First Dedicated Track Bike

As the title says, looking to get my first dedicated bike. And my question goes:

Is it better to start and learn technique on a 250 vs a 600. I know everyone has their own opinion and I want to hear them! I have done a few track days on my zx6r but not competitively raced and 2017 will be my first year to race.

 

How'd you feel out there on the 6r?

 

Get an old V7 era bike. It's close to what you're used to, but super cheap.

I had a '93 Honda F2 as my first track bike. Should never have "upgraded."

Fast enough for track days, and you can race CSS and CSB

 

6r was all street legal, and would buy a designated track bike, no street riding anymore. I felt good on the bike but wasn't sure if you could learn more by starting slow/smaller


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Yep, especially if you are racing...an SV is probably the best bike to start racing on.

1. They are cheap. If you look around, you can find one already race prepped that is for sale.
2. Parts are everywhere.
3. SVs are everywhere in the paddock, so you can always find somebody to get input from, or borrow parts if needed.
4. The grids are big and there is a wide variance of talent.

While the "wide variance of talent" might not seem like a good thing (it is usually used as a negative phrase when referring to track days), it is good for when it comes to racing SVs because no matter how fast (or not fast) you are, you will always have somebody to race against, and/or somebody that is a little bit faster so you can try to follow and learn from them...that includes once you move up to Expert.

At Barber for example, there will be guys running lap times anywhere between 1:55 (back of the pack Novice) to 1:35 (winning Expert). 20 seconds over the course of a full lap is a huge difference in speed. So no matter where you are, you will have somebody to battle with and no matter how fast you get, there will still be someone just as fast, if not faster to battle/chase.

 

For myself I rode 600's (05 gsxr, 03 r6, etc) for years on the street. I couldn't imagine riding anything like a 250 or 300 now. I did however buy a 95 cbrs F3 as my first track bike and being down 15-20 hp on most bikes I def had to learn late braking and corner speed. Another thing is that F3 had a 160 rear and once I got a newer bike with a 180/60 I was shocked at how much more grip it had.

 

I don't know the size has anything to do with it.
For me, one of the bigger mental items was crashing.
Someone suggested riding a bike I could stand leaving in the track dumpster should
the need arise. That attitude works well when you ride other people's bike(s) too!