300cc race bikes

Just saw an R3 on the road today and it got me thinking, what is the hot 300cc race bike?

 

has anyone even built one yet? other than the cup bikes

 

Ninja 300 - at this point because most of the 250 stuff has been adapted to the 300. R3 is too new and CBR gives up too much in terms of power. The RC390 is obviously a valid choice as well. I got WALKED on the straight at TWS by one while I was on my 250R like I was standing still. The thing gave off an odor like an electrical fire every time it went by though lol.

Come to think of it, there were three 390s and all of them had the same smell. Two of the riders were MA 390 cup riders and with a fast rider on board there is ZERO hope of keeping up on a Ninjette. I ran circles around the third one though so its not like a poor rider is going to go fast just because they are on a 390.

 

Just crush my dreams, OK?

 

Really? None of the 390s around here have been impressive. Supersport 250s including the 1 I was on easily kept up with them even in the straights. I'm thinking of buying a well built 250 and swapping in a 300 car kit to run against them in our ULGT series.

Another point of reference is that 390 KTM Cup times at Road America this year were slower than +2mm Ninjette times at last year's CCS Nationals.

 

I'm in the process of building an R3 now. The hang-ups earlier in the season was lack of availability of parts, mainly bodywork. Finally got most of the key bits in this week (from Japan and Thailand). It should be ready (with maybe one day of set-up time) for the Miller round - have no idea how it will do, but it has to be faster than the tired old Ninja 250.

If you are looking at racing the R3, I can help a bit with sourcing parts - the trick is to use R25 stuff. Trackstar has been a tremendous help too.

 

jody barry was going 2 seconds faster at barber

https://trackintel.com/ti/motoamerica/ajax2014/results/index.html

http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/3322573

 

Jody Barry isn't average. Raced against that kid before I hung my spurs up. Just sayin.

 

is he no match for himself?

 

250 not 300. Just saying.

 

The 390's running at Road America were cup versions. They are detuned from even the road version. They just come with better suspension and track ready. I think once support really starts for the 390's they will be pretty quick. PCV is due mid to late July and that should help quite a bit. Below is a Dyno run from the test bike for the PCV. This show difference that tuning, filter and exhaust will make.

 

Oh wow, that's pretty good!! I would have never guessed 40. I was thinking 35ish. Jody and Hoff running 46's at Barber are at the limit of the 250's there. That is the record there.

 

Gregg spears

 

I don't disagree that eventually the 390 might be noticeably quicker. An earlier post indicated the 390 is already dominant and I was pointing out that my on bike and in person experiences are different from that conclusion.

 

Just laughing at the irony from the beebster most associated with the Grom.

 

But see that is different. Groms are badass.

 

in the same way FIAT 500s are "badass" LOL

I'll stick to the tried and true XR100s for minibadassness.

 

That smell is the cats in the exhaust. We have to leave them there. They need to run lean enough so the cats don't foul and just rich enough to keep from damaging the engine. They can be hard to start hot and do pop and stall at times when starting. There is much more power in them if they where un-corked and re-mapped. The throttles are limited to 80% max. They are checking.

 

Again, just my personal experience; experiences may vary. A decently well setup class legal 250 buts up 32 hp at the rear wheel. That is literally 10 hp down from the graph listed here. Ninja 300s can put down around that power but 250s ......

The venue makes a difference, the rider stature as well. I am 5'11 190 and the riders on the 390s were probably 120 ... maybe. Add that into the half a mile front straight at TWS and it was a REALLY REALLY noticeable difference. Perhaps on a track with a shorter straight and/or slower speeds it would not have been so drastic. On the tighter infield bits sure you could put up a fight.

The minute the throttle backs against the stop .......