Moto-Brian

My thoughts exactly. And coming from a guy that's never ridden one. 990 that is lighter and has equal if not better power than the Yamaha... Oh well, if it is based on looks, no adventure really gets a nod. So, performance and results should be a basis of thought... To each their own of course...

Like I said, minimum $1k a weekend on a shoe string budget. Tires are $380-$400 a set... Gas is going to be about $50...

Dude, are you serious? Name one series they had their asses handed to them in road racing... They lost out on the MotoGP due to not getting the contract for being the spec tire... Sure, Rossi changed over and a few others, but realize this - technology changes and things are sometimes better at that instance. As for Bridgestones, you are still laughed at if you run those on anything other than MotoGP... Michelin has had nothing short of a pretty amazing history of wins that are well within the 10 years you so describe... You kill me with the comments... You really need to straighten out the facts before you chime in with your 1998 mentality...

You guys can grab one of the best Adventure bike out there with MANY a Dakar win - check out the 990 Adventure from KTM. Done.

Dude, here's the drill. You came on and puffed your chest out and stated that you're not slow and you ride a "spirited pace". You are defending a tire that is VERY much a lesser counter part than any other tire mentioned in this thread. That being said, nobody said a damn thing about them not being compatible with certain riders. Sure, as clearly stated before, if you do not ride aggressively and just cruise, they probably will work w/o issue. But, wick it up and they are going to have limitations that show MUCH sooner than say, the Michelins do. You want to argue and there are plenty of people on here that have some fairly extensive knowledge of different tires and from putting them through their paces. You say you are poor and thus, the reason why you buy them. You are then shown that for under $30 more, you can get a MUCH more capable tire. Quit with the third grade pouting crap and listen to what is being said...

What are you racing on this year??

I wasn't either. I was talking street riding. Come ride with me and I'll show you the limits of the Shinkos... Not arrogance - just telling the truth... You were painting a picture you tear it up on the street and I am telling you they won't handle it.

My suggestion is buy a new bike. The 900 you have may or may not be allowed in LW Twins. Either way, you are probably going to be beaten by SV650s a good amount. They are what I would consider if thinking about running LW Twins class... That aside and if that's what you're sticking with, costs are very much different based on who you ask. My opinion is that if you are going to do it, do it right. A lot of guys never freshen up suspension, they never do regular maintenance to their machines and they don't even consider the load they put on a motor. Costs are much more than entry fees and tires. you have these to consider: 1) Hotel or cost of camping. Get a good night sleep. Your results will reflect this... 2) Maintaining the tow rig and trailer. Oil changes, gas, tires, etc. All are expenses that occur due to traveling for races. You don't consider these important until you look at the end of the year and realize just how much you've spent traveling... 3) Maintaining the bike itself. Even if you go the cheap and not suggested route of just changing oil, gas and tires, those items add up. Oil and filters, fuel at the events, chemicals needed to clean and maintain like brake fluid, chain lube, contact cleaner, etc. 4) Spares. SPARES. BUY SPARES. They cost a bit and hopefully, you never use them. But, to miss a race because you cannot find someone with a shifter bolt is pure suck and can be avoided easily. Bolts, clip-ons, chains, sprockets, levers, rearset parts, etc. Wear and tear and crash replacement... 5) Suspension. Buy it, maintain it and run it. Guys that have Ohlins front and rear and have three seasons on it w/o ever being freshened up are basically running on pure shit. They'd not know what to do if they freshened it up twice or at minimum, once a year... Both ends... It's cheap and will help tremendously. 6) Motor. Get it fresh to start. Running on a bike with 10k miles and then racing it is a recipe for failure. Failure costs a pile of cash. Get it tuned up, freshened up and you'll get a lot more out of it... 7) Race fees. Usually $85 for one, $65 for the next and each after. Basically, $150 for 20 laps and short practice and $20 to get in. $100 for the license and the rest is up to you... In the end, a race season is expensive. We used to do $40k a year and that wasn't enough. Sprint racing, it was less, but not by much... Even on a shoe string budget, I'd wager, $1k is just getting by. Barely.

Oh, and on a bike like a ZX14 that while not the most agile curve cutter? They are always putting power down and that wears a tire out - squid or advanced rider aboard. Shinkos on that type of machine is a recipe for wasting money...

Everybody is a racer in their own mind. Wanna try and see the limits of these tires? Come ride with me and we'll see where the tires leave you... The deal is exactly how Hob related it. For not much more money, you can get a legit and better tire. Shinkos are great for the rider that has a budget, isn't riding hard on them and that doesn't expect them to be great tires. Sure, a once in a while blast down your favorite stretch of road? Not an issue. But, some of these guys ride pretty hard and a Shinko ain't gonna give back what they want. The other side is that typically, you never know what a good tire feels like if you have never ridden on one. Shinko guys that stand up and say they are fine are usually guys that have little to no experience with other brands. The fact is that I can slap on a set of Pilot Powers and a set of Shinkos on the same bike and you will be able to tell a difference.

Dude, it takes a strong man to be honest. I can appreciate that and appreciate what you are saying after clarifying a bit more. Trust me, I have heard MORE than enough fish stories. All I do is worry about what I am doing and don't care what others do. I don't run a camera on my bike, post my lap times, etc. Reason being is two fold. One, I don't need attention. Two, I know there are a zillion people faster than me. I was privileged to race at Putnam when WERA was there up until 2003. That was some amazing years at that facility. I got to witness first hand a friend set the motorcycle lap record (which to this day has never been even REMOTELY touched) and understand what fast really is around that place. I've witnessed guys that haven't been on a bike and with inferior equipment run times that nobody really can sustain for any length of time. Yet... You will ALWAYS have people state times, say this or that and even post vids. The funny part is that I will break vids down and see that at any time, they never get out of 18s, etc... Just realize that you need to challenge YOU. Who gives two shits about a YouTube vid and what the things the rider is doing. The funny part is that most of the time, a majority of vids I ever see are showing the mistakes the rider filming is doing and see that the rider will probably never get faster as long as they keep making the mistakes they have forever left in cyberspace... But, it all looks cool to the buds that worship you, right? The lap times are always great topics of conversations at the local Rallys. And, you'll always be the cool kid if you don't have chicken strips on your ride. Serp, you and I have had a lot of verbals with one another, but I think you are a stand up guy. Keep riding and hopefully, we cross paths and can have some fun at the track.

Aw, I don't know...Under 1:18...

I'll second that. 75% at a "street pace"? Seriously? Anyways, people have different perceptions of what speed is and what fast is. One person's 70% of their ability may be 98% of someone else's ability... As for lap timing people via a stop watch, there are very few people that do it right... Before lap timers, it is the only way people ever got times. Most the time, people are timing from the stands and it is so inconsistant and so off, that they are never even close to right. We've heard guys say they had their buddies time them at 1:16 at Putnam. Once you get out there and you actually see their lap timers, they show 1:20... Funny how that works. It's all a big ol' fish story. You ever ask me how fast I do someplace, I always say "Aw, I don't know..." What's it matter anyways?

You are in a tough place. I agree that ANYTHING unsafe will not be a good idea to ride. In fact, if it leaks coolant and is noticed, you're not going to get to ride anyways... Plus, if it leaks, it's an easy fix - fix it. As for the ZX10, well... It's a handful and certainly not a newbie bike. However, we've seen riders that push aside ego and arrogance and be totally fine on liter bikes. Take it slow, understand the environment around you and check the ego at the gate. You'll be fine... Novice group is a group that shouldn't provide issues to the degree that crashes are likely. That being said, I've seen guys split frames at Novice pace...

It is sold... See above list for updates on what is sold in green...

Guys, pics are here... http://img692.imageshack.us/g/buellpucks.jpg/

Hit the link in my sig. Yes, we are Sportbike Track Time (STT) and we run events at tracks like Autobahn Country Club (ACC), ROad America, Gingerman, Grattan, Putnam, Barber, Nashville, Tally, Road Atlanta, etc., etc., etc... Check our link and see what tracks we have on the schedule. As for Nick's links, they are for his own setup at the venues he directs. Not STT...

Don't worry... He used to be a ZX10 owner and is probably upset we speak the truth... Drag racing? Bike works well. Gotta turn? Bike is pure shit. Unless you have REALLY deep pockets and can machine things to make it CLOSE...

Ok, here's a link of pics... Need more details, shout... http://img692.imageshack.us/g/buellpucks.jpg/

Guys, PM me your email addresses for pics...

Actually, you are right - to a degree... Brembo makes the cast wheels and they are labeled Marchies... The RC8 standards are the same way...

Huh? I've ridden ZX10s and have PLENTY of buddies that have raced them to form a somewhat firm opinion. plus, what's riding GSXRs have to do with making fun of ZX10s??

PICS OF EVERYTHING ARE HERE: http://img692.imageshack.us/g/buellpucks.jpg/ Ok, I have a series of items for sale. A lot of it is new and some used stuff, as well... I am not going to post pics, but have pics of EVERYTHING to verify condition and such. All high res, too. Just would destroy bandwidth with all the pics needed... So, it is going to look like one of those guys selling cell phones!! Anyways, here ya go! PM me for info and if you want pics, include your email... New Helmets: BUY A HELMET AND GET A PAD KIT AND SHIELD IF AVAILABLE!! -Scorpion 700 Dahlia White/Pink – SM - $125 -Scorpion 700 Fury Black/Silver – MD – $100 - SOLD!!! -Vemar Full Carbon Fiber Limited Edition – Raw – XL - $150 -Vemar Full Carbon Fiber Limited Edition – Raw – XL - $150 -AGV Ti Tech Rossi Replica – XL - $200 -HJC LT12 solid Red – LG - $50 -HJC LT12 solid Black – LG - $50 Used Helmets: BUY A HELMET AND GET A PAD KIT AND SHIELD IF AVAILABLE!! -Vemar Black/Silver – MD – $75 -HJC CL-12 Fury II Black/Silver – MD – $30 -HJC LT-20 Red – MD - $30 -AGV Stealth Pink – SM – $75 -AGV V-Flyer American Flag – XL – $30 -Nolan N100 Modular Dark Grey – MD – $50 SOLD!! -Shoei Custom painted – OLD – XL – $25 -Arai Signet Black/Silver – LG – $125 NEW Helmet Shields: -Scorpion Dark Smoke – $25 -Scorpion Light Smoke – $25 -HJC CL Blue Iridium – $15 Arai Dark Smoke – $30 Arai Light Smoke – $30 New Gloves: -Held Galaxy – LG – $120 -Held Galaxy – MD – $120 -Held Akira – MD – $120 -Alpine Star SP-1 Black (not the newer carbon style)– LG – $30 -Gaerne Race Gloves – MD – $25 -Gaerne Race Gloves – MD – $25 New Suit: -Women’s Hein Gericke Bonzai 2-piece Black (with flower cuffs) – Size 6 - $200 NEW Bohn Back Protectors: -QTY (2) Race Pro Kevlar in Red – LG (5’9” – 6’3”) – $80 EACH -QTY (2) Race Pro Kevlar in Bright Green – LG (5’9” – 6’3”) – $80 EACH -QTY (1) Race Pro Kevlar in Bright Green – SM (up to 5’9”) – $80 EACH Used Back protectors: -Bohn Racer Pro in Red: Condition excellent – SM (up to 5’9”) – $40 -Bohn Racer Pro in Bright Green: Condition good – SM (up to 5’9”) – $30 -Bohn 6 plate Kevlar in Black: Condition great – SM (up to 5’9”) – $40 -No name plastic plated back protector: Condition excellent – $30 -Wintex plastic plated back protector: Condition great – $30 -Yellow foam/plastic solid back protector: Condition excellent – $30 New Under Suit Shorts: -Bohn Adventure shorts Blue – SM - $30 New Knee Pucks: -QTY (2) Buell pucks – $10 EACH Used Boots: -Women’s 1st Gear Black – Size 7 – $50 -Women’s Gaerne Black – Size 5 - $50 Wheels: -Aprillia Mille Wheel set. These are Marchesini wheels in charcoal grey 5 spokes. Condition is excellent – MAKE OFFER Misc OEM parts: -NEW in package OEM Kawasaki ZX6/ZX10 and others brake lever Black - $20 -NEW in package OEM Kawasaki ZX6/ZX10 and others brake lever Black - $20 -Aprillia OEM 4 piece pad set – $20 NEW Brake Pads: -SBS 706RS Sinter – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 706RS Sinter – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 566RS Sinter – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 734DC Dual Carbon – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 734DC Dual Carbon – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 1721-0312 Dual Carbon – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 -SBS 1721-0312 Dual Carbon – 2 cards (two calipers) – $30 Bike Stands: -Powerstand rear stand Polished: Condition great – $30 - SOLD!!! -Aprillia front stand Red – WILL WORK ON ANY BIKE: Condition great – $25 -LP Racing front stand Polished: Condition great – $25 Timing Tripod with Beacon: -Amico Tri-Pod with Stack Beacon. THIS IS A CAR BEACON and not sure if it will work with XT type stuff… - $30

The thing is that the reason they call it twilight is because it is run late in the day. Want to get more time? Buy a spot in the regular day events...

However, with the ZX10s, that might actually HELP the handling issues...