@
csmith12 @
Sirref
How much money does it take to go to the track?
All of it.
How much does racing cost?
More than that.
You're not going to be racing a street bike, ever. However, you may well do track days on a street bike and many people do.
Here's the big reason why: All the stuff that makes a street bike road-legal MUST be removed from a race bike. Chances are you won't be using street tires either--race rubber only that would actually be dangerous to use on the street. But none of that is true for a streetable bike ridden on the track. You can tape over lights, etc. and use road tires, and still go ride on the track.
Here's the small reason why: You can have huge fun riding on the track with very low risk unless you decide you have to "win" the track day from some bizarre reason. But the mindset in racing is different. Winning is the goal and that makes you far, far more likely to crash. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, stitch up the bike (at considerable cost) and go do it again. Race bikes get crashed. A lot.
Re training: Learn to walk before you run. Racing is a laudable goal but it's not where you begin. Training is necessary. Experience is necessary. Go do some track days first. The overwhelming reason is safety both for you and those around you. But there's also a practical reason: You have to earn your race license. You don't get to just show up and say "Yo, I'm totally down with racing" and grid up. That's not happening.