Photo Credit: Don't Drink & Photoshop 

I’m often asked about the costs of racing, and the costs of running track days. While I prefer not to ever think about the stupid money I spend on the sport I love, I figured it might be a worthwhile exercise to go through for those of you who may want to know what a weekend of moto silliness would cost.

Knowing that I’d inevitably end up crying, cussing and denying every last bit of this article I decided to go about it anyway, because it’s a topic we’re asked about frequently.

Now, it’s been well documented that track days and racing are two totally different experiences that share a lot of similarities, but I’m here to tell you that the costs are pretty different when you look at a lap-for-lap breakdown.  While everyone will have a slightly different numbers for some of the non-fixed costs, I’ll try to focus on the hard costs that we’ll all experience when we go to the track.

I won’t touch on…

• Fuel to and from the track (because it’s a moot point, and will remain the same regardless of if you’re racing or clicking off laps)

• Race fuel (God knows why some of you insist on running race fuel all the time)

• Gear and supplies you’ll use (The new Sidi boots you “had to have”, or those new Chicken Hawk digital warmers)  

• Crashing (it will happen, but lets assume we won’t run out of talent on this day)

• Loss of track time for red flags (again, we’re in make-believe, so everyone looks like Rossi out there)

• Membership fees, because you have to pay these to even register for a race, so that’s a moot point  

From a lap-for-lap perspective your costs will look something like the chart below. Again, I’m not accounting for gear, crashes, red flags, etc.  For the fuel calculations, I’m using an R6 because it’s a solid middle-ground bike. The guys on 750s, or liter bikes will obviously see a bit more fuel consumption, and possibly more tire wear.

Disclaimers:

• Is the chart perfect? No.

• Can you do a billion different things to try and reduce your cost? Yes.

• Can you run a cheaper platform like a 250 or SV and reduce costs? Of course.

• Can you run your buddy’s old Shinko takeoffs and save money? Initially, but your medical/repair costs will probably over ride any savings from running cheap/free tires.

• Should this be a guide to make decisions by? Hell no. If you were looking at the cost of any awesome hobby/sport then you’re doing it wrong. 

Ok, so there’s a general idea of what a full day will run you on a 600CC machine, broken down per lap. If you’re experiencing sticker shock, you should just stop. Motorsports are expensive, and motorcycles are some of the cheapest things on the planet to put on a racetrack and enjoy. We’re lucky that this sport is so cheap… or so I tell my wife.

Racing looks to cost about 2x per lap, and that should come as no shock to those of you who've gridded up for a weekend. After seeing these numbers do I plan on reducing the amount of time on a race track? Um no! That would mean the terrorists have won, the world would suck more, and I'd be less joyful to be around. 

Photo Credit: Active Shooter Photography 

Now, I think it’s important to remember that both track days and racing are freaking amazing, and not really comparable. Both are a lot of fun, build your skills, make you a better rider, impress your neighbor who considers his tomato garden to be an intense hobby, and put a giant grin on your face.  

That’s why we should all remember that no matter what happens during the day, or the days leading up to an event that it’s important to have fun. Because if you’re not having an absolute blast, then you’re doing it wrong. Plus I can think of a lot of really fun ways to spend $17 dollars ever two minutes, so you better make those laps count.