omaha_919

Here's my situation.

I currently own 2 bikes:
• '02 919 for a general purpose fun bike.
Ride it to work (weather permitting), spirited group rides with friends, so far only one beginner (try the track) session on a road course.

• '95 CR 250 for playing in the dirt.
I have a friend who lives just out of town & we have an area about the size of a football field on which we've hauled in some dirt to make a small track - nothing big.
Bike has seen light, occasional use, never really beaten, always babied.


My Vision:
Sell the dirtbike, use the money from the sale to purchase another streetbike.
Complication:
• I reaaaaaaaally want to get into riding on the track! You have no idea
However, I realize that I cannot afford the lifestyle - I can swing the cost of a bike, and since I'm new at it & won't be hitting it too hard right away (fingers crossed) I doubt I'd push my limits & crash the first season. BUT, the cost of things like Track School, and mainly Track FEES - now THAT is what really kills it for me.
• I also want a sport-touring rig for longer trips. Although not sure if it's worth the investment financially for the amount of touring I'd actually be doing. Love the 919 but it's not enough bike for me & the wife to ride 2 up for extended rides & therefore haven't invested in anything more than a small JoeRocket Manta tank bag as far as storage goes.
• I only have the space for ONE MORE BIKE.
...and let's face it, I'd feel a bit guilty if I had more than that.

Solutions? Maybe:

-1). A straight-up Stable addition, minimal work needed.
I've had my eye on a few bikes over the years that I'd LOVE to own, but since the 919 has been so much of an all-around thriller, I'd hate to part with it for dependability's sake, but if the newly acquired addition proved itself worthy of fulfilling all my needs, the 9er could be replaced. I'd consider any of the following if they could be had for a decent (to me) price:
- Ducati Monster ( mid 90's - mid 00's M900 )
- Honda SVT-1000 FireHawk
- Honda RC-51
- Honda VFR

-2). A SportBike Rebuild /Streetfighter/TrackBike (sorta) Project
I've got this idea where I pick up a project bike & build it to my own liking.
• Lately, there's been a few late 90's CBR900RR's go locally for $1000 - $1900. They were in kinda rough shape, but that's good enough for me... good solid motor, frame, suspension & electronics is all I need for a base. Parts are readily available & fairly cheep for these things.
• I have this idea of building up a 95-99 (ish) CBR900RR. Something that would be a naked daily driver, but yet still have a set of track skins to cover it & do a few track sessions from time to time & not be afraid of laying it down.
• I'm leaning in this direction, but have recently discovered some fun-looking mods to the FireHawk, & I do love the sound of a twin

The Bottom Line
Women can give birth, Men can only restore

I'm feeling the urge to breathe life into something... but I definitely don't want kids. I LOVE to hunt down deals on parts... it keeps me going. I also love to tinker.
I'm not a mechanic, but I'm mechanically inclined (usually). As long as I have guidance from people or a book and the proper tools, I'm curious enough to try just about anything and love to spend time in the shop getting my hands dirty.
(I sit at a computer all day )
I need a restore / build project!!

Anyone have any advice based on my list of demands?

sike

Buy a track prepped SV650 and go for it. It will be the most fun you have ever had, and the SV650 is a great bike to learn on (with a ton of cheap and used parts available). Even if you only do 3-4 trackdays a year, it will be worth it and not too terribly expensive.

yostevo052

My dad is gonna ride you like a polar bear runnin down a pregnant walrus for puttin up a VFR as one of your solutions ......... i sure hope you know that ... fair warning .... lmfao

omaha_919

HA!

The VFR isn't what I'd expect to draw such a response, but yeah I'm ready for it with every post I make.
(sometimes it's fun just to lob one out there to see if he'll go for it)

scgstuff

I say go for the trackbike. I got one and LOVE IT! It is so much nicer at the track knowing if something happenes to the bike, I still have my street bike intact. Also, many trackday companies use cornerworkers where you can work a day and get credit to ride a day. If you do this, you can use the credits to pay for your play time. Then it is just gas/food/lodging/tires that you need. I don't know about your area, but they let us camp out the night before a lot of the trackdays in this area. Take a tent and BS with everyone in the paddock at night. Then ride the next day and have some fun. That reduces the costs even more if you don't have to pay for a room. Or, if you are close enough, stay at home and just head there early in the morning.

Just wanted to add...watch for deals. I got the '02 GSX-R600 already setup with track plastics and extra track plastics, steering dampner, redone suspension, extra front end and rear wheel, etc. for under $2K

cmurphy84

I'd give you $$$ for the dirt bike but my wife would kill me.

scgstuff

Can you give it to me in your will?

omaha_919

Glad you mentioned this, brings up another quesion:
After feeling comfortable with pushing a 919 around, would a 600-650 range bike be kind of a letdown? I'm not afraid of restraining myself on a bigger bike, but at the same time I've heard it said that it's better to beat the p*ss out of a smaller bike on the track than to only use a portion of the power a larger bore has to offer.
Plus, not sure if it would keep my interest on the street either... but it's been a while since I made the jump from a 650 to my 919. (my 650 was an '84 StreetHawk)

Keep in mind I'm probably about 220lbs in riding gear.


- the work-to-ride aspect sounds like a great learning experience, I'll look into it.
- I have two tracks that I'd ride on. The closest is about a 25 minute drive (just south of town in the interstate) and the other is about 2 hours West.

Sniper

You might get lucky, but from what I've seen, people tent to beat mercilessly on 900RRs. They develop tranny troubles, I's stay away.

A nice 5 year old R6 is what I'd start lookin for.

sike

I seriously doubt you would be disappointed in an SV as a trackbike. Also, your skills will improve much faster if you are trying to maximize your corner entry and exit, because you aren't relying on power. Plus, the SV's can take a beating.

I'm over 200 with my gear, and I had the time of my life taking my 250 to a trackday. Nothing is much more fun than doggy the poorly ridden big bikes on a little tiny bike. I do love taking the ZX10 to trackdays, but I can honestly say that I'm hardly giving it exercise. I think that the 600 sportbikes and SV 650's are the best trackbikes to begin with, and can be found cheap (with lots of cheap replacement parts).

cmurphy84

My cousin picked up a 2003 R6 with less than 15,000 miles on it for $3,500. You could probably find one that is already in track prep or with no title for cheeeeeeap.

Heck...here's a 2005 GSXR 1000 with a clear title and 5,500 miles for $5,100. FEELER: 05 GSXR 1000 Track Bike

If you can get a fully track prepped 1000 for that money, you should be able to find a good entry level bike for next to nothing.

omaha_919

Thanks Sike,
I'll definitely take that into consideration. I'm sure I'm underestimating the 600's, but it stems from the fact that I have a little extra weight, and back in 01 I had the opportunity to ride a fairly new KX 125 and it was quite disappointing compared to my older CR 250... 2-stroke dirtbikes / i4 streetbikes... I know their different, but I'm afraid it'll take first hand riding experience to settle it for me. I need a test ride.

In the build-a-bike category, I seem to find myself juggling between two groups of bikes:
(I'm kinds loyal to Hondas, they've been good to me)
• CBR 900rr (95-99)
PROS: cheaper bike to acquire, lots of ideas out there for custom options, lots of parts available for reasonable prices, some bits might swap with the 919
CONS: I suck at tuning carbs, doubtful this would be an issue, but it's a concern none-the-less
• CBR 600rr (03-05ish)
PROS: fuel injection, more usable power on the track, again - possibly a few swappable parts with the 919
CONS: generally a higher up-front cost, most likely if I go newer it's gonna be a salvage title bike that I rebuild which could hurt resale down the road

MisterMike

• CBR 900rr (95-99) Those bikes came with 16" front wheels. Beyond Twitchy handling was the order of the day. These models years were down right dangerous. Honda finally saw the light of day and went to the 17" front wheel for the 954RR. I think the year was 2002.

omaha_919

Now, see... there's something I was completely unaware of Thanks Mike!!

sike

I think you would/will be profoundly happy with a CBR 600rr and you should be able to find one cheap (especially if you take one with a rash). Try to avoid bikes that had hard wrecks, because they often are only a couple hundred cheaper and some have "hidden" problems that a trackday could help you to discover the hard way.

Good Luck!!!!!!

Bigdaa

Fascinating...................


I love the idea of a 600 tracker. Man, any of the 600s from 02 on up. This is definitely a buyers market....on everything! Very exciting. I don't think any of them would require you to invest in anything but protective gear and engine ice. You could tinker to your hearts delight!!!!

Sport tourer...........i don't know, but I'd guess there are bigguns out there going cheap, too! Face it. None of us have money out here. Motivated sellers, ya know. I swear, that blue Superhawk with zip miles at 32.........ohhhhh spurt!

scgstuff

This time of the year, people are unloading their trackbikes to get next years setup. Watch places like the WERA.
They have an SV starter package right now with everything needed for $3600. That was just one of the listings on the front page, if the SV is the route you wanted to go.

I don't know the organizations in your area, but they may have classifieds on their boards as well.

omaha_919

Oh, I know... It's really hard to wait. A lot of good deals out there NOW.


Yeah, I'm starting to lean that direction now, especially with MisterMike's advice.
As far as damaged bikes go, I'm aware of what you've pointed out and it's pretty much what I'm looking at...
mostly stuff that's been been deemed a "total loss" by insurance due to primarily cosmetic damage... it don't take much

A few weeks ago I signed up on RideSafely just for fun. Most of these don't meet my standards, but it's still fun to dream.