When do you consider a bike "too nice for the track" and what does that even mean??

[UltimateOG]

Originally Posted by Tripped1

If you have stock plastics on anything not a GSXR or R6 you may as well just buy another bike anyway, they all come wrapped in like $3,600 in plastic at OEM price, that is before you bend a rim or snap the spools off in your swing arm.

This I found out shortly after i bought my bike, makes 500-1000 dollar fairing kits look nice again.

[RocketPunch]

I guess if you buy and own motorcycles just to look at them and park it in front of starbucks for coffee, then all bikes are too nice for the track.

You buy a fast bike because you want to know what it feels riding it fast, not because you want too know what it feels getting stuck in traffic on one or what it feels just to own it.

[Squeegor]

^ Actually I'll decide why I buy my bike for myself thank you very much. I buy my bikes because I like the look and sound... and while they are quick I wouldn't like them any less if they only went half as fast as they do.

[Jamie01]

Originally Posted by No Coast Rider

My street bike is my primary means of transportation so I def dont want to track it and risk breaking it.

Originally Posted by kevinwilly

But I'd pretty much plan on wrecking if I went to the track.

It's really up to you whether you crash your bike on the track. In fact, much more than on the street, since so many of the things beyond your control, like texting drivers, blind corners, debris on the roadway, have been eliminated.

The fact that the bike I take to the track is something I rely on for transportation definitely affects how I ride on the track, and that's probably a good thing. Eventually I'd love to have a track-only bike, but until then I just keep it within my limits, which I should be doing anyway.

So basically this:

Originally Posted by acalliste

I have only done track days on my everyday street ride, and it's worked out fine for me. I don't push my limits or go too far outside my comfort zone though.

[Claudius]

When replacement parts for the bike either don't exist any longer or are so prohibitively expensive that simply buying another track bike and using that gives greater piece of mind.

If you are made of money, then have at it. Anything goes.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally Posted by stamford

You owned those bikes and rode them in anger on track!? More power to you.

Heck no. Even better... I borrowed them (obv I'd never ride at 100% on a bike I didn't want to crash, but 90% is still a ton of fun and reduces a huge amount of the risk.)

A lot of the times expensive bikes are like kids... Lots of fun to play with, but when they start crying cuz it's time to "feed, bathe or change" them, it's easiest to just hand em back to the rightful owner

[ANORXIC'51]

Some pretty damn good responses for both sides of the fence. Thanks for all the contributions thus far!

Cost of a down can be the bigggest factor in bringing a bike to the track. I think altogether for the OEM pieces I wrecked on my 848 @ BIR the MSRP price would be in the $2200 range (nose, right side upper, & tail). CRG RR rearset adjuster plate was $40. So, for that crash, had it been wearing Sharkskinz, cost would have significantly been reduced to the CRG part and a can of spraypaint. Lesson learned. From now on I'll have the Sharkskinz for track work, and a street fairing setup for everything else.

The heartbreaker would be to throw a total yard sale, but I honestly didn't build this bike to merely live a life of bike nights and street rides....so such is the risk. Best we can do is make our bikes as 'crash-friendly' as we can: track bodywork, frame/fork/rear axle/bar end sliders, swingarm covers/spools, easily and inexpensive repairable/replaceable parts, etc.

Like many orgs say during the rider meetings, no one comes TO crash at a trackday, but if one is prepared for it than it lessens the grief if it does happen.

-Christian

[jk750]

I took my brand spanking new K4 1k to the track. Nothing really exotic, but it was brand new. There is no bike that I wouldn't take to the track. I'd be more hesitant taking something exotic out on the street.

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by kevin_stevens

For me it means a bike I'm not willing to crash. The reason could be cost, difficulty of part replacement, or fear of loss - it's not hard to crash a bike hard enough to have the insurance company write it off and refuse to repair it.

I don't go to the track planning to crash, and have not done so to this point, but mile for mile it's certainly more likely than my typical street day.

KeS

The CBR 600RR is my track bike, I obviously don't want to wreck it or pay for the repairs, but it's the bike I'm willing to "sacrifice" in the name of fun.

I'd never take my XJR1300 to the track, rumored to be 1 out or 12 that made it to Mexico. The XT? Maybe, but considering how hard it is to get parts for, I'd rather wreck the 600RR.

[max384]

My bike is far from 'too nice.' It has rashed plastics and an R title. However, it's my primary transportation. I commute on it daily and don't want to wad it up at the track and be left without it. Sure, I could wreck it on the street as well, but I feel as though I'm much more likely to wreck it on the track (despite having wrecked on the street and never wrecking on the track ). When I go back to the track, it will be with either a second street/track bike or a dedicated track bike. With only having my one bike, I just don't want to risk it. I've also put some money into it with touring accessories like luggage and auxiliary lighting.

[serpentracer]

it's like buying the best looking hooker for just head. total waste of money.

there's no way I'd spend money on a bike and not take it to a place where I can ride it for what it's designed for. even a 100% track bike is technically too nice to wad up. with all the money you spend for upgrades...it sucks to bust it all up. I'd rather bust up a street bike at the track.

[ANORXIC'51]

Definitely see the point you all make considering your bike is either you primary transportation and/or only bike. Really does make a difference in how one would ride their bike at the track compared to one that they can ride-crash-fix at their own leisure.

I'm pulling my hair out not being able to ride the Duc with all the mid-50s weather we've been having. After I crashed @ BIR I bought a set of track plastics thinking I could just prep it for Barber in a couple of months and take the rest of the street season off while I attacked some bills. Had it pretty much ready to rock (just needed paint....if I even would've painted it, lol) for NESBA and I would've been fine with that.

My wife then bought me a track-only/race bike for my birthday (which was an awesome gesture!!) that I promised her and my friends that helped find it that I'd give a fair shot....so I brought that to Barber instead.

Totally kicking myself for not replacing the street fairings right away, as vacation & the NESBA weekend took priority over returning the 848 to street wear. Oh well, live and learn.

Ok, maybe not learn. I decided not to get into racing next season (still so much more to learn
...my mind isn't there yet for competition) so the CBR will be sold during the offseason and it'll be back to one bike for me....which I am ok with. :-)

It makes me feel like everything was worth it (decision to sell the GSX-R and get the 848, all the upgrades, tracking, and even crashing) when you go to something like Wheels of Italy (giant showcase in Minneapolis of everything motorized Italian), and I'm one of a group of like 6-10 out of the hundreds of bikes there that actually tracks their Italian sportbike. :-)

[tlsdoug]

Well, in my case, since the bike is a 23 of 25 Akra limited, the body work is unobtanium, plus every time I ride her on the street I go a gazillion mph. So I fully tracked my RC8R, and put the stock bodywork neatly in a box.







Then I worried it looked too plain, and as it was a limited edition, I got a guy to make a Akra Decal kit, and here is how she sits today.

[tlsdoug]

I also hired a racer to help me go faster, jump higher, etc. That has been great, now I am working on faster laps. The tire bill is beginning to be heinous, but I love it, so I will keep at it. I figure the thing was made to have the shit beat out of it on a racetrack so that is why I ride it on the track. I am making payments, I have full coverage insurance on it, so that is the only reason I would be reluctant to wad it up. As to repair cost, it is exactly the way you say it is. If you wad it up, you have to fix it. That can be expensive. As to Euro bikes, I have a 2008 Super Duke, a friend wadded it up on the track at about 70 mph. I got her repaired with $1400.00 in parts. Not bad considering it looked like this.

[ANORXIC'51]

^Very nice that you track your RC8R Akra. LOVE seeing KTMs out there. NESBA had a few RC8/Rs on track during that weekend. ZARS (my normal org) has only one willing soul that tracks his standard RC8.

Good idea on replicating the expensive bodywork onto the track plastics. Mine is just a run-of-the-mill standard bike, but I haven't seen another pearl white one at any of the trackdays I've been to in the past few years (most tracked Ducs are either red or black, or some variation of racing livery...Marlboro/Xerox/etc), so the Sharkskinz are getting shot in pearl over the winter to keep it somewhat different from the others.

Sorry to hear about the SD's off, and glad your friend was able to walk away and repaired it. $1400 isn't bad at all for a proper fix.

Here's a shot of the damage from BIR after my ~50mph down in dirt.


Seriously would've only been like a $50 repair if I hadn't had OEM plastics on.....