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So who's building a 300 track bike?
- Thread starter Benny!
- Start date
The class at RACE was just created,, numbers will increase with discussions, even this one. Info about anything ,is vague at best because even CSBK has no idea what Kawi is doing with the National class because Kawi has no idea. Will it be an entry level class or just a retired PR class?
But if you have a bike and wish to ride,,,the RACE class is your best bet if it does not fit the National spec. In FACT,, taking your 300 to a RACE event might be a better fit then a track day as you will be on the track with similar bikes. You will not have to deal with bigger CC'd bikes blasting past you.
So asking questions and expecting quick answers is pretty difficult because it is all new and rules/grids are work in progress.
But if you have a bike and wish to ride,,,the RACE class is your best bet if it does not fit the National spec. In FACT,, taking your 300 to a RACE event might be a better fit then a track day as you will be on the track with similar bikes. You will not have to deal with bigger CC'd bikes blasting past you.
So asking questions and expecting quick answers is pretty difficult because it is all new and rules/grids are work in progress.
My name evidently has come up in this thread, but I was doing something else ... working.
Anyhow, at SOAR, the 650 twins are legal in Lightweight Superbike but they have not been entering the class, for the most part (a lot of people didn't know about it). In my opinion, the 650 twins already have a primary class (Lightweight Twins) and plenty of secondary classes (they can be entered in almost anything else ...) and should be excluded from Lightweight Superbike if anyone wishes the Ninja 300, RC390, R3, etc to take off. If they are not excluded, the class is destined to become LW Twins II and others (including myself) will lose interest.
My bike and some of the other VRRA P4F3 bikes is perhaps a little beyond what the various 300s are capable of doing, but it's also 26 years old; the difference is not *that* large.
IMO over the winter LW Superbike should have a rules tweak so that people with the 300s don't shy away from this class because of the potential SV650 (and Hawk) invasion.
With comparable riders, my own bike has NO chance against an SV650.
There has to be some level of compromise because at the moment, if you exclude it to only 250s and 300s (and single cylinder 375's a.k.a. RC390) you would have a race with one or two entries, and that is also not viable.
Anyhow, at SOAR, the 650 twins are legal in Lightweight Superbike but they have not been entering the class, for the most part (a lot of people didn't know about it). In my opinion, the 650 twins already have a primary class (Lightweight Twins) and plenty of secondary classes (they can be entered in almost anything else ...) and should be excluded from Lightweight Superbike if anyone wishes the Ninja 300, RC390, R3, etc to take off. If they are not excluded, the class is destined to become LW Twins II and others (including myself) will lose interest.
My bike and some of the other VRRA P4F3 bikes is perhaps a little beyond what the various 300s are capable of doing, but it's also 26 years old; the difference is not *that* large.
IMO over the winter LW Superbike should have a rules tweak so that people with the 300s don't shy away from this class because of the potential SV650 (and Hawk) invasion.
With comparable riders, my own bike has NO chance against an SV650.
There has to be some level of compromise because at the moment, if you exclude it to only 250s and 300s (and single cylinder 375's a.k.a. RC390) you would have a race with one or two entries, and that is also not viable.
fugue
Well-known member
There seems to be a lot of confusion, so for those who may still be unclear this is a summary of available small bike sprint racing classes (Endurance has options also).
(Sorry if it's hard to read, GTAM butchered my formatting).
There are 4 classes over 3 organizations, as follows:
SOAR:
Lightweight Production
Lightweight Superbike
RACE:
Lightweight Production
Lightweight Superbike
300 Production
CSBK National:
Kawi 300 Spec
Class details are as follows:
Kawi 300 Spec (CSBK):
Kawi 300's only, stock or kitted according to Kawi's whims (specific parts list). No full details available until next year - probably not the best place for noobs to try their hand by the looks of things as cost will likely be a large factor.
Lightweight Production (RACE, SOAR):
Class that includes _production_ bikes only. All allowed bikes are roughly in the same performance class, with the following displacement limits:
380cc Four stroke multi or twin (i.e. Ninja 300/250, R3)
400cc Four stroke single (i.e. RC390, CBR250/300)
500cc Four stroke air cooled (vintage legal)
400cc Two stroke air cooled street based
For those who don't know, the 2 stroke bikes allowed here are NOT GP machines, but are street based, which means that the power to weight ratios compared to, say a Ninja 300, will be about the same (the 4-strokes most likely have the advantage, actually). There are very few 2-strokes other than very old stuff that will fit this category. Every bike that could possibly be legal for this class will be in the same performance ballpark. This would be the class to race if you were interested in starting out on a small bike.
Lightweight Superbike (RACE, SOAR):
Class for lightweight bikes of increased performance but not up to 600 class standards. Much more variety is allowed here, with the following displacement limits:
500cc Four stroke, liquid cooled multis (i.e. FZR 400, EX500, CB500)
650cc Four stroke, liquid cooled twins (i.e. SV650, Hawk GT650)
Unlimited singles
750cc Four stroke, air cooled, multis (Vintage eligible)
800cc Four stroke, air cooled, twins (Vintage eligible)
500cc Street based two stroke
250cc GP based two stroke (Lost Era eligible)
125cc GP based two stroke
Lots of bikes could potentially be competitive here, but this is not quite the right place for a Ninja300 (even though it could be somewhat competitive with a good rider) as it is a superbike class, not a production class. Could be good as a secondary class just to get laps in. This class has the potential to be completely dominated by 650 twins and become Lightweight Twins II, but thus far that has not occurred.
300 Production (RACE):
This class was created quietly at the urging of Bakaboy to give 300 class production bikes a second racing class to be competitive in. Rules are slightly more restricted than Lightweight Production, but this is a fantastic second class for small production bikes at RACE. Due to the nature of how and when the class was created there is no information in the rulebook regarding its existence (bad on RACE).
All the above information is available at the respective racing organizations websites, or here at GTAM.
If you are interested in racing a 300 class machine, then there are options - you just have to come out and try it. You will be gridded with only machines of like type (excluding Superbike, but it is not a production class), and I bet you'll like it.
(Sorry if it's hard to read, GTAM butchered my formatting).
There are 4 classes over 3 organizations, as follows:
SOAR:
Lightweight Production
Lightweight Superbike
RACE:
Lightweight Production
Lightweight Superbike
300 Production
CSBK National:
Kawi 300 Spec
Class details are as follows:
Kawi 300 Spec (CSBK):
Kawi 300's only, stock or kitted according to Kawi's whims (specific parts list). No full details available until next year - probably not the best place for noobs to try their hand by the looks of things as cost will likely be a large factor.
Lightweight Production (RACE, SOAR):
Class that includes _production_ bikes only. All allowed bikes are roughly in the same performance class, with the following displacement limits:
380cc Four stroke multi or twin (i.e. Ninja 300/250, R3)
400cc Four stroke single (i.e. RC390, CBR250/300)
500cc Four stroke air cooled (vintage legal)
400cc Two stroke air cooled street based
For those who don't know, the 2 stroke bikes allowed here are NOT GP machines, but are street based, which means that the power to weight ratios compared to, say a Ninja 300, will be about the same (the 4-strokes most likely have the advantage, actually). There are very few 2-strokes other than very old stuff that will fit this category. Every bike that could possibly be legal for this class will be in the same performance ballpark. This would be the class to race if you were interested in starting out on a small bike.
Lightweight Superbike (RACE, SOAR):
Class for lightweight bikes of increased performance but not up to 600 class standards. Much more variety is allowed here, with the following displacement limits:
500cc Four stroke, liquid cooled multis (i.e. FZR 400, EX500, CB500)
650cc Four stroke, liquid cooled twins (i.e. SV650, Hawk GT650)
Unlimited singles
750cc Four stroke, air cooled, multis (Vintage eligible)
800cc Four stroke, air cooled, twins (Vintage eligible)
500cc Street based two stroke
250cc GP based two stroke (Lost Era eligible)
125cc GP based two stroke
Lots of bikes could potentially be competitive here, but this is not quite the right place for a Ninja300 (even though it could be somewhat competitive with a good rider) as it is a superbike class, not a production class. Could be good as a secondary class just to get laps in. This class has the potential to be completely dominated by 650 twins and become Lightweight Twins II, but thus far that has not occurred.
300 Production (RACE):
This class was created quietly at the urging of Bakaboy to give 300 class production bikes a second racing class to be competitive in. Rules are slightly more restricted than Lightweight Production, but this is a fantastic second class for small production bikes at RACE. Due to the nature of how and when the class was created there is no information in the rulebook regarding its existence (bad on RACE).
All the above information is available at the respective racing organizations websites, or here at GTAM.
If you are interested in racing a 300 class machine, then there are options - you just have to come out and try it. You will be gridded with only machines of like type (excluding Superbike, but it is not a production class), and I bet you'll like it.
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I read this post earlier in the day and wanted to put my 2 cents in.
My first racing experience was the complete opposite. Track days offer a friendly atmosphere but race weekends, you feel like you're there with your family. No exaggeration what so ever. From Pros to Rookies, people I didn't know were wishing me good luck and telling me I did well even though I wasn't happy with my placement or lap times. I've never once felt out of my element and was thankful to be surrounded by these people even though I didn't know most of them. It's encouraging. It made want to come out to the next round and try again and again.
I put this out there for anyone considering racing. Do it. It will be the best time you'll have on two wheels. There is more than 1 racing organization, pick the one that suits you best.
It is all about the attitude you have while at the race venue, you always have a great attitude, others not so much.
MaSheena
Well-known member
disagree with that one.... My job description is actually to solve all the stupid ********
And it's really not nice to talk about Huffman like that.
Ice cream fixes everything. Ice cream at riders meetings?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was friendly to people. Most of the women invited me and were nice. Until I did better than last place. I even had a couple that had been racing for a few years whisper to me " the women will be really nice to you ...until you start beating them then they'll talk **** behind your back"
That's the whole vibe I got from Soar. Big family Feeling, which is what I was told it was like, but it all had a phoney feel to me. That's just my experience. And I'm sure some if not most will ***** at me for saying that. Don't really care though. Race may be different.
There's a reason all my friends are guys. Women are c****
There's only a few people I'll actually associate with now.
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Thanks Fugue.
A couple Lightweight racers missed last round and they should be back for the next round. And I have convinced 1 new racer to come try.
Hopefully others will come join.
A couple Lightweight racers missed last round and they should be back for the next round. And I have convinced 1 new racer to come try.
Hopefully others will come join.
Supernam
Well-known member
I am taking the FAST courses and then doing trackdays, planning on racing the 300 next year. Someone give us all a little info on how to get a RACE/SOAR license.
I have a stock 300 with Armour Bodies fairings atm and plan on running it like this for a while, spend my money on track time.
I have a stock 300 with Armour Bodies fairings atm and plan on running it like this for a while, spend my money on track time.
Long story short there are two ways:
1-) Get in touch with Racer 5, take their courses and as part of it you will be a licensed SOAR racer. They give you instruction, the bike, the gear and everything you need.
2-) If you are an experienced track day rider, you can do a half day intro course to racing with Racer 5, then in the afternoon and instructor will follow you around for a session or two in order to ensure that you are safe (not fast) and that you are not going to hurt yourself and others. At that time you get your license and you can race that very next day.
I did the second one, a lot more stressful than option one, specially because my second track day ever was a race with 24 other racers in Rookie.
Do not know how it works with RACE
1-) Get in touch with Racer 5, take their courses and as part of it you will be a licensed SOAR racer. They give you instruction, the bike, the gear and everything you need.
2-) If you are an experienced track day rider, you can do a half day intro course to racing with Racer 5, then in the afternoon and instructor will follow you around for a session or two in order to ensure that you are safe (not fast) and that you are not going to hurt yourself and others. At that time you get your license and you can race that very next day.
I did the second one, a lot more stressful than option one, specially because my second track day ever was a race with 24 other racers in Rookie.
Do not know how it works with RACE
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Supernam
Well-known member
Thanks guys. I am doing FAST Phase 2 very shortly, I will talk to Michel Mercier about whether he thinks I am ready and the process on going forward.
You are ready! You can take all the courses and all the class rooms you wish. It will never prepare you for "racing".
Racing prepares you for racing. FAST gave you the basics with Phase 1 now phase 2 gives you more preparation. By racing you find out how much sunk in.
Schools do not teach you to race, they give you the tools to go race. Just do it!
parillaguy
Well-known member
I agree with Mr Bickle! While schools do a good job of preparing you to race, keep in mind they are in the business of selling you schooling. Track day operators are in the business of selling you more track day entries. Get your license and come to a race and ride. Talk to some of the riders in your class for tips on where you can improve. Have fun! Parillaguy
triggerhappy
Well-known member
Mandatory and non-mandatory kit parts and prices for the CSBK Ninja 300 Series: http://kawasakiracing.ca/
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