Trackday purchase

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

I'm looking to get another bike primarily those for trackdays next year. Budget £5 to £10k. Tracks are Silverstone, Brands and Bedford.

Currently considering R1, RC8, RSV4 and Panigale 899/959. Any others to consider other than blades and gsxs? Also it is worth spending the extra for the big bang R1 over the previous models 2005 to 2008?

ETA
If i could service myself it would be better...which points me to an older Jap bike.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

The Ducati 899/959 are coming down in price now and there are plenty of ex-tri options bikes that have lots of trick bits on them.

Also you'll get an early R1 (2004-2006 5vy) for well under budget.
For example I'm selling mine for £3850ono with 2 sets of wheels and lots of track focused bits!

I'm sure there are better bikes for your budget though but feel free to pm if it is of interest

[Freakuk]

No idea how fast you are, not that it should matter but something like an 899/959 will feel slow on Hangar Straight compared to an R1.

You also need to consider noise limits, Panigale's on a stock exhaust barely pass a noise test, MSV tracks take this into consideration, but any after market exhaust will cause issues unless it's a noisy day.

Also it depends on what you are used to, IL4's or big twins, the transition isn't easy from one to the other. I'm a big twin fan and riding Ducati's for 20+ years I like how they put down their power, it would be the same on the RC8. However I had an R1 for a year or two when I did a spot of endurance racing and just couldn't gel with it as an example.

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not fast, currently improving in novices with an expected move in inters next year.

I like the grunt of twins but one downside is the engine braking can cause the bike to unsettle without a downblipper or slipper.

I'm aware of the noise limit problem with the Panigales so I'd get one with the standard cans. The prices of the Ducatis seem to be going up

[Pebbles167]

I had a 5VY R1 and as said above, you'll get a good one in budget. It was easy enough to work on, just make sure the open magneto thing is changed for a closed one, it's a documented known fault. Will cost £250 and an hour of your time.

I also had a SRAD 750, and a K4 1000, and think any of the GSXR bikes will fit the bill well, as parts are everywhere, assuming you've not written these off completely as an option.

Regarding engine braking of twins, can you not manually blip/rev match on downshift? It's isn't hard to learn during road riding and will benefit you on track.

Edited by Pebbles167 on Thursday 30th September 10:04

[Freakuk]

Abdul Abulbul Amir said:

Thanks for the replies.


I like the grunt of twins but one downside is the engine braking can cause the bike to unsettle without a downblipper or slipper.

Starting on a 996 and currently a 1299, the newer stuff is far more refined in terms of engine braking, not sure on the "baby" Pani's but the bigger models come with a rudimentary slipper, and the 1299 has a blipper as standard. If you are dumping 2-3 gears then releasing the clutch then a slipper is a must IMO, if you're dropping one, clutch out, drop another, clutch out etc you'll be fine.

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

I do normally try to manually blip but it can be hard when heavy on the brakes late.

It happens primarily at Druid's where I want to get down to second gear to drive out back down the hill.

[Patrick Star]

Abdul Abulbul Amir said:

I do normally try to manually blip but it can be hard when heavy on the brakes late.

It happens primarily at Druid's where I want to get down to second gear to drive out back down the hill.

Same here. Any tips,or is it just practice??

[ar-em-en]

Any reason you're not looking for something smaller capacity and less expensive to run? All the pros of increased reliability, less power to help you learn track riding more and and lots of spares/ used parts available?

You can get a huge amount of bike for £5-6k and spend the difference on suspension/tracktime/ euros/ instruction. If I was in your shoes I'd be looking at 675s, R6 and GSXR 750s although obviously its got to be something that your heart wants too.

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

Already have an I4 600, I'm looking for another litre bike.

[GYTRDave]

Not a huge fan of the 899/959, great bikes in isolation but imho not much faster if at all compared to a R6/675 or 636 around a track.

10k will get you a a pretty sorted 2CR R1 trackbike, i've seen plenty about (2015~2016/2017 at a push) will be more than enough bike for you to grow into from novices to inters and fast.
Plenty of scope with the rider aids to begin with, can bang the TC,SCS,LiF etc up high and bring it down as you get more confident leaning on the electronics.

That's where my money would go anyway.

[moto_traxport]

GYTRDave said:

10k will get you a a pretty sorted 2CR R1 trackbike, i've seen plenty about (2015~2016/2017 at a push) will be more than enough bike for you to grow into from novices to inters and fast.
Plenty of scope with the rider aids to begin with, can bang the TC,SCS,LiF etc up high and bring it down as you get more confident leaning on the electronics.

That's where my money would go anyway.

Not as mad as it sounds. They’ve been the go-to high end track bike for a few years now. Sexy twin like sound & drive out of the corners with inline 4 revability down the straights. Electronics to save you from yourself in most cases. Lots of people running them so loads of spares / back-up / knowledge. Also I’d expect near zero-depreciation if you buy at £10k or thereabouts.


There. Easy spending other people’s money. I’ve been doing this argument on myself for about 2 years now and my wallet is still untroubled & I’ve still got the same ancient R1 that I’m squeezing the last bit of value out of.

[GYTRDave]

moto_traxport said:

GYTRDave said:

10k will get you a a pretty sorted 2CR R1 trackbike, i've seen plenty about (2015~2016/2017 at a push) will be more than enough bike for you to grow into from novices to inters and fast.
Plenty of scope with the rider aids to begin with, can bang the TC,SCS,LiF etc up high and bring it down as you get more confident leaning on the electronics.

That's where my money would go anyway.

Not as mad as it sounds. They’ve been the go-to high end track bike for a few years now. Sexy twin like sound & drive out of the corners with inline 4 revability down the straights. Electronics to save you from yourself in most cases. Lots of people running them so loads of spares / back-up / knowledge. Also I’d expect near zero-depreciation if you buy at £10k or thereabouts.


There. Easy spending other people’s money. I’ve been doing this argument on myself for about 2 years now and my wallet is still untroubled & I’ve still got the same ancient R1 that I’m squeezing the last bit of value out of.

Exactly, you aren't going to lose money on it, 2015 models with 15-20k miles are still going for 9k+ and it'll be more than enough bike for mere mortals.
Loads of parts available, both new and second hand, sound amazing with a decent slip on, loads of information about too.
Plus the electronics are epic imo, on high settings they save your bacon, and on lower settings they make you feel like a hero 😂
They saved my ass at Snetterton in August, when my oil filter decided to undo at 165 down the back straight, dropping 4L of oil all over the tyres and bike, how I stay on I'll never know, the bike was broad sideways at one point. 😅

[Tribal Chestnut]

Quite happy for you to have a go on whatever I am on at an early TD next year if you can wait that long.

Alternatively, if this Euro trip goes well I’d like to book another early(ish) next year….might be something you fancy?

[Walter Sobchak]

I’d go RSV4, one of the best handling, enjoyable bikes I’ve ever ridden, go for an APRC Factory so you’ve got the rider aids there if you want them, they’re pretty good on the Aprilia and you can have them on/off and dialled right down independently unlike the S1000s of a similar age.

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

Tribal Chestnut said:

Quite happy for you to have a go on whatever I am on at an early TD next year if you can wait that long.

Alternatively, if this Euro trip goes well I’d like to book another early(ish) next year….might be something you fancy?

Cheers buddy, I may take you up on that, what are you looking at? I was going to take a look at a 2004 R1 today at a local dealer but rain stops play and they're closed tomorrow.

I like the look of a 2015 R1 with all the electronics, looks like an above £11k price though so may be in the future.

[Abdul Abulbul Amir]

Walter Sobchak said:

I’d go RSV4, one of the best handling, enjoyable bikes I’ve ever ridden, go for an APRC Factory so you’ve got the rider aids there if you want them, they’re pretty good on the Aprilia and you can have them on/off and dialled right down independently unlike the S1000s of a similar age.

An RSV4 would be the top of the list but I'm unsure on their reliability.

[Tribal Chestnut]

Abdul Abulbul Amir said:

Cheers buddy, I may take you up on that, what are you looking at? I was going to take a look at a 2004 R1 today at a local dealer but rain stops play and they're closed tomorrow.

I like the look of a 2015 R1 with all the electronics, looks like an above £11k price though so may be in the future.

Don’t know yet tbh.

Might just be the old ZX10R now it’s working, if I enjoy it out in Spain. If I don’t like it then maybe a GSXR750, or use the MT10 primarily for track….not sure.

What is likely though is that it won’t be a decent ‘modern’ sports bike. Though I was thinking about recent R1s the other day, I’m going to resist any urge to buy one.

[Walter Sobchak]

Abdul Abulbul Amir said:

An RSV4 would be the top of the list but I'm unsure on their reliability.

I had one as a road bike and never had any issues, can’t speak for it only getting thrashed around a track though, only other thing that would be a negative is parts can take a while to get, not ideal if you drop it!.

Saying that I’ve just seen one of the posts above recommending a 2015+ R1, I’ve got an M version as a road bike and have no doubt it would be an amazing track bike, just as good as the Aprilia but without the worry of getting parts.

[Tribal Chestnut]

Why not try some out first?

Smallboy have a GSXR1000 and the MSV lot an R1, along with the smaller bikes, which also might be worth a ride.