How good is a modern 600 off the showroom floor?

So, what is the bare minimum amount of modification required to get a showroom condition middleweight (specifically a current ZX6) reasonably prepared for racing..besides wire, bellypan, and tires of course. Do I really need brake lines, rearsets, clipons, etc?

The reason I ask is because I tossed my SV down the track again. Rather than put it back together...I'm thinking of building something else. All I know is SV, so I could use some advice.

 

The things you mentioned are more for comfort and crash protection (fixed peg rearsets act like sliders).

No, you don't "have" to do those things, but I would at least put rearsets on it.

The OEM exhausts are really heavy and really restrictive to meet noise and emissions standards.

Personally, in addition to the things you noted, I would add rearsets, a full exhaust, Rapidbike tuner and dyno tune. Then a 520 chain/sprocket kit. I would also need to spring it for my weight, but you might not have that issue.

Then race it.

That 636 motor will be plenty strong and competitive with a good exhaust and tune.

 

Spend your money on suspension first then everything else that was mentioned.

 

+3 on what these 2 guys said

 

Sounds like the op belongs on an SV.

There's cheap and there's desperate to find anyone on the forum to tell him to save his $250 on SS brake lines and good pads.

 

I raced a GSX-R600 basically bone stock as an expert and did surprisingly well. I had little time to get it ready, so I put a slip-on on it and heavier springs and raced it. I remember the brakes fading badly and the shock turning into a pogo stick in about 4 laps, but it worked well enough to get decent results.

Funny thing was, my lap times weren't much faster once I got it fully prepped, just a little less exciting.

 

Stick with an SV. We need you out there

 

I raced a basically stock R6 for 2 years as a novice and landed it on a few podiums. Spend the $ on making the bike crashable. Meaning, bodywork, clipons, rear sets, etc.

A tuner can get your stock suspension dialed in fairly well. This whole, "you need Ohlins, and a nice exhaust" is BS. Make the bike crashable, and go race.

 

I raced a stock GSXR 600 at Nashville few years back. Still had the horn on it and my thumb was holding it down as I took off on the start. I actually got a decent start and did good. I can't remember what place exactly. My SV has clip ons, rear sets, M4 exhaust, bodywork and a power commander. Maybe a rear shock I can't remember. Stock forks, stock motor. I do okay on it as is. You can get by on a stock bike if you just wanna go racing. I agree with make it crashable and go race it.

 

I would think it depends on your goal.

 

Literal minimum, per the rulebook:

1. Safety wire - $20-40
2. Coolant --> water - $0
3. case covers - $300-400
4. race fairings (or stock with lights replaced, but that will probably cost as much as race glass in the end) - $400-800

To that list I would add, until I didn't wanna spend any more money, in this order:

5. Race rubber - $400
6. Revalved suspension (or carts + real shock if you've enough coin) - $500-800 ($3000 for carts + real shock)
7. Steering damper - $200
8. Exhaust - $300-2000
9. Tuning system - $400-1000 (kit ecu > flash > piggyback)
10. Quickshifter - $200

My bike has all of those items, plus rearsets and clipons, and nothing more. (Wait to install the rearsets and clipons until you actually crash and break your stock ones.) I run stock levers, stock brake lines, bone-stock motor.. I would run stock pads, sprockets and chains but race part replacements are cheaper than OEM (and it turns out that stock gearing is perfect for most of the tracks I run).

My bike ain't great to look at, it doesn't have the coolest bits, but it runs at the front consistently. Like others have said: First make it crashable, then make it handle. Don't worry about power; power does not win races. Getting on the gas earlier does.

 

Haha, that's because I was just LWT grid filler. If I was faster, you would be trying to get rid of me. Although you better watch out for whoever buys my engine. It dynoed 87 hp last week.

Thanks for your help everybody. It sounds like now might be a good time to move up a class.

 

I'm sure some riders could win expert races on stock suspension, but not many.

I think the bare minimum is revalve/respring the stock suspension, a damper, race brake pads, and race tires. Weight savings and crashability don't stop your from getting around the track safely.

 

I think the OP is looking to actually corroborate that with data though - or at least first-hand impressions from people who have had to race a stock bike while waiting on parts, or swapped back to stock when something broke, etc.

I have to ask myself the same question when i want something shiny and new. "How much am I paying, for how many thousandths of a second?"

YMMV (directed at everyone), but I think I'm still firmly in the "I need more fixin' than the bike" phase. As such, 3 trackdays, or an additional race weekend of seat time is worth more than a $600 performance upgrade (for me).

 

How is your bike to look at, today? More importantly, how are you feeling?

 

the result is highly dependent on the rider. ive got a buddy racing a ZX-10R on stock fork carts and hes killing it. he keeps complaining about front end issues on track and yet hes still going faster and is near the front. i also have another friend that is normally on the box in 600s that just had to race a stock-suspension GSXR600 and he was nowhere all weekend. so everyone else's results probably dont apply at all to the OP.

on top of that, theres no way good suspension is only worth thousandths when switching from stock. even for the first guy i talked about, i bet it worth multiple tenths. the second guy, it is worth multiple seconds.

no one in WERA West goes from off the box to winning 600 expert races in 3 trackdays. maybe 3 trackdays with Ken Hill might get you close. but u just spent way more than $600, hehe. im like my second friend, i crash on bad suspension. so ill spend thousands on that before even going to see Ken.

 

$40 for safety wire? I still have half the spool I bought 15 years ago and the HF pliers I bought then still work well. I've wired several bikes of my own and a few friends too.

 

FWIW, I racked up some podiums and a win or two as a Novice on an almost bone stock 675 (non-R). I got it from the dealer, put bodywork on it, some rearsets, then tires, and raced it. Didn't touch the suspension till the GNF.

At the end of the day, modern sport bikes are great. Most of this stuff is nice to have, but not 100% necessary.