Street bike to Track bike FULL COST Breakdown | 2003 Suzuki SV650

[@tomstc]

You don't buy a bike for the track to save money. Infact no bike saves money! Great video mate

[@TheGorillaBiker]

Especially not on any safety related stuff, never understand why people skimp on things that could literally hurt them very badly, but buy a full titanium exhaust :D Thanks!!

[@markfortin8286]

Based on your needs, I'd say you absolutely made a good choice with this bike.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

Thank you sir, it's also kind of a nice thing to have "done" in a way. Now I'm not constantly playing with the idea of a track bike, I have one!

[@BigBert]

Very worth it mate. And the enjoyment of doing the work and making the content $ priceless 😎🤙🏻

[@TheGorillaBiker]

It absolutely was!! I love doing the work!! The content these days though, I dunno, every video get the ol poor performance icons.......a tad demoralising :D

[@hatter_jbk]

Same answer for worst and best bike investment. 2008 Suzuki Boulevard C50 - my first bike. Got me into the best hobby with the largest collection of best experiences I can recall. Damned thing also sent me down the motorcycle rabbit hole which has likely cost me more money and frustration during down times than I ever want to think about.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

Hahaha the old double edged sword issue eh, bikes definitely can give the best and worst days, sometimes in the same day!! I wouldn't be without them tho, currently anyway!

[@stephencartwright5046]

Interesting. I think what shocks me is how expensive pads and tyres are now. I think that the tech advances over the years are the cause. There are higher expectations, and more information, advice, and pressure on people to fit "racing" mods than back in my day. The rearsets are perhaps a perfect illustration of that. Never even crossed my mind. I scrapped the pegs on the road anyway, so racing just meant I scrapped them more . . . 😂 Role on next year! Looking forward to seeing the times tumble. Especially looking forward to seeing some real racing. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Thank you for the video. 🙏

[@TheGorillaBiker]

Racing pads get even more expensive tbh, these were like upper 60% of cost. Tyres are mental, that's been a trend since 2021 or so, definitely some of it is tech, but some of it is supply I think too. Believe it or not I'd have left it well enough alone, I just wanted a reliable, fun bike. Fairings are apparently required which is fair enough. The rearsets were due to the repair cost of the OEM ones actually was insane when I checked :D And moving them back will help me a lot positioning wise. Haha I can't wait to actually race, the passing rules in Ireland were a bit more flexible so I'm looking forward to that again at minimum. Thanks for watching :)

[@billmarsh3767]

I was very lucky as I bought a first gen sv650s with ohlins rear and braided brakelines plus new Metzler Sportec IIs for 2500 Canadian---your size makes a huge difference in setup obviously---I am 5'11 180 lbs so middle of the road size wise. These are great bikes and wish you some real track enjoyment.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

Oh that was a steal!! Very nice. Ah even if I could have found something like that it's cheaper get a new spring for the ohlins, such is life tho, no matter what way you cut it it's a pretty good deal for where I have it now :) Thank you! :)

[@chrisgray2851]

Is that Massive C on your arm because it makes you think of me 😛🤣

[@TheGorillaBiker]

I mean I did get it just before I moved to America, so take from that what you want😂😂😂

[@Jerryosu83]

Maybe a stupid question,I know nothing about track bikes or racing, but, why not go for a bigger 1000cc bike? Considering your'e not a small lad ...

[@TheGorillaBiker]

For one, money, they're much more expensive to buy and run. Also I'd rather learn on a smaller bike, I'm terrible on track in relation to a lot of other people. Also hiding a lack of skill with straight line speed isn't good, easier to learn technique on a smaller bike etc etc. Plus I want to actually race, so you have to pick a class, twins is the cheapest to run in. Fuel, tyres and all that.

[@Jerryosu83]

@@TheGorillaBiker All great points, makes sense alright, the cost can add up quickly no doubt!

[@TheGorillaBiker]

They certainly do!

[@langhamp8912]

I would say, by far, the biggest expense is injuring yourself in a crash, especially in the US where medical costs are privatized.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

We'd have to agree to disagree there, since I had no injuries converting the bike, I get you have a thing to push about injuries but this video isn't really the place for it is it?.

[@langhamp8912]

@@TheGorillaBiker Crashing is part of racing, trackdays much less so but there's still the chance of it happening especially on a bike that has no ABS/TC. A big argument in favor of a more expensive motorcycle is avoiding highsides. For the injuries, are you using a quality leather suit with an electronic airbag? That right there cost nearly as much as your bike but they're incredibly effective in stopping injuries cold. I saw a lot of Bison leathers on my last trackday. And don't forget you're a bigger guy; bones and organs aren't any bigger between people but the energy they have to absorb is more in bigger people. Bigger people get injured on the track at way higher rates than smaller people. And finally, do you have medical insurance appropriate for this type of activity? I have ambulance rides, hospital days, short and long term disability, and an attorney on retainer via my job. Post-tax, all of this was less than 100 dollars per month. For not much money you can race better with the assurance that when bad things happen you'll at least be protected.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

So you're going to ignore the fact that this is a video about converting a bike and literally zero to do with personal responsibility or the wonderfulness of new bikes. I've made videos on bikes being dangerous, there is an inherent risk you have to be comfortable with, not sure why you preaching to me about this stuff knowing literally zero about me. You should go watch some track coaching stuff, making the assumption that you HAVE to crash some times is silly. I bought a cheap bike because I wanted to, I have ridden on track only without abs and TC in Ireland. I've done quite a few now and am happy with my ability to gauge the risk I take, and I have a budget that I'm comfortable with to work to. You literally have watched one video, and made massive assumptions about who and what I am. On the bigger people argument, you are so incredibly wrong about the bones, organs and energy dispersal that it's not even worth arguing. For background I'm an engineer that used to make replacement joints as a profession, I've ACTUALLY studied the stuff you're making wildly incorrect statements on. Please share data backing up the nonsense about injury rates, if you're talking about physical fitness you'd be correct, but I am actually in much better condition than I might look. And finally, none of your business. I didn't ask about what you do and don't have, as you are also and adult and I expect other adults can look after themselves just fine.

[@langhamp8912]

@@TheGorillaBiker My apologies. I'm assuming that you're one of the many uninsured racers that I see with a "soon to be Fund-Me account". My source was a RoadRacing article about a clinical professional providing some insurance background on racers, and how he estimated about 90% of amateur road racers have nowhere near the insurance needed for a crash. If you were an engineer, then you know that engineers must design a worst case scenario. Also, you would know that, as an engineer, heavier loads require heavier beams. I'm curious as to if you're actually insured. It's ok not to be, as it is cheaper not to be and you don't have crashes requiring medical intervention. But I suspect (admitting I know nothing about you) that you aren't insured for this activity you're doing; if you were, you'd say, "ah, but I am insured!" instead of being hostile and defensive.

[@TheGorillaBiker]

@langhamp8912 hahaha that's a leap. I work for my money and always have thanks 😂 Yes I do plan for both, and also its why your statement about bones etc was insanely wrong. Nah see I deal with people who leave mad patronizing comments(like yours) on a daily basis so I don't feel the need to answer anyone's questions when it's not related to the video we're dealing with, like this case, cus it's weird how oddly passionate you've come in and assumed literally the worst about every facet of my life on bikes while knowing zero about me. Read through some comments on other videos, 99.9% of the time I'm not hostile at all, so maybe, MAYBE, you were the problem here :)