Whats the cheapest Class to race in?

[Hostilemonk]

Curious as to which is the cheapest class to race in for fun - not 'serious' racing.

anyone got any rough estimates as to the cost of a years racing in WA and attending track and racecraft days?

Oh and is there an UPPER age limit (no Farckling granpa comments thanks )

[BlackFZR]

No upper limits. Cheapest Class is probably F2 on a 125/250 2 stroke.....

You can get complete bikes/spares etc for less than 4 G's.

Next would be Clubman/Superstock. Race any 600, all you need to do from a stock bike is add raceglass, and lock-wire everything. (there is more to it than this, but it can be done for minimal cost.)

If you went super cheap, using 2nd hand rubber, you could probably do it for less than 3 grand per year (this inculdes all membership and entry fee's, as well as tyres, pads, fluids etc.). Although this would include only a couple of Tuning days on top of the race days.

Average cost for most people is around the 5-6G mark for a year, giving you more tracktime, as well as using new rubber.

There is not an age restriction that I know. There is some 60+ year olds up there racing, both in the MCRCWA and the Historics

[Barfridge]

cheapest would be something like bucket racing at the historics, or do what I'm doing and strip down an old road bike.

Not sure about entry costs, I'll let an expert answer that.

And as for age...if they let smeghead race, they will let anybody race

[Hostilemonk]

Thanks BlackFZR and Barfridge - Looks like I need to make me mind up which class and which motor.

couple more (at the moment) question - In days of old 2stroke top end rebuilds were mandatory after two/three sessions - take it is still the same?

and do the F2 4strokes require similar or are they more reliable nowadays?

[BlackFZR]

you can get a race set-up 400 from over east for relatively little $'s (4-4.5k), and it would definitely require a lot less rebuilds than the two strokes, more similar to the 600/1000bikes, which rarely require a rebuild, unless something seriously goes wrong.....

[LYLE]

My only advice is there is no such thing as cheap racing....it's just what level of expense you can afford without going broke.....600s are relatively cheap once set up but cost alot to get to that point......smaller bikes like 125s'/250s'/400s' are cheaper to buy but normally require alot more maintenance and higher running costs.... in my opinion just pick a class you want to enter and just watch the $$$ disappear while you have the time of your life.

[taint]

a lot of the 2 stroke maintenance can be handled at home though, a fair bit easier than a high performance EFI 4 banger

[cunningassassin]

Don't forget you can race Suzuki SV 650, Hyosung GT650R or a Kwaka ER 600 in the F2 class.

A lot less mucking around than 2 strokes.

[Hostilemonk]

Thanks all

Cunningassassin - yeah been looking at that - SV 650 is a nice bike but initially more $ than 400*4 and 2stroke- Hyosung - dont know its reliability factor so rules that out unless other info says otherwise.

where can I get results at bbgallo that show machine makes?
are there any trackdays coming up soon where ppl will have the F2 class bikes there?


again thanks all for your responses


and prob less maintenance than 400*4 -

[Marty MOOSE]

I'd go a SV650 would run several seasons without a rebuild, tyres are cheap and last a long time. Come to think of it WHY didn't I buy a SV ??? Cause I love 600's The question still remains on whether I can afford to run it.

MM

[smeghead]

.. bastard . I saw this, I'm not yet too senile to catch these snide insinuations & double meanings; say what ya mean next time, no beating around the bush .

And as for age...if they let smeghead race, they will let anybody race

[Neil-51]

I've had a go on a 600 in C&D at historics rounds. As has been suggested I use second hand tyres to keep costs down. The bike is an 02 CBR600. Unlike me the bike is capable of very low 60 sec laps.

The main thing for me is that I have great fun. I'm never going to be up the front, so spending heaps of money to get 1 second a lap is stupid.

I'm a long way from being the youngest bloke out there, but it doesn't matter. Just do it and see how wide you smile. If the smile justifies the cost, no problem!

[Marty MOOSE]

Are yopu older than Smeghead ? We are gunna call you POP

[Broms]

I'm a long way from being the youngest bloke out there, but it doesn't matter. Just do it and see how wide you smile. If the smile justifies the cost, no problem!

There you go, sounds like I need to have a crack too.

[Tex]

ok , IMO (and i'm sure people won't like it) the cheapest and most hassle free type of entry class racing would have to be the superstock/clubman 600 class.
you can pick up a bike that is 4-5 years old for around 4-5 grand (that's how I started on an old cbr600)
Parts are easy to get and still avaliable, servicing on the bike is easy and hassle free, just changing the oil and the likes. the bikes are still fast enough to have fun on and enjoy your racing.

BUT most importantly the racing in the superstock/clubman 600 class is better IMO, mainly because the fields are larger, and there is always someone to race with with makes your racing a lot more enjoyable. What I mean by always having someone to race with is that the spread of riders times is from 62sec all the way back to 72sec so there is always the chance to get wrapt up in your own little personal race regards of how far from the front you are.
you can continue to develop in a class where you don't have to upgrade to a different type of bike, by that I mean you can stay on a 600 in a class that you are experienced in and a field that you are use to racing in regardless of how fast you're going.
The other thing is F2 is will become a very hard class to keep running because there just aren't as many bikes and as much intrest in racing F2 as there is the 600s. the bikes (125 and 250) are getting older and harder to run and find parts for. I think on average there are 7-9 F2's in each race and around 25-30 clubman 600's
If you go and have a look at Natsoft &#169 - IT Specialists!. and have a look at the race results you'll see much more support for the 600 classes
plus there is always the chance on either an F2 or a 600 to race in the C and D grade races with the historic club.

Come down and have a look on a racecraft day and have a chat to a few of the instructors and get a feel for what is best to race, either way you'll have a fantastic time and love it !!