Is it a bad Idea to buy a Motorcycle that has some history on a Race Rack?

Question

Im thinking about buying a Honda2005 CBR600, the seller insures me it has never been crashed, and dropped once. He also told me he used it very little on track.

Im thinking, As long as the bike has not been crashed before, and the body shows no signs of it being rebuilt, It should be fine right? Or is there something I should know about bikes that have been on a track, period.

He explained, he never really converted the bike to a full-on track bike. He removed mirrors, and covered headlights. he explained he can convert it back to a street bike in minutes. The bike has about 5000 Miles on it. What do you think? What should I look for when I inspect? The Price is very very good... thanks!

Answer 1

i can only answer as what i know about racing 4 wheelers. if someone is selling it because they are getting better and are moving up a class then stay away from it. because they learned from there mistakes with this one. if they are selling it and are in the top class all ready then i would believe the story because this bike would show a large amount of wear if he used it very much and was in a top class. i race in the top 4 wheeler classes and if i sold someone my race bike they would be getting an awesome bike because i have to keep the bike in perfect mechanical shape to be competitive.

Answer 2

" little track action " might just mean a couple of track day.

If the bike race been raced, the standard speedo will have been removed as its not needed.

This means the millage will be very wrong.

My advice, stay well clear. If you want a road bike, buy a " cleaner" model. They are loads out there.

If you want a bike that you can use for track use mainly, then yes, it sound like it might be alright..

Answer 3

I would respectfully disagree w/ the other answers here, for a couple reasons. You are correct, just because a bike has been to the track doesn't make it inferior or suspect. It is a sportsbike, it is MEANT to be ridden on the track. There is nothing done at the track that is not done on the street, it is just ridden faster, turned sharper, etc.

Also if the bike was ever raced, the street bodywork would have to be taken off and the bike safety wired (oil filler plug, axel pinch bolts, exhaust headers, etc), it would have higher footpegs (rearsets), it would have framesliders...in short, it would look like a racebike. And once a bike is converted to a racebike it is not likely to be converted back and pawned off on some unsuspecting guy, especially when it can be sold as is on the Wera, CCS, Nesba, or any other track day org's bulletin board.

I would find out why he is selling it, why he didn't want it as a track bike, how often he changed the oil (every other track day is fine) and if he broke it in before taking it to the track. Then Take it to a honda shop and have them look at it.

It would be a shame to pass up a deal because people are superstitious, but having said that, make sure you have it looked at, take a look at the records, warranty info, service records, run a VIN search online, etc.

Good luck

(Before I bought a dedicated track bike--a salvaged bike, no less, runs great-- I took my daytona 675 to the track on 4 occasions, and it is no worse for the wear.)

Answer 4

I just want to agree if you are not planning on using this for a track bike I would not recommend it.

Answer 5

I can only answer in regards to motocross bikes but have found that people tend to divide into two sections.  Those who want a bike that has been raced as they believe that the bike must be a good bike if someone has done well racing it and also believe that the bike would have been well maintained due to it being a race bike.  Then you have the others who steer away from race bikes as they think that the bike will have many problems as otherwise why would the person not keep racing it and of course think that it would have had hours and hours of work.

Both have a point and I would be careful buying a bike that has been raced unless I was competent enough to check the bike over and make sure it didn't have problems.  

And if you are concerned get someone who has nothing to gain by you purchasing the bike to look it over even if you have to pay for the service of them doing so.  

As I said I know little about road bikes but don't know too many  race bikes that have not had a crash at some time.