Well, I have this really really cool track bike.  A 1984 Honda VF500F Interceptor.  Also known as a baby-ceptor.  In it's day, this was the hottest thing going, now it's almost a standard.  Amazing how far bikes have come.  But for track use, this is a fun, fun bike.  Good handling, easy on tires, doesn't spin, fantastic brakes.  And if you get passed, you can blame the bike, and if you pass someone, well you are obviously a god.  :-) 

Anyway, I just finished going back through it and fixing it all up for this season (2001),  changed all the fluids, safety wired it, etc.  Now, for just a track bike it doesn't have to be safety wired, but I thought it would be a good thing to do, just to be safe.  Turns out it really isn't that hard at all and it gives me a lot more confidence in the whole bike and it's not going to fail on me.

Since then, it's got clip-ons on it and some killer tires but it still looks basically the same.  For tires I am currently using BT-45's.  These tires kick a$$.  All the way over to the edge and beyond, great feel, wonderful.  I'm up to a 120 in back and went to a 110/90/16 in front just to get some decent tires.  It fits, but just barely. But it's awesome.  If you use this size front tire, drop the front forks 5 to 10mm to adjust for the tire size being larger.   Check out the story about the VF500, some fat guy riding it (me) and Reg's Pridmore's class here and how well it did.

I've been rebuilding it and I sent the shock off to be rebuilt and here are some pictures of it all apart.  Sorry, it's a pretty big page, good pictures though.  The shock is a Fox Twin Clicker and since it's been rebuilt it's awesome.  A whole new bike.  It's about 600 bucks new, and it only cost me 200 to have it rebuilt with a new spring (for fat guys).

 I recently put some money into the front end.  I put in RaceTech front springs (highest rate I could get, yes, I know, go on a diet) and some of their 20wt oil.  They have a neat page BTW, check it out.  I really thought the 20wt was going to be too much, but it's just incredible.  So much more feel, it doesn't bounce over the ripples coming out of turns, it's an amazing difference.  The springs are 100 bucks, the fluid is like 25.  Do it!!!!!!!!!!

I think this is a great bike for being a first track bike.  It's cheap, it's reliable, it handles really well, it's not hard on tires, and it has good brakes.  I believe that you will learn more on a smaller underpowered bike than on a big powerful bike that just scares you.  At STAR last year, every single time I went out, I passed a guy on a GXSR1000 and I'm not really all that fast.  Here is a (maybe) 50hp bike ridden by a 250lb guy passing a 150hp bike with real tires and brakes and such.  Now sure, a real rider would have blown me into the weeds, but my point still exists.  This guy wasn't learning anything because his bike was scaring him to death.  And this was on the track!!!, What was happening to him in the real world?  Just because the magazines and so forth say you need the newest hottest thing doesn't really mean that you do.  In the MRA this year, in the unlimited open class (invitation only), the 3rd place bike was a R6.  So, even in the hands of really fast people, the extra power still can't be used.  Buy the small bike and work up, you'll be much happier and a much better rider in the end.