Was wondering if anyone had ever purchased a bike thats been raced? I have an opportunity to buy a bike thats been professionally raced. I haven't went and looked at it yet, but seller says its immaculate. Its older, 1996 f3. Comes with lots of spare parts. Has some fancy wheels, EBC rotors, Penske rear shock, I'm sure its had engine work done too. low miles, obviously, but I'm sure they were very hard miles. Not sure if its worth the risk. I don't mind fixing the odd part, but I suppose a race engine thats run close to the red line all time has a chance to grenade at any moment? Or could I think of it the other way, its been built to be treated like that, and I won't treat it like that, so it should last me a while? As a side note, would it be safe to say that this professionally race tuned f3 would spank my stock 02 f4i?

 

Your thinking of it wrong, Think of it as a bike that you know for sure has had good maintenance and good upkeep, Racer's don't let there bikes get neglected that bike is your lifeline if you race. Not to mention you get all those cool high dollar parts for an add on. I say go for it! I wouldn't hesitate at all.

As far as beating the F4i I'd say high probability, I had a f3 that had a 637cc bore and a bunch of other things, in a straight line race it would take my f4i that has a k&n, jardine slip on, pcIII just to name a few. So yeah it some points it may be better than the f4i and some not. I wouldn't know unless I rode both bikes. Thats only way to tell.

 

+1.
I own a bike that might have been raced, but probably just track days by the ppo. That guy took care of it, tuned it, upgraded it, and rode it like it is supposed to be riden. I can tell by the details. The po, a friend of mine, let it go to hell. He hardly rode it and never tracked it. What a shame. It runs great now that ive returned it to track shape.

Like jveach says, guys that go to track days or race are bike guys, not just guys that bought bikes to look cool. They usually take care of their stuff.

Just look closely at it. Make sure it hasnt been crashed, or at least crashed hard, just as you would for any bike. Make sure the registration and legal stuff is in order. Remember, track bikes dont need to be street legal for your area or regestered for street riding.

 

Good point !!!!!!!!

 

well, surely this bike was taken care of. Wasn't just owned by a guy who went to track days. It was owned/ridden by a Canadian road race champ, it was his last privateer ride before being picked up by Kawasaki Team. I think I'll go see it if I can get some funds in order. Thanks for the encouragement guys.

 

96... that would be pre-Szoke, so maybe a Crevier bike? That would be sweet. Anyway, keep in mind that rules limit HP in these series, so the engine might not be as hopped up as you think. It would be safe to assume the bike has been down at some point, but probably just a low side, and they keep their bikes well protected. Another point to consider is the expected lifespan of the bike, us street riders want our bikes to last as long as possible, racers need them for a season, and currently Canadian Sport bike (or Superbike if that's where it was raced) has 7 races in a season. So that will mean the bike was set up to give everything it's got for those races, or that it still has lots of life in it. I guess that doesn't answer your question at all. I say if it's a Crevier bike, buy it lol

 

Having been around racers and trackday people for a while now I can say that the OP was correct to be worried. Chances are the motor doesn't have alot of life in it. Maintainence can't help a motor being flogged at redline and full throttle constantly. Heres what your looking at: you'll be buying a bike that has alot of goodies on it and is an old model. That means a replacement motor will be cheap as nobody wants F3 parts anymore. On the downside is carb'd, old tech, its been beat up and will probably be slower then the f4i if the f4i has just a couple mods done to the suspension. Slower around a track at least, no idea on acceleration.

 

It is a Szoke actually...

 

Is that one of the ones in Penziol colours? That's around the time he got his first championship, that would be sweet. He was selling his CBR1000 RR's last year from the 2010 season, but they were too rich for my blood! I guess if your privateer you have to try to re-coup as much as you can at the end of the season. If the bike is a good deal I would buy it, even if it's just a show piece!

 

guess it all depends on how bad the bike was abused, or not.