What to do? Give me some advice please

[CMSMJ1]

Howdo all,

Am having ideas about turning my no9 road bike into a track only bike. I have a full set of track fairings, spare wheels and the general setup of the bike is geared towards power and handling with semi open carbs, race pipes, upgraded forks, shock and brakes etc etc...

So.. what do you reckon? I have a full set of oe fairings and tank to sell if I go this route adn this to go towards a bike to commute on. I have not ridden fast on the road since I was in a rideout in Germany with Bren from SLiders, Viper and Acid on here and some other fast dudes. That day on the roads was a real eye opener and probably the most scary session I have ever had. It was such a buzz but it is not sustainable and I know riding on the roads over here is such an anticlimax. Nothing is the same and I was always going against the road vibe when I got addicted to trackdays..

I do have another bike, an FZR600 that I was going to track but I know I would not enjoy it as much as the VFR. I do also have a 400 frame to sort a conversion out and make a pukka bike but something about it just does not seem right..I am biased I know..but just cannot get into the IL4 vibe.

Basically, would I be mad to strip a perfectly banging road bike and track it in favour of a bike that it pretty much tracked already but that I do not feel any compuction to ride? No9 has been my best mate and still is but I am currently riding it to work for 20 miles and have no desire to take it on the roads anymore.

Would anyone actually buy my panels and tank if I did decide to sell them? What kind of cash would you reckon I could get for them if I did? Would anyone want an FZR600 trackbike? Could I then afford a commuter to get to work now and again and get my proper riding fix on trackdays or even get my ass in gear for the ACU licence I want to do?

What to do?

hit me guys..I get the feeling I am close to just doing it but I would most likely regret it bigtime..

cheers :D

[viper_biker]

Mark, if your heart is set on it then have it as a track only bike with maybe a daytime MoT for those 'I'm gonna ride my '30 today' days. I loved that ride around the Eiffel mountains, but I think it would have been wasted on the '30 (straights were too long and you'd have probably ran out of gears by the end of it) That was 1 quick day out of a lot of other slow ones throughout the year, but they are also the ones that'll be most remembered.

I'm pretty fortunate that I have a road and track 30 and the GSX-R but I'd rather rag my track '30 around the track than any other bike. The GSX-R is too quick (read dangerous) for me on the track and my road '30 will never see the track again. As you say, after spending so much time on the track, riding on the road looses its appeal, especially if it's the to-ing and fro-ing to work daily and the FZR600 would be more than capable of that (and better full economy probably too). A hard decision indeed and I've probably not helped at all, but if you can justify it, then track the '30 with a daytime MoT and use the FZR daily. OK, it's an inline-bore, but it'll eat the miles just as good as any other bike can.

[fastdruid]

600 track bikes are two a penny, worth nothing, you could sell the FZR6 and buy a decent track 600.
Got 3 grand spare for example? How about a bike which someone has spent 25k on? Ebay item 190243343559 fwiw. That's an extreme case though but there are plenty which people have spent serious money on and now sell for ~500quid.

BUT I wouldn't, I'd take the 400, the 400's are fantastic on the track, I did cadwell park this Thursday/Friday and rode:

NC29[0]
NC30[1]
NC35#1[2][4]
NC35#2[3]
CBR600[4]
Thundercat[4]
R6[4]
SV650[5][0]

Of all of them the SV (my bike :D) was the best, second was NC35#1 followed by NC30, NC29, NC35#2 then CBR6, R6 then Thundercat. If I didn't have the SV (or a standard one!) then it'd be one of the NC's as my choice of tracktool.

Now I've not done it with the NC but I have turned the SV into a trackbike and if you have decent plastics then they tend to sell for quite a bit, I got a fortune for all my road going SV bits and pieces. If you have a decent tank then buy a dented/scratched one and flog yours. Anything that gets damaged in a crash buy pre-damaged and sell the mint version.
If you are thinking of spending money on it then you may want to think about how much it's worth, how much you would spend on it and what you could get for that money. You may find you could buy a fully sorted track/race bike for the money. If you want to go the whole ACU regs route then it's a lot of work and it's lots easier to find one that someone has already done the work to.

But honestly, do it, take the 400 it is the perfect bike to ride on track, a 600 is better on the road.

Druid

[0] Track bike
[1] Slick Bass prepped/tuned
[2] My wifes road bike, very fettled and spot on but totally standard.
[3] Our track bike, only just built from a pile of bits, engine tuned a bit and geared down but suspension needs work.
[4] Road bike
[5] Very much modified, GSXR USD frontend, ohlins shock 6pot calipers, 320mm discs, GSXR600k6 fairing/seat, alloy subframes, akrapovic downpipes, geared down, rearsets nice clip-ons, elliot tacho etc.

[CMSMJ1]

Cheers Gareth, Yeah, that Eiffel run had the NC banging on the limter for 10-15 seconds at a time and it was entirely unsuited to the riding conditions..but I loved it.

I had a go on your bike and it was brilliant to wind it up and zap past people but it felt big and almost unwieldy. Would love a spare one like you have

I am erring towards the FZR for the road, as you say, it will chomp the miles and be more relaxed too.

I just don't want to lose the NC for the roads but the daytime MOT is a good idea...in fact it is a kickass idea and one I had entirely overlooked....hmmmmm

The nights are drawing in and so I will have to decide soon as the FZT itself has no lights and is in Daylight MOT mode..lol


EDIT @ Druid.

My 400 is not at all standard and I have used it for 23 or 4 trackdays in the last 2.5 years. I love it on the track and this is what is putting me off the 600 route. I have used this 600 as it was a mates bike before I got it and the best thing about it was the brakes (blue spots).
My NC has been dyno'd at an optimistic 66bhp with RVF carbs, open airbox, blade brakes, rs250 shock, fettled forks, DIY Oil cooler, alloy bars, braces, plugs and odds and sods. It is closer to being a trackbike than it is to being a std road bike.

Cadwell is brilliant as well - I have a vid on youtube "mark james at cadwell" and this is the reason I want to keep my 400 - I was faster than loads of bikes by having better braking and cornering and earlier throttle pickup.

Ref the SV - I am glad you mentioned yours is fettled as I rode a std one and it was a poor quality show. I can see upgraded ones will be very nice as the motor is a peach yet the chassis/suspension/brakes were too budget.

I think I am going to go the side of the 400 daylight mot...must get the 600 set with lights though..lol

MARK

[fastdruid]

Cadwell is brilliant as well - I have a vid on youtube "mark james at cadwell" and this is the reason I want to keep my 400 - I was faster than loads of bikes by having better braking and cornering and earlier throttle pickup.

You brake for coppice?

Druid

[CMSMJ1]

Cadwell is brilliant as well - I have a vid on youtube "mark james at cadwell" and this is the reason I want to keep my 400 - I was faster than loads of bikes by having better braking and cornering and earlier throttle pickup.

You brake for coppice?

Druid

LOL..sometimes..and if not I pinch my seat real hard to get around it

I did a lap of 1.57 which I was happy with and I am sure that without the paranoia of wrecking my only road bike I can knock several seconds of that..we shall see :)
Hope you left my vid a sly comment

[fastdruid]

On one session the year before last[0] I was doing 1m51s on the SV dunno how fast I was on the NC but I don't think the NC is much slower[1] and I'm much faster now.

I didn't comment, although I can see a number of places you could lose time off a lap[2].

Druid


[0] The only one she timed, you're not meant to time laps on trackdays etc blah blah blah. Her fastest lap (again only one session timed) was 2m06s and again she's much faster now. Should have timed them this year really. EDIT Although I have no lap times I've looked at the time codes on the pictures taken of me and assuming they're correct I was averaging 1m55s on (someone elses) NC30. 1m53 on my first session out on the SV. The advantage of pulling wheelies over the mountain, the photographer takes a photo of you at the same place every lap or two. :D
[1] I was having a great play with a pair of minitwins until I got stuck behind an R1.
[2] But then I can see a number of places I can lose time off a lap, doesn't mean I can do it!! :D

[royster81]

ok so taking bits off the road bike to make it a track bike,just what isn't reversible ?

you could unbolt all the bits you want and just have the bare minimum to get the bike going and out on track but there is nothing you can't bolt back on to get it road worthy a year down the line if you hate the 600 and long for the mighty V4

go for it i say,if you stack it whats the worst that can happen ? frames are easy got,forks are repairable or replaceable,there is always a V4 getting broke on this forum so motors aren't hard to find

the biggest question i'd be asking is ,is it worth it ?
how many trackdays do you do a year ?
is it worth unbolting all those bits for 3 or 4 a year when you could do that before the track day and replace them after,plus you still have a sat/sun bike to get big grins from and the mile muncher 600 for work

it's up to you man,bottom line as long as you can still get to work on a bike thumbs up,if you can track a V4,right on,if you sell the 600 and buy a track V4 even better....
but i'll not hate you for moving up to a 600 ......

[CMSMJ1]

I have only done oulton, angelsey twice and the nurburgrig for trackdays this year but I did 10 or 11 the year before...

The bike would want to be setup properly for the track and so I doubt I would be wanting to swap between track adn road settings too much. Keeping the road bits is a good call though as I can swap it back anytime I like. Might be a ballache with the oil coler though as I am planning to mount it in the nose so it can get a nice blast of cooling air form the headlight holes on my track fairings.

Need to get my ass home tonight and bleed the fzr brakes so I can mot it and start using it again for the road. then no9 can have some attention and start to change into the track beast in time for cadwell 26th..

I also will have a tow hitch and trailer by then so looking good for a proper setup.

If anyone wants to swap a track vfr for my track fzr adn spares then please let me know. I would say the FZR is good for £500-600 on the bay especially with the brand spnking new chain, sprockets, pads and overall cleaning/fettling it has had.

I regret selling ym other v4 to geoff now but that needed too much ballache and I have not got the time. A running 400 for the track is what I need.... (off to post in the for sale..)

[Neosophist]

I'd get This Japanese Track bike

as it looks interesting