Hey, think of it this way, you'll feel like a fcukin' boss sitting on the bike you've been lusting after all this time - and what's better for the confidence than that?
Money-wise, if the 07 is loaded up with parts already, it's probably not going to work out to be that much more expensive if you're serious about racing. Parts add up fast, especially if there's not a healthy used market you can tap into.
Well, I just got back from the shop. The '07 has never had the valve clearances checked, and sounds like the cankcase is full of tin cans... Cam chain is shot. Nice bike but not going to risk it with that many miles if it wasn't properly maintained. Too many red flags, and not too happy about them passing on an obviously shot cam chain on to the next owner. It turned out it wasn't owned by the guy I thought, either. The shop owner seemed to actually be steering me toward the '03. Thanks for making me a bit skeptical Greg, you might have saved me a wad of cash.
Sitting on the '03 it fit my 6' frame well, I can't wait to take it for a nice long test ride. They are pretty cool about that at this shop. The owner actually let me take out his personal BMW touring bike a while back while I waited for them to mount a set of tires. Might need some spare toe sliders until I can get rearsets though. Fairings should be there in about 2 weeks. Also not at all a bad looking bike. I think once I see it with the new fairings on, I will totally forget about that '07. Provided it rides well, it will be mine. He wouldn't budge on the price but he will give me a set of track tires at cost and mount them for free. The front PP One only has wear in the center, so still has a few good track sessions left, and the rear has a PR 2CT with decent tread that will fit my F800. Tires are crazy expensive here so that is actually a pretty big bonus. Thanks again for all the input guys.
Last edited by WhiteKnite; 10-16-2012 at 03:34 AM.
i hear what you are saying, all i can tell you is once i had to ride the 07r6 with a supersport built TOTALLY differently from my supersport built 05r6. It was pretty sad the loss of midrange, and having to gear it much more correctly, keep it on the side of the tire longer so revs built faster, run 1000 rpm more pretty much everywhere.
For sure, if you are just track riding and these are the ONLY two bikes around that are track worthy, pick the one that is the best value for you. It's likely that if the bikes are running, they are both in decent shape. but i have outlined my reasoning for giving serious consideration to the 2nd gen bike..
it's not just the better midrange of the 2nd gen bike vs. the 06-07 either (although that is interesting the 2nd gen bike stomps the 06-07 midrange), it's the "FEEL" the front end gives. Front end feel inspires confidence. Confidence allows a track rider to go faster. A well set up 06-07 can go faster, but it has to be ridden HARD to get that front feel.
IF you get the 06-7.. consider loosening the upper triple clamp bolts. make em snug to where the fork won't wobble, but not torqued down. and remove the 12mm upper motor mount bolt that is up/back from the BIG frame slider motor mount. this softens that stiff bitch up a bit.. (a trick Robert Jensen showed me way back and i was quite thankful for).
Fair enough. That all makes sense. I was just alarmed to hear that you weren't very happy with your 07s, since you have ridden the 2nd-gens and now moved on to the 08s (which I realize would be the way to go, if available). All makes sense though, thanks for the info.
And to OP, sorry the 07 doesn't seem like it will work out. The 03 might be your ticket then. Good luck.
And to OP, sorry the 07 doesn't seem like it will work out. The 03 might be your ticket then. Good luck.
Yeah, I am a little disappointed since I was supposed to pick it up yesterday, but it is still a step up from the my original plan of looking for a 1st gen. I will have plenty of money left over to set it up the way I want. I already have a nice shopping list for that '03 made up. Excited to own a 600 though, I went straight from a 250 to a CBR929rr, and stuck with liter bikes until I got a cruiser (was curious, didn't like it) and then my practical BMW. I have only ridden a 600 once. They seem like a lot of fun.
nice! you will love it. don't waste any cash on an aftermarket filter for that bike, the stocker can be cleaned and reused, and makes as much hp as any aftermarket out there.. we tried.
I will keep the filter thing in mind. Apparently the header is an Arrow, but not sure how that Vance & Hines slip on will perform. Bike felt amazing on the street, but it has been a couple years since I have ridden a true sport bike. Can't wait to get to work on it over the winter. I won't be doing any of the major performance mods until I get it on the track once to give a base point. I have access to one of the best race tuners in Korea once I really start digging in. I probably won't make the first couple rounds of the 2013 Korean Road Race Championship, but I will probably enter at some point next year. The guys on our race team talked me into getting out of the pits and riding. I doubt me or the bike will be very competitive, but even if I don't qualify for the main race it will be fun to ride the consolation race with the other slow guys. They upped the qualifying cut-off to 115% of pole from 110% so who knows.
I am not certain of the classes available for racing in your area, but most have a senior class that only allows bikes that are five years, or older. Racing in this class will place you amongst riders on similar machines.
I wish we had something like that, but we don't. I am stuck racing against sponsored pros with tons of resources, or nothing. They are heading in the right direction though. Before round 3 of this year, if you didn't qualify for the main race, your weekend was over. Now at least they have a secondary "consolation" race which combines the guys from the 1000's and 600's that didn't make the main. Round 4 increased the 600's cutoff to 115%. They are building an AMAZING new track (video below) which will open next year so things are definitely changing for the better in Korean motorsports since bringing F1 to the country. They have only started running the Korean bike series on the F1 track in the last couple years.
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