Realistic Cost of Track Riding as a Hobby

[Napalm]

Originally Posted by Misfire

You know the type.. hold you up in the corners and then "busa" you down the straights..
.

oh yeah. Seen it many-a-time.

That's what the bad line through the dirty side of the track is there for. Drive around the roadblocks. Not through them.

Unfortunately, said riders are like a big school of fish. They go in the same general direction but you can't tell when one is going to pop out of the group and put a stop to your good day.

(Note. It's your responsibility when passing to make sure it's safe....even if the guy in front does something squirrelly)

[S3aturnR]

Originally Posted by cheekybeast

So what are your thoughts on this?

I have not owned a bike in almost 2 years now but I recently sold my fun car to get a bike.

I don't plan to ride on the streets too much and I want to keep it mostly to the track (I live in Los Angeles / Orange County area so probably Willow Springs).

So for those of you that do trackdays around once a month... or once every two months, how much would it run me?

Will I burn through a set of pads + tires every single event? Honestly I would like to spend somewhere around 300 bucks every time (not counting costs of safety wiring + gear + other initial preparation)

I'm looking at a 2007 ZX6R thats going for a fantastic price. Some other bikes that I've been looking at are the 2004+ R1, RC51, 2005+ R6

thanks guys

i went to 5 track days this past summer. (well, 3 if you count saturday and sunday as one event). i bought a set of pirelli dc3 tires while i was at my first event, before i got on the track and they held up great throughout the entire summer with me also riding on the street.

i also had new front brake pads and new brake fluid in may and it was still fine in august when i sold the bike (the feel was a little spongy, but it was suggested that the cause was probably 10yr old brake lines and not the pads, excessive heat or the rotors).

next season will be my 2nd season ever for track days and at this point i'm budgeting for my nesba membership ($75), one set of tires ($280), front brake pads ($40), brake fluid ($14), suspension sag/baseline tune ($45), frame sliders ($100) and seat cowl ($180) that will go the entire summer. hopefully the gas prices stay about where they're at now or lower, too.

i figure that, not counting those items above, a single track day would cost me about: $160 entry, $75 gas for tow vehicle, $20 gas for bike, $40 for meals and $100/night for hotel (if necessary). that's about $295-$395 per event with the above mentioned "start-up" of around $734 (not counting prolly 3 oil changes, depending on how much street riding i get in).

if you go for 5 events, you're looking at an approximate investment (on the budget-minded end) of between $2209.00-$2709.00 for the entire season.

that's just my count, tho. for others, the minimum comfort level either doesn't include sleeping in a van or includes riding their bike to the track, so their costs may vary...


s3aturnr

[Misfire]

Originally Posted by Napalm

They go in the same general direction but you can't tell when one is going to pop out of the group and put a stop to your good day.

(Note. It's your responsibility when passing to make sure it's safe....even if the guy in front does something squirrelly)

Been there, done that...

This is what happens when a dude decides not to hold his line, transverses the entire track and turns me and ole' TLR into a MXer.

Fast forward to 2:26 YouTube - TLR, TL1000R Track Day Video, Trackday, Suzuki

.

[cheekybeast]

if you're riding track only, then you may want to consider race fairings it'll save you on the masking tape. lol

also if it's track only for the life of the bike then you may be able to sell the stock fairings and use that money for the track day.

I'm going to keep on the stock fairings because I still want to do some occasional street riding

After the expense of prepping your bike and buying gear...A trackday costs less than a ticket...

Wish I realized that 3 tickets ago !!!

No the price of that bike doenst seem suspicious, with people losing work like crazy and sales the worst in decades. this is the time for anyone with a steady job to make out like a bandit from the woe's of others.

It's kind of weird. I've been studying prices on Craigslist - and R6's (not the S model) hold their value the best. Kawasaki's seem to drop like a rock - the bike I'm looking at was brand new with an MSRP of 9000 just 4k miles ago and now they are ASKING 5000.

While I don't really like Kawasakis (nor do I dislike... just indifferent) I feel that this is the best bike for me because of the price and condition of the bike (very new still!)

If you are a ok pace on the track. faster than the noobs but not right at race pace. you can get Take off's. I get 003r take offs for 100 bucks. n a 180 or 190 rear. I can get about 2-3 track days out of them.

Good idea on the takeoffs, where do you get yours? at the track? on Craigslist?

if you go for 5 events, you're looking at an approximate investment (on the budget-minded end) of between $2209.00-$2709.00 for the entire season.

Thanks for the cost breakdown, you brought up a lot of things I did not even think of. I think I can get away with a bit less because I'll just do w/o luxuries such as hotel rooms, tents, and food ;)

[Napalm]

Originally Posted by Misfire

This is what happens when a dude decides not to hold his line, transverses the entire track and turns me and ole' TLR into a MXer.

Just like Bubba Stewart if you had some knobbies on that bad boy.

Cheeky: For take offs you can usually just ask around at the track and see who has some. Just look for the guy with 5 sets of fresh rubber in his trailer, he's the one with the good take offs

[Unreal]

A cheap set of race plastics to swap on will be cheaper then damaging one piece of your street body work. It only takes about 15 minutes to swap body work. I would definately get some track bodywork, or at very least some prerashed bodywork to swap on.

[brent98rt]

Originally Posted by cheekybeast

Good idea on the takeoffs, where do you get yours? at the track? on Craigslist?


Thanks for the cost breakdown, you brought up a lot of things I did not even think of. I think I can get away with a bit less because I'll just do w/o luxuries such as hotel rooms, tents, and food ;)

I get mine from a buddy that rides at Arroyo Seco. also a few people local are racers and sell their take offs they have or get from a few rounds of racing.. Most take offs have about 1-3 trackdays left on them.

I am running Bridgestones right now 003r's and like them but i may be switching to Michelin tires for 2009 race season.

If you want to ride your Bike on the street best thing to do is get some track plastics

here is my trackday breakdown

Bike street forum--
1 week before a track day i take all the street plastics off, remove kick stand, install rims with the track day tires or have the tires swapped out, change the oil and filter if it is time. and make sure the gearing i need is on the bike for the track we are running
Install all the track plastics, front fairing, belly pan, Lap timer, Tail section. set tire PSI to the PSI i run hot( its easier to take air out them it is to ut it back in) get tools cleaned up. get the generator filled of gas. fill both 5 gallon jugs of gas. fine the chairs and tent for shade. find the ice chest.

get trailer. load it up with all thats needed by thursday. our trackdays are 90% on a sunday. so saturday night i load my truck with my gear. go to sleep. wake up. connect trailer. drive to gas station. get Ice off to the track i go..

I tend to let people that ride to the track share my shade and water i bring and some times gas. so i spend a little more on water to help other riders out. Plus for those who ride there have a chance of not making it home if they wreak.

i have no clue what the 2009 Race season will be. I am trying to enter in 1 or 2 races which will be 1 class is 90 2 is $160 bucks. plus tires. aeound 300-400 depending what brand i go with.

good luck. i am trying to find a street bike so i can take my 600 back off the street which was my 1st goal with it. but gas prices when i had it track only were WAY high for my 12MPH truck ><

[akjitsu]

If it’s going to be a track only bike, I strongly concur with those who have suggested buying a used track bike. When you start adding up the cost of race plastics, set backs, slipper clutch, power shifter, extra-nifty exhaust and Power Commander, ad infinitum (and if you do track days you WILL want all this stuff), the $’s can evaporate at a dizzying rate. Better to let some predecessor bear that cost. So what if it’s not shiny and new? If you ride the track with sincerity, you ARE going to go down. And the “shiny and new” is instantly history.

And please do yourself a favor and don’t even think about a liter bike to start on. I’d say at least 80% of the crashes in the beginner and intermediate classes at the tracks I ride are on liter bikes. Yes, they will do mind-warping stuff on the straights but they have so god-awful much torque it requires a very learned right hand to keep yourself out of events that are usually scored 9.5 on “degree of difficulty” but only 1.0 on “execution”. Plus, the 600 inlines and smaller v-twins decelerate and turn with appreciably less effort and, except for the real fast guys, have a much higher fun coefficient.

Good luck and enjoy.

[cheekybeast]

How do you guys swap plastics so fast?

On both of the bikes I had, removing + installing the tail piece and main upper (the one that surrounds headlights) was always very time consuming.

Am I just missing something

Originally Posted by Unreal

A cheap set of race plastics to swap on will be cheaper then damaging one piece of your street body work. It only takes about 15 minutes to swap body work. I would definately get some track bodywork, or at very least some prerashed bodywork to swap on.

[Napalm]

Originally Posted by cheekybeast

How do you guys swap plastics so fast?

On both of the bikes I had, removing + installing the tail piece and main upper (the one that surrounds headlights) was always very time consuming.

Am I just missing something

Taking off the street plastics is much more involved than putting on the track skins. My track fiberglass is only two pieces plus the tail section. Using 6 1/4 turn fasteners and about 4 socket heads.

I've now got all the wires run in a way that let's me pull everything apart faster than how it was originally assembled. I can do all this in 20mins or so... if I've got a cold six pack it usually takes me about 45 minutes.

[jmiller427]

A lot cheaper than this

[brent98rt]

Originally Posted by Napalm

Taking off the street plastics is much more involved than putting on the track skins. My track fiberglass is only two pieces plus the tail section. Using 6 1/4 turn fasteners and about 4 socket heads.

I've now got all the wires run in a way that let's me pull everything apart faster than how it was originally assembled. I can do all this in 20mins or so... if I've got a cold six pack it usually takes me about 45 minutes.

yes sir thats pretty much it..

mine is a 2 piece also with a tail section. i have a 2 wire plug for my headlight. i un clip it, zip tie it out of the way. and i am good to go

takes about 30 mins

[Kalvin00]

Personally, I spend around $300 for a day at a track like Thunderhill, or closer to $400-425 if i'm riding at Infineon/Sears Point.

$290 for admission...at least $25 in diesel fuel to get there..somewhere around $70 for race tires when you split that into the life of them (say 5-6 days).. $15 for lunch/drinks/snacks/whatever...

Shit's expensive. But so fun

[Justice06RR]

It typically costs me between $200-250 per trackday. It helps if you carpool with other trackday riders and trailer ur bike together to save on gas, or if you have your own truck/trailer that works out well since you can run on your own schedule.

If you intend to hotel the night before the trackday that can be extra $. its a good idea to camp out if the track allows it.

you also have to consider if you already have the gear and equipment to start out with (i.e. leathers, boots, tire warmers, ez-up, etc). If you already have the basic things its relatively cheap.

[binx_19]

ok so track days are covered, what about if you want to do racing?