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Track bike recs?

L

lobreslin

New member
Joined
Jun 14, 2024
Moto(s)
GSXR 750
Hi y'all - what's a good bike for a novice track day rider (2 track days completed)?

My daily bike is a GSXR-750. I just completed a track day with CA superbike school and really enjoyed riding the bmw s1000.

Should I stick with GSXR? Should I look for a mid-sized bike (R6) or liter bike (s1000, R1, ducati 899+, etc.)? Appreciate y'all!
 
I think price wise it is hard to fault a mid 2000's gsxr 750.
still plenty of upgrades available, handeling and and enough speed to be relevant...and you can pick one up at a reasonable price..
If you have a more generous budget, hard to fault a last gen Triumph Daytona R.
If you want all the electronic goodies it will cost you a bit more to get in to something modern.
Best bang for the buck is something already sorted and set up for the track.
DT
 
Ride what you have. Track time is the most important thing for a new track rider. Spend your money on trackdays, not another bike.
 
stangmx13 said:
Ride what you have. Track time is the most important thing for a new track rider. Spend your money on trackdays, not another bike.
Click to expand...
^ That.

Stick with your Suzuki. Time, miles, (and money) are better spent than wondering if you should be riding something else, in the sense it might be better. Different bike might be different but not necessarily "better" for what you're doing with only 2 track days in.
 
I loved my old '06 and '07 GSX-R 750 - Amazing track bike for sure.
I'm still tracking an '06 GSX-R 600.
 
things to consider:
is the GXSR 750 you're only bike? do you use it to commute?
How many trackdaze a month/year are you going to do?
What is your closest track? which tracks will you be using?
What is your end goal? Improving skills, just having fun or going racing?

A cheap smaller displacement bike might be: not so hungry for tires, teach your skills faster and if you wreak it at the track not such an emotional blow and cheaper to repair.
If you could find a SV650, Ninja 400 or Yamaha twin that already has suspension work done you might improve faster and not have to worry about wreaking your baby.
 
If you're not struggling for cash, I'd look for a unit with a 5 (or higher) axis IMU. Electronics are the real game changer these days and while simple TC is great, the multi axis units are phenomenal and have great advanced safety measures. An 890 Duke or Aprilia 660 are tops of my list for "you'll never get bored of" track bikes. All things being equal, a Ninja 400 is a great track too at much less cost. I just hate worrying about who's gonna smash into the back of me which the other two bikes listed don't create that concern.
 
+1 to the 890 platform, we've got a pile of them in the group. Fast enough to keep up with just about anything, low power enough to unintimidating, excellent TC, pretty light out of the box, not exhausting to ride, just delightful all around. stangmx13 has the right of it though, ride the bike you have and put piles of time on it. Tires and tracktime will make you a better rider than a newer bike, although something that has a good TC package will help accelerate progress by providing a comfortable safety margin for exceeding the limit. I liked my 890 enough that I converted it to a pure track toy. 340 pounds with a full tank of gas, 105hp to the wheel, it's a really good time on track.
6PcrQr4l.jpg

22SafkTl.png
 
Z3n said:
+1 to the 890 platform, we've got a pile of them in the group. Fast enough to keep up with just about anything, low power enough to unintimidating, excellent TC, pretty light out of the box, not exhausting to ride, just delightful all around. stangmx13 has the right of it though, ride the bike you have and put piles of time on it. Tires and tracktime will make you a better rider than a newer bike, although something that has a good TC package will help accelerate progress by providing a comfortable safety margin for exceeding the limit. I liked my 890 enough that I converted it to a pure track toy. 340 pounds with a full tank of gas, 105hp to the wheel, it's a really good time on track.
6PcrQr4l.jpg

22SafkTl.png
Click to expand...
OMG can you share deeeeets, what did you doooooo, i got me a 890r and i wanna go back to track so baaaaad, i last had a 13 zx6r in 2017
 
You can see a bunch of stuff in my project thread here:

Z3n's Project Barn

Starting to document my builds more directly, so figured I'd spin up a thread here. I've got a couple of things in the pipeline right now, so expect updates in the short term on my RC890 project (or as I lovingly refer to it, the wish.com RC8C): Waiting for an exhaust from HP Corse, and some...
bayarearidersforum.com bayarearidersforum.com

But at a high level, I fabricated for it:
Custom fuel cell
Titanium subframe
TI exhaust
Replacement gas shroud, seat, tailsection
Front fairing stay
Reverse engineered and reflashed the ECU

The parts I bought mostly off the shelf are:
Woodcraft clipons, rearsets, key delete, headlight dongle
KTM RC8 fairings
Rottweiler airbox
SRJL-XX pads
regeared -1/+2

I've tried to mostly spend time more than money, so I haven't done the high ticket performance improvement items yet: Upgraded suspension, lightweight wheels / rotors, or aggressive weight scrubbing. It's riding season up north, so I'm focused on riding for now, we'll see what the winter brings.

I'm also considering making TI subframes for the 790/890 platform, figure while they'll be a bit expensive, can probably scrub ~25 pounds or more with a TI subframe + lightweight battery & airbox assembly.
 
No surprise your commitment in personal time...impressive, C! We should swap bikes if we're at the same TD. I'd love to try your 890!
 
I'll be down at Thill at the Funz Trackday on August 24/25th if you're around then? Would be great to see you and have you take a spin on it!
 
K. So from my experience, I tried to start out on a middle-weight (daytona 675) after years (decades) of road riding and found out it was bit much to learn on. I then bought a track ready ktm rc390 cup. Much less horse power, great breaks and forgiving suspension and spent a few trackdays with instruction. I made 10x progress. After that, I’ve been as comfortable on bigger bikes. Currently I’m tracking a daytona 765 and s1000rr comfortably and in some cases, fast. I think getting comfortable on the brakes and throttle on a smaller, lighter bike will get you much further along the learning curve faster. That’s how they do it in the big leagues. You can get a smaller used bike cheap, then sell it and fly around on that 750 with confidence! Or, keep both and use the smaller bike to work on basics like trail breaking and body position.

My 17 dollars (2 cents due to inflation)
 
the middle weight bikes seem to be a good starting point...
when it comes to track riding, suspension performance is usually key...
I've seen guys learn on 600s, 750s and liter bikes... it's all good, the bigger engine bikes are just harder to maximize performance out of... thats why it's generally recommended to start small - as mistakes will not come "as fast"!
 
tuxumino said:
things to consider:
is the GXSR 750 you're only bike? do you use it to commute?
How many trackdaze a month/year are you going to do?
What is your closest track? which tracks will you be using?
What is your end goal? Improving skills, just having fun or going racing?

A cheap smaller displacement bike might be: not so hungry for tires, teach your skills faster and if you wreak it at the track not such an emotional blow and cheaper to repair.
If you could find a SV650, Ninja 400 or Yamaha twin that already has suspension work done you might improve faster and not have to worry about wreaking your baby.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the thoughts. My closest track is Sonoma and I’d like to start going 1x a month if possible.

End goal is to be an advanced track rider. Racing sounds fun but is a pipe dream unless i really get after it soon.
 
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