Well folks, its about that time. I have owned my GS for 4 years now and have finally got everything done on her that I have wanted to do.. I live in the Chicagoland area and would like to start getting into some racing. Any advice as to where I should start or what I should do to get involved? Are there beginner racing leagues in the midwest? I am kind of in the dark about the whole racing scene. I am an experienced rider that would like to make the leap.. Help me out people! Thanks, Ryan :cheers:
Ryan,
Your best bet is to get started with CCS. They race at Blackhawk, Gingerman, Road America, and Gateway. All tracks within reasonable driving distance.
I assume you want to race a GS? CCS has a decent class for the GS (LW Sportsman). An expert won a championship in 2001 on a stock motored GS.
You'll need to either race prep your bike or buy a race prepped bike. I would highly recommend buying a race prepped bike. A decent one will cost you about $1500.
You'll need sufficient safety gear. Check out newenough.com for good deals on leathers. Don't skimp here, it's your hide were talking about. Helmet needs to be Snell 95 or better. HJC and KBC make good helmets for good prices but you can spend more if you want. Arai makes really really nice helmets. You'll need good boots and gloves. I like Sidi Vertebra, especially teh race vertebra model. As for gloves, I've had good luck with Teknic Violaters. Held is probably the top of the line. A back protector is also required. I use the Teknic 7 plate. It looks to me like the Bohn is very nice and not too expensive.
You'll be required to take a racing school. Team Visionsports has a race school program out at Blackhawk. Check them out here:
http://www.team-visionsports.com/pages/621754/index.htm
That should cover the basics. There's plenty more info to assimilate. Feel free to PM me with specific questions.
Try a few track days at some of the tracks Greg mentioned to get a taste of what you are getting into with having to jump in all the way.
Also corner working a weekend or two will also help you learn the proceedures, see how the club works, and (most importantly) get to know other racers and the officals.
Thanks for all your advice. I think I am going to get out to those tracks soon. I am really getting the itch to get out there. Thanks again! :cheers:
I agree with everything James & Greg said. I'd especially like to second the motion to go & corner work a few races. It will get you into the track cheapo (they may even pay you) & you'll be able to see the racing as close as possible.
If you go out & buy a $1500 race bike you're gonna be OK. The best part about a $1500 racebike is that after a season or two, when you decide that it's too slow, you can sell it for $1500. If you start with a cutting-edge $7-8000 racebike after a year or two it may well be a $4-5000 racebike, if only because it has aged & is no longer cutting-edge. A $1500 racebike like an old F2 or F3 or an EX or GS tend not to depreciate much, because they're already not worth much (this is NOT a slam).
Regardless whether you buy a $1500 bike or an $8000 bike, go out & get at least $1500 worth of safety gear. Get GOOD leathers - Syed, Z, Vanson. Don't go for the cheap Technics or Joe Rocket or Wintex stuff. I've seen (& experienced) a lot of leathers hitting the pavement & it's alarming the difference in how cheap leathers underperform good leathers.
Leathers - $1000 - 1200
Boots - $175 - 250
Helmet - $200 - 400
Gloves - $100 - 200
Back protector - $125 - 200
Personal opinion:
Start on a bike that puts out less than 75HP - a 40 horse GS is perfect. This forces you to learn how to get the bike around the track quickly without having the luxury of recovering from screwing up a turn by just whacking open the throttle. With a low power bike you hafta keep your corner speed up & to do that you have to be smooth & precise. Those are skills you can use on any bike.
This is all great advice. I am taking everything you said into account. I new that there would be some racers out there who knew what they are doing. I stunt a lot, but never have been in a race format... I am excited and willing to get into this! Thanks again for all the help and advice! :cheers: