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#31 | ||||
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This could turn into a slanging match, but heres my twopenneth, Sorry Steve but I have to agree with kev, I started racing in 99, not so long ago, I rode a standard CBR400Gullarm, standard suspensionm just a dynokit & a open can, no trailer just my mum in the car with the kids & a toolbox, no wets, no warmers, & yes I rode the bike to the circuit (mallory) with the wife, bless her on the back, taped up the lights, disconected the brake lights & wired up the sidestand, one practice session, no warm up lap , average lap time was 59 seconds this was against other roadstock 400s, Positions 2nd & 4th, ie a simalar situation as the desmo due racing,( yes it was pre edwenas), so yes you can race competatevly on a budget without awnings, caravans, & all the trappings that can come with it, racing is seriouse but it is also fun, & that I think is what this series is about. Chris. [Edited on 12-12-2004 by chris.p] |
#32 | ||||
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Now isn't That just the point ! Racing is like a DRUG !!!! and anyone who knows of a friend or family member who has had a serious Drug addiction, will know that they will BEG BORROW and even STEAL to support their Habit!! sitting on the fence (as i dont race ) but i know plenty who do!! Racing is a lifestyle Those of you who are considering doing This DESMO DUE,should consider a lot more than the cash to set it up,as it will put a big strain on your finances, your social life,and even your marridge etc etc It's a champagne lifestyle and no disrespect some of you who wanna do this have a Lemonade Pocket!!! seems Desmo Due,should have been set up like < Buy a BIKE! leave it standard ! must be ridden to the track! Then go race ya mate ! would have made it a real challenge ! and nearly all would have a similar Budget .. JUST MY OPINION mav |
#33 | |||
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You are all right, everyone will do it their own way, some will spend a lot, some will spend less. Doesn't really matter does it? Weeksy's estimates are not unreasonable, but I am equally sure it can be done for less, a lot less! The main point, as he says is that everyone who does it will have a whale of a time!! |
#34 | ||||
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Chris - I'm with you on this one (apart from the riding to the track!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) If I do this, I'm gonna get a cheap 620 (so it can be competitive as standard) - get some ground clearance, set it up as best it can be with the original components (brake lines and pads aside) - then get out there. I'm sure the organisers of this are watching this thread (and other similar ones) to see how it evolves before they add comment - but for me its about cheap, fun racing. If I can't get a bike that's competitive and keep the costs down to around £2K a year (on top of the initial bike purchase price) then its a non-starter for me. My calculations are simply based on how much I would gain personally from racing over just taking part in trackdays. Mav makes a fair point about the impact on other areas of life and I need to consider the needs of others (family / work / responsibilites) above mine. This may be the "real" cost of the racing? I don't/won't have the time to properly set up the bike, practice on it etc, etc - I'm sure there is a real buzz to be gained from racing - just reading many of Weeksy's comments makes this more than apparent. But personally it needs to be gained in a sensible, safe, friendly, competitive, cheap environment. I believe that this will then meet with the original intentions of the organisers. Tim |
#35 | ||||
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Tim, just a thought mate but why don't you set out your £2k budget with what you need, tyres et al (it's all been listed above) and just manage it. If you are going to go over it perhaps skip a round to keep it down (and give the rest of us a chance to catch up in the points :P ) Like you I'm going to do the minimum to the bike to get it out on the grid, ground clearance, belly pan, lockwire and brake setup aside (we need to change the lines for ACU regs). Having said that I may get a 620 depending on finances etc early next year. This does mean that, at this stage, I won't be running the 996 with DP which I had hoped to do. But, I have pledged my support to Desmo Due so that is my first priority at the moment. So I'm still not sure about what to do with the 996 because of all the cleaning I've just done I don't really want to ride it in winter. I've just got last winter off the bloody thing. But I bought it to ride it and if I'm mainly using the 600/620 for TD's and racing there's not much point in having a 996 on a SORN really. Like you I'm struggling to justify having three bikes at the moment so it looks like the KTM supermoto idea is out the window (bugger). I realise the above is a bit of a ramble, just sharing my thoughts really. Hopefully it will benefit someone. |
#36 | ||||
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Fair comments Tony - a £2K managed budget seems reasonable to me. My intention with this post was to establish whether this was realistic. It appeared from the earlier posts that it may not be, but my thinking is now that it can be. As far as your quote - Quote:
Keep the 996 - you'd regret it otherwise. Tim |
#37 | ||||
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More than once? In the same year? Are you sure thats allowed? I thought it was an annual event I know I'd regret selling the 996, it doesn't even make sense from a return point of view, considering the money I've put in it ... Does free up the garage though ... maybe back to people thinking I'm mad for commuting on the 996? Take it off a SORN? There's already someone who is mad on this board ... [Edited on 12-12-2004 by tp-996] |
#38 | ||||
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well I'm with the school of thought that most of us would want to do it for the fun and experience, and hopefully all involved will put emphasis on this rather than get really competitive. If you want to be spending the kind of money that sees a new set of tyres for every race then sod off to bsb and do it - that's not what DesmoDuo is about! Am I wrong?? After a proposal put on the table to me today I might be taking to the grid myself... if I do then I'll be racing my wallet rather than others on the track. I understand weeksy's thoughts on how the competitiveness can escalate and cause more cost, but that's got to depend on what targets you set yourself, and let's face it steve you're a lot more dedicated to racing than I could ever want to be! And good on you bloke, I say! I reckon (hope!), without considering the cost of buying the bike, the season budget should be less than £2k unless you're racing to win. And about the tyres - if I do more than 2 sets (one dry, possibly one wet) then I should really be sacking my suspension staff!! Look at what I ve done this year for example - 1 set of 208GP's on the 996 have lasted 4 trackies (2+ hours each) and about 1500 road miles, so 6 weekends of less than 45 mins each on a bike with half the power should just about wear the hairs off! Right... now where's that calculator... |
#39 | |||
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And Phoenix is still tooling around at the back but enjoying herself just as much as she did at the beginning of the season :P |
#40 | ||||
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Hello again, Devil's advocate here.... forget about those that want to chuck all the effort and money into being 0.2bhp off the limit, and let bill and ben have a ding-dong for 2nd place if they want. I've just finished a season's racing with enduro, me in the pits and mate riding the bike, and each race was about doing the best we could with what we had, and that was it... I sure don't want to be negative, and if I find myself in last place then I'll probably end up in the gravel chasing down the bloke in front. But at entry level racing I'd imagine it's got to be more about the rider than the bike - let me ride the series on a factory 999rs and skids will probably still kick my arse! So I ask without the benefit of experience - is it really worth spending money on making the bike quicker? Are we likely to find ourselves more skillful than the bikes? Purely speculation, cos my knowledge in this is somewhat weak, but I reckon the novice riders will be better off working on themselves rather than the bike... on a 600ss what I lack in cornering skill I reckon I can make up on power-2-weight ratio... anyone who's ever seen me might agree :P and what the rattly one loses on me down the straight cos he's a "few" stone heavier, he'll make up with his css cornering skills. I think what I'm trying to say is there must be so much more to it than who's got the fastest bike! |