Tim - you're worried about binning your beautiful 996R, yet you were offering me a go at Donny the other day......me, the first WeeJohnyB, on someone else's Ducati 996R, at Donington,with my reputation
(too serious to contemplate)
I change my mind on this subject from day to day, buy big and expensive it's your only chance of getting up the grid or buy cheap as chips and enjoy yourself just as much.
Tim - you are fast enough to race EASY mate, plus racing itself will knock a couple of seconds off your times.
As regards your 996R - it would be competitive, although not had the money spent that the really serious and/or rich and/or sponsored guys have, but then is not a stock bike like some guys ride and get up to mid field.
If you can't afford to completely write off the total value of it in one big race accident, then don't race it. I've seen loads of crashed bikes after races that are worthless apart from the odd part, so you really must be prepared to put it in the skip. If you're thinking for one milisecond that you don't want to bin it, then you're already 5 seconds off the pace - racing is taking risks up to the very limit of your ability and then beyond it and then into a completely unknown area you never knew existed, (and then someone else still goes past you). I know this as I race my CB5 to the limit and beyond I think, but on Monty's TZ250, it's an entirely different story and despite the fact that I still cannot get to grips with riding such a race focussed stroker, the fact that it's not mine makes a massive difference regardless of what Monty says to me about not caring if it goes down.
TP - if you want to try racing to see if you like it, I wouldn't try and convert my expensive road bike only to write it off in my first race, or go to all that trouble and not like it (plenty try and hate it). Pick up something race ready and cheap, enter a race, do a few rounds and decide what you want to do for next season, then you've got all winter to sort it out.
If you're really keen to try racing, here's an offer - get your licence and enter a New Era CB500 club round and you can borrow my CB5 for the day, (break it you buy it rule applies).
Same goes for you Tim - why not get your licence and then come to Donny or Brands Indy with me and Monty - I only do the one CB5 race for a laugh as I'm concentrating on the TZ, so you could do the other race to get a feel for the utter madness that is club racing. This is a genuine offer if you fancy it mate(s).
WeeJohnyB
[Edited on 20-7-2004 by WeeJohnyB]