[ND4SPD]

Got my amateur novice license today Well, technically I didn't get the actual license, but I'm speed certified and have the certificate that says I went through the racer school. Not gonna get the license this year, no budget for it, nor do I have enough track experience to be racing.

So for now I'm just taking applications to fill the empty umbrella girl team positions and probably gonna look for a smaller/older bike(darn that self preservation instinct). Meanwhile I'm gonna try to do 2-3 more track days this year, and a few more in the spring to get some more track experience and then possibly enter some races mid/late summer.

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

Got my amateur novice license today Well, technically I didn't get the actual license, but I'm speed certified and have the certificate that says I went through the racer school. Not gonna get the license this year, no budget for it, nor do I have enough track experience to be racing.

So for now I'm just taking applications to fill the empty umbrella girl team positions and probably gonna look for a smaller/older bike(darn that self preservation instinct). Meanwhile I'm gonna try to do 2-3 more track days this year, and a few more in the spring to get some more track experience and then possibly enter some races mid/late summer.

Kewl . Smaller older bike, why?

[929_Nupe]

Good stuff


If you need help with the umbrella girl tryout give me a shout

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by SPEED

Kewl . Smaller older bike, why?

Self preservation I'm bound to get myself into trouble sooner or later. Plus entering the 600cc class is already like murder from what I hear.

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by 929_Nupe

If you need help with the umbrella girl tryout give me a shout

You'd better have a nice rack

[l'timbré]

Félicitation!!!

[JA1LER]

congrats

[ratter]

congrats

[NinerPilot]

Cool,

What school did you take? If you are looking for a track/race bike that will help you learn, but be competitive, look at a 99-00 SV. You can get them prepped for 3-3.5K and they seem to be darn near bulletproof if you dont try to squeeze 150 hp out of them.
Chris

[Red Rider]

Way to go ND!

[lfg929]

Congrats ND. Unless you are going to start out on an SV then personally I would either keep the 600RR or swap it for a Gixxer 600 or R6 (get something new enough that has FI though). As Niner said the SVs can be had for fairly cheap, but make sure the bike is sound. While the older ones are fairly strong you can still get a ragged out motor. A friend of mine raced an '00 SV last year and went through 2 motors. His was stock outside of the normal exhaust and jetting changes.

Unless you are bent on an SV though then stick with the 600s. You can aways do the meat grinder class or you can just step up and run with the 750s (me). The small HP difference isn't enough to make a difference in lap times. The guys winning my classes this year (all of them) are on 600s. I would keep the Honda, but if you are looking to sell it then get something that will be easy to get spares and parts for (which is why I mentioned a Gixxer or R6). The Gixxers have tons of parts out there plus you can get spares from people at the track since there are a million Gixxers there. And the Yamahas have cheap parts from the factory (about half the cost of Honda OEM parts at least).

[freq]

Congrats.

[HondaGal]

Way to go ND! Congrats!!!

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by NinerPilot

Cool,

What school did you take? If you are looking for a track/race bike that will help you learn, but be competitive, look at a 99-00 SV. You can get them prepped for 3-3.5K and they seem to be darn near bulletproof if you dont try to squeeze 150 hp out of them.
Chris

I took the Fasttrax school. I was planning on taking just a street course just to learn the track(Nelson's) but since I really have no interest in riding on the street I mentioned my situation to Bob and he said he would put me in the racer school which was fine with me. There were only 4 of us in the racer school, and 2 of the guys crashed each other out in the second session, T12. The one was able to patch his bike enough to make it through the rest of the day, but the other guy had to pack it up(it was his fault, he rear ended the guy in front of him trying to pass the A group) Could've been very ugly, thank goodness it wasn't.

lfg....I didn't know that that was a possibility. I've heard horror stories about the 600class as I'm sure many of those guys think they're Duhamel. Not really concerned about winning as of now, as long as I can finish without crashing and gaining experience/points while doing so would be plenty of satisfaction.

[GhostRider]

You mean you've been riding all this time without a license???



Congrats

[NinerPilot]

FWIW the average WERA Medium weight or "C superstock" novice grid is ~60 riders or so. Usually in 3 waves, but once you get to T1 its a clusterf*ck anyway. LFG is right to an extent about racing up a class, but the races I have been to, its about the same # of bikes.
Chris

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by NinerPilot

FWIW the average WERA Medium weight or "C superstock" novice grid is ~60 riders or so. Usually in 3 waves, but once you get to T1 its a clusterf*ck anyway. LFG is right to an extent about racing up a class, but the races I have been to, its about the same # of bikes.
Chris

60?? That's insanity! We had probably 20 - 25 on the track at the same time(at most) and it might as well be rush hour on the innerbelt. How do you even get anywhere??!

[Mojave954]

Congrats

[NinerPilot]

60ish is at the bigger tracks like Barber and Road Atlanta. I think here at Nashville there is "only" 45 or so.
Chris

[cbr99xx]

Cool!!!

[tigerblade]

Congrats little buddy!

[TGZ13]

Originally Posted by tigerblade

Congrats little buddy!

He said little buddy "noodle arms"

Congrats by the way that is awesome

[lfg929]

The number of bikes depends on the region Niner. At Beaver Run a couple of weekends ago it was a dual region race (North Central and North Eastern combined) and there were 35 bikes in the 600 classes on average. The 750s had about 20-25 out there. Those were the biggest grids out there on that weekend. Nelson Ledges (also a combined event between NC and NE) had a smaller turnout with around 15-20 750s on the grid and probably 20-25 600s.

Obviously if you go to some of the bigger and more popular tracks then there will be more bikes out there, but the tracks are also fairly wide and able to handle it. Just stay cool for turn 1 off the start and during the first lap and things are usually ok after that as everyone spreads out.

I hope you make it out to some WERA events next year ND. I may actually know a lot of people next year instead of showing up and not knowing anyone (this year). ;-) I dropped my race bike off at MPH Computrack today to get the frame and front end looked at. Can you say "ouch"? Bottom line was $1200. Pretty much nothing on the bike is straight so now I am figuring out what to fix and what to replace.

[oldfogey]

Congratulations! Love these encouraging stories

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by lfg929

I hope you make it out to some WERA events next year ND. I may actually know a lot of people next year instead of showing up and not knowing anyone (this year). ;-) I dropped my race bike off at MPH Computrack today to get the frame and front end looked at. Can you say "ouch"? Bottom line was $1200. Pretty much nothing on the bike is straight so now I am figuring out what to fix and what to replace.

I'm sure I will. I'm thinking by mid-summer I'll have the cojones to put myself at the back of the grid and hook a towstrap to some poor soul in front of me.

Sorry about the bike man, but at least it's fixable