Track bike is almost ready for the season!

TripleThreat · #1 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

Spent the day today working on some odds and ends with the new dedicated track bike for this season and getting the trailer all loaded up with the track day necessities...

Changed the oil and filter
Flushed the cooling system and installed Water Wetter
Safety wired the Oil Drain Plug, Oil Filter, Oil Filler Cap and Dipstick

Loaded all the track day tools in the trailer along with additional water wetter, GoJo Hand Cleaner, Shop towels and spare parts.

First track day is next Sunday at Putnam Park. All I have left to do is get the touch up paint job complete on the track plastics and tank, take the bike to get it re-numbered and then haul it to the track on Saturday.

While at the track on Saturday I'm having a 20mm GP Suspension Cartridge Kit installed in the forks by my trackside vendor (Turn One Racing) and installing a new Triple Adjustable Ohlins rear shock myself. Then Turn One will be helping me get the sag set and the basic suspension settings made.

Saturday is a Skills Enhancement day for Beginners, so I'll also be helping a buddy of mine in his pit all day and he'll be returning the favor for me on Sunday during the Skills Enhancement day for the Intermediate group.

Sunday, the guys from Turn One Racing will be helping me dial in the suspension settings all day. Hopefully all will go well with the bike as I've installed the Race ECM and Race Harness, but will likely not have my Tuneboy in time to dial it all in.

I've previously removed the Exup Valve and CAT and welding in a straight piece of stainless in their place. I've also removed the O2 Sensor, Intake Flap and all related components, the evap canister, the Secondary Air Injection and the idle stepper motor. I've installed the manual idle adjuster that is a part of the race kit.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics after everything is all put together on Saturday and then some action shots from Sunday midway through next week after the track side photographer gets them uploaded to the web.

Today was a productive day and it all happened because my youngest daughter chose to stay home and help dad get the motorcycle ready for the upcoming track weekend as opposed to dragging me along to buy flowers with my wife and oldest daughter... I have a feeling she'll be a track junkie like her dad!

TripleThreat

Will · #2 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

And all week, you won't be able to concentrate on anything else!

Brooksie · #3 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

Best of luck to you Triple!

TripleThreat · #4 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

Originally Posted by Will

And all week, you won't be able to concentrate on anything else!

How true, how true...

The paint touch up is complete as of this afternoon. I'll be assembling the bike later tonight and tomorrow evening and then taking it by the graphics guy's place to get renumbered on Wednesday or Friday I hope...

Pics to follow once it's all put together...

TripleThreat

Will · #5 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

You are sure going high tech! My track bike is rattle can painted, with numbers on it using the stickers you can get from dealerships. There's a big dent in the fuel tank where I fell off in the hail at the end of March. I spent all my money on entry fees, six sets of DOT tires, a set of rain tires, a generator, tire warmers, and a whole lot of other stuff I can't even remember now. Going racing is like going to war in comparison to track days. Because you go from a standing start and you are racing immediately, there's no sighting lap to get tires up to temperature, and the requirements for the paddock and bike are far more rigorous than track days.

Here's the bike. If you look closely, you can see where I repaired the tail section. If you look even closer, you can see the big dent in the fuel tank right under my arm. Good thing I am not to attached to it!

My next race weekend is coming up, and I have been working on the bike off and on for quite a while just to get it where it should be. I still haven't adjusted to it completely. A 2004 Gixxer feels like a big slow pig relative to a Daytona 675!

Oh, yeah, I can't think straight at work, either.

TripleThreat · #6 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

Yeah - at the start of the season I'm weird about wanting it to look good. By the end of the season I'll just be wanting it to pass tech inspection...

I think the GSXR looks good Will. Part of me wishes I was racing and then there is a part of me that knows that I have way more at stake than most of the people I would be racing against and I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to dial it back like I can at a track day event if I'm feeling a little less than spot on. I know I would get the "Red Mist" going and I'd be so competitive that I would have to run full out.

My wife and kids rely too heavily on me for me to assume that level of risk right now. Maybe later in life I can do some vintage racing. By the time I'm in a position to race, my 675 will be a vintage bike!

Jeff

Will · #7 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

That's one of the reasons I didn't race for a long time. When the first novice training sessions started, I was surprised by the number of gray hairs in the class. There were the 20 year old squids, to be sure, but most were in their 30s at least, with a number in their 50s. One guy looked like he was 70 or older, just out ripping it up in his brand new Gixxer. The lap record holder at Pacific Raceway set the record last year, and he has very gray hair and thick glasses. He looks like a mild mannered tax accountant or something. The club's #1 plateholder is probably in his mid 30s at the youngest, and he could be 40. I was amazed. Club racers are predominately a bunch of old married geezers!

The Gixxer looks pretty good from a distance, but it sure looks rough up close. It doesn't matter, since nobody who cares will see it from any closer than 25 feet as it goes past anyway. At the distance and speed, they won't see the big scuffs on my leathers, either! One other thing about painting the bike is how much it made me appreciate Triumph's design. There is no consistent line on a Gixxer to pick up for color breaks. As you know, the Triumph has a lot of design consistency and great break lines for color and paint schemes. Suzuki has all kinds of pointy graphics for a reason. There is nothing consistent about the bike's shape anywhere. I never thought about it until I tried to figure out how to paint the plastic and make it look decent. The newer ones are even more inconsistent.

TripleThreat · #8 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

I got my bike put back together tonight and I have to say I'm pretty happy with it. Tomorrow it's off for numbers and then the suspensions stuff on Friday and Saturday with an open track all day on Sunday...

Here are a couple of pics of her loaded in the trailer...

TripleThreat

TripleThreat · #9 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

Here are a few photos in the daylight, now with numbers...

Front View of the Completed bike

WoodCraft GP Shift Rearsets, WoodCraft Stator Cover and T3 Shark Fin

Matris Steering Damper

LighTech Keyless Gas Cap

More to follow in the next post...

TripleThreat

TripleThreat · #10 (**permalink**) 2 Weeks Ago

A couple more...

Notice the loss of the Ignition Module with the Race Kit Installed along with the loss of all the switchgear on the left bar for the light controls. WoodCraft Clipons will have Pazzo Levers added on Saturday...

Rear Angled View with Transport Trailer in the background

Rear Cowl Graphic

Front Fender Graphic

I'm pretty stoked to get all of the Ohlins and GP suspension components installed on Saturday and to get this thing on the track and dialed in on Sunday.

Maybe this weekend I can get a picture of her with her twin sister - My Original Graphite 675.

TripleThreat