finally been working on the bike again so how about an update
my bodywork sponsorship went through last week and a few days later, another big box of fairings at my door. big thanks to John at OptimalRacing for taking the time to read my resume and helping me out. now ive got some more stickers, some leather patches, and a banner to hang from my ez-up.
so first things first... my bike is seriously lacking in stability, so much that i ran the forks 4mm below the top triple last race out. that took weight off the front end and made front-end feedback terrible midcorner. so, to gain some stability and lower my gearing, lets more the rear tire back more. ez enough, just pull the nice DID ERV3 and Renthal sprockets of my other CBR. of course, the whole deal is more difficult if u break your chain press pin, but a piece of an allen key works just as well.
after that, to fix more front-end woes... revalve and respring the forks. rebound damping was def too stiff as i was running it 3 1/2 turns out, so i softened that back up a little. heres the new stack. Rebound shims first, then mid-valve (which contributes to compression damping)
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when disassembling the forks, i noticed a severe lack in installed preload on the forks. preload range was only 2-8mm... after studying some suspension books for a few hrs, thats not enough. stupid that i didnt notice before. also, these springs i got fit surprisingly tight in the tubes, not good for friction. so i ordered new springs (same rate) w/ a thinner diameter that were 20mm longer. cut the spacers down 15mm to have 5mm more preload and i end up w/ a 6-12mm installed preload range. much better.
the bodywork is going on pretty smoothly... better than the prev set. the tank fit better, the tail fit perfectly, the upper only needed minor trimming around the stock windscreen, and i dont need to add fiberglass to make seams line up. i do notice some weakness on the lower, but it aint bad. really, the previous set was NOT worth the extra cost, this Optimal stuff is great. heres the first pic, more later.
two more pieces to install. i finally got tired of the stock HESD (Honda electronic steering damper) and ordered a GPR mounting kit for the V4 i already have. thatll go one quick later tonight. also, i obviously need a throttle tube and i hope the R6 one fits. the housing needs a little grinding but thats ez, all im worried about is the cables. i ordered a stock tube and extra cables just in case. stock on left (1/4 turn), R6 on the right... possible 1/6th turn.
ive got a trackday on Monday at Buttonwillow to sus out all these changes before racing. plz oh plz can i find some confidence in riding fast again. at least i know that track like the back of my hand, cept the new asphalt in Cotton Corners.