.

Considering the amount you are spending none of the bikes are gonna be much different in performance so I would look more at getting spares and ease of maintenance.

Be wary of ex race bikes as 400 bnikes are often heavily tuned to get performance and become very unreliable. To be honest you might be better going for a steelie 600 an examle of how much you can get for your money is here http://www.visordown.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276075 I know this is more than you want to spend, but if you are just looking for the bike then you could find something in your budget I am sure

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130012553547
Click to expand...

like you said claire, im in the same boat, i couldnt afford a couple of grand of damage to my 749. or rather i dont want to afford it. . . .

id far rather fling a 500 £ bike down the track in my learning process than my 749.

/ian
 
Why not rent something? about £200 for the day? including fuel tyres etc.

Walk away hopefully at the end knowing you've either got the bug or never want to go on track again.

Hassle free way to test the water?

Ray.
 
Ray's idea is spot on! because first time on the track and after you have done plenty of circuits and you start to find your way round you start going a bit faster, pushing a bit harder.........someone overtakes you........the red mist comes down......and oh 5h1t, you don't make the next corner and if you go down and it's someone elses bike it ain't so bad!
When I did the Carl Fogarty race school, the last half-hour session, their 748s, each lap I tried a bit harder, went a bit faster, hung off the bike a bit more and still didn't get my knee down (tho the instructer said I was only a inch or so off the ground!)
Now if it had been my bike I wouldn't have been pushing it as much as I did that day! so there is a lot to be said for hiring a bike for the first few times. It might seem a lot of money but so is buying your own bike, tyres and all the stuff you need to replace bits on the bike after you have dropped it.
Or you could do a DOC trackday and use one of the demo bikes that Ducati UK bring along, if they havn't been put off by last years trackday escapades!
 
Ray said:
Why not rent something? about £200 for the day? including fuel tyres etc.

Walk away hopefully at the end knowing you've either got the bug or never want to go on track again.

Hassle free way to test the water?

Ray.
Click to expand...

hmm i think id have a hard time finding a place up here that does that Ray.

im sure theres a bigger demand for it down south tho.

good idea tho !

/ian
 
Ian,

It looks like Knockhill run their own days and I can't find anyone offering hire there after a quick look round. Maybe someone else knows of someone?

California Superbike school come up to Knockhill once a year, halfway through August this year, they do bike hire but now you are talking serious cash and it's not just a trackday type day.

Maybe head south to Croft or Oulton for a day run by a Trackday company if you want to pursue the hire route.

If not good luck with finding a useable 400.

Are 600's such as an old CBR, Gixer or FZR a possibility for around £500??

I'd be worried about getting an old nail that was gonna cack out as soon as it went near the track.

Ray.
 
Anyone old enough to remember the RD LC racers that one could hire and race? In fact anyone ever ridden one around a circuit - they were brilliant (in their own strange way) and you needed balls the size of Wales to do it!!! :D

I still say get hold of the most expensive VFR or RVF400 you can afford and don't spare the horses when you get on the black stuff!!! ;)
 
Well I've got an RVF sitting in my mates garage doing nothing if you decide to increase your budget.It hasn't been used since I bought an ex-race NC30 for the track instead.
Dont think you've got much chance of getting an nc30 or the like for £500, and if you do you'll probably have to spend another £500 fixing it,a track fairing and set of tyres will take care of nearly £350 let alone any other 'consumables' ( a 17" rear wheel will set you back £250 on its own) .Better to increase your budget a bit and get one where all that work has already been done.
 
ProjectImola004 said:
Anyone old enough to remember the RD LC racers that one could hire and race? In fact anyone ever ridden one around a circuit - they were brilliant (in their own strange way) and you needed balls the size of Wales to do it!!! :D

I still say get hold of the most expensive VFR or RVF400 you can afford and don't spare the horses when you get on the black stuff!!! ;)
Click to expand...

Weeeee. First bike RD 125 LC. Dyno jetted, Power filtered and a top speed of 90mph on a good day, 40mph with a wind in yur face:thumbs:
Loved it when the power band used to come in.:D
 
Listen to Agony aunt Claire and spend the £500 on a track day fairing etc. That is what i am currently doing to the 748 for next season though I do have the advantage of an S4.

My thinking is the same, road riding has got too dangerous for my liking.
 
i heard you drop from an 18" to a 17" for better tyres, was that what you were referring to Dave ?

/ian
 
More choice of tyres is the reason.the 090's that a lot of nc30 run as 'standard' are pretty good mind you.
Up until recently it was a trick to use vfr750 wheels with a modified hub to fit them but the price of these has gone up a lot too.
mallorypark02sept04print2.jpg


Hmm!,I ve just realised I've not even sat on mine for over a year....thats not good!:mad:

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Weeian , Ive just done a track day at Croft with No Limits and , same as you, I am not brave enough taking the 749 onto the track as Ive had a few scary moments myself. I can cope with binning it because of my own mistakes but when you get knobbers who should be in a faster group and are undertaking you at every corner i would rather be on someone elses bike. I hired an R6 from Paul Russo last time I went (hes linked to the no limits site) and can recommend him, bikes were excellent, sticky tyres and warmers. Cost was £180 + fuel which worked out at £15.
Might sound a lot but I enjoyed it. He does a discount if he's hiring more than one bike at a meet.
 
Use the 749, why did you buy it ? To ride it per chance, take it home, take it to the track, they love it, get it set up right, get some track fairings and ring its neck.

Also they are heading towards being worth naff all so you ain't got alot to lose, I bought my Ducati because I always wanted one, sure I loved the RVF but I love the 749 more, it feels like part of me now and you will only really get that by spending time with it !

Go for it matey !
 
Ian, Ive heard this crack a couple of times now - why are people saying the 749 / 999 range are going to be worth nowt ? Is ducati pulling the range and is there a new model coming out next year ?
 
if they pull it then surely it will be worth more ?

yea im thinking about race fairings, i dunno.

/ian
 
posiden said:
Ian, Ive heard this crack a couple of times now - why are people saying the 749 / 999 range are going to be worth nowt ? Is ducati pulling the range and is there a new model coming out next year ?
Click to expand...

Look at what they are selling for !
 
Track bike

Ian,
If memory serves me right - haven't you already throwing your 749 off the track at Knockhill ? Personally I think your doing the right thing. Wasn't it rather expensive to repair the damaged fairing etc last time and that excludes your high side in Union Street me thinks.

Geoff
 
cheers for the reminder geoff, i can always count on you to jog my memory.

yea im not gonna track it as it would be too expensive, if i bin it once then thats the price of a small 400 for the track.

/ian
 
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