Starting to think about next bike...

[TegRacer243]

Well the season is getting to the point where it's gonna start to wind down soon (at least here in the northeast). I'm to the point where I've begun thinking about what I want to do for my next bike. I figured I'd ask for advice in here since a big part of my decision is whether to get a track bike or do a street/track bike and I figure you guys have been there in deciding. After going down at my last track day I can see the value of having two bikes when you're pushing it at the track and will most likely go down at some point or another.

So I've had my 250 for about 4k miles now and will probably have 5-6 by the time the season is over. Done 2 track days plan on doing hopefully two more this year. I will get it out that I do want to do as many track days next year as I can and that I would like to persue racing some day. Not sure when, obviously not next year, but at some point I would like to try and while I'm still young lol.

So here are the options I forsee:

1.) Sell the 250 (not sure how much I can get for it now that it's been down) and buy a later SV650 probably 2003+ and use it for both the street and the track.

2.) Keep the 250 for riding the street and spend the money on a track bike. Not sure what, thinking probably an SV650 or EX500 or something along those lines. That's probably another thread though, but I'm open to suggestions.

3.) Now that the 250 is rashed up a little keep it for a track bike and get a nicer street bike. Then probably next year upgrade to something a little nicer at the track. I will point out I like riding the 250 at the track, but it does get a little annoying with straight line heroes and no power to keep up at all in the straights.

Of course I could always try to sell the 250 and swing both a street bike and a track bike. I'm gonna assume I'll have probably 5-7k to work with. Really depends on what kinda job I land when I get outta school in May lol. I'm kinda thinkin ahead, but I want to make some kinda decision so I can go hunting in the off season. Lookin for what you guys would do in my situation or what you have done in the past. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[OreoGaborio]

considering how popular EX500's and SV650's are at NHIS, I'd get one of those.... an SV could easily pull double duty, track and street, while you do track days, then be turned into a racer if you decide to go that route.

You can get a race ready EX500 for about 1500 bucks, a race ready SV for 2.5-4k

whether you choose to ditch the 250 or not is up to you.... but I wouldn't keep the 250 as a track/race bike. Maybe a commuter/street toy but not a track bike.

[anthonym]

whats up teg , I think you can pick either of the two bikes oreo said or maybe even a 600 sport bike I think you could get one in great shape for 5 or 6 thousand dollars maybe 2 or 3 years old. and I saw you ride at the track and you ride really well, , by the way I am going to summit point on sept 1 in wv if they have an opening, latter anthony

[OreoGaborio]

a 600 is a great track/race bike if youre a masochist w/ deep pockets.

[anthonym]

oreo , when is that tonys trackday at nhis the 2 day one i'd like to come up I am in south jersey but someone said it was 6 hours away and i need to find someone crazy enough to stay with my 4 kids , maybe your right one of the other bikes would be better going from a 250 , but he rides real well I was at the track and met him , latter guys

[OreoGaborio]

yeah I've seen him ride... he goes alright

The next Tony's back-to-back is September 18th and 19th. C'mon up bro, i'll see ya there

[Mantis]

At NHIS an EX500 or an SV is the ideal bike. You can learn good cornerspeed (which is 3/4 of the battle) and have a forgiving bike at the same time. I wouldn't go with anything bigger at Loudon unless you like have the cornerspeed thing down and are riding the shit out of a small bike. I'm in my 3rd season and I'm still learning from my supersport SV.

If you are small enough to fit on a 125 or 250 two-stroke that wouldn't be a bad choice either...

[TegRacer243]

Thanks for the comments guys. Yeah I really want the 03+ SV, but I dunno if I'll be able to have it pull street and track duties. I'd feel way too bad if (probably when) I rashed it up lol. Also Pete mentioned going maybe getting the SV650 and then turning it into a race bike if/when I get there. Would it be a lot cheaper to buy the bike already built for racing rather than doing it yourself? I know that's definately the way it is in cars just wondering the price difference here.

Are there any advantages to going EX500 or SV650? I'm not wholly familiar with the race scene at NHIS, but isn't the SV650 eligible in a bunch of classes?

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

SV650 is so easy to love as a less expensive track bike - cheaper on tires, less chance of getting high sided from 'stupid' power, aftermarket/crash parts availablity is huge, and there's almost always someone at the track with spare parts for almost anything you need for an SV650. That's a really hard combination to beat and a major consideration in any track bike purchase in my opinion.

I also want to add that no matter what you decide to do as far as actual bikes go I would definately go the dedicated track bike approach. A very common problem is with people who use their street bike double duty as a track bike, conservation of their street bike will most likely inhibit their ability to pass some of the mental boundaries required to go fast on the track. When you have a dedicated track bike the 1st thing I think you should do is get it stuck in your head that this bike is going to be a total write off and you won't recover a dime of your money back from it. With that frame of mind you'll have a much greater chance of doing the things that you need to do to learn how to go really fast and won't be concerned the whole time about crashing the bike. I'm not saying that you WILL crash, but the probability is very high that during the learning curve your chances are much greater. Most likely you'll reach a point in the future where you want to upgrade your track bike for whatever reason, though you'll PROBABLY still be able to recover quite a bit of what you invested in your track bike, you had already decided that it was a complete write-off from the beginning (so if your getting money out of it when your done with it your doing better than expected).

[whitman]

all you have to do is listen.......
I can personally attest to how much fun and easy to ride an sv650 is.
Keep in mind if everyone is on an ex500 in the class you run the FUN will be just as big as if you are running a 600 or 1k.