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My track bike conundrum.


Tonik

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27 minutes ago, Tonik said:

Less HP, no traction control and would have to buy a new one to get abs. And it wasn't one of the listed choices.

Better out of box track bike, you wont fully utilize all the HP of any of the bikes listed, bazzaz fuel controller with traction control is a simple addition and should be added regardless of bike choice. ABS shouldn't be a deal breaker or depended on in factory form thats what your fingers and foot are for.

Box stock the R6 is a better choice for a 600 class track bike, aftermarket only enhances that. To each his own though.

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9 hours ago, MidgetTodd said:

Better out of box track bike, you wont fully utilize all the HP of any of the bikes listed, bazzaz fuel controller with traction control is a simple addition and should be added regardless of bike choice. ABS shouldn't be a deal breaker or depended on in factory form thats what your fingers and foot are for.

Box stock the R6 is a better choice for a 600 class track bike, aftermarket only enhances that. To each his own though.

Maybe I'll get one of you MotoAmerica bubbies to tune my bazzaz traction control.....

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13 hours ago, Tonik said:

I was really leaning towards the CBR 600RR, then the ZX-6R caught my eye with a slightly larger engine but not too big.

13 and up for the CBR 600 RR because of the better rear suspension and a few extra ponies but I could be talked down to 2009. And that may make sense, save a few bucks and spend it on suspension.

Also 13 and up for the ZX-6R, that is when ABS started on those.

To be clear, ABS is still mandatory. Slipper clutch will be added to the CBR if I go that route. The Zx has one I believe.

The newer zx6's are supposed to be pretty good. I've always heard that the honda's were hard to work on, although I never had many issues wrenching on my 06.

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I don't know man, you'll have a blast with any of them.  I'd set a price point and watch for whichever pops up in a condition you like.  It's a track bike and you're not racing (yet) so I'd get anything that allows you to get on the track as much as you can.

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2 hours ago, blue03636 said:

Just watch out for the coolaid drinkers that think the only track bike to have is the R6. They all take setup time to get them where you want them.

If you go the zx6r route hit me up and I'll save you the headache of trial and error on setup.

Studies show riders are 87.3% more likely to break a collar bone on a ZX6 vs  R6. But you already know that. 

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I'd go with whichever one has better goodies/handling. Top speed doesn't matter doing track days as it's only a few mph here and there. Sure, it makes a huge difference in a race or trying to set a competitive time but for our purposes I would argue you'd get more out of a better suspension/friendlier electronics package than a couple more HP. 

 

But what do I know. 

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Traction control on a 600 isn't needed. I also don't think ABS that's available on any 600 class bike out there would stay on any bike I owned. Even the brand new R6 TC/ABS is admittedly not as advanced as it is on the R1 and I would remove it. They don't have the 6 axis thingy for lean angle, etc. 

With that said, the 13+ zx6r is the better track machine of the 2 choices you gave. More people are tracking/racing them which means parts are easier to get, setup info is easier to get, etc. And they do make pretty good power and all. 

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41 minutes ago, TRMN8TR said:

Traction control on a 600 isn't needed. I also don't think ABS that's available on any 600 class bike out there would stay on any bike I owned. Even the brand new R6 TC/ABS is admittedly not as advanced as it is on the R1 and I would remove it. They don't have the 6 axis thingy for lean angle, etc. 

With that said, the 13+ zx6r is the better track machine of the 2 choices you gave. More people are tracking/racing them which means parts are easier to get, setup info is easier to get, etc. And they do make pretty good power and all. 

Listen to Brandon. ?

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I'd go with the kawi over the honda also.  I'm a fan of yamaha's because of the built in diagnostics.  but in 2017 that's gone.  there is plenty of power in the R6.  more than most of us could tame.  yamaha seems to restrict them from the factory more than the other brands.  once the ecu is flashed they wake up.  the R1 can gain 10hp just by turning off some of the noise restrictions in the ecu.  I flashed my ecu and use an auto tuner and it's a complete new beast than how it came.

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Honda's are always described as "more forgiving," which is the nice way of saying they don't have razor sharp handling.  I liked my '03.  It felt more stable than the R6 i took out on demo rides.  Never rode the Kawasaki, but (aside from the oil change issue noted), I have heard very few complaints.  If you want a slipper clutch that badly (personally, I wouldn't consider that essential, but once you have one, you won't be able to go back to life w/o one...), the ZX6 is the better choice.  Aftermarket slippers on the Honda will take it out of certain race classes, which can hurt resale potential even if you're not racing it.  The next owner might want to.

/$.02

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1 hour ago, tall_tracy said:

Wish I had $$ for a track bike... :cry:

Cut down to 1 Starbucks a day instead of 2 and that would generate 2 grand in a year easy. 2K will get you a decent track bike.

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