$1000 Track Bike Showdown! 2009 Kawasaki Versys 650 vs. 2015 Honda CBR300R Comm
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00:00For $30,000, you can go to the racetrack on something like this.
00:10For about $12,000, it's more like this.
00:15And for just $5,000, you can get one of these.
00:21But what if you only spent $1,000 on your track bike?
00:25Well, good luck.
00:27You'll be riding one of these.
00:45This is a 2009 Kawasaki Versys 650.
00:49And this is a 2015 Honda CBR300R.
00:52Normally, we are spoiled rotten.
00:55It's our job to ride brand new motorcycles, and those bikes are often very expensive and
01:00very fast.
01:03But what does the other end of the spectrum look like?
01:06More to the point, how bad an idea is it exactly to go to a track day on a motorcycle that
01:11costs about as much as one of these?
01:15If you're anything like our producer, then the idea of us wobbling around a racetrack
01:19on clapped out $1,000 motorcycles sounds pretty entertaining.
01:25First things first, though, let's take a minute to appreciate these glorious machines
01:29in their natural habitat.
01:31So you might have noticed by now that this is not your everyday Versys 650.
01:44This one has been modified over the course of its life, which as far as I can tell is
01:47about 28,000 miles on the odometer and at least a few major accidents.
01:57Underneath this battle toad's battered armor is a 649cc parallel twin.
02:02It gets 50 miles to the gallon and makes nearly 60 horsepower.
02:07From the factory, it weighed around 460 pounds.
02:10However, you may have noticed that this one does not have a windshield or any of the stock
02:15weather protection.
02:17That, my friends, is because this is a very rare Versys 650 Superleggera.
02:24Now we are built for speed, people.
02:26We just got a single round headlight flanked by a couple of driving lights, which are quite
02:30bright.
02:31That, of course, necessitated the relocation of the dash, which is now tucked very aerodynamically
02:36just behind the single headlight and held in place with lightweight bailing wire.
02:41Classy move.
02:43Some of the miles on this machine have been harder than others.
02:47The chain has some kinks in it, there are a few scratches and dings, and the throttle
02:53and clutch cables feel like they've been maintained with salt water.
02:58And yet, it still lives up to the legend.
03:01You see, what the Versys has always been famous for, and the reason, of course, it has its
03:06name, is being a very versatile system.
03:09No real standout points with brakes or horsepower or anything, but pretty damn good at everything
03:14on the books.
03:15I've never taken a Versys 650 to a track day, but I've got to say, the Battletoad feels
03:19ready.
03:26On the other hand, I've turned hundreds of laps on Honda's little CBRs.
03:31Successor to the CBR250R that Honda introduced in 2011, the CBR300R was launched in 2015
03:43with a larger 286cc single-cylinder engine and revised styling that matched the CBR600
03:49and 1000.
03:52It weighs just 357 pounds, has a slick transmission and above-average brakes, which is why I club
03:59race this model for years and still recommend the baby blade to anyone looking for a cheap,
04:04capable track bike.
04:06It only makes about 27 horsepower, but its excellent handling means it punches well above
04:11its weight.
04:15As for this six-year-old, 13,000 mile example, I technically blew the budget by paying $1,100
04:21for it.
04:22But at the time, I felt like that was a really good deal, and you might even agree with me
04:26if you view my little Craigslist Rescue from the left side.
04:34Take a look at the right side, though, and, yikes, seems this CBR hit the deck pretty
04:39hard.
04:41Worse yet, if you view it from the front, it looks like this bike was run over by a
04:47truck.
04:51$1,100 for a bike with a twisted frame doesn't seem like such a good deal now.
04:59And I'm not so confident about that awesome CBR handling I'm so fond of.
05:03But other than wheels that are a few inches out of alignment, steering that's as lopsided
05:08as the bike looks, and a clutch cable that is perilously close to the end of its adjustment
05:13range, this CBR actually works pretty well.
05:17The only other thing I'm concerned about is a crankshaft recall that affected a few thousand
05:212015 CBRs.
05:22I haven't checked the VIN to see if this is one of them, and frankly, at this point,
05:27I don't want to know.
05:33Despite their drawbacks, our $1,000 bikes are halfway decent on the street.
05:39It might be a different story at speed.
05:44This is Sonoma Raceway.
05:46It's just north of San Francisco.
05:48They built it in 1968, and it happens to be one of our favorite racetracks in the entire
05:52world.
05:53And like a lot of tracks, they occasionally open to the public.
05:55You can pay a small fee.
05:57You get to come out here and rip around with like-minded riders.
06:00We say like-minded riders.
06:02It does seem like just from looking around the paddock, the other people here might have
06:04spent a little bit more than we did on our bikes.
06:07As it should be.
06:08Why, is this a bad idea?
06:12Probably.
06:15Before anyone is allowed on track, bikes have to pass technical inspection to ensure they
06:20are functional and safe.
06:22I'm going to have to keep my handlebars turned and kind of move around my bike briskly to
06:25keep them from noticing that my front end is bent.
06:29He's going to have to approach tech by weaving.
06:31Exactly, yeah.
06:32I can never let him see the bike from head on.
06:35I don't think anyone's going to have any questions about my bike after these sweet graphics
06:39I put on it.
06:43I stripped the other bolt to get my other mirror off, so I could just tape it, but it's
06:51going to look super janky if I have just one mirror, but I don't know why I'm worried about
06:54my bike looking janky.
07:03For the record, this is not how track prep usually goes.
07:09Technical inspection!
07:12So when I go up to tech, I gotta try to do this?
07:14Exactly.
07:15Do the weave, do the weave.
07:16It's like looking at the scenery.
07:17I'll do it with you for solidarity, if you want.
07:21I'm getting nervous.
07:22What's your biggest concern?
07:23What do you think if they told you no?
07:25Looking like a toolbox that's not ready.
07:29I'm worried, obviously, about my front end, but also the muffler being loose just because
07:34the bracket's kind of torched.
07:37Here's the technique.
07:39Nice.
07:40So casual, you know?
07:42There's like, I'm acutely aware of the cultural aspect of this, where when you roll up to
07:47tech, everyone's always eyeballing everyone else's bikes.
07:49It's like, oh, okay, all right, all right.
07:52Do you want me to shift the brakes?
07:55Yep.
07:56Okay.
07:57Hey, can I just work on this thing?
08:03Yeah, that's a pretty high spec wire that's holding it in place.
08:06I wouldn't worry about that.
08:07Okay.
08:08This is normally a really proud moment for me at race weekends.
08:21I'm like, yeah, check it out.
08:23Not this time.
08:24You're missing a bolt there.
08:26Am I missing a bolt?
08:27Well, I would just put a zip side down to one.
08:30I'll just take that off because I'm not going to be carrying any passengers today.
08:33Okay.
08:34It's the green, we're go.
08:36All right.
08:37Go fast.
08:38I'll do my best.
08:40First victory of the day.
08:45Actually, only victory of the day.
08:47Yeah, only victory of the day.
08:48I don't know, you're counting your chickens before they hatch, my friend.
08:59Oh, boy.
09:00So, this is the clientele.
09:01We're rolling with an A group.
09:03Not seeing a lot of 300, 400 class bikes, unfortunately.
09:08Okie dokie.
09:09I smell a lot of fumes that smell like race gas.
09:14This is the slowest and most unstraight bike going out in A group right now.
09:22Cold tires, Harry.
09:23Take her easy.
09:25Okie dokie.
09:26Battle towed.
09:27Lap one.
09:34Throttle is at wide open.
09:39Harry is at full top.
09:41CBR is barely accelerating into a headwind.
09:44Among the many things we do not have, no tire warmers, no quick shifter, no ABS.
09:49Just got new tires and a battle towed chassis.
09:53Oh, yeah, the bike's wallowing.
10:04That's not good.
10:06My bike's not bent the way Harry's is, but my handlebar is askew.
10:11So, as I'm going along straight, my left hand is ahead of my right hand, which is messing
10:19with my head a little bit.
10:23Our first stint out was more frightening than fun, due to a total lack of confidence in
10:28our machines.
10:30We tip towed around the track, got past a lot, and basically spent the session wondering
10:38if we'd made a big mistake.
10:42Brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes.
10:44Oh, battle towed.
10:45Slow down.
10:48Oh, boy.
10:49Oh, boy.
10:50Okay.
10:51Battle towed's first session, we're shaking his head.
10:54That was pretty sketchy.
10:56That was a definite warmup session.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Certainly took it easy.
11:00Very cautious.
11:01I like to think that I can lean on the tires a little more and maybe bank the bike over
11:04a little more, but definitely we made it through the first session safely, which I had my concerns
11:08about.
11:09Yep.
11:10That's no picnic.
11:11We agreed there was room for improvement and some pretty obvious problems that needed to
11:17be fixed on both bikes.
11:20For starters, one of the battle towed's grips was falling off.
11:24Not a factory feature from Kawasaki.
11:28I, of course, had much bigger problems, like a motorcycle that turned left easier than
11:34it did right.
11:38We double checked the company insurance policy on crashing motorcycles, and then I cinched
11:43my grip on with safety wire.
11:45You know, for safety.
11:48There was nothing to be done for the CBR, so I just checked my tire pressure and hoped
11:52I would get used to the crooked handling.
11:55Session two would have to go better.
12:07Oh, my God.
12:08It's so soft.
12:10It's definitely not straight.
12:12It's so crooked.
12:15And away we go.
12:16Look at that doing woolies.
12:18I'm jealous.
12:21Okie dokie.
12:22Got to try and get some heat in the battle towed's tires again.
12:25Maybe we can actually make some passes in this session.
12:34There we go.
12:36Battle towed's first victim.
12:38Woo hoo hoo hoo.
12:39Yeah.
12:43She's trying to hunt this guy down.
12:46Outside pass.
12:48Woo ha ha ha ha ha.
12:54Yeah.
12:55And another.
12:57Woo.
13:01Ha ha ha ha.
13:02Battle towed.
13:03Oh, the battle towed is coming for you.
13:09Ha ha ha ha ha.
13:12That's why you don't need an R6, kids.
13:15Come to me, larger motorcycles.
13:18Let me inhale you.
13:23Beautiful racetrack.
13:25Beautiful corners.
13:26Dry pavement.
13:28And an $800 motorcycle with $173 worth of tires on it.
13:33Ha ha.
13:42Yeah.
13:43Ha ha ha ha.
13:45Super cool, dude.
13:47You dragging your knees?
13:48Yeah.
13:49Nice.
13:50I'm dragging my knees, my toes, my foot pegs.
13:52Every fast right-hander, it's just you got to hold on and let it just do this thing.
13:55It's like riding in sand.
13:57You just have to keep the throttle open.
13:58That's ridiculous.
13:59It works, though.
14:00Yeah.
14:01Tires look good.
14:02Passed a couple guys.
14:03Nice.
14:04Ha ha.
14:06Second session, approximately 100% better than the first session because we weren't so terrified.
14:11The Honda is still just painfully dog slow in a straight line.
14:15There is no horsepower to play with.
14:17Brakes are better than I remembered, which doesn't really matter since it's that slow.
14:21The handling is good, despite the fact that it steers much quicker to the right than the left on account of that bent frame.
14:27But I've adapted to its quirks, and I'm enjoying riding it.
14:30Just a few quirks, you know, like turning differently depending on the direction that you're going.
14:35The Versys 650 brakes are not as good as I remember.
14:38So the Battletoad goes better than it stops, which is a bit of a dangerous combination.
14:42But aside from that, yeah, having fun.
14:44Even passed a few people in that session.
14:45Does this guy work?
14:46Does this janky guy?
14:47Yeah, absolutely.
14:48I can read my, as long as I cock my head to the side and lean forward a little bit, I can see how fast I'm going,
14:52which has been a maximum speed of about 105.
14:56Oh.
14:57Yeah.
14:58Cracking into triple digits.
14:59Well, the fastest I've seen is 94 going down the hill to turn nine.
15:03With the wind at your back?
15:04Yeah, with the wind at my back.
15:05But maybe if you punch a hole for me, if I pull a draft, think we can get the CBR to 100?
15:08Hey, it's a Battletoad windshield.
15:10So maybe aside from having fun for the rest of the day and hoping to keep the rubber side down,
15:14that's our mission is to try to get the CBR to the ton.
15:17And maybe blow it up in the process.
15:23Word on the street is that a bone stock CBR 300R will hit 103 miles per hour.
15:29For one with a pinched exhaust pipe and a bent chassis, 100 was going to be a challenge.
15:43It's not quite working.
15:48Almost, almost.
15:55Okay, I think we're going to call it quits at that.
15:59The old NASCAR style slingshot didn't work in the end.
16:04Then again, the CBR engine didn't explode, so I'll take that as a win.
16:11With the sun on its way down, we decided to spend the rest of the day chasing shadows on our bargain bin heroes.
16:18It turns out their only real flaw is that when you forget to put gas in them, they stop running.
16:24Airy discovered this at the bottom of Turn 6.
16:27And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I ran out of gas in exactly the same spot one lap later.
16:33Not a joke, not on purpose, just pure uncut idiocy.
16:39If you only spend $1,000 on your track bike, odds are you're going to end up with something ravaged that may or may not have been run over by a truck.
16:49And if you only spend $1,000 on your track bike, odds are you're going to end up with something ravaged that may or may not have been run over by a truck.
16:58If you only spend $1,000 on your track bike, odds are you're going to end up with something ravaged that may or may not have been run over by a truck.
17:08The CBR was mostly functional, but goes to show what can happen if you scrape too close to the bottom of the Craigslist barrel.
17:19The Versys, on the other hand, looks like it fell out of the barrel.
17:23Thankfully, it worked better than anyone might have guessed.
17:28It probably wouldn't hurt to spend a little more on a machine you're trusting with your life.
17:35But if you think you need a fast, shiny new motorcycle to have a great time at a track day, or just to become a better rider, well, we think you're wrong.