You really want to learn to race? Really really? How badly?
Badly enough to buy an EX-250? Cause that would be the best training tool. If you really want to be racer-fast on the track, then you have to be able to use every ounce of fast your bike has. You will learn how to do that quicker and better on a small, light bike. Some people may be able to eventually learn how to do that on a bigger, more powerful bike, but very few and over many years.
The EX-500 is a close second choice. The SV, while no doubt an excellent club racer, is still a fair amount of bike to learn to wring the last ounce of performance out of. If just want to play around at fast riding, the SV is a great bike. You'll have a blast and the bike will work well for you.
If you want to really race, learn how to use all of your bike as soon as you can. Cause the guys your trying to beat will have. Most of them will eventually reach the level of bike that they can't absolutely use all of and that's about as fast as they will every get, no matter what bike they ride.
There are about 45 people in North America that can use everything that a race-prepped liter bike has. You can see 40 of them every week on the AMA starting grid, and 1/3 of those guys will get lapped by the leaders. And everyone of them started out by learning how to ride the frigging wheels off of light and lightly powered bikes. How to avoid dropping speed at any cost. In cornersas well as coming into and out of corners. Nobody needs much time to learn how to open the throttle all the way in a straight-away. You learn how to ride fast by learning how to keep the most speed in the corners.
Then you learn how to race by figureing out how to pass someone riding in your fastest line through those corners.....
The Ducati is a nice bike, but not what you want to learn all that on. If you're pushing yourself, you will have close calls, and actual crashes. Before you can ride on the ragged edge, you have to know where the edge is. And you have to go over the edge a few times to know where it is. Do you really want to do that on a Ducati? Even ordinary wear-n-tear will use up parts on a track bike. And those repair/maintain parts cost a fair bit if they are from Italy. You can't do much better than the Japanese for stuff like that, plus they are engineered to be as tough as they can be.
I'd go with the little EX-250 or 500 over anything we can easily get and run here in N.A. ....if I wanted to learn to seriously race a roadbike. If I just wanted to do the odd trackday and canyon runs, I'd look at the SV.
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”
- Soren Kierkegaard (19th century Danish philosopher)
The "interview" the bike shop had me do was dumb. "Here's a questionnaire, fill it out." If they liked my answers they'll call me back for ANOTHER interview. "bloody"' lame.
BUT! I found out the SS they have is in fact a 750. And they want $4000 for it. My only concern with it is that I'm short, and the seat height isn't. I could barely get the balls of my feet on the ground. Hrm. Something else will present itself. I think it's best to make one of these my #2.
My only concern with it is that I'm short, and the seat height isn't. I could barely get the balls of my feet on the ground. Hrm. Something else will present itself. I think it's best to make one of these my #2.