I’m so lost with all the different classes and bikes. I just got my bump and now I’m now looking for a bike to really get up to pace. I’m to scared of pushing pushing my 2023 zx6r cause its my only street bike and I can’t afford oem plastics every time something happens. So I’m in between a few bikes/classes. options: 2022 rc390 cup 2006 sv650 2009 r6 2016 r3 2022 r7 Essentials what I’m asking, if you were a 20 year old who is 6’2 160 lbs (180 geared) what bike would you have started on if you have full intentions of racing once up to pace?
sv650. Its cheap to buy, cheap to maintain and race. You can race in Lwt superstock, Lwt superbike, and formula 2.
Thank you so much… that’s what I was thinking too, I just wanted to ask around before committing. I’m going to the WERA race at barber at the end of the month and most likely buying my bike right after thank you for the help
You can run the same classes with the R7, but there are fewer used parts available and whether you get a prepped bike or a used street bike, you'll pay more for the bike. The R7 has a higher ceiling though than the SV.
Make sure you check out the grid sizes for each class in your local area. You'd hate to spend the $$ and then find out there's only 3 of you racing em.
I was thinking about building an r7 from a wrecked Copart bike. Like get a cheap sv650 or ktm rc390 and with the funds I keep from selling my fz07 buying and building an r7 race bike
Haha, That's partly why I am going to the WERA race at barber at the end of July. To see the size of the races, and to see if anyone is on the bikes I am currently choosing between. Thank you for the help.
Well, you could do it like I did, and spend about $18,000 of your $15k budget to turn your 6R into a racebike. I know you're thinking v-twin/SV. I looked at Copart auction bikes (perk of living in Texas, the public gets to buy), and the hit-or-miss-ness of the bike I wanted vs when I wanted to race this season decided me. I mean, I wanted to race in March, and I started ordering bodywork and such on 3 March, so I spent to convert my pristine street bike into a racebike. Had I more time, I'd have bought someone else's racebike, first, and maybe considered the Copart route for a lowsided GSXR (because used parts are commonly found in the $3 bin at WalMart next to Barry Manilow CDs and B-movie DVDs).
If you wanted to stick with the 636 there’s actually one in the FS section right now, I think it was a 2021 for a nice price. Would make a dope race bike. Or just throw race fairings on your current 636.
I have definitely thought about it, but the zx6r isn't really my bike. My Dad wasn't super comfortable with me messing around with my super sketchy 2002 883 Harley I built into a café racer (rightfully so, I broke down or something broke every time I went to campus then "Fixed it" then rode it back to class the next day ) So the fear of dropping a bike that expensive and not even mine is constantly going through my head in ever session I run. So at the moment I am not even held back by the fear of getting hurt its the fear of hurting that bike. That's why I think my best bet is to sell my personal bike (FZ-07) and buy a track bike I can really push myself on and learn to be fast.
Any of the options you listed would work for sure then. I rode a 636 on the street so I did the same thing, sold my street bike and bought a 636 trackbike already setup to race.
I like the SV route a lot; that's what I did. I'm also tall like you (6'5") and have worked through a lot of body position setup issues, so I have some insight on that. I'll be racing my SV at Barber as well at the end of the month. Shoot me a PM and maybe you can swing by my pits and chat for a bit.
it would just cost a lot more than I’m willing to spend. I’m selling it for 6k and buying a track bike for 4-5k, so I could also use the left over money for track time, and parts for the track bike and starting to build my zx to be a track bike. That’s the hopeful plan at least
I would buy an older 600/636 and race in V8MW and of course, you can also race up to C superstock/superbike if you'd like. Plenty of great bikes out there that most think are no longer competitive. Hint...it's club racing...the RIDER makes up the biggest X factor here.... I am on a 2008 CBR and not far off the pace of the front guys. I've seen tons of older R6s fully set up for not a lot of money also since they were the most popular. Don't get hung up on what brand...find what had most parts available and go from there. Great platforms to learn on and hone your skills. I also come from LWT (SV) and can't argue with going that route either. You have to learn how to go fast on a slow bike...a 400 will also do this for you. No matter what route you take...make sure the bike is solid, is set up suspension AND geometry wise so you can spend your time working on your skillset and not worrying about whether the bike is the issue or not. I'll be at Barber, come on by and chat (462).
