Any CMRA racers here?

I ride an RS125, which we start with a drill, so I am not sure on the rollers. If you are seriously considering an NSF, Stu at Rising Sun would be a good person to talk to. He is one of the sources of bikes and parts, and ran an NSF for several years. An NSF is probably more expensive maintenance wise, but from a lot of the posts I see in the for sale section, by the time you buy a Ninja 400, and then convert it to a race bike, the initial cost is pretty similar. The other thing to consider is tires. A set of tires for the NSF will last 2-3 weekends for the fast guys and costs $330. I don't know what that would look like for the other bikes you are considering, but that is a data point for you. If you are serious about an NSF send me a PM. I know someone that is considering selling one of his.

 

For those of you racing CMRA, how are the tracks and facilities for big toy haulers? Specifically hook ups for power and water? I'm thinking of moving to the Dallas area and racing cmra next year.

 

@cincigp gave you a lot of excellent advice.

@cbush i see you are 52, but didn’t see how tall and heavy you are. My son had RS125’s with 65, and 85cc, 2 strokes and 150R 4 strokes for mini tracks. Then he graduated to a RS125 and a Moriwaki on the big tracks.

I only rode on the mini track, and I was 6ft tall at the time and probably weighed 180-188. It was pretty hard for me to fit on the bike. They make big boy rear sets and a raised tail section to get you more room if needed.

These little go bikes are very cool. When we ran 125’s, although great experience, the amount of maintenance required every weekend, if you want to run podium pace, made me happy when we stepped up to a 600.

 

Agreed re: the good advice. We talked offline as well.

I’m 5’9”, 170, reasonably fit (33” waist). It’s my understanding the small displacement four strokes aren’t as maintenance intensive as the small two strokes. My mechanic has already told me we’ll spend more time fixing a two stroke than riding it. lol

 

That is extremely true IMO. Although, for what ever reason, another racer dad on here had more trouble with his Moriwaki, versus his RS125, and hated the four stroke. I loved the Moriwaki, because it was pretty maintenance free.

The biggest benefit to the RS125, is it really makes you learn how to carry corner speed, and use your gearbox. With a four stroke you can be lazier, but you still learn so much, and the lack of rebuilds every other weekend is very nice.

You will fit the NSF, very well at your size. If I ever race again, even at my size, and there were a few of these at my track, I would go NSF. They are cheap enough now, and regular bikes are expensive enough, there doesn’t seem to be much difference, and my son still tells me those GP bikes were so fun to ride.

Also, at least on our modified Moriwaki, we just bump started it, and never messed with rollers. The stock Moriwaki motor had electric start, and the modified one was a 250R motor, without electric start.

The newer NSF’s make much more power than our modded one made. My memory tells me we made around 33 with the stock Moriwaki and 39 with the hotrod.

 

We are about the same height. If you do go with the NSF, as Bowman Forklift said, there are seats and subframes that will give you more room. I also recently found out that the NSF/04 RS125 seat is about 1.5 inches closer to the bars than the 00 A Kit RS125 seat, so if you need a bit more room that would be a good first step.

I have been racing a 96 RS125 since 05, and added an 04 RS125 to the garage over the winter. Yes, overall, I do spend more time working on them than riding them. However, most of that time is at home in the garage and is the type of inspection/cleaning/maintenance that I would be doing to whatever I raced just because I like to keep the bikes that I am pushing to the limit as close to perfect as I can. This season I had my first 2 DNFs ever, and both were my fault. One was an issue with figuring out a new to me bike, and the other was because I knowingly was aggressive with jetting. Usually once I get to the track the only work I do on the bikes is to change the jet a couple times a day. On an NSF you won't even have that. If you get an NSF set up properly and maintain it between rounds, just pulling the wheels to get tires swapped on an Ninja 400 would be more work that you would do to the NSF all weekend.

 

Thanks for this insight.

I have been told the roller starters are a must as the nsf doesn’t bump start reliably.

 

So the subframe and tail form the 2000 rs125 will fit the nsf?

The bike I’m considering has the larger subframe and rearsets.

 

I will say, we never had a NSF, so I'm ignorant on them, but maybe that is a requirement? If you do try to bump start it. Make sure to start pushing in neutral, and then kick it into 3rd before dropping the clutch and instantly pulling back in, bounce on the seat as you drop the clutch.. 1st gear will just skid the tire. 2nd may work? Also at first when you are trying to figure out how to do it and figure out how much throttle/choke is needed, have a friend push you, or find a hill to experiment on.

 

Yes, the RS and NSF subframe and seat are interchangeable. Any of the standard length seats of RS or NSF should fit on any of the stock RS or NSF subframes. I actually have an NSF subfram on my 04 RS with a 00 A Kit seat right now. If the bike you get already has the extended versions you will likely want to stick with those as they will be more comfortable.

I believe the NSF is requires more RPM to fire than the MD250s do. My friend that races the NSF tried bump starting but quickly gave up on that idea. He recently had an issue where his rollers had a bit of extra drag and they wouldn't fire it. They seem to be a bit trickier to start.

 

Oh, and for anyone bump starting any single without a compression release. Put it in gear and back the bike up until it stops before you push it forward. This will essentially put the engine at the beginning of the power stroke and give you the whole exhaust stroke to build momentum in the crank/piston before the first compression stroke. I learned this when I raced an FT500.

 

All our tracks have the space for big toy haulers / rigs but Hallet in OK is the only track that has hook ups.

 

Sorry for the late reply. I was there but I did not race that weekend. I'm a Novice, I race a N400. I'm looking to race a 600 alongside the N400 next season as well, we'll see.

You've gotten a lot of solid info and your questions to me have also been answered from the responses. Looks like you're set on the NSF and seems you're capable and prepared for all that is involved in racing such.

And to your question down the thread about Sumos on the grid. I know of two that race with us, both Novices and they're always in a lot of the races over the course of the weekend.

If you end up on a LW bike, we'll be in the some of the same races next year. Look forward to it!

 

Thanks man! I appreciate the follow up. Once I get a bike, I’ll reach out.

You racing Hallet in 2 weeks?

 

The plaintiff and the club settled out of court and neither can disclose the settlement. The club seems to have calmed since that time.

Its been a few years but I doubt things have changed. I raced with them for 12 years, most of that time in a 31' Class C toy hauler. We never had to compete for a space. None of them had hookups though. They were all generator cities.

 

Sounds good!

Yes, I'll be there! Planning on going?

 

I’m thinking about it - 6 hour drive for me (from near Fort Hood).

 

I hear ya. If it makes you feel any better, it's a 9-10 hr drive for the folks from Houston.