The only bike better in that segment I ever drove is the old aprilia rs 250. But, of course, that is a legend.

De nada, amigo.

😄 If you're looking at racing as a means to make money in 2022, you're going to be sorely disappointed... The only people that actually profit from actually riding anymore are doing it via sponsorship and their limited contracts with teams. And those guys are doing it more for the love of the sport than as a realistic way to make a living long-term. There was a time when race winnings, (purses), themselves were significant, and you could make a go at it as a full-time privateer. But that day is long gone, and even then, you had to be in the top 1% of competitors to make it work as a viable source of adult level income. Most folks out there now are either kids who's parents are footing all the bills, or older people who have a highly profitable day job that enables them to pour large amounts of money into a weekend hobby with little or no need of a return. Even if you are both young and VERY fast, it takes years to hone your skills on-track to a point that you can be competitive at a pro level that would attract any meaningful sponsors, like in a MotoAmerica or Spanish Moto 2 type of series. And if you're not well on your way by your mid teen years, you're basically fighting a losing battle. There are a few guys with exceptional talent that can squeak out a go at MotoAmerica Supersport or something for a while as adults, but they are pouring everything they have into it because they love it more than anything else, and would be far more financially successful just starting a lawn care business or something... For every guy you know the name of from the world of roadracing, there are 10,000 other guys that had incredible talent and potential that weren't lucky enough to either get the right opportunities to show it or got hurt and weren't able to fully recover and never made it to a level of notoriety that enabled them to move on to a full-time position in the sport like a team manager, race official, or manufacturer rep. It's a lot like most other pro sports at this point. Think about what it takes to make it to pro baseball or football and actually make a decent living. There are a lot of guys that do it for 2-3 years at lower levels. But they are absolutely incredible athletes, and even then, the average career is very short and takes a massive toll on them physically and often emotionally. And 99% of them are back to working a regular job and making a regular income pretty quickly. My advice would be to give amateur racing at an affordable level a try and see what you think about it. Find a "mini bike" league or supermoto series in yiur area and see what it's all about. If you love traveling 4-8hrs from home every weekend and sleeping in a trailer or van in a parking lot and working your ass off every single day of your life in order to win at all costs, racing may be for you. I was definitely that guy for a long time. But if you aren't straight up obsessed with the whole lifestyle and heat of the competition, you'd most likely hate it pretty quickly.

It's the best platform to customize because you aren't paying for a ton of stuff you'll later take off anyway. I enjoyed rallying that bike through Mulholland, and if I was a Harley guy, it would be high on my list.

The reason for leaning your body off of a motorcycle, into the turn at speed, is to alter the weight distribution and center of gravity, thus allowing the bike to turn at the same rate, yet carry less lean angle. The farther you can get your body off to the inside, the faster you can go through any given turn at speed as you will have more ground clearance and larger contact patches with your tires. Racers use this technique to also allow the earliest possible application of the throttle. If you sit straight up, your body weight is working against the physics of the motorcycle. If you lean away from a turn at speed, your bike will have to lean more to turn at the same rate. At low speed, you lean your body away from the turn and push the bike down to counterbalance the weight of the machine itself.

There are MANY differences between a '95 monster and a 2012 848 Corse. Call any shop around Los Angeles and get your own quotes. I can assure you, they won't be $400.

@@roadraceguy I just called Motosports in Des Moises (my local dealer) and they quoted me 2 hours labor for that bike plus 90 per belt plus tax for a rough estimate of 450 after tax By “that bike” I told them exactly what bike you had, 848 evo corse. Your dealers are ripping you off

@@nerdsunscripted624 $2000 sounds like a Desmo service price.

To the best of my knowledge, Ohlins shock, and the front braking system.

It is not the snake... 😎 And if you watch the whole video, I tell you where I'm at in there.

It still holds up against any of the new Supersport class bikes. Honestly, it's probably significantly faster and easier to ride than most of what's available in 2022.

I believe the manual says every 3 years or 10k miles. It's a job, but is mostly just time consuming. However, if you're going to do it yourself, I'd suggest getting a specialized tool for holding the cams. Getting the new belts on is kind of a pain in the ass without it. Paying a shop in the US will run from $1500-2500.

for the belts its every 7500 miles or every 3 years. if you take it to a dealer for JUST the belts its only around 2-300 dollars

@@kdg5597 I don't know where you live or what dealers charge there, but the belts themselves are well over $100. The labor involved in disassembling half the bike is significant. The 3 quotes I got from dealers were all between $1600 and $2500.

@@roadraceguy only disassembly for the belts is the side fairings and the side case on the engine which is like 5 bolts

@@kdg5597 unfortunately, that is inaccurate.

Indeed, it is!

Well, to do it right would've required attention to be spent on the process of video as opposed to focusing 100% on the mechanical job. Since these videos are strictly for fun and have no consequence in the world, and working on a bike that I ride like this one is about as close to a life or death situation as you can imagine, I felt it more prudent to spend my cognitive equity on the task at hand. (And there are other videos of people doing the actual belt change.)

Thanks! I think there are so many motorcycle review channels it's easy to get lost on the mix. And also, I lost my access to endless Harley products for free, so haven't been making much motorcycle content lately.

Thanks, Dennis! We tried to give a real-world view of the bike with as little bias as possible.

I know that area. Good riding, for sure!

Thanks!

I think it's a PSR guard available from any Parts Unlimited dealer.

Thank you!

Thanks! 120/165

Yes, I still have my 848. I doubt I will ever sell it. I, personally, don't buy liter bikes because I will go through a rear tire in a few hundred miles.

It's certainly better than no fairing at all, for sure. And if you put a higher screen on it, it becomes more functional.

A lot... and I got 90% of it at dealer cost. I used to tell people I only had a few thousand in it, but then I actually sat down and added it all up. Well over $10k.

@@roadraceguy thx

Thank you!

Thank you, sir!

I didn't lower the forks at all. The R3 is in need of all the ground clearance it can get.

@@roadraceguy so you just lean forward when u ride it? How tall are you bro? Do you have any rearset?

@@Nathan2692 im 6' tall and the mods I have done are covered in detail in this video. I can't give you personal setup information, as all rider's needs, styles, tracks, and conditions you may be dealing with are different. Getting the ground clearance, weight distribution, and rider position correct are major factors in creating a competitive R3, but they will be different for everyone.

@@roadraceguy thanks for your time bro, so is it recommended to lower the forks? Do you know any track riders lower the forks just for the ergonomics?

@@Nathan2692 I really can't make a definite statement about YOU on YOUR bike. But for me, I needed everything as high as I could get it. Raise the rear, raise the pegs, raise the seat, AND raise the forks in the triple clamp. All of that made me faster on my bike, and worked for what I do and how I do it. (But I also got my spring rates and damping perfect and have a style that is heavily dependent on front end feel.) My style is to carry as much corner speed as possible with high lean angles, and I am very late and very hard on the brakes. With the R3, that usually means you're only braking for 1-3sec at the hardest points. The R3 has little HP, so I don't need stability on the gas like you would trade off for on an R1 or something. So, I set mine up for maximum cornering ability to keep momentum as high as possible. Personally, my overall advice is be wary of what "people" on the internet are telling you about geometry adjustments and pay for a pro suspension person to help out. In my experience, 99% of riders don't have the slightest idea what they're talking about or are just regurgitating what someone else said.

Yes, many times. Depends on the track as to how well the R3 competes. Obviously, it's at a displacement deficit that is pretty significant. But at a course without long straights it holds its own just fine. Places like Fontana, Willow Springs, Road Atl, Road America, ect, where horsepower is a deciding factor, it's tough to maintain the pace of the 400's. But on the other hand, I've beaten many 400's on tighter tracks like Vegas, Little Talladega, and Buttonwillow.

@@roadraceguy Thank you for the reply. Super cool seeing racers getting serious and having fun with the small displacement bikes. The other day another youtuber supplied a link on 400cc lightweight class race at the Isle of Man. Small bikes can be a real blast. Take care.

@@EBthere they're super fun and you have to be more accurate and precise than on the higher HP bikes. You really can't make mistakes, especially against the 400's. Also, tires last about twice as long. I've never had much money to devote to racing like most folks out there these days. So, tires go twice as far and that makes all the difference when your budgeting ever dollar spent.

@@roadraceguy The fact you're on a budget has to make it that much sweeter when you go around the bigger bikes in the curves! I love the bigger bikes too but it's cool to watch the smaller bikes come out on top sometimes. From what I've watched, your comment of needing to be more accurate and precise are spot on.

@@EBthere If you're running one at a track day or something, and are a good rider, you can really stick it to most 600's and even a lot of liter bikes. However, it can also get dangerous. They always put me in the "A" classes and I pass so many people coming into corners on the brakes and even on the outside midcorner only to watch them rip back past me on the next straight that it can be ridiculous, and you'll see the guys getting really mad about it. Must be a shot to their ego... But if you're wanting to improve your technique, there's really no better way than on an R3 or Ninja 400. I'm a big fan of riding TTR's and 85's on kart tracks and in parking lots, but they're not quite the same. I have raced a lot of different classes over the years, and honestly, I learned and improved my riding more in 2019 & 2020 on this R3 than at any other time.