FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

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FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Striple » Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:38 pm

Choosing a Track Bike

So you finally let your buddies convince you to do a track day, and quickly realized how much you would be able to improve your overall riding skills if only you were to do track days much more regularly. A few more track days later, and you’re now beginning to play with the idea of having a dedicated track bike. After all, nobody wants to see their pride and joy mangled by a track crash. Now the big task becomes to choose a proper track bike that is right for you. Do you choose the same model as your street bike or should you choose an entirely different machine? Which displacement size is best for the track? Which features are important for a track biker to have? Should you buy one that is ready to go or pick up a street bike and then convert it to a track bike?


Which types of motorcycles make the best track bikes?

There are a lot of aspects that are involved in choosing a track bike, but the short answer is that it depends on what your goal is. Most prospective buyers fall into one of two categories: they’re either an occasional track rider who is looking to just enjoy a few track days per year in order to have a good time without worrying about crashing their street bike, or they’re a serious track junkie who aims to focus on improving their track riding skill by doing as many track days as possible. If you just want to do a few track days a year and have a good time, then you should simply get the bike that you like best, based on whatever criteria are important to you. Just about any motorcycle is fun to ride at the track, even something as seemingly unsuitable as a cruiser or touring bike. There are people riding anything from a Goldwing to an HD Sportster at the track, and all of them are having an absolute blast. I’ve taken a 600+-lbs sport-touring bike onto the track several times, and couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. Track riding is motorcycle riding in its purest form, and it is going to be a fun time regardless what kind of bike you’re riding. Sure, a modern supersport bike is going to facilitate performance riding much more than a bike that was designed for touring, commuting, or cruising around, but there is a lot of fun to be had on just about any two-wheeled machine.

However, if your goal is to maximize your learning progress at the track, and to begin to ascend through the various skill levels that a typical track day is structured into, then you will have to be quite a bit more calculated about your choice. The bottom line is that the smaller the bike is, the more it is going to teach you. The reason for that is that on a small bike, you’re not going to have to dedicate a significant part of your focus to power management. A smaller bike will also not allow you to compensate for the lack of corner speed, thereby forcing you to develop one of the most crucial skills for the track. A smaller bike is also much more forgiving for making mistakes than a more powerful larger bike. This means that mistakes are not immediately punished, and your risk of suffering a high-side crash is significantly lower. And last but not least—a smaller bike is generally much cheaper to run at the track than a larger bike. For those reasons, 250-300-cc sport bikes (e.g., Honda CBR250R & CBR300R, Kawasaki Ninja 250R & Ninja 300, Yamaha R3, etc.) are ideal training bikes for many people. They're cheap to purchase, cheap to run, and cheap to repair. They're also going to teach you a ton, since you cannot use the power of the engine (approximately 20-35 hp and 12-17 lb-ft of torque, depending on the model) to compensate for whatever deficiencies your riding technique may have. The only downside is that 250s and 300s may limit your ability to run in advanced track day groups, since even competitive lightweight racers will usually run them in the intermediate groups, where on-track rules (regarding passing) may be more restrictive than you'd prefer.

The Kawasaki EX500/Ninja 500/Ninja 500R is another bike with a parallel-twin engine that was produced from 1987 until 2009, and was once the manufacturer’s biggest-selling sport bike. To this day, the 500 is still a popular track riding and roadracing platform. The bikes in this class are an excellent choice for a track bike, as they offer the same benefits previously mentioned for the 250-300 class, with just a tad more power at approximately 50 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque, and a dry weight of 370-388 lbs. The first generation was produced from 1987-1993, with the second generation (1994-2009) having larger wheels (17” vs. 16”), an improved rear brake (disk brake vs. drum brake), and some minor engine modifications. These bikes are generally available for $2000 and up. Honda recently introduced a new contender into this class with the CBR500R, which is another parallel-twin that is further attempting to revitalize the 500-cc class.

The next class consists of the 650-cc twins, which includes the Suzuki SV650/Gladius and the Kawasaki Ninja 650R. These are still considered lightweight bikes, even though at a dry weight of 364-401 lbs they're actually about 15-25 pounds heavier than your average 600-cc supersport, while generating roughly 40-50 fewer horsepower (approximately 64-73 hp), and producing only marginally more torque at peak (approximately 42-47 lb-ft). This is a fantastic class for riders who want to focus on developing their skill set on the track, but feel more comfortable on a larger bike with at least some degree of power. These bikes are a tremendous amount of fun to ride, and are usually very popular in regional roadracing organizations. The Suzuki SV650 is a v-twin that was manufactured from 1999-2012, and was subsequently replaced by the SFV650 Gladius, which is essentially an updated successor to the SV650. The Kawasaki Ninja 650R is a more recent contribution to this class, and was first released in 2006. It is a parallel twin, and with approximately 71 hp and 44-47 lb-ft of torque it is nearly identical in performance to Suzuki’s v-twins. Since both of these platforms have now been around for quite some time, parts are very readily available and are comparatively cheap to come by. Track bikes in this class currently sell for about $2500 and up, and fully race-prepped competition bikes can be had for about $4000 or so.

The 600-cc supersport class is probably the single most popular class at the track. These middleweights are common as dirt, so cheap parts are widely available and readily accessible, assuming that you're going with the conventional models. Whether you ride an R6, ZX-6R, CBR 600RR, GSX-R 600 or even the Daytona 675 makes little difference, and is mostly a matter of personal preference. Don't worry about which bike won the magazine shootouts that year--it means absolutely nothing unless you are competing against yourself on each of the five models! Find the one that fits you best ergonomically, since chances are that you are going to do best on the one that you’re most comfortable on. The Daytona 675 is still a bit more expensive to run than her Japanese counterparts, but she has now been (ab)used on the race track for a number of years, so the price gap between her and her Japanese competition is beginning to decrease. Any bikes in this class are powerful enough to be able to utilize the engine to overcome some cornering issues at a track day, and the chassis are top notch, so that your progress may—ironically—actually be stunted a bit. This may initially seem counterintuitive, but these bikes will allow you to get away with poor technique in a way that lightweight bikes do not. In addition, your cost of running these bikes is significantly higher than that of the lightweights, since the substantially greater amount of power translates into heavier wear, which becomes most obvious when you consider tire wear. This also means that you must devote a greater portion of your focus toward power management, which will thus not be available to focus on proper cornering technique. Nonetheless, there are lots of people who start on a 600-cc platform and manage to become very fast riders. Typical track bikes in this class are available starting at around $3000, and a fully race-prepped competition bike can be had for around $5000 or so.

This pattern of more powerful engines leading to slower learning progress increases exponentially as you go further up the food chain. The heavyweights (750- & 1000-cc bikes) produce more power, are more expensive to run, and require an even greater amount of focus devoted to power management. The liter bikes (ZX-10R, CBR1000RR, GSX-R 1000, YZF-R1, BMW S1000RR, KTM 1190 RC8, Aprilia RSV4, etc.) in particular are generally the most difficult bikes to learn on, even though many of the newer models are loaded with electronics to assist the rider with managing the power. At up to 200+ claimed horsepower and about 70-85 lb-ft of torque, these bikes require a significant portion of the rider’s focus to be dedicated to power management, particularly on corner exit. In addition, in order to be able to properly utilize that power, these bikes require a very different riding style compared to the bikes of just about any other class: this involves a reduced emphasis on corner speed, and a focus on getting the bike stood up as quickly as possible in order to maximize traction, which in turn allows the rider to harvest the power of the engine. Please note that these aspects do not render it impossible to learn track riding skills on a liter bike—it is just not going to be as easy and quickly as that same progress would take on a smaller bike.

The best practical approach is to simply try out bikes from each of the categories that you may be considering. Borrow a friend’s track bike for a few laps at a track day, and you will quickly feel whether that particular model is worthy of further consideration or not. Make sure that you keep an open mind—you will be surprised at how much a smaller bike can teach you, regardless of your own height and weight.


What do I look for when shopping for a track bike?

Once you've narrowed it down to a particular class or model, your search is going to become a lot easier. Basically, you want a bike with an aftermarket suspension, track fairings, aftermarket rear sets, and a steering damper. Most everything else is bonus: things like an exhaust, fuel management system, slipper clutch, 520 kit, multiple sprockets, extra wheels, etc. are all great goodies to have, but they are not critical to your initial progress at the track. The aftermarket suspension, however, is! Any aftermarket double- or triple clicker rear shock is going to be fine, and you definitely want aftermarket fork internals as well. The stock suspension of most bikes is mediocre at best, and will keep you from gaining the confidence that is required to make solid and continuous progress. It can make you feel like your bike is losing control and stability, even though you're not physically demanding very much from it. It is understandable yet regrettable that most riders who are relatively new to the track share a certain degree of reluctance to spend a significant amount of money on a suspension. With time and experience, that reluctance tends to be replaced by an enthusiastic desire to upgrade the suspension of any future track (or really any other) bikes they purchase. Keep in mind that there is a 99% chance that you will have to get the aftermarket suspension of your new track bike serviced and sprung for your weight. It is exceptionally rare to get lucky enough to purchase a bike that is both sprung for your weight and was recently serviced, so that the suspension will function the way it should. The approximate cost for that service is $300-600, depending on who does it and whether you or they are the ones who are physically removing and installing the suspension on the bike. Don’t ever be reluctant to spend money on the suspension of your track bike—it is almost always a critical aspect of getting faster!

Some people may feel tempted to buy a track bike with a stock suspension, with the idea of then separately purchasing a new aftermarket suspension of their liking. This is certainly a viable alternative, albeit a much more expensive one. Aftermarket suspension components are not cheap—expect to pay $2,000-3,500 for a good setup. If you want to go that route, consult your local suspension gurus about which setup they recommend for your bike and your plans. Be honest with them about your current pace, and collect feedback from multiple renowned sources. You may also check with active roadracers who have experience with the model of bike that you plan on buying. Separately acquired preowned suspension setups can be great deals, but you have to make certain that the parts are all properly functioning, which is not always easy to do, unless you have experience with suspension work yourself.

Track fairings are important not because they help the bike to perform better, but they are significantly lighter in weight than the stock fairings, are able to be repaired, and—if mounted properly—they can be installed and removed relatively quickly and easily. Depending on the brand of fairings and the model of bike, they can cost anywhere from $300-1,200 new. The installation of these track fairings is not always quite as easy as one would imagine, so it is nice to purchase a bike that already has properly installed and painted track fairings. Be especially cautious about purchasing fairings of unknown brands online, as they are frequently of low quality and have a very poor fit. As with most things, you get what you paid for.

A steering damper is one of those items that you may not always need, but when you do need it, you need it badly. Generally speaking, the more powerful a bike is, the more likely it is to experience some degree of headshake on some corner exits. A steering damper will reduce the likelihood of that headshake being exacerbated by rider input and potentially becoming catastrophic. I once saw a rider at a local track day experience massive headshake that was close to the point of no return. Moments before the bike was sure to crash, he took both hands off the handlebar and lifted them straight into the air, thereby allowing the bike to work out the headshake without rider input. The bike stopped oscillating almost immediately, and the rider was able to regain control of the bike and continued riding without incident. A high-quality steering damper is designed to help you in exactly that type of situation. Unfortunately, most of the quality brands are not cheap, and you can expect to pay $450-550 for a solid unit. Remember that some stock bikes are not equipped with a steering damper, in which case you will also have to acquire a mounting bracket, which is typically model-specific. If you cannot find a commercially-made bracket, then you may want to check in your bike model’s online community. It is fairly common for people to make their own brackets and sell them at a decent price on online forums.

Engine work is not an important factor for a track bike. In fact, I recommend against purchasing a bike that has had significant engine modifications, because unless they were minor and made by a highly reputable source, it is only going to increase motor maintenance and may have a tendency to make that particular engine less reliable and less durable. Built engines play a role in competitive racing, but can easily become an expensive nuisance on a track bike. Stock engines are usually both reliable and durable, assuming that one is taking care of them accordingly.

What about a quickshifter? Or aftermarket wheels? Or an aftermarket master cylinder? Why are these items not mentioned? There are obviously many other aftermarket options available to help you squeeze every bit of performance out of a track bike, and many of these options would be significant for a competitive racer who is shopping for a new race bike. However, they are not nearly as important for the track day rider who is shopping for his first track bike, since the goal is to learn and to facilitate progress. Make sure that your bike has a good suspension, track fairings, aftermarket rear sets, and a steering damper. After that, the best upgrade to spend money on is the rider, not the bike.


What are some of the important aspects that I need to ask about when considering a particular track bike?

Buying a track bike is not too different from buying a regular street bike, except that wear and tear tend to be much harder on a track bike, so proper maintenance and upkeep by the previous owner(s) becomes that much more important. Check all of the usual items that you would investigate when buying a street bike, then consider asking about the following aspects:

- When was the last time that the motor was refreshed? If it was a winning race bike (a common point of advertisement), then it was run HARD. Normal race bikes are rebuild at least every couple of years. If it wasn't, then you could be the one who is off in the grass with a smoking motor. That kind of engine service is also not cheap at all (think aftermarket suspension ballpark). If the engine was recently serviced, then ask about who did the work, and what exactly was done. Note that endurance race bikes go through hell for hours at a time, and few endurance teams would get a bike serviced before putting it up for sale.

- When was the last time that the valve clearances were checked? At a minimum, this is an annual item for a track/race bike, and it would be good to know. If the seller doesn’t know, then you should be prepared to make that one of the first items that you will need to take care of (tedious, but inexpensive to do yourself).

- What are the spring rates in the suspension? If the seller doesn't know, ask about what weight it was set for. It is quite unusual to find a bike that is sprung for the proper weight AND has had the suspension serviced recently, so expect to get that taken care of yourself. Do not skip out on that, even if it may seem tempting after spending major money on a track bike. An incorrectly-sprung and/or worn suspension does not perform properly, and defeats the purpose of having a quality suspension in the first place.

- What kind of internals are in the forks? Try to get a specific answer to this question, because sellers frequently just list the brand of the fork internals, but not the specific type or model. There is a huge difference in both price and performance between mere emulators and gas cartridges, and this can be a major tipping point in the potential purchase of a bike.

- If it has a fuel management system, what kind of tune is it running? What kind of gas is it tuned for? While this can be adjusted relatively easily, it is worth knowing what type of gas the current tune is designed for, so that you can decide whether you want to keep or edit it.

One of the more tempting approaches to getting a track bike is to buy a cheap stock motorcycle and then slowly convert it to a track bike. This is a fun approach, but also a very expensive one. Just like buying a stock street bike and adding all of the desired farkles yourself is much more expensive than buying a preowned bike and letting the previous owner take the hit on aftermarket parts, it is almost always significantly more expensive to build a track bike yourself. Besides, if the goal is to improve your progress at the track, then the fastest and most efficient way to reach that goal is by buying a bike that is mostly set up and ready to go.

Buying a first track bike can be both fun and stressful, because you’re taking the plunge into a very specialized type of riding. There is a sheer limitless amount of options available, and many of them can make a good choice for some riders. Finding the right bike for you involves identifying your goals, then testing and eliminating options from the various classes of bikes, based on your own set of characteristics. Hopefully this article will serve as a good starting point on your journey to find the perfect track bike for you.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Firewa11 » Mon Mar 23, 2015 6:34 am

Very nice write-up Striple.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by BeautifulDisaster » Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:18 am

Love it!!!! I do have a question: If a person does purchase a dedicated track bike and it's smaller than her/his street bike, does the learning and experience translate easily to street riding? For instance, if you do a majority of learning on a smaller bike, get the ease of power management, leaning, turns, etc., will the new skills you acquire at the track be easily applicable to the street bike (the bigger bike)? Is it simply a muscle memory thing on the bigger bike and it just comes together easily? I know it might be a silly question to others, but for someone who simply hasn't had the same experiences, it's a wonder.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Striple » Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:41 am

Thanks guys! I hope this is going to be helpful.
BeautifulDisaster wrote:If a person does purchase a dedicated track bike and it's smaller than her/his street bike, does the learning and experience translate easily to street riding? For instance, if you do a majority of learning on a smaller bike, get the ease of power management, leaning, turns, etc., will the new skills you acquire at the track be easily applicable to the street bike (the bigger bike)? Is it simply a muscle memory thing on the bigger bike and it just comes together easily?
As a general rule, ANY track riding experience will help you on the street, even if you are using two entirely different platforms. The basic concepts of choosing the proper line through a turn, using the right body position, setting an appropriate corner entry speed, etc., all transfer directly to the street, regardless of the types of bikes involved. Occasionally you see riders who have a track bike of the same model as their street bike, but that is certainly not necessary to be able to transfer those skill sets. In fact, even in those cases where they are using the same model, the two bikes will typically have different tires, suspension, brakes, etc., because they are set up for two different environments. Track riding is all about learning (an important part of which is to develop the proper muscle memory that you mentioned), so you want to find a bike that makes that process as comfortable and efficient as possible.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by milesmiles » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:18 am

Just from what you have seen & heard, how does the supermotos(husky 510,aprilia sxv, yamaha 450, ktm 450-5) fair for a track bike? It's one that really wasn't mentioned, but i'm the most interested in for several different reasons. Interest would be getting the most fun out of an all around bike, one that would be also easy to take on the street if i wanted.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Striple » Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:29 am

There is a small but consistent group of supermotos that regularly compete in the CMRA, including WR250X, WR450, YZ450, Aprilia SXV 550, KTM 690, CRF450R, DRZ400, etc. This is a specialized group that I don't have any personal experience on a roadrace track with, but perhaps Shaun would be a good source for feedback about supermotos.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Rhino » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:01 pm

BeautifulDisaster wrote:Love it!!!! I do have a question: If a person does purchase a dedicated track bike and it's smaller than her/his street bike, does the learning and experience translate easily to street riding? For instance, if you do a majority of learning on a smaller bike, get the ease of power management, leaning, turns, etc., will the new skills you acquire at the track be easily applicable to the street bike (the bigger bike)? Is it simply a muscle memory thing on the bigger bike and it just comes together easily? I know it might be a silly question to others, but for someone who simply hasn't had the same experiences, it's a wonder.
Yep, that's pretty much how it works. Any learning is good learning.

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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Rhino » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:03 pm

milesmiles wrote:Just from what you have seen & heard, how does the supermotos(husky 510,aprilia sxv, yamaha 450, ktm 450-5) fair for a track bike? It's one that really wasn't mentioned, but i'm the most interested in for several different reasons. Interest would be getting the most fun out of an all around bike, one that would be also easy to take on the street if i wanted.
Buy a DRZ400SM and call it good.

I've done a ton of research, and it looks like the more track-capable the sumo comes stock, the more it sucks on the street. If you want a track weapon, buy Aprilia or possibly KTM. But be ready for extremely frequent maintenance. DRZ400SM can hold its own with minor mods, and is basically a bulletproof design.

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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by milesmiles » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:48 pm

Negative, the drz400 isn't even on my list of wants for a supermoto at all. I won't be riding on the street much at all so this is more geared towards the track. THe aprilia sxv is really what i want, but it's so race oriented that it shouldn't really be on the street at all. That brings me to the husky 510 & a few of the ktm models, possibly the 450wr, but that's towards the back of the list as well.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Rhino » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:29 pm

If you're not riding on the street much, buy the Aprilia. Street legal race bike.

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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by milesmiles » Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:21 pm

Nah I talked with an aprilia rep, he says even he couldn't sell me one in good conscience with knowing if take it for the occasional street ride. He said it's just too much wrenching. That bike both the 450 &550 are on a different level.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by LonestarCBR » Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:26 pm

milesmiles wrote:Nah...it's just too much wrenching.
But you just bought a new toolbox. :HeadScratch:
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Striple » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:18 pm

My suggestion is to first spend a track day or two riding a borrowed/rented supermoto to determine whether that is what you want to spend your track funds on. They are very different and unique platforms that also require a different riding style.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Rhino » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:47 pm

milesmiles wrote:Nah I talked with an aprilia rep, he says even he couldn't sell me one in good conscience with knowing if take it for the occasional street ride. He said it's just too much wrenching. That bike both the 450 &550 are on a different level.
Choose. You can't have it both ways.

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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by toy752 » Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:09 am

Thanks for the write up Striple. It was packed with good information.
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Re: FWMR Blog #1: Choosing a Track Bike

Post by Striple » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:54 am

No problem--glad you were able to find it useful!
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