Bike for Track Days & Tuition

[assadahmed]

I am looking to improve my track riding and have decided to purchase a second bike for this purpose.

I am looking at a 600 from around 2000 to 2005 and can see that there is quite a good choice from R6's, CBR600 RR's etc.

I have had an initial look at a few R6's from 2000 and some from 2002 with documented service history for £2000. Are these bikes considered to be generally reliable or best avoided? Most of the ones I have seen are below 20000 miles. My local dealer says that they are generally OK and I don't really want to spend much more for a bike that will probably be dropped my me as I get the knack of track riding.

Any advice from others will be greatly appreciated.

[trickywoo]

I think GSXRs are the kings of not going wrong and being cheap to fix if they do.

[poo at Paul's]

Id get a gixer 750 if i were you. Pretty much as light as a 600 but better suspension most of the time and that bit more grunt means not quite as thrashed.

[GYTRDave]

03-05 R6 (5SL) is a far better bike than the earlier 99-02 (5EB) models,

Genuine 05 models will come with USD forks, radial brakes etc, if you can get one that's the one to go for or push for a 06 R6 (2CO) far more focused as a track bike.

Biggest issue with 99'02 R6s is that they suffer with cracked liners, this is normally a case of when rather than if, signs and symptoms include obvious oil loss and difficulty starting when warm, costly to fix and normally doesn't make any financial sense to do so.

[ar-em-en]

If you keep your eye out you should be able to find a decent 03 on 600rr for that price (might need a slight bit of budget creep but it will be worth it). I had an 05 as a first track bike and it was excellent. Failing that I'd be looking at a gsxr 750. Both will have plenty of cheap replacement parts/ upgrades knocking around.

[J B L]

I have bought a 2006 Kawasaki ZX6R for that very purpose. Solid and cheap. That one was £2500 2 years ago.

[assadahmed]

J B L said:

I have bought a 2006 Kawasaki ZX6R for that very purpose. Solid and cheap. That one was £2500 2 years ago.

Yes I love that! I have a Ninja 650 at the moment so another green one would be nice! It hard to find them at the lower end of my budget unless the mileage is circa 25k to 30k. Is that really an issue on these bikes as long as there is evidence of servicing? There are a few gsxr's and 600 rr's for around 2500 to 3000 at those higher mileages.

I did originally plan on spending circa £4500 but I don't think its the best idea for a beginner to track riding.

So is buying a higher mileage machine ok?

[GriffoDP]

I'd hope if my bmws made it to 50k safely then a Japanese engine would have no problems for double that .

At ten to fifteen years we're only talking 2-3k a year anyway. This is me with no experience of non-bmws so hopefully others agree!

[J B L]

assadahmed said:

Yes I love that! I have a Ninja 650 at the moment so another green one would be nice! It hard to find them at the lower end of my budget unless the mileage is circa 25k to 30k. Is that really an issue on these bikes as long as there is evidence of servicing? There are a few gsxr's and 600 rr's for around 2500 to 3000 at those higher mileages.

I did originally plan on spending circa £4500 but I don't think its the best idea for a beginner to track riding.

So is buying a higher mileage machine ok?

Hold for it. Go onto ZX6R UK Facebook pages. You see them come up often enough at that price.
Strangely it appears these and the B1H (same engine but the one with the side exhaust) seem to be rising in value.

As for higher mileage, why not if there are evidence of regular oil changes. I think weak point on ZX6R 636 were the gearboxes. No problem with mine. It's on 18,000 miles and [shamefully] only 2 TDs, I blame covid.

Edited by J B L on Tuesday 19th January 22:15

[trickywoo]

J B L said:

Strangely it appears these and the B1H (same engine but the one with the side exhaust) seem to be rising in value.

Pretty much everything in that category is going up, or at the very least not going down.

There aren’t any new options like that and prices for new, generally have gone through the roof, arguably because of electronic this and that which most people don’t even want.

Edited by trickywoo on Wednesday 20th January 07:38

[Drawweight]

assadahmed said:

Yes I love that! I have a Ninja 650 at the moment so another green one would be nice! It hard to find them at the lower end of my budget unless the mileage is circa 25k to 30k. Is that really an issue on these bikes as long as there is evidence of servicing? There are a few gsxr's and 600 rr's for around 2500 to 3000 at those higher mileages.

I did originally plan on spending circa £4500 but I don't think its the best idea for a beginner to track riding.

So is buying a higher mileage machine ok?

Nothing wrong with spending 4.5k on a track bike if you can afford it.

I don’t think it makes much difference being a beginner, in fact it say there’s less chance of you pranging it while you get up to speed.

It’s the billy big balls who ride beyond their skill limit that are more likely to visit the scenery.

That said a cheaper bike will leave you more spare cash to uprate the suspension and brakes and buy a few sets of decent tyres or maybe even a set of track fairings.

[Skin981]

Might be selling my track bike 2003 zx6rr full akrapovic, powercommander ,ohlins shock,stearingdampner plus more

[Skin981]

[Skin981]

[EFH189]

If you are interested, I am selling my 2008 CBR 600RR. Fantastic bike for getting into track days.

I was a total novice and have now done at least 10 TD’s and taken the bike to the TT five times.

[MrGman]

assadahmed said:

I did originally plan on spending circa £4500 but I don't think its the best idea for a beginner to track riding.

So is buying a higher mileage machine ok?

If you have the budget for that I’d go down that route. I bought a 2010 ZX6r with 4k miles for 4.2k a year ago, it’s a cracking bike and the brakes, suspension are more than capable so it makes a very good entry bike. If you’re sensible you won’t be falling of left right and center like a lot of people seem to think when you’re starting out.
The added bonus is nearly all parts on a 2009+ Zx are compatible right up to the 2020 model so spares are plentiful and should be for years to come.

[assadahmed]

The more I ask for opinions from others the more I get told that I should not worry too much about dropping the bike on track as long as I ride sensibly. Makes we wonder if just blowing the full budget on a bike is the best way forward.

However I have been offered a 2003 gsxr. Its a '03 model and I the seller wants £2800 for it as that is what is has been offered on an px for a new bike he is after. His brief description is;

"22k, stubby levers, recent tyres, double bubble screen, headlight cover, single seat cover, race fuel cap (original present) galfer wavey discs, new brake pads, lots of detail, like titanium rota and engine bolts etc"

I have a few pics of it. Seems to be in good condition. Is this a good buy?

There are also quite a few ZX6R's around in green with low miles from 3 to 3.5K. Not sure really what to do?!?!?!?

[Drawweight]

Price wise I'd snap his hand off at that.

[Sidecar Man]

To be honest Id look at something like an SV650 or ER6. Great bikes for track Push them as hard as you can. Brilliant to learn your track craft on. Plenty of trick bits available.

[anonymous-user]

Sidecar Man said:

To be honest Id look at something like an SV650 or ER6. Great bikes for track Push them as hard as you can. Brilliant to learn your track craft on. Plenty of trick bits available.

Bit pedestrian IMO. That Suzuki above looks like a steal!