[big_t]

So, I finally got out on the track, for a few minutes at least. At Portland International Raceway, they offer 'A Taste of Racing' session during lunchtime on OMRRA race days, where they let riders on the track for a single 20-minute session.

It was amazing, and as expected, I'm hooked. I took my CBR600rr, not the EX, and jeez, it's fast - 145 on the straightaway, could've done a little more. All in all I faired pretty well, with the exception of one turn that I suddenly lost my confidence in just as I entered it - I leaned, came up, leaned, came up, and finally talked myself through leaning it through and NOT taking a ride in the lawn.

I'm signing up for a full track day this Monday, not sure whether to take the EX or not... hmmm...

 

[knightslugger]

The ex can be really fun for track days, but if everyone else is running 600s or 1000s, it can get a little discouraging. that is unless there's a newbie on track with their brand new 1000 and you're passing him left and right in the turns!

glad you liked it, quite possibly the most addictive experience that's still legal! unfortunately there aren't any more TDs near me for the rest of the riding season, so i'm screwed until late spring early summer, but i've got one of the fastest tracks near me, Road America. then there's BlackHawk Farms Raceway to the south. both fun, but not nearly enough track days!

 

[big_t]

Yea, I'm kinda torn. I love both bikes, but the CBR is just tooo nice to crash on right now. I figure with the EX, I could get a good winter project going with it and get it setup as a nice racebike. I don't have the heart to do that with the CBR... yet.

 

[pikapp33]

The EX's make great racebikes with mostly just suspension mods, mainly due to the weight. All depends on what kind of course you're running though, more technical/corners = ex500, long straits and few corners = cbr

 

[McBiggity]

once this site gets more members, you'll see alot of us race Ex500's. Most fun for your dollar, that's for sure. Fast riders can keep up with the likes of SV650's on a technical track that rewards cornerspeed versus top speed

 

[OreoGaborio]

werd... I'm w/ Biggity, I race them as well (AND I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU BEAT ME AGAIN ;D ), however I wouldn't really say they make great race bikes... With that said, there's quite a few reasons why I run one... Mainly it's because of the support and comeraderie we have up at the track and the fact that there's a class that's made specifically for the EX500. Without the Production Twins class I have a hard time imagining alot of EX500's at NHIS. The EX500 is a tough bike to go very fast on. It's really NOT all that light, flexes alot and doesn't have alot of power. But if you're fast enough to compete on it and find a group of guys on the same bike like we have at NHIS, it's a friggin BLAST... and it's DIRT cheap compared to other bikes