This depends on your budget, asperations and clubs (there are also ACU limits imposed by age and experience - contact the ACU for more details). If you are starting out I would recommend the F400 (supersport 400 class - 400SS). Bikes are plentiful and cheap - KR1S, RGV, Aprillia, Honda NSR, ZXR400, VFR400, FZR400, CBR400 and GSXR400. There is meant to be a limit to the mods you can make, but other than carbs and oversize engines (lots of people mutter about oversize 400's but I think the top bikes are legal) anything seems to go. The class is not over subscribed so you should easily get an entry. Machinery starts at about £700~£1000 for a cheap race prepped KR1, £1000~£2000 for a RGV and upto £2500~4000 for a newish 400 or Aprillia. Apart from the Aprillia (and new RGV) there hasn't been much development in this class over the last few years so condition is more important than age.
The 600 class may seem the place to go but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are very good - the grids are always packed, it is very competitive and at the top very expensive. Bikes start from about £2500. As there is a lot of development in the 600 class, new models are brought out each year, avoid bikes more than a few years old as they won't be competitive.
GP250 is a bit pricey and I would recommend a couple of years under your belt before you try this out. Bikes start from £2500 for an early 90's TZ.
If you are small enougth I would recommend the GP125 - it is competitive, cheap and there is little to choose between machines - they are nearly all Hondas and only the year of manufacture differentiates them. That is pre 95 and post 95 machines. Pre 95 machines go for £1500 or less, 95 onwards start from £2500.
Having decided that you will race in F400 you are now considering which bike - there is quite a choice. You can either get a road bike (asuming the class allows it) and convert it to race use (this can be quite expensive). Or buy a Race bike with all the bits (can save quite a lot of money buying stands, wets on wheels, race plastic etc). If you find a race bike you like do some background research, check for bills for parts, ask other riders if they know the bike and rider,i.e. you are looking for signs that the bike has been maintained. If you are on a limited budget I would consider a KR1-S. As a novice bike you won't go far wrong with a KR. Standard or with a mild tune they are very reliable (or at least mine has been). As long as it is not knackered you will have a bike that can out brake anything in the supersport 400 class, handles well, and is pretty quick. What you won't have is a bike that will win championships - unless you are very good and lucky. That is not to say that you can't win races on a KR (I have and I am not that good) but the KR had its day a few years back. What it has going for it is - it is cheap, it is very rewarding beating newer bikes on something considered uncompetetive, it is a two stroke, and it is a Kawasaki (This last one is subjective - I like Green). A cooking KR1 will make 65 to 68 hp (the best I have heard and believe you will need to check the top end after every meeting). A good KR will make between 60 and 65 hp and will be reliable but will need checking every few meetings. A mildly tweaked KR will make 55 to 60 hp and could do a season with no attention, but it is probably best to put some new rings in half way through the season. My bike has been dynoed at about 58 hp (on the same dyno a standard bike, on the same day, did 47 hp). A highly tuned Aprillia is meant to make getting on for 70 hp, an RGV similar sort of power whilst the top 400s are meant to make just over 70hp (Lesson 1 - take any hp figures with a pinch of salt, dynos vary quite a bit and tuners tales are as big as fishermens). If you want to be competitive in F400 than you would do best to go for a 400 - probably a ZXR or FZR - or if you want a two stroke it has to be an Aprillia. Which ever way you decide to go, read on as most of the rest should still be relevant. On a KR1S you will always struggle against a sorted Aprillia, RGV and NSR and on fast tracks the 400s will be quicker (Darley and Snetterton - airfield circuits with very long straights). You can enter open class races which on some tracks is fun but here you are up against R1, R6 CBR600 etc - I don't recommend this to start with, though hunting the slower 600s is entertaining. You should be able to nail the big stuff on the bendy bits but they usually get you back on the straights. Some clubs run an open 400 class - here you will be up against 400SS, 125 GP and 250 GP bikes - you will be suprised how quick 125GP bikes are. Some clubs will allow you to run in the 250 GP class, it is worth entering just to get the laps in. Against GP250's you should be able to keep up with the slower riders and older TZ's though the trick usually is not to get lapped - sets you a target. Also, as a novice, most clubs run a novice or newcomers race where there are usually prizes for the first three in the 400 class - an easy way to pick up your first trophies. You will keep your novice vest until you have completed 10 meetings at three different circuits (some people never bother converting to a clubmans licence as it gives them an extra race).
Join a Club
You will need to join a road racing club. There are a number dotted around the country. Some like EMRA only race at one circuit. Others like Derby Pheonix race at several. The biggest club is New ERA running meetings all over the country. Check with the ACU to find out which clubs operate in your area. You will also need to get the club secretary to sign your ACU licence application. Club membership is between £10 and £20 per annum.
Entry fees depend on the circuit and the number of races. Typically between £55 and £95 for four races. The smaller circuits such as Tofanu and Anglesey charge the clubs less for hiring the circuit than the bigger circuits such as Oulton and Donnington. Clubs try to keep the cost as low as possible so apart from circuit hire a fair chunk of the rest is insurance. You need to allow for traveling to and from the circuit, food and accommodation if you stay overnight, unless you are camping. Then there is fuel for the bike, wear and tear - brakes, tyres, engine. Allow some for crash damage (every time I fall off it comes to about £200). On average I reckon it costs me between £200 and £300 a meeting. If you are careful with your pennies, don't fall off, stretch tyre replacement and engine rebuilds you might get it down to £150 - £200 a meeting. Nobody ever said racing was cheap. I reckon the cheapest racing is GP125 class - you can pick up a '94 bike for about a grand. Then you only need to replace one of everything (The MZ and LC lot may disagree - but I never fancied racing those machines). Next up I reckon a KR is the cheapest. If you do 12 race meetings ~£960 in entry fees, ~£600 miscellaneous expenses (food, getting to the circuit etc), ~£500 on tyres and crash damage and ~£500 for bits'n'pieces during the season and an overhaul at the end of the season. Thats about £2,500 - add to that the cost of your leathers, bike, stands, generator, tyre warmers, wets on wheels, tools bike transport and you are looking at about £5,000+ for your first season. Also check your life insurance and any mortgage policies as they might be invalidated.
An ACU licence www.acu.org.uk- is £22 plus you need an eye test and a novice vest (£5) Full leathers, an ACU approved helmet - go for one with a double ring round the outside of the ACU sticker. The single ring is the old version. Boots, gloves - and body armour - if you don't have any at least get a back protector (I would recommend body armour, at least hip and elbow as they seem to be the bits that hit the ground the most. I ached for 6 weeks after bashing my hips and I now have some body armour) I got all my kit from Biker Clearance World for £350. Carbon fibre lid £135, second hand Akito leathers £150 (I have been down the road three times and they have held together very well - better than some thousand pound leather suits I know), boots £30 and gloves. Recommend that you get a good set of gloves my first pair burst open when I hit the ground.
A means of getting the bike to and from the circuit. This will either be a trailer, van, caravan or what ever. A mate bought an old 2 berth caravan for £200 complete with awning, cut and hinged the back and uses it as a bike transporter and accommodation. It is very useful having somewhere to sit down between races especially when it is raining. Careful about weight limits on towed vehicles. If you use a trailer get a cover for your bike otherwise it will get covered in road crap. Vans are nice and roomy but not very comfortable. If you have got the dosh a people carrier will take a KR. I use an Alhambra same as Galaxy/VW Sharan to carry the KR plus up to 4 people and occasionally the caravan (check your insurance). Avoid the Vauxhall Sintra unless you are racing 125's. If you shop around you can get an old Espace for about £2500 - what ever you get check that the bike will go in.
I recommend that you get some fiberglass, dropping your road plastic is expensive and it doesn't bounce well. Don't go for lightweight fiberglass to start with - it tends to break up on impact. A heavier fairing from woven material will withstand crashes better and initially you won't notice the difference in weight. Crash mushrooms - I haven't seen any for a KR but if you know of any please tell me. Race fairings cost between £90 and £130, seat units are about £65. Screens are extra and come in at about £25. Shop around for the best buy/delivery as colour and type of construction can cost extra. You can get matted or woven construction - woven is stronger lighter and a bit more expensive. Get a Holts fiberglass repair kit - I have had to patch the fairing several times at a meeting so that I could carry on - looks terrible (carry a spare paint can).
You will need a rear stand and you might want a front stand (You will need one if you use tyre warmers or change tyres/wheels at a meeting). This will set you back about £80. Go for a stand that picks up on bobbins that screw into the swinging arm, it is much easier to use than the type that goes under the swinging arm. Front stand go for the type that picks up under the bottom yoke - it is much easier to change wheels than with the type that picks up under the fork legs.
I tried a set of rear sets which were made from a cast alloy and were quite brittle. They snapped when I was highsided, I landed back in the saddle and managed to stay on but broke the rear set in the process? I currently use a set of footrests from Race Products (£58) (01673-842704). These are not rearsets rather being a set of straight replacements for the standard hangers, but these use solid footpegs (spare footpegs are about £12 a pair) on thick alloy plates. They are good in a tumble as the bike tends to slide on the foot peg (acts a bit like a crash mushroom). I would recommend simple rearsets/footrests made from simple alloy plate over the more expensive rearsets - remember these are the bits that tend to hit the ground first. Use a mushroom head bolt to hold the foot pegs on. I used the supplied normal bolt and when the bike flipped and landed on the footrest the plate bent back towards the swinging arm and the bolt dinked the arm -wouldn't have happened with a mushroom head.
You will need a selection of rear sprockets I currently have 41 thro to 48. Plus 14 and 15 tooth engine sprockets (you can also get a 13 tooth). Size depends on track and tyre combination. I tend to use the 44,45 and 46 rear plus 14 and 15 front. My chain 2 links longer than standard copes with these - though it won't stretch to a 47 or 48 tooth. On the subject of chains remember to carry a spare split link. I use a DID normal chain and bin it at the end of each season. Clean it every two races (unless it rains) and oil lightly. A knackered chain is meant to be worth 3 or 4 hp. Having lost the clip off the split link I either lock wire them or stick them on with a bit of silicon gasket. If you don't gear correctly for the circuit you are wasting your time on a two stroke.
Here in lies the main problem with the KR (and I believe the NC30), it runs an 18" rear wheel and this limits tyre choice. Most people run Avon AM22/23 club compound tyres. I never got on with these as I think they are too heavy and the profile is too high - I think this makes the tyres move around alot (Don't discount it as it was the tyre to use a few years back and people lapped a lot faster on these tyres then than I do now). For the 18" rim I preferred Bridgestone BT90/96 though these are not as sticky as the Avons. I have also seen people run the Dunlop GPR80. You can also run BT56 etc but these are Z rated tyres and unless you are big and heavy you won't get the tyres working properly, a KR1 doesn't have the weight or the power of bikes these tyres are designed for. The way around the problem is to fit a 17" rear off an RGV. This is 4.5" wide and allows 150 and 160 rears to be fitted. Paul Traynor (01304 242339) does spacer kits. This opens up a whole world of tyres. You can now run Dunlop 207GP, Michelin Pilots which come in 3 compounds (both Z rated but choose your tyre for the conditions and you will be ok), Dunlop racing intermediates the KR364 etc. The spacer kit plus wheel will set you back about £150. Paul also does a jack up kit which makes up for the drop in rear end height if you go from an 18" Avon to a 17" Dunlop.
Road tyres are ok in the dry, but in the wet you cannot beat a set of wets. If you have never ridden on a wet you just won't believe the grip they give (knee down in the wet!!). Problem is I don't know who is selling 18" wets anymore. A&R Racing had a batch of Bridgestone but I think they have all gone (I got the last one - or at least I bought the bike off the bloke that bought the last one). The way round this is to fit the 17" rear. You will need a second set of wheels and discs. This will set you back between £200 and £250 - make sure you get decent discs which aren't warped or cracked. You won't be allowed to use wets in Road Stocks but I have heard that some of the knobbly Michelin road tyres work almost as well - the Americans are meant to use these as they aren't allowed full wets in there supersport races?
Most club races are 6 or 8 laps, basically sprints. You can not afford to spend a lap taking it easy warming up your tyres. So all the top runners use tyre warmers. This allows you to go hard for the first couple of corners - if you do this and don't warm the tyres you fall off. They cost about £250 and are available from numerous sources, I got mine from from Dennis Trollope but A&R racing and a host of others sell them. Go for insulated warmers and get some covers for the wheels. Run the warmers for at least 40 minutes before a race (depends on track temperature). This gets heat into the tyre and the rim. When they call your race get into the marshalling area as late as possible so the tyres don't cool down. Don't leave it to late or you will annoy the organisors and may miss your race. As most circuits don't have power you will need a generator of 1500 watts minimum preferrably 2000 watts - new this will set you back another £200 or so. Careful you don't overheat your tyres as this will knacker them.
I did my own porting as it is part of the fun of owning a two stroke but there are plenty of tuners out there - some good and some not so good. Before spending lots of money, go to a few meetings and talk to people in the paddock. Most club racers will be quite happy to tell you about their pride and joy. Then watch them race and see how the bike goes. Choose your tuner carefully. I have seen quite a few people turn up at the track having spent £500 with Joe Bloggs only for their motor to nuke itself after a few laps. This is expensive and dangerous - a motor that siezes may have you off and may take somebody else off in the process. Talk to the tuner, if they say 'raise the exhaust port' and start promising the earth walk away - there is alimit to what can be done. Check to see whose bikes they have worked on in the past, i.e. you are looking for evidence that they have worked on your type of bike before and that they know what they are doing. Don't be suprised at the cost of a tuning job (good or bad). Porting an engine well (or badly) is time consuming and relies on a lot of experience (or lack of it)- you are paying for this (either way). Don't go for a tune that is all peak horsepower - you want an engine that is tractable and will drive out of corners. Smooth power delivery makes it a lot easier to ride and makes it less likely that you will be spat off. If your tuner gives you any advice re: jetting do it. If he says run avgas, run avgas. If you ignore what he says the chances are you will nuke your engine. Remember a nuked engine can cost hundreds of pounds to fix and you can't go back and complain if you didn't do what they said.
Tyres - I get about 200 miles out of a set before the profile goes off. This will depend on the track, the tyre compound and your weight and riding style. Also I have heard it said that tyres will only temperature cycle about 15 to 20 times before the compound goes off. Some tracks are particularly hard on tyres, Gerrards bend at Mallory kills tyres - it is about 100 mph in and 120 mph out - you are cranked over in the bend for about 15 seconds. It is the most awesome corner I know - a pure bottle job.
Chain - as already mentioned one a season. Put a bit of gasket or lockwire over the split link to stop it coming off.
Pistons - I run TZ pistons (sounds like a bag of nails when cold) and run the piston for a whole season - about 600 miles. Last season I ran standard pistons (the new standard pistons don't have the problem with the ring pins popping out) for a whole season. I currently run an early Graham File head with brass anti-detonation rings with the Squish set at 0.65 mm (about 25 thou - much tighter than this and the piston may hit the head). Pistons are Yamaha pt/No. 26J-11631-01-96 (from Dennis Trollope), these are domed tops that will run with standard heads and barrels. A lot of people go for the later flat top TZ pistons but these require the barrels and head to be machined - though they do give a higher crankcase pressure. The correct squish is set by using cartridge paper base gaskets plus/or the standard gaskets to set the gap. Change these every meeting else they will blow. Cartridge paper is ok for a couple of weeks before it turns into mush. Yep, I didn't bother changing it one meeting and blew a base gasket. Water lubrication isn't as good as oil - nuke one piston, a barrel and probably the crank (turned out the crank was ok). Total cost to fix will be about £500 versus the cost of a couple of gaskets £5.
Rings - I change these every 200 miles, did the same last year with standard pistons.
Little end - I change the little end pin and bearing every 300 miles, I let it run to 400 once and had the piston just touching the head.
Cranks - I will keep it in until it complains they are not cheap. Though having now lubricated it with water I think it needs replacing.
Barrels - These have now done 8500 road miles plus ~1500 race miles. They will be replated this winter - especially as I scored one when running on water.
Brake pads - A pair of Ferrodo 901 last one season (Race use only). Excellent feel - more braking power than you will ever need (Warm them up before you use them in anger else they won't work - I usually drag the front brake on the sighting lap to get some heat into them). Make sure that you use braided lines, change the fluid regularly and use good fluid. Make sure the discs aren't warped. The brakes are the KR's main advantage over other bikes so maintain them well. They are the same as a ZXR400 yet the bike weighs 30kg (66 lBs) less.
Two Stroke - I still use the oil pump and run Castrol TTS fully synthetic I get about two meetings per bottle £10. for pre-mix I know people that run happily on Castrol A747. Next season I might run pre-mix - carefull on the overrun. Blip the throttle occasionally to get some oil in (especially on dynos where there appears to be no braking. You are ok on a four stroke where the engine braking will stop the dyno. On a two stroke on pre-mix if you close the throttle you will stop the dyno when the engine siezes).
Fuel - Super unleaded it has a higher octane rating than four star. If you raise the compression make sure you don't get detonation probably best to go to avgas.
Crash Bits - at most club meets there is usually a wagon selling bits. However, I carry spare clip ons, footpegs, brake and clutch levers, mastercylinder and reservoir, fairing brackets, A fiberglass kit and lots of gaffa tape. If you have an ACU licence and need some bits for your KR (racing only) have a chat with Simon Belton at Kawasaki. Also, Paul Traynor (KR1 Owners club) seems to carry a stock of bits, or alternatively try AK Breakers - two strokes only.
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