Readers’ track bikes
We invite a select few PS readers to Cadwell Park to sample their different track creations – and we don’t go away disappointed. All mighty impressive machines
Enjoying sportsbikes on the road isn’t getting any easier. Speed cameras, too much traffic, poorly surfaced roads, and dash cam vigilantes are all steadily chipping away at what was once a sure-fire adrenaline hit.
But there is another way. Build a track bike and get your kicks on the UK’s many fantastic race circuits instead. As with any special, there’s as much enjoyment to be had, building, developing, fettling and improving a track special as there is one for the road – more, in fact, because any positives you make in terms of handling, power, braking and weight reduction will be so much more obvious than if you’re just riding about on the road.
And it’s not just about chucking some cheap fibreglass on a knackered wreck you won’t cry about if it meets a tyre wall. More and more PS readers are turning the bikes they love into sharp track tools that not only turn a decent lap time, but are rewarding to own, develop, and even look at.
To prove the point, we brought together four very different track-focused specials to show what’s possible: an 80bhp hill-climb/ sprinter RD400, a dirt cheap yet mighty effective big-bore YZF750, a featherlight two-stroke 500, and a built from scratch, race-winning Suzuka 8-Hour replica.
Here they are, and here’s how they ride…
SUZUKI RGV570
My first couple of laps aboard Justin Arbon’s RGV500 replica prove to be a rude awakening. It’s been a while since I’ve slung a leg over a tuned two-stroke 500, and these kinds of bikes don’t do ‘gentle acclimatisation’. They’re all or nothing and right now, as I pick up the throttle out of Coppice and whip on through the double-apex of Charlies and onto Cadwell’s back straight, I’m getting a big face-full of ‘ALL’.
Not that I’m complaining. Hell, no. This thing is fantastic; light, exciting, and searingly fast – aproper assault on the senses. By the time I tip into Mansfield for the fifth time, after the hard, downhill braking from the Gooseneck (the power afforded by the front Tokico calipers is immense), my body is spent. My hands tingle, arms ache, neck is struggling, and heart is racing. This bike is sooooo much better than me, especially at my currently pathetic fitness level.
Justin’s done a few laps in the early evening heat, too. He’s beaming from ear to ear. “It’s been a while since I’ve given it the big ’un,” he grins. “That was fantastic. I haven’t had time to get out on it much this year becau
