“New.” Coming out of ‘retirement?’

Quick background:

I raced like 2 weekends in 2011, crashed, and realized my pace was demanding more than my budget could support. Sold my big bike, and bought an XR100 to mini race.

did that for 3 years. Had a second kid. Felt bad leaving wife (now ex wife) home with infant and 3 yr old while i raced. Sold XR100.

infant turns 4 this month. Engaged to a great girl who is super supportive of racing (and wants to give it a try herself, some day)

our household income is roughly quadruple what i made when i ran out of tire money in 2011...

so things have changed a lot since I’ve owned or ridden a big bike (on track).

I wanted to buy a chinese Grom clone and just have that for street and kart racing, but friends and nostalgia are persuading me to take a look at big bikes...

i am still cheap, and not looking to buy anything cutting edge.

i probably need 2-3 bikes to accomplish this, but i am trying to find a decent FI 600 (V8 era) that i could rig up lights and legally stick a plate on a few times a year, but would not see much street use.

...or i need a race bike and a scooter/grom. Or a 250-300, and that becomes the wife’s bike for track, and we just hooligan ride it when we feel like it.

here’s the hard part - I’d like to keep the budget at it under $5k. Thoughts? Is a 600 out of reach? Just buy an SV?

 

Congrats on the improvements in your life. :up:

 

What beac said.

I'm wondering if I'll ever go back. I'm super focused on trying to sell out and move away from this humid hell hole. I've got a nice 748 you could run in V7, bump to V8. It's a lovely handling bike, but not really competitive in V7, especially with a bum like me. Or I have a sorted ninjer 250 that probably ought to go too.

So now I really feel like shit.
Best wishes.

 

My track friends have not taken off as much time as i have, so they’re quicker than me.

i am confident i can get back near their skill level, but they’re on liter Aprilias now, so they would be in 2nd gear waiting for me on the straights of i bought an SV. That’s one of the major reasons i haven’t just bought one already.

 

Is a Mille R something you'd consider?

 

Why not a 2nd gen R6? You’ll get in V8 and good enough for modern MW.

 

i haven’t ridden an R6 in a long time, but i didn’t like feeling like i was so on top of the bike.

i had a 2003 Honda that felt good. Would love to find a Honda or Suzuki from that era.

 

The sub $3k SVs are super tempting... i started track days on an EX500, so an SV will still be faster than that, and i had fun on the EX!

(talking myself out of 600cc costs and tire wear...) plus that frees up $2k for a street 250 for the wife to track.

 

Totally understand that “on the top” feeling, and being odd at first. My FZRs all have the seats removed and replaced with a 3/4” piece of aircraft grade aluminum sheet wrapped in pleather. Sounds ghetto,And it is, but gives me more of that down in the cockpit feel. The SV still ain’t a bad way to go. It’s still V8 legal(I think) if you wanted a smaller grid for shaking off the cobwebs......and yep,leaves you wiggle room for the 2nd bike

 

I converted from YEARS of Suzuki's and their "IN" the bike feel to the Yamaha "ON" the bike feel about 6 years ago. Took about a full season to adapt.
The biggest "Problem" was the seat pad of the superbike tail on the R6 I bought...I was sliding around. Emerson Amaya told me to get a Graves adhesive seat pad
and replace the one on the bike. It was thinner and more grippy than the one I had on the bike...I thought it was kind of silly to spend $100 for what the Graves seat pad is.
But, Emerson knows his sh*t......so I spent the money....and absolutely NO regrets. Totally changed the Yamaha experience for me. No more slippin' and slidin' in the seat.
Bike felt more planted because my weight wasn't shifting anymore mid-corner.

 

So why not look for MW bike you are comfortable on? CBR, 636, 675... There are tons of options for less than 5k just look at the previous generation. Don't think that because you are on a 600 you can't be fast. Track record at NCM is on a 600 and he went by me like I was standing still on my 1199. Find a bike you are comfortable on.

 

So the latest is that i keep hesitating to drop money on a bike i am nervous i won’t ride/race enough to justify the cost.

found a very inexpensive SV that i can’t pass up, and can afford to leave in a dumpster if i get sick of it taking up garage space. Cross your fingers.

do AFX helmets suck? My Bell kids are too old to pass tech... i emailed RD about the AFX build dates.

 

Related - i am looking for a grom and/or a 250 for street use, and to eventually get my fiancé on the track.

then she takes my SV, and i get a middleweight, if we’re both riding enough to justify it.

 

does the AFX fit your head shape? they look like budget helmets, so if your comfortable with that...

 

SV is fun and fast enough. cheap to buy, cheap to fix and good on tires.

get a closeout helmet form RD or STG that still has some years in it.

 

SV is always the answer!

 

Take a look at motorcyclecloseouts.com for a good price on lids. I got my LS2 track helmet for under $100.

 

this is awesome. Never even heard of LS2, but the reviews are great.

 

i have the enduro „quarterback“ helmet and love it

 

Gonna search, but is there a first gen SV “Bible” thread on par with the EX250 thread?

i have never owned an SV before, and this one isn’t super stock...