[sheepofblue]

I have seen the praises of the SV650 however I also saw the suspension was a bit lame out of the crate. So is there a good track bike that could mutate into a race bike if I wanted? Prefer a Honda or Yamaha. Also heading into old fart age so I have no desire to ride a squid, up and coming, or hot dog class. But stupid does run bone deep so I want speeeed

[SomeStrangeGuy]

If you intend on riding the track (only) you'll have a newfound appreciation for good suspension and brakes moreso then power.

WWSSGD: 03 F4i , 04 R6 , buy either wrecked, get them straight, and suspension setup for you with a decent aftermarket shock in back, then migrate the other junk on up as you see fit (rearsets, etc.).

But I don't race - so go figure

[G-Force Junkie]

Check with your local race organizations, for some the SV is a perfect bike that you can run in many classes.

[JAMI6989]

600RR sounds like a good beginner bike? There's plenty of kids wadding them everyday so I'm sure you can get a good deal on one if you looked hard enough.

[sheepofblue]

Local race hmmm Niner aren't you in Nashville? Or any B'ham folks? Or Talledega people?

From what I have heard in my VERY limited exploration the 600 class is the youngsters that think they will be the next Rossi and the assorted pyscho's. While $$$ is a factor I am more concerned with enjoyment and not getting in a class that is full of crazies that will take me out.

Thanks for the input so far.

[Heavy-Dee]

Originally Posted by sheepofblue

Local race hmmm Niner aren't you in Nashville? Or any B'ham folks? Or Talledega people?

From what I have heard in my VERY limited exploration the 600 class is the youngsters that think they will be the next Rossi and the assorted pyscho's. While $$$ is a factor I am more concerned with enjoyment and not getting in a class that is full of crazies that will take me out.

Thanks for the input so far.

Sounds like you would really like endurance racing. No crazies and lots of track time. I think an F4/F4i would be good. SV 650 is a great bike too. You could pic up a gixxer that was a few years old too. Any of these bikeswill be great. You'd probably want to do the same mods to all of them ...ie- suspension.

HD

[abtech]

From a grizzled battle scarred vet's point of view, you may want to look into the HW Twins class. Any of the older Ducati 900's, TLS or an RC will do just fine. Lot's of fun racing and a bit more mature rider base. You can also run the SV650 in this class, as they usually fare pretty well for the better riders.

My whole point centers around the general attitude of the fellow racers in these classes, as you mentioned the 600 class is usually referred to as the Sick Hundreds (and that's how many end up on the starting grid as well).

[WetShrub]

600 supersquid
600 stupidbike

Get the SV, you'd be surprised at how quick it really is and easy to ride. It's SO forgiving which is great for a beginning racer. At first you think that it doesn't inspire you because it has a rep of being not super sporty and fast but once you get on it it's a blast. Usually you get racers that are more level headed in the lightweight twins classes too.

-Shrub

[sheepofblue]

What is your opinion of sv650 vs RC both twin classes correct? More sane folks. Y'all are affirming what I heard about the squidhundred class

[WetShrub]

The first race of the year out here for the 600 stupid bike had 3 red flags and ended the race on a red flag. Yuck, no thanks. They also had fields of 90 riders running in 2 seperate waves. 60 and 30.

The entire year, the SV class was a fairly tightly nit group of about 25-30 riders.

SV is cheaper to upgrade, cheaper to run (tires, repairs, spare parts), and easier to build skills on.

From what I know of RC's, they are very expensive to turn into a race bike. Abtech would know, I think I remember him saying it costs a small fortune to get it truly race worthy.

I got my fully prepped and dialed SV for $4K. I go through a set of tires ever 4 or 5 days on the track (that equates to about 2 race weekends and a track day). Bikes are stable and reliable, and smooth. I have learned so much from racing this bike that I don't think I would have learned from a larger displacement and larger HP bike. I would have been using it more as a point and shoot bike instead of actually trying to work on racing lines and race tactics.

-Shrub

[Baketech]

It's been scientifically proven that I can hold up just as many riders with a 929 or an SV....but the SV forces you to be "courteous" when they come around on the straight...

[sheepofblue]

Originally Posted by Baketech

It's been scientifically proven that I can hold up just as many riders with a 929 or an SV....but the SV forces you to be "courteous" when they come around on the straight...

I would not be a total newby since I have rode years and raced dirt eons ago. However I figure to be back to center of pack for a while.

Good advice all, keep any you have coming. The master plan is trailer in spring and track bike to follow (maybe not in the next season though) right now I am in plotting mode

[abtech]

Originally Posted by WetShrub

The first race of the year out here for the 600 stupid bike had 3 red flags and ended the race on a red flag. Yuck, no thanks. They also had fields of 90 riders running in 2 seperate waves. 60 and 30.

The entire year, the SV class was a fairly tightly nit group of about 25-30 riders.

SV is cheaper to upgrade, cheaper to run (tires, repairs, spare parts), and easier to build skills on.

From what I know of RC's, they are very expensive to turn into a race bike. Abtech would know, I think I remember him saying it costs a small fortune to get it truly race worthy.

I got my fully prepped and dialed SV for $4K. I go through a set of tires ever 4 or 5 days on the track (that equates to about 2 race weekends and a track day). Bikes are stable and reliable, and smooth. I have learned so much from racing this bike that I don't think I would have learned from a larger displacement and larger HP bike. I would have been using it more as a point and shoot bike instead of actually trying to work on racing lines and race tactics.

-Shrub

Actually, I bought a used 2000 model and it came with a spare set of wheels and a spare gas tank, so I recouped $1000.00 within 25 hours of the purchase, making the bike (in piss poor condition) cost me 5K net. My total purchases so far have been:

Dan Kyle fork rebuild
Ohlins shock
Type 2 airbox
520 conversion
03' swingarm conversion (around 250 bucks after the smoke cleared)

It already had a bunch of the usual stuff on it (rearsets, clip-ons, aftermarket bodywork, Power Commander etc.). I "corrected" all of the previous owners work (pair valve removal, soft rev limiter etc.) and at this point have around 7500.00 in it and maybe 150 hours of work.

Running U4 and some dyno work, the bike rocks and has very little difficulty holding it's own against a lot of newer/faster hardware. As far as grin factor, it's huge.

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[G-Force Junkie]

Originally Posted by abtech

From a grizzled battle scarred vet's point of view, you may want to look into the HW Twins class. Any of the older Ducati 900's, TLS or an RC will do just fine. Lot's of fun racing and a bit more mature rider base. You can also run the SV650 in this class, as they usually fare pretty well for the better riders.

My whole point centers around the general attitude of the fellow racers in these classes, as you mentioned the 600 class is usually referred to as the Sick Hundreds (and that's how many end up on the starting grid as well).

We call the 600 class the axe murder class

[coderedcbr]

Go with the SV you can't go wrong. Say away form the open classes and the bloodsport class the 600's. A TZ 250 would be cool but you just want to gas and go stay with the SV most likley you will be able to race muti classes with it. If you have and extra set of wheels you can jump from superbike to superstock also>LOOK HERE< .