r6 vs 636, any advice?

Already have a pair of SV650s (one for street, one for LWT superbike) I'm getting bored and looking for 3rd bike.

R6 vs 636 off the showroom floor. Primarily to screw around on for now. I'll probably buy an identical one in a couple years for track use, dump the SV's and graduate out of the lightweight class, so that is a consideration.

I know the R6 is the greatest track bike ever and has a million topics already, but any reason to avoid the ninja?

 

Sounds to me like you are looking to get a street bike for the moment, correct? Then might turn it into a race bike in a couple of years?

Get the Ninja.

Everything that makes the R6 a great track bike, makes it suck ass on the street. Ergos are too aggressive and the low/midrange punch is like a wet noodle. It is absolutely the worst sportbike as a daily driver. No way i would own one.

The Ninja ergos are more comfortable and it has better midrange. The extra 37cc's give it a good punch.

 

In the right hands, either is completely capable. Both are easy to setup. However, the "feel" is much different between the two. Give a sit on both, see which you like. I went with the 636.

 

Yes, just street. Most likely in a year I'd buy another to turn into a dedicated race bike. I really like having two nearly identical bikes...one for street and one for the track. Muscle memory and all that crap.

 

r6 sucks on the street...beast on the track.

Kawi is a well a Kawi...the bestest always

 

I bought a new 636 in '03. Loooved that thing. The 36 cc's really can be appreciated as a daily driver.

 

Iin all honesty, all of that muscle memory crap is overrated. It takes about 1 lap to get refamiliar with a bike.

Ive raced 3 different bikes in a weekend many times. At Talladega a couple of years ago i hadn't ridden the 675 in 9 months, i just took it with me as a backup. Had trans issues with the R6, got on the 675 and by the 3rd lap i was matching my R6 pace, and went on to get 3 podiums.

There is absolutely no need to have your street bike the same as your track bike. You won't ride them the same anyway. Your braking inputs, shift points, body positioning and everything will be completely different. Nothing you do on the street bike will carry over to the street bike.

And that is a good thing. You can have the mentality of "i ride that bike like that, and this bike like this". It can help you keep your bad habits on the street and when you get on the race bike, "it is time to go".

The R6 will suck on the street. Get the Ninja, then later on get an R6 when you want to race it.

 

I meant it more the other way around...ie when some car comes into my lane and I have to use 99.9% of my available front brake...I have muscle memory from doing it 500 times at the track the weekend prior.

I've always been able to flip the switch for races. MX racing taught me that years ago.

Thanks, though. I really do appreciate the input.

 

636=cheater bike..... Go R6

 

Anything but an R6 for the street, absolutely the R6 for the track.

 

lol... has to be the worst street bike in the history of sportbikes! :up:

 

Nope.

The 636 is legal in MW-SS just like the 599cc machines

 

But still, it doesn't matter if your race bike is the same as your street bike in that scenario either. When that happens, you are going to grab a handful of brake. It doesn't matter what type or size or anything else.

 

Its a Joke

 

My bad.

 

The muscle memory thing is a bit of a stretch, but there are benefits of having a streetbike that is the same as your racebike: the ability to use the streetbike to lend/donate parts/spares in case you need them, and God know this happens sometimes!

If that is not a priority, then I'd get the best streetbike possible for my budget (probably not a 600 SS...) and, when the time comes, the best available track bike (in this case, the R6, unless a game changer comes to market in the next few years).

 

I actually liked my '06 R6 on the street better than my '06 CBR1000RR... Lack of low end grunt is true but it doesn't take long to wind one up really. As far as ergos, I had Woodcraft clip-ons and found it more comfortable on my wrist than the Honda with Heli-Bars.

 

two 2015 gixxer 750s in blue.

0% for 60 months RN

 

Agree about the ability to quickly borrow parts.

I raced FZ750 superbikes back in the day. Had 2, one being a fullon Camel Pro spec bike, and the other a street-ish bike(stock, but had the easy stuff like kit cams, Fox shock, etc). A few times it was nice to have a 2nd bike to pick from. Even swapped engines one Sat in a room at the Knights Inn in Anniston, for a Tally National that weekend. In that room, we had 2 750s with both engines being moved around..oil..coolant..my air compressor..air tools..several spectators (including fellow class competitor Kevin Rentzell). It saved the weekend and 2 podiums.

Also, since I had to replace the valve springs every 5 hr run time(about every 5 events), I used the slower bike for the first 2 practice sessions each day. Then the race bike the 3rd. This saved valuable engine run time, as well as my best tires.

Having said that, I also agree that having 2 diff bikes takes very little time to adapt back and forth. And one could even argue riding/racing diff bikes, usually points out handling traits in either that one might not notice otherwise. This is always a good thing regarding the learning aspect of it all imo.

 

GSXR 750