Track bike - registration, insurance, 600 or bigger?

[ctbandit]

I think an sv is a great track bike, can be found cheap, is cheap to maintain and fix, and can help you grow as a rider. If you just want to go out and have fun a whatever brand 600 ss bike will be great, or even a 750.

Not 100% on the title situation, but I believe you can just not sign it and then give it to the next party. I never regd or insured my track bike since there is no need since it will never see a public road.

I have heard of companies covering track crashes but I would get something in writing because I've also heard a lot of people having trouble. If you get a cheap bike it's probably not worth it anyway.

 

[beatle]

Why not go smaller with a Ninja 250 and add clip ons and rear sets to make it more track oriented. The consumables and parts should also be cheaper than those for a supersport or even an SV. A buddy of mine did just that - tracked his CBR1000RR for years, but then bought a Ninja 250 as a dedicated track toy.

I do a similar thing with my Miata. It's cheap to repair (if it ever breaks) cheap to run, and cheap to insure. It will also embarrass a lot of higher horsepower cars on the right track, and I'm not even a great driver. Sure, a Corvette will hustle around the track a bit faster, but until I'm a pro (that'll never happen) I'll probably stick with the Miata.

 

[ctbandit]

If you plan on running thunderbolt or god forbid lightning you will fall asleep on a ninja 250..

 

[Misti]

I would get a SV650 ~ 1500$ as a track toy and may be move up in a couple of years. There are plenty available this time of the year. I would check the Track day forums for NJ Thunderbolt or whatever track is closest to you.
Parts for the SV are readily available and you could also consider getting the fiberglass body kit at a fairly low price. Some folks throw on the GSXR body kit as well.
Fairly reliable and light bikes with decent HP (Gen 2 is about 75 HP I think) but a hell lot of fun for trackday hobbyist.

I didn't read all the posts but I would agree with the SV650!! Great bike, cheap, lots available and super fun to ride. The SV was my first track/race bike and I am so happy that I took that route. I have nothing bad to say about the SV at all, it was tried and true and crash tested and always fired right up again. Loved it!

Happy shopping and welcome to the addiction! :rockon:

 

[Erci]

If you plan on running thunderbolt or god forbid lightning you will fall asleep on a ninja 250..

+1! I can't imagine 250 being very exciting on either. I'm sure it can be great on the right track, but T-bolt will likely be the place where I'll do most of my riding (hope to check out Pocono and NYST next year though).

 

[PosterFZ6]

I think an sv is a great track bike, can be found cheap, is cheap to maintain and fix, and can help you grow as a rider. If you just want to go out and have fun a whatever brand 600 ss bike will be great, or even a 750.

Not 100% on the title situation, but I believe you can just not sign it and then give it to the next party. I never regd or insured my track bike since there is no need since it will never see a public road.

I have heard of companies covering track crashes but I would get something in writing because I've also heard a lot of people having trouble. If you get a cheap bike it's probably not worth it anyway.

The new '12 V-Strom has the Gladius engine from SV650. It might have been tweaked a little bit. But in any case, it's very fun to ride. Engine is very smooth. And the tranny is the smoothes I have ever ridden.

If we happen to do another ride together soon, you are more than welcome to jump on my V-Strom and try out the engine. Obviously ergonomics will be different from SV650, but at least you can see how the engine works.

 

[kenh]

Please take this with a grain of salt, but as you get older you start to consider some of the more important things in life, that is your health and well being. When I was a teenager riding dirt bikes out West, my friends and I would ride until we were exhausted, or it was time for dinner. But we really did not think about our safety, falling down etc.. Todays safety protection is far superior to anything we had in the good old days, but the cost of any medical treatment has escalated at several times the cost of inflation and you need to make sure that you are adequately covered for any medical treatment that may be required. IMHO, the bike selection is the easy part, just make sure that you have medical coverage if should need it. :thumbup:
As I side note when I was buying a life insurance policy I asked the rep if riding a motorcycle would void the policy and his response was the same as yours, as long as you are not racing. OK, I had the green light. But the the gray area is that if you are technically taking a class or being instructed, but it is at a racetrack , would any injury still be covered?

 

[Erci]

Please take this with a grain of salt, but as you get older you start to consider some of the more important things in life, that is your health and well being. When I was a teenager riding dirt bikes out West, my friends and I would ride until we were exhausted, or it was time for dinner. But we really did not think about our safety, falling down etc.. Todays safety protection is far superior to anything we had in the good old days, but the cost of any medical treatment has escalated at several times the cost of inflation and you need to make sure that you are adequately covered for any medical treatment that may be required. IMHO, the bike selection is the easy part, just make sure that you have medical coverage if should need it. :thumbup:
As I side note when I was buying a life insurance policy I asked the rep if riding a motorcycle would void the policy and his response was the same as yours, as long as you are not racing. OK, I had the green light. But the the gray area is that if you are technically taking a class or being instructed, but it is at a racetrack , would any injury still be covered?

Excellent point.. and I'm no kid (40 in few months!)
I do have very good health insurance and life insurance, but I must admit I haven't asked either about this specific activity (I have a feeling it won't be easy for them to answer and I may very get different answers from one rep to the next).

Combination of having been hurt several times in the past and wising up (somewhat) has made me very cautious on a motorcycle. I'll never be truly fast on the track or the street, and I'm totally OK with that. Of course, just because I can stay within my own limits, it does not guarantee my safety.

This topic could easily be a new thread: how much are you willing to push to get your adrenaline fix?

 

[kenh]

Excellent point.. and I'm no kid (40 in few months!)
I do have very good health insurance and life insurance, but I must admit I haven't asked either about this specific activity (I have a feeling it won't be easy for them to answer and I may very get different answers from one rep to the next).

Combination of having been hurt several times in the past and wising up (somewhat) has made me very cautious on a motorcycle. I'll never be truly fast on the track or the street, and I'm totally OK with that. Of course, just because I can stay within my own limits, it does not guarantee my safety.

This topic could easily be a new thread: how much are you willing to push to get your adrenaline fix?

I think you are spot on with that potential topic thread and I have to admit that buying the FZ6 was absolutely my opportunity to experience the "adrenaline fix". Of course I justified the purchase to my wife because my Hemi Durango (at the time) was only getting 16 mpg around town and gas was at $4.00+/gal. But at 54 I still enjoy a good thrill, but realize that I have more limitations than I did when I was young. As time goes on I continue to push the limits of the bike and myself enough to get the "fix".

 

[SweaterDude]

get a GSXR-750, same weight as the 600 but more GO!!!!. I'm not a SS kinda guy but if i ever get one it will be a 750. the other thing you could do is get a 2007+ WR450F and make it a supermoto. then go to a supermoto track or ride off road with the same machine. It would be Street legal, cheap to insure, cheap to fix, cheap to ride, super lightweight, and tons of fun, but its a bit more up front.

 

[SweaterDude]

Please take this with a grain of salt, but as you get older you start to consider some of the more important things in life, that is your health and well being. When I was a teenager riding dirt bikes out West, my friends and I would ride until we were exhausted, or it was time for dinner. But we really did not think about our safety, falling down etc.. Todays safety protection is far superior to anything we had in the good old days, but the cost of any medical treatment has escalated at several times the cost of inflation and you need to make sure that you are adequately covered for any medical treatment that may be required. IMHO, the bike selection is the easy part, just make sure that you have medical coverage if should need it. :thumbup:
As I side note when I was buying a life insurance policy I asked the rep if riding a motorcycle would void the policy and his response was the same as yours, as long as you are not racing. OK, I had the green light. But the the gray area is that if you are technically taking a class or being instructed, but it is at a racetrack , would any injury still be covered?

a track day is not racing. they tell you that when you arrive at most places. its just a paid use of the track where there are no speed limits.



compare it to going to the shooting range:

when you go to the shooting range, you aren't automatically in a competition. you are just paying for the use of the range to have fun/get better.

 

[ped]

any R6 will do. the R6s are considered one of the best bikes ever made and a favorite of pros (hacking). They had great feel and run like tanks. 06-07 had issues with throwing crank bearing during long idles due to low oil pressure. If you insist on newer I'd say 08+

GSXR's are super duper ****ing cheap to buy, fix and upgrade. Much more so than Yamaha's.

LWT (sv650, ninja 650) fun, light, easy and plentiful but slow on the top end

I picked this up a few months ago crashed up for well under $2k. slapped some ebay fairings, krylon, and some clip-ons on it and its fantastic on the track. I went about 5 seconds faster on it right out the door. It's fun to build up your own too!

Now that the season is over the classifieds will be filling up with race bikes of all calibers. Usually they are already built to the max and come with a bunch of spares. For a dedicated trackbike that is def the way to go.
http://weraclassifieds.com/ad-category/motorcycles/#axzz2ja0YiS1K