racing ?

[kiwi-ian]

Ive been thinkin about racing and i was wondering what anybody had to say about it and if there is anyone in Texas that races. what is it like starting out.
any info would be greatly appriciated
thanks
Ian

[OreoGaborio]

First step, if you haven't done so, is finding trackdays in your area and attend a few trackdays... Riding on the track is very different from street. The common suggestion is do about 5-10 trackdays, depending on your prior riding experience, and slowly work your way up to speed before you start racing.

Once you've done that, start looking around for a racing organization that's in your area and get involved in the racing community... find out who runs what & where, what bikes fit well at those tracks etc... Just like learning how to street ride, it's better to start racing on a smaller displacment bike.

Personally, I ride at NHIS (short, tight & technical) on an EX500. I was one of the faster Novices on the EX, won a handfull of races and just bumped to Amateur. I'm VERY glad I started on the EX. Ver cheap, tons of fun, and since the chasis is pretty crappy it teaches you a lot about how to ride a bike near it's limits. I have no doubt that the time spent on the EX will pay off once I switch to a better chasis.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Originally Posted by OreoGaborio

I'm VERY glad I started on the EX. Ver cheap, tons of fun, and since the chasis is pretty crappy it teaches you a lot about how to ride a bike near it's limits. I have no doubt that the time spent on the EX will pay off once I switch to a better chasis.

Now that's some damn good advice there! This is the same philosophy I have with starting out with a street tire, if you don't 1st learn what a bad traction tire is, it's hard to truly appreciate a true race tire and understand what the differences are in handling and what it feels like to ride with less traction. I think there are so many people now days that want everything RIGHT NOW and are not willing to walk the path of knowledge and experience. Sure you can jump on a brand new GSXR 1000 with full race tires and begin racing, but SOOOOO much will be missed doing that and there will most likely be alot more struggle than learning going on. Taking the learning steps is truely the way to go, but it's SOOO difficult to get people to go that route!

[kiwi-ian]

Well thanks for those replies i will deff look into someplace to do track days i think the place i took the MSF course does them but i willl have to make sure.

[OreoGaborio]

Cool dude, good luck w/ it & let us know how it turns out.

What's your experience been like so far? Still new to riding or did ya get started really young?

[kiwi-ian]

Im still pretty new, I have driven my buddies dirtbikes around i like to get my adrenaline going. ya kno

[OreoGaborio]

Well in that case, ya got some work to do eh? hehe

I'd say the obvious first step is to get a bike of your own. Dirt or street. Either way it's gonna be expensive. Hone your basic skills before jumping on the track. Motards are becoming more popular and if there's a track near you that isn't a high speed hp track they tend to do fairly well... so look into the plausability of getting a dirtbike and converting it to motard use.... but be advised a solid motard setup can cost a good 6-7 grand.

what might be cheaper is picking up an old used dirtbike, riding that, then getting a cheap trackbike and do some trackdays on that.

whatever you end up doing, realize this is a damn expensive hobby... there's a TON of small costs in addition to the very large start-up costs, but there's ways to do it cheaply, ya just have to be creative.

The way I do it cheap is I run a cheap bike... Kawasaki EX500... i got it fully race prepped for 1500 bucks and it only costs me about 300 bucks total per race weekend.

[kiwi-ian]

Ya i have a bike lined up that i want to try to pick up its an 00 GSXR600.
and ya i kno its expensive im just tryin to get some info on it and see how it works cuz most people you ask are like ....well you race.
im just like thanks smartass.
so thanks again everybody

[OreoGaborio]

Not a bike i'd want to learn how to ride out on the streets, and DEFINITELY not a bike I'd want learn to ride out on the race track w/o zero riding experience... but whatever, your life, do with it what you please. If you wanna go try & race a rocket from the get-go good luck, but i'll tell you this, they don't call the 600cc racing class "The Meatgrinder" for nothing. I know alot of people w/ plenty of riding experience that started out racing in that class & got fucked up quick, only to stop racing all together.

I know CCS/LRRS has a rule in their rulebook that no racer under the age of 16 may ride a 600cc bike, period. No exceptions.

"Applicants must be at least 16 years of age. (14 for 125 GP, Production Twins
Super Singles and Motard) Applicants less than 18 years of age, and all applicants
below the age of majority in their home state, must be accompanied by a parent or
legal guardian at every event and sign a minor release at registration."

.... They have that rule for a reason and 99% of the population have no problem w/ that rule whatsoever. So I'm telling you now, an '00 GSXR 600 is not a wise choice for a 15 year old w/ no REAL riding experience to speak of, aside from some dirt riding on a friend's bike.

If you wanna be in it for the long haul, do it the right way and make the wise choice.

[OreoGaborio]

PS - I don't mean to preach, but I'd feel horrible if you went out there & got seriously hurt and I didn't say anything & everything I could to warn you about the dangers of what you want to do.

There's safer, less expensive and much more beneficial and educational ways of going about racing. You're 15, no reason to rush things. I didn't start riding motorcycles till i was 21, started doing trackdays at 24, started racing this year at 26. You've got plenty of time to do things right.