5th gen for track days

[cirv]

Thinking of buying a 5th gen for track days. I am older and in novice class and not interested in racing in the future. Just want to hone riding skills and enjoy the safety and fun of track days. Any reasons not to use the 5th gen for this purpose? Thanks in advance for your input. cirv

[jay956]

i have yet to get to the track. but... if its a track only bike, why not get something a lot lighter and cheaper, say a first gen sv, older r6 or gsxr600/750, or get 3-4 ninja 250's for the same price as a vfr

[vfrcapn]

You're going to work a lot harder at the track on the VFR than say a 600rr, for the same benefit which is honing your skills. If the VFR is all you have then take it out, but it looks like you've got quite a stable there. Take the Multistrada!

[RHawkman]

I got the bug doing try the track on my 99 VFR. What a blast getting to ride pretty much as fast as you want without the worry of public streets. When I asked the people who do it all the time, they told me to look for a used SV650 track bike that someone has already spent tons of money upgrading that they will NOT get back out of it. Even the local Ducatisti told me that...at the track...test riding their bikes. The mods you have to do to bike make it impractical to ride to/from the track and as was mentioned earlier, for pure skill increase, it shouldn't have to be the same bike you ride on the street. Just my 2 cents.

[two4one]

You already have a 6th gen, I'd say use that. I've ridden mine on at least a few occasions in an Advanced group with various org's. If you're simply looking to hone some skills, the 6th gen, at your described pace is more than sufficient. The only rule of thumb is if you're scraping parts, you're not hanging off enough. Eventually you'll scrape the header on the right side but that's far down the road at a much quicker pace.

Save your cash and buy track time and tires!

[reg71]

I pretty much agree with the guys. I took my 5g to the track and it was fine, but it was like work. Possibly a lighter bike would have been much easier so I guess the real question is are you going to go often enough to justify a bike strictly for that purpose? If the answer is yes, then by all means do as was suggested and buy someone's already upgraded track bike. That's what Tori did and he loves it.

[cirv]

Thanks everyone for your input. It is very helpful. cirv