Racing

[sweepdoggydog]

Hi,

I would like to try and get in to racing next year, however I'm slightly put of by the amount of money that its gonna cost, does anyone know of one of the cheaper entry levels, I've read hat there's a mini twin series where i could run the SV, and it seems that tuning is limited which should reduce the total cost, has any one raced at in this series or know anything about it?

[chunkytfg]

IIRC the website you need to be checking out is www.minitwins.co.uk

As for what you can and cant do....basically tuning wise your limited to a full race system, air filter and ECU remap or powercommander depending on your opinions on either method.

Suspension can be change to a new shock of your choice and fork mods providing the externals are the same as originally fitted.

And bodywork you like can be fitted mounted on lightweight subframes should you wish.

wheels have to stay the same along although discs can be changed.

And thats pretty much it bar the usual ACU regs like lockwiring and catch bottles etc etc.

Minitwins really is a cheap for mof racing although bear in mind when i say cheap you are probably looking at in the region of 5k for your first year not including the cost of building the bike.

Any other info you need should be on the website if not feel free to ask here as I know of at least 3 people on this forum who definately know whats what plus me(ish!!)

[Blue_SV650S]

What is your budget?

[sweepdoggydog]

I dont really have a budget, I understand that its going to cost a fair bit, i've heard about 8k is about average, but i would like to enter a series that will limit the cost to tune and mod the bike. I was going to sell my SV but if it is a good bike to have in the mini twin series i'll keep it?

I still have limited experience, is there a novice type league? i understand that even the novice league will still be at a high standard, but is there a good place to start for novices?

[weazelz]

the cb500 cup is a cheapish series to get into:

http://ukracer.net/cb500/

*very* limited mods, one tyre - bt-090's, etc.

[Jdubya]

Suzuki have launched a new race series and it costs about £12000 for the series. Includes the bike and leathers and all sorts of other goodies. Have a read over HERE (http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/article.asp?id=676)

[Blue_SV650S]

Suzuki have launched a new race series and it costs about £12000 for the series. Includes the bike and leathers and all sorts of other goodies. Have a read over HERE (http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/article.asp?id=676)

Sweepdoggydog If you can raise £12k; do it! It sounds like a bargain to me. (Depending on how much stuff you have already, I don’t think you could set yourself up and have a competitive first season for <£12k).

It's not the cost of the stuff that is cheap; but the fact you are 'buying' a level playing field. It couldn't be more even, could it?

I am going to check there isn’t an age limit on it and consider applying myself! :)

[DanAbnormal]

Well I know next to nothing about racing. Apart from the idea is to get round in one peice.

But I heard that many a new racer go out and try to get on a 600cc machine without really a clue as how to ride the bike on track. When I get into racing it will be with a little ZXR400 or similar. Can be picked up for about £1000 (may need some work!!) but also parts should be cheap enough to source from t'internet. Of course as I am not an authority on this I am purely going on someone else's info (Team Splodge to be precise) so feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Dan

[pete m]

Take a look at our Start Racing series - i think its in Features section, all about minitwins as well - tells you all about licences and whta you ll need etc... :lol:

click below :wink:

[Blue_SV650S]

Well I know next to nothing about racing. Apart from the idea is to get round in one peice. ...


No the idea is to win (or get as far up front as possible)!!! If getting round in one piece is more important to you than trying to win, then racing isn’t for you!! :P

sweepdoggydog-

The new BEMSEE 400cc rules make it a cheaper class to be competitive in than it ever was (they now have a low power limit). But minitwins is also a less budget dependent series too. Don’t be fooled though, there will still be people out there with big budgets.

As for using your bike, by the time you have upgraded the suspension and made it race ready you would probably have been better off flogging yours as a road bike and buying a 2nd hand ‘race package’. Race bikes don’t fetch as much as road bikes.

At the end of the day, it all depends on if you want to be competitive or just be ‘out there’!!

p.s. I raced* SS600, one of the biggest money pits classes of all!! :shock: :cry: :D

*now semi-retired, still do the odd round.

[Blue_SV650S]

OK phoned up about the ACU GSX-R TROPHY, unlike the R6 cup if you crash/total the bike it is down to you to fix/replace it.

That's that idea out the window then!! :cry:

I was ready to sign up there and then but with that information I am no longer interested ... if I have to worry about the financial consequences of a crash then it isn't worth me participating. Especially as the field will be full of over zealous 17yr olds!!! I don't want to be going around having to concede as I don't want to damage the bike!! :(

[northwind]

I'd take up racing, I reckon I could afford it... But on the other hand, I'm too s***. It's a cruel irony :)

[Blue_SV650S]

I'd take up racing, I reckon I could afford it... But on the other hand, I'm too s***. It's a cruel irony :)

… so the obvious solution here is for you to give me all your cash!! :)

[sweepdoggydog]

Could anyone give me a rough breakdown of the costs that occour during the season, stuff I understand you have to purchase the bike, van, entry costs, tyres and when you trash the bike and need to repair it, where does the other costs come from?.

[Blue_SV650S]

Could anyone give me a rough breakdown of the costs that occour during the season, stuff I understand you have to purchase the bike, van, entry costs, tyres and when you trash the bike and need to repair it, where does the other costs come from?.

Ok 'average' here (you can go more or less)

- per round -> season (10 meets)
entry 200 -> 2000
practice 100 -> 1000
tyres 230 -> 2300
fuel (van and bike)
150 -> 1500
pads oil etc 30 -> 300
sundries,
keneesliders,
food,booze 50 -> 500
Total for season 7600

Startup costs
leathers, boots, lid, gloves 1500
membership club & ACU etc 100
bike package 4000
van 3000
crash kitty 3000
refresh 300
Awning & genny 500
Startup total 12400
1st season grand total 20000

If you crash alot then you will need more leathers, lids etc. bike might even be a total loss, but the 3k crash kitty is a ballpark for a normal season.

If you want to be mega competitive then you will need more tyres and practice. Also a better bike.

You can scrimp a bit on van and bike package, you can also get away with tyres every other round or so, but to be fair, again if you want to stand a chance you will want a new set at LEAST every round.

It all adds up you see!

Even being a cheapscate it is going to be > £10k for your first season. You could spend £50k and still not have everything you want!!

[Vfr400]

Could anyone give me a rough breakdown of the costs that occur during the season, stuff I understand you have to purchase the bike, van, entry costs, tyres and when you trash the bike and need to repair it, where does the other costs come from?.

Can i suggest a couple of forums dedicated to racing www.motoforum.net and www.visordown.com both inhibited (just like here) with tremendously helpful racers.

As mention before the Minitwins and CB 500's offer cheapish racing (NOTE: NO RACING IS CHEAP, SOME ARE JUST LESS DEARER THAN OTHERS) another good series is the Yamaha past masters racing with Bemsee or the Ducati due series running with new era

visordown: http://www.visordown.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=30

Motoforum: http://www.motoforum.net/

Yamaha YPMS : http://www.ypmrc.co.uk/frames.html

Ducati Due : http://ducatisportingclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Even being a cheapscate it is going to be > £10k for your first season. You could spend £50k and still not have everything you want!!

There are some racers who have completed a season in Ducati Due for £4500 including buying the bike!

[jonboy99]

[quote=sweepdoggydog]Can i suggest a couple of forums dedicated to racing www.motoforum.net and www.visordown.com both inhibited (just like here) with tremendously helpful racers.



From my experience on VD, they are anything but inhibited. :lol:

[DanAbnormal]

No the idea is to win (or get as far up front as possible)!!! If getting round in one piece is more important to you than trying to win, then racing isn’t for you!! :P



I almost wrote that but being a non-racer my first (and many) outings will be to just settle in to a pace and get a bit of practice. Then perhaps I can start to be competitive. Of ocurse that doesn't mean I will let you pass if I can defend my line, I may even bring along a metal chain Road Rash style! :wink:

[the_runt69]

Thers also the thunderbikes that run with a bit more HP mate is selling his for just over 4K complte with a lot of bits, let us know if your interested (SV700)

H

[Blue_SV650S]

Could anyone give me a rough breakdown of the costs that occur during the season, stuff I understand you have to purchase the bike, van, entry costs, tyres and when you trash the bike and need to repair it, where does the other costs come from?.

Can i suggest a couple of forums dedicated to racing www.motoforum.net and www.visordown.com both inhibited (just like here) with tremendously helpful racers.

As mention before the Minitwins and CB 500's offer cheapish racing (NOTE: NO RACING IS CHEAP, SOME ARE JUST LESS DEARER THAN OTHERS) another good series is the Yamaha past masters racing with Bemsee or the Ducati due series running with new era

visordown: http://www.visordown.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=30

Motoforum: http://www.motoforum.net/

Yamaha YPMS : http://www.ypmrc.co.uk/frames.html

Ducati Due : http://ducatisportingclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Even being a cheapscate it is going to be > £10k for your first season. You could spend £50k and still not have everything you want!!

There are some racers who have completed a season in Ducati Due for £4500 including buying the bike!

The MZs are cheaper than those classes still (had a mate that raced in that, he ran 1 set of tyres all year!!), but there is no getting away with the fact that if you want to do a full season, entry fees alone are ~£2k (with BEMSEE/MRO), you still need all the other stuff.

A few of the other costs will vary, like fuel is dependent on location, but I’d say in general those figures are not unrealistic, perhaps conservative if you really wanted to launch at it.

If you can ‘buddy up’ with someone then some of the costs will plummet, like if they have transport, you could even run their cast-off tyres if you weren’t worried about being competitive.

So in summery, you might be able to ‘give it a bash’ for less, but I’d be thinking you need between £10k and £20k in your first season to have a half decent stab at things (presuming you have no kit), if you wanted a hyper competitive bike and lots of practice, a caravan to sleep in etc, you could probably double that pretty easy.

I think if you go into it with these numbers flying round in your head then you won’t get too far out of depth.

To give you an example of some of the people you might find yourself up against, I know one kid when I was in my 2nd year of racing, rumor had it that his dad gave him a budget of £100k for a season!!! He had 3 top spec bikes and a massive transporter!! Alright for some!! :lol: But to be fair I think that was exceptional, MOST people out there are on much less copious budgets!! :)

[TSM]

p.s. I raced* SS600, one of the biggest money pits classes of all!! :shock: :cry: :D

*now semi-retired, still do the odd round.

No wander you were so effing quick.

[Blue_SV650S]

p.s. I raced* SS600, one of the biggest money pits classes of all!! :shock: :cry: :D

*now semi-retired, still do the odd round.

No wander you were so effing quick.

:oops: :)

Thought about doing a wildcard minitwins after my trial run on the SV at Lydden, but decided against it in the end :?

[chunkytfg]

Thers also the thunderbikes that run with a bit more HP mate is selling his for just over 4K complte with a lot of bits, let us know if your interested (SV700)

H

Now i can only assume that is Gary morris? He's the only SV700 race bike owner i know of thats selling up? Well all except the owner of the SV700 i've just bought for next year :lol:

[the_runt69]

Now i can only assume that is Gary morris? He's the only SV700 race bike owner i know of thats selling up? Well all except the owner of the SV700 i've just bought for next year

Correct, after 4 years its just got expensive for him.

H

[jenni]

Could anyone give me a rough breakdown of the costs that occour during the season, stuff I understand you have to purchase the bike, van, entry costs, tyres and when you trash the bike and need to repair it, where does the other costs come from?.

Ok 'average' here (you can go more or less)

- per round -> season (10 meets)
entry 200 -> 2000
practice 100 -> 1000
tyres 230 -> 2300
fuel (van and bike)
150 -> 1500
pads oil etc 30 -> 300
sundries,
keneesliders,
food,booze 50 -> 500
Total for season 7600

Startup costs
leathers, boots, lid, gloves 1500
membership club & ACU etc 100
bike package 4000
van 3000
crash kitty 3000
refresh 300
Awning & genny 500
Startup total 12400
1st season grand total 20000

If you crash alot then you will need more leathers, lids etc. bike might even be a total loss, but the 3k crash kitty is a ballpark for a normal season.

If you want to be mega competitive then you will need more tyres and practice. Also a better bike.

You can scrimp a bit on van and bike package, you can also get away with tyres every other round or so, but to be fair, again if you want to stand a chance you will want a new set at LEAST every round.

It all adds up you see!

Even being a cheapscate it is going to be > £10k for your first season. You could spend £50k and still not have everything you want!!

My mate gabrielle is riding in the new GXR series next year and it is costin approx 20k for the season, she has got alot of sponsorship deals from manufacurers of gear and a few garages so that repair costs are lower

[weazelz]

p.s. I raced* SS600, one of the biggest money pits classes of all!! :shock: :cry: :D

*now semi-retired, still do the odd round.

I think you need to post a link to your race results :-)

[Blue_SV650S]

My mate gabrielle is riding in the new GXR series next year and it is costin approx 20k for the season, she has got alot of sponsorship deals from manufacurers of gear and a few garages so that repair costs are lower

Cool, but the series costs £12k to actually enter? Or do you mean she has budgeted £20k all in as she realises that even thought that is inclusive, it won’t stop at the £12k?

You will have to keep us informed of her progress :) Has she any previous race experience?!

It is hard to get sponsorship, but the R6 cup (and the GSXR thing) is pretty high profile making things a bit easier as it is more attractive to the sponsors then club racing. Also being female she will have the ‘novelty’ factor on her side, good for her :)

[Blue_SV650S]

p.s. I raced* SS600, one of the biggest money pits classes of all!! :shock: :cry: :D

*now semi-retired, still do the odd round.

I think you need to post a link to your race results :-)

Er they span a few years, and not really collated in one place … so it isn’t as easy as that …

But here is a photo from one of my more successful weekends!! I really shouldn't look that miserable but I lost out on another podium through getting a 10s penalty shortly beforehand!! :roll: :lol:

http://upload4.postimage.org/1455645/trophys.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1455645/photo_hosting.html)