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Tracking a 300

BTW- if anyone is selling something that would fit the bill, shoot me a PM.
 
Gixxer343 said:
Man, you folks always come through with some great input! I love this place.
If I go this route I would like to buy a bike with some track prep or upgrade the shock and fork internals.
What’s the most cost effective route?




Carbureted=:thumbdown
I played that game a while back and I’ll take injected motors all day for track riding. Now for a project build I don’t mind messing with them.
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If they still have one, pick up last years Catalyst Reaction 300's.
 
My 2 cents:

Smaller bikes (300s /400s) are definitely fun but they are not inherently safer track bikes. Obviously, their straight line speed is much lower than 600s / liter bikes but their corner speeds are still pretty high. Rarely do you crash in a straight line on the track.. The quality of tires & suspension availability is better on the bigger bikes which (IMO) adds to safety. With traction control available on most big bikes these days, the risks of high siding is diminished if ridden properly.

My point is, do not get into false sense of security that a smaller bike is safer. I have seen equal percentage of riders crash on small & big bikes. I'd stick with a track 600 or 750 with good suspension + brakes + tires and have fun without having to push the small bike to the limit to have fun.

If you are really concerned about top speed, get a 600 and make it a triple cripple.
 
The more rubber you have on a tire or the wider it is it makes the bike harder to turn. You want to actually have the thinnest tires you can put on the bike to make it turn better. It's balance between traction and turn in. If you look at the old racing bikes they use "pencil thin" tires but they are still hauling ass.

If you look at the Brammo Empulse R vs the Victory Empulse TT they went from a 180 tire to a 160 tire. They did this so the bike will turn better. I haven't actually ridden a Brammo Empulse to see if that's true though.

I mean those 300/400 bikes turn so well. They literally fall into the turn for you.
 
Sportbiker said:
My 2 cents:

Smaller bikes (300s /400s) are definitely fun but they are not inherently safer track bikes. Obviously, their straight line speed is much lower than 600s / liter bikes but their corner speeds are still pretty high. Rarely do you crash in a straight line on the track.. The quality of tires & suspension availability is better on the bigger bikes which (IMO) adds to safety. With traction control available on most big bikes these days, the risks of high siding is diminished if ridden properly.

My point is, do not get into false sense of security that a smaller bike is safer. I have seen equal percentage of riders crash on small & big bikes. I'd stick with a track 600 or 750 with good suspension + brakes + tires and have fun without having to push the small bike to the limit to have fun.

If you are really concerned about top speed, get a 600 and make it a triple cripple.[/QUOTE

Actually my only concern with speed is that I’m not concerned about top speed. I just want to have fun and enjoy the craft. I’ve had both 600s and 750 track bikes and enjoyed them but I’m just thinking of maybe going in a different direction. Also if someone is relying on traction control then they are a perfect candidate for a smaller bike. So they can learn how to ride instead of relying on electronics. Jus sayin
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Junkie said:
I suspect that has to do with traction control/abs rather than a little more rear rubber
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Yes, clearly the 10mm wider tires on the S1000RR aren't a huge difference. If you go back and read my post again, you'll see that I never said tires were the difference between those two bikes. I was merely point out that horsepower isn't necessarily the primary cause of crashing.
 
HadesOmega said:
The more rubber you have on a tire or the wider it is it makes the bike harder to turn. You want to actually have the thinnest tires you can put on the bike to make it turn better.
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If you're riding a supersport bike with modern rubber and finding it difficult to turn, one of two things is happening: 1) your suspension setup is way off, or 2) you're in the middle of qualifying for an AMA or WSBK race ;)

I've ridden quite a few sport bikes with 120/70 and 190/55 supersport or DOT race tires. None of them were especially difficult to turn. With DOT race tires, the bike I used while I was an on-track instructor wanted to fall on it's side at every opportunity. Handling didn't start to approach neutral until you were running at an A-group pace.
 
If the motorcycle is setup right, turn in is not a issue.

Returning to track riding, I did a few on my Seca II.......50 hp....maybe on good days.

I got liter biked a lot.........meaning I pass a liter bike, only to have them pass be back and then park it in the corners. ......or get a run on them out of a turn only to have them power up and then park it in the corners.

So I got a liter bike.......04 R1....my first ever.....in order to make my pass stick.

Here’s atrick to riding a liter bike..........think of the throttle as dial-a-hp. A liter bike will make max amount of hp at the top of its rpm limit........at idle is the minimum amount of hp it makes.

So if ya want say Seca II hp......50 ish.......only twist the throttle so far say 1/2 of full throttle twist.

Your speed, how fast you go is all up to the rider throttle input.......meaning you can ride a liter bike at any speed you want.

Oh another reason for a liter bike is to catch up to faster riders to follow them around.

It’s all about how you use your throttle.
 
For those who don't trust "pencil thin tires" have you seen the corner speed of the old 125 GP bikes or Moto3 bikes ? Considerably faster than the bigger bikes. For me, running the 250 was way more affordable than even my 600. Tires alone cost way less and I needed them less often.

Mad
 
Finding good race tires for skinny wheels is a bit more challenging than for a 600/1000 (or even SV)
 
Maddevill said:
For those who don't trust "pencil thin tires" have you seen the corner speed of the old 125 GP bikes or Moto3 bikes ?
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You'd have a good point, except for two things: 1) the last time I checked the sticky slick tires used on 125cc GP or Moto3 bikes weren't available in Ninja 300 sizes, and 2) the bikes you're talking about are significantly lighter than a Ninja 300 so they don't need nearly as much grip.
 
Gixxer343 said:
I just want to have fun and enjoy the craft.
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Lil bikes will do that. They're so tossable, they're giddy fun. The fast 300 guys and gals (not me) are out there every track day embarrassing the I-4 posse.


Junkie said:
Finding good race tires for skinny wheels is a bit more challenging than for a 600/1000 (or even SV)
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300s are a race class in a few series now. Finding tires isn't a problem, and they last a lot longer than slicks on a liter bike do.
 
They had good enough tires to get an elbow down nearly 20 years ago on a Ninja 250. I think you'll be okay. FWIW, SportBikeTrackGear.com lists race tires in Ninja 300 sizes. Back in the day they lasted forever too so, it was a huge cost savings.
 
Pirelli just announced their slick offering for the small bikes, so there definitely isn't a shortage of options.
 
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