Have you ever thought about racing?

[caboose483]

Every weekend I see people wasting a stupid amount of money to go racing. I spend WAY less than a lot of people I'm competitive with. If you spend your money wisely you can get away with doing it for a lot less. Riding on Dunlops, even though the UK Slicks are the most expensive race tires I could buy, actually saves me money.

Don't spend more.. just spend smarter.

IE, if you're in a rookie race you don't need new tires. A good set of low lap take offs will suffice and if you know where to get them they are very inexpensive. Maybe buy one or two new sets from your tire guy to keep him happy but really, come on. I can do an endurance practice at TMP that means I burn through and entire tank of fuel in one go. On track for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. I started off with a front tire that had a few hundred laps on it and a rear with about 40 laps on it. Over an hour running 1:19 or faster on tires that a lot of people would turn up their nose at.

Having a good bike set up helps decrease tire wear, being a smooth and flowing rider helps too (this is something i try pretty hard at). Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. The Dunlop KR106 medium front lasts a long, long, long, long time. I only ever retire them after i feel they've been heat cycled too many times, not when they start losing grip (thats never happened to me). What to take from this? Don't just go out and spend more, or buy the cheapest stuff available. Spend smart and you can really save a lot of cash.

[YellowDuck]

What a great thread!

Money-wise, I could see myself trying BOTT lightweight or vintage at some point if I ever felt I was getting fast enough to not be ridiculous. Trying it now would get me divorced, more because of the time and danger than the money. Just doesn't fit in with my current life (current wife?).

But I actually wonder if I would enjoy it at all. I *love* the machinery and enjoy the riding, but haven't got a competitive bone in my body. Racing kinda seems like one big game of chicken to me - daring the other guy to brake later or corner harder until he loses his nerve or crashes. Sounds more stressful than entertaining. Have I got it wrong?

[caboose483]

But I actually wonder if I would enjoy it at all. I *love* the machinery and enjoy the riding, but haven't got a competitive bone in my body. Racing kinda seems like one big game of chicken to me - daring the other guy to brake later or corner harder until he loses his nerve or crashes. Sounds more stressful than entertaining. Have I got it wrong?

For you, it might be more stressful than entertaining. Racing isn't for everyone. It IS stressful but at the same time the adrenaline high is like nothing i can even describe.

Racing behind Luke Bauer in 3 consecutive races you could have tied a 15' long rope between us and it would never have been stretched tight. Stalking, picking apart his race lines, finding out where i'm faster and where he's faster, setting up a pass, screwing up the set up, trying again the next lap and the lap after that, it's amazing. In my last race with him at Shannonville (Pro Track) he didn't nail his entry to turn one on one lap and i did (while behind him) i ended up having to run it a little wide to keep frum hitting him and mid corner my face was about 6 inches from his left boot. That's the craziest moment i've ever had while racing.

[Jayv]

What a great thread!

Money-wise, I could see myself trying BOTT lightweight or vintage at some point if I ever felt I was getting fast enough to not be ridiculous. Trying it now would get me divorced, more because of the time and danger than the money. Just doesn't fit in with my current life (current wife?).

But I actually wonder if I would enjoy it at all. I *love* the machinery and enjoy the riding, but haven't got a competitive bone in my body. Racing kinda seems like one big game of chicken to me - daring the other guy to brake later or corner harder until he loses his nerve or crashes. Sounds more stressful than entertaining. Have I got it wrong?

What more dangerous, racing in a Vintage or a lost era class race or doing a weekend trackday.

I feel a lot safer riding around folks that have to go to work Monday morning.

[Motoshire747]

That was on a Slingshot Gixxer..I'll never fall in love with those old tanks again!!

Personally I love the tanks! Very solid in the corners!
...OK how about a FZR400, GPz550 or a CB350?

[Snipes20]

What more dangerous, racing in a Vintage or a lost era class race or doing a weekend trackday.

I feel a lot safer riding around folks that have to go to work Monday morning.

What???? hopefully both people racing and people at trackdays have to go to work on Monday morning

[Motoshire747]

What a great thread!

Money-wise, I could see myself trying BOTT lightweight or vintage at some point if I ever felt I was getting fast enough to not be ridiculous. Trying it now would get me divorced, more because of the time and danger than the money. Just doesn't fit in with my current life (current wife?).

But I actually wonder if I would enjoy it at all. I *love* the machinery and enjoy the riding, but haven't got a competitive bone in my body. Racing kinda seems like one big game of chicken to me - daring the other guy to brake later or corner harder until he loses his nerve or crashes. Sounds more stressful than entertaining. Have I got it wrong?

I guess everyone has different gauge for stress...personally, I don't get stressed on the track...but making it to the track fully prepared is where I get stressed.
For me it was just about maximizing my skill level, and where else are you going to do that? It was super-intimidating getting on the bike for my first race (Sprint-Heat Race) my next race was a edurance race, absolutely loved it...less frantic, more relaxed. Kind of like doing a trackday, but having some urgency to put in strong, consistant laps with a purpose...

Oh...how about putting the wife in a sidecar? you can call her a Monkey without getting in trouble (passengers are called monkeys)

[Motoshire747]

Couple old tanks...

[YellowDuck]

Couple old tanks...

Oh yeah baby! Love those old Gixxers!

Obviously I am now old enough for vintage racing, since the bikes I most lusted after in highschool are now eligible. That's sad in a way...

[murf]

I think my life insurance and disability insurance might have an issue with racing, so I do trackdays and have alot of fun riding competetively with friends, and others at trackdays.

[Shaman]

My old tank is still for sale... 89 ZX7 with Penske shock and Ractech forks...

[reciprocity]

I think my life insurance and disability insurance might have an issue with racing, so I do trackdays and have alot of fun riding competetively with friends, and others at trackdays.

I'd check your policy, if there is an issue with racing, there will most likely be an issue with trackdays, the language is difficult to understand, but they install loopholes for these situations.

[Brian P]

What more dangerous, racing in a Vintage or a lost era class race or doing a weekend trackday.

My opinion ... Racing is safer once one has the appropriate level of experience. #1, the process of getting a roadracing license is a reasonably good idiot filter which is not present on track days. #2, I am out there on the track only with bikes of comparable performance level, which cuts down on speed differentials. #3, everyone starts when the green flag drops, which means the slower riders with less experience inherently get separated from the faster riders, at least until late in the race, and then the bikes are usually separated enough that passing (lapping) generally isn't a problem any more.

What???? hopefully both people racing and people at trackdays have to go to work on Monday morning

The problem is that the riders in track days often don't have enough experience to even recognize when they are doing something wrong that could cause a crash. And some riders in track days have egos bigger than their actual skill level. Or bikes bigger than their skill level, and they won't accept that they ought to be on a smaller bike.

My old tank is still for sale... 89 ZX7 with Penske shock and Ractech forks...

Mine is, too. '90 FZR400, currently in street trim, but it has been a race bike in the past. (This is not my race bike, it's my spare bike.) The 1990 FZR400 is legal in VRRA for Period 4 Formula 3 because the parts that differentiate it from a 1989 model were actually available in 1989, on the Japanese-market model.

[Brian P]

By the way, caboose, Dan Dubeau, and omnivore all have great points - I agree completely.

[R1Guy]

I have a 10 year term insurance policy that was taken out 1 year before I started track riding, I was covered on the track as long as it wasn't a race... The reason explained to me as to why I was covered was I was not participating in Track Days prior to taking out the policy and did not try to hide the fact that I was participating in a dangerous sport... I remember the insurance papers specifically asking if I took part in any kind of dangerous sport when I took out the policy.

Your safest bet is to be honest about what you are doing and phone your insurance agent to make sure that you are covered

I'd check your policy, if there is an issue with racing, there will most likely be an issue with trackdays, the language is difficult to understand, but they install loopholes for these situations.

I think my life insurance and disability insurance might have an issue with racing, so I do trackdays and have alot of fun riding competetively with friends, and others at trackdays.

[murf]

I have a 10 year term insurance policy that was taken out 1 year before I started track riding, I was covered on the track as long as it wasn't a race... The reason explained to me as to why I was covered was I was not participating in Track Days prior to taking out the policy and did not try to hide the fact that I was participating in a dangerous sport... I remember the insurance papers specifically asking if I took part in any kind of dangerous sport when I took out the policy.


Your safest bet is to be honest about what you are doing and phone your insurance agent to make sure that you are covered

The first one I got was before trackdays were popular and it asked about racing specifically. Since then some others I have seen mention being on track at all. I'm getting another one at work so I'm curious to see what it says.

[Motoshire747]

Nothing like a little Insurance talk to kill a conversation just like in real life! lol

Here is the 2012 VRRA Schedule. We have a both at both Toronto bike shows and the Montreal show. An opportunity to stop by, talk old bikes, sign up for a membership and Vintage race school.See you there!

[alkaline nine]

If someone was to consider going into the Soar series, what would be an acceptable laptime, say TMP. This would be the novice, or over 40 group. Just got this trackbike and got only two TD's on it at TMP. The best laptime was mid 1:22, with no suspension setup yet. So is this anywhere near the mark, or just stick with TD's. Any info would be appreciated.

[reciprocity]

If someone was to consider going into the Soar series, what would be an acceptable laptime, say TMP. This would be the novice, or over 40 group. Just got this trackbike and got only two TD's on it at TMP. The best laptime was mid 1:22, with no suspension setup yet. So is this anywhere near the mark, or just stick with TD's. Any info would be appreciated.

You'll be fine with those laptimes.

[ScreamingSon]

I had planned on racing Soar in 2011, A turn of bad events stopped that really quick. Next year hopefully. A few friends race wera and ccs. I'll spend the winter months getting in shape, saving $, and watching videos. Thanks for the advice from the experienced racers