what do you guys think of either of these as race bikes for the biginner. if these dont work out im gonna race my s2 s-stroke kaw. in the vintage class i think. i found a guy from c a n a d a (read slow lol)aye. he races a stock s2 with a few mods. id love to race my s2 , it handles really well for being 28 yrs old. its a blast to ride.thanks for the feedback if i get any. lance [email protected]
My recommendation would be to start out on the 400. The Hurricane isn't a bad bike, it's just older and you may have trouble finding parts for it. Check around with shops and dealers to see who has the most parts available for each bike. Keep in mind that fluid retaining lowers are required this year. Check with Sharkskinz or any bodywork maker to be sure they can make it before you buy the bike. You'll probably learn more on the 400 and there's plenty of classes available to ride in. Then after a year or two, when you feel ready, step up to a 600 and you'll be that much faster. One last piece of advice I will offer is one that I've recently heeded myself. Buy a bike that's already race-prepped and WERA legal and your life will be much easier. I've spent too many winters in the garage cursing the throwing tools trying to get a bike prepped for the track. This time I just had to peel off stickers and numbers. Much easier!
Availability? How about a late 80s GSXR 1100? And one of those extended swing arms? Metal flake paint? Kerker straight exhaust? Lights under the fenders? I see a lot of those on the street. Gotta be tons of available parts for those. Does anyone know how the extended swing arm does to the handling in corners? Sorry for the sarcasm. I just went to lunch and saw three of them. The warm weather brings out those fearless street guys in tshirts and no helmets doesn't it?
AH-HA! It's spreading..isn't there a way we can outlaw the senseless mutilation of sportbikes? I mean TURNING is what their made for.Sorry but the thought of lowered/stretched/chromed/neoned "crotch-rockets"(damn I hate that term),makes me cringe. BTW,my buddy called the other night to tell me of the moronic show "I Dare You",that had 2 goobers slamming a 86/7/8 GSXR into a car and calling it a 'stunt'...hmmm,I wonder if there is an adress to send mail bom...umm err..fan letters to these geniuses. :rolleyes
Yeah that was pretty lame. I cringed watching that poor old bike die like that... Felt almost as bad about the actual bike "rider" almost snapping his spine like a broke acrodian on landing. All that for a stupid 30 second stunt stretched out to 10 annoying min. on TV. On topic- Run the vintage bike or the Fizzer, they would be your best bet. The CBR might be good for a few vintage classes (5 & 6?)now, but in full up C production or superstock, it'll be a sitting duck (and feel that way). James
I don't mean to be pushy on this subject but the Kawi's handling... it might seem OK on the street (it shows you're not a dangerous street squid) but once you get it on the track and pitch it into corners at higher speeds, it's handling flaws and frame flex will become all too apparent. Granted, you can modify the frame to handle better but then there goes the bikes originality and the efforts you put into restoring it.
I would jump on the 400. You have a much greater chance of having more fun on it and could be competitive in the LW classes with it. The Hurricane would be a reasonable vintage racer but if you ever wanted to run in the MW classes, it would be tough with all of the very fast 600's.
