All for Racing - CBR Build/Crash/Rebuild

[stangmx13]

I've seen other build threads and now I finally get to make my own. this is NOT racing on the cheap. i could have bought a used race bike for around half of what i've spent here... but this is EXACTLY what i wanted and im going to enjoy every bit of it.

my 2013 racing season starts next Sun, Jan 13th. I've had a very short winter, only since Nov 4th, and there has been a ton to do. here's the old bike, just for reference. with the old bike, in 4 rounds as a novice, i managed 3 podiums at 2 tracks id never seen before and 2 wins at my favorite track. in B (750) SBK, i even got 3rd in the championship somehow.

but rly, that ^^ bike is dated, heavy, and slow. i had fun wrestling the bars to get the bike to turn at high speeds and i learned a ton about suspension and setup over the years... but its time for something better, lighter, and faster!

step 1... buy a new (used) bike

2009 CBR600RR, 7500mi, not a scratch on it. unmolested except for some spools.

step 2... amass some parts

Woodcraft, Akra, Bazzaz, Penske... for now

step 3... disassemble

everyone says Honda's are the most difficult bikes to work on. w/ my 04 CBR... not the case at all. i could take that thing from street to track or vice versa in around 2hrs. however, this 09 CBR... def true. took me like 3hrs just to get the nose off and the pile of bolts is twice the size compared to the old bike. one thing that is nice, its an AZ bike, so no CA evap can to remove and the throttle bodies seem nicely bare.

step 4... ez stuff first

step 5... swear a shitload when stuff doesnt fit perfectly

im so far very disappointed w/ these fairings. ill give a better review and pics after mounting is finished, but i doubt im going to get everything to line up even after some trimming.

well, thats where im at right now. i had hoped that paint would be finished before the race, but that aint happening. ill be lucky enough to finish all the race prep by next Friday if anything else goes wrong, but ill be adding pics to this thread as my progress continues until next weekend.

 

[budman]

Nice..


But...hurry up..! The 13th is looming.. good luck!

 

[mel3535]

Are you racing AFM?

 

[stangmx13]

Nice..


But...hurry up..! The 13th is looming.. good luck!

ya i kno!!! in the garage right now .

Are you racing AFM?

not likely, WERA mostly. if WERA doesnt go to BW and AFM's weekend doesnt conflict, i may do that race.

 

[jimboFosho]

Looks sweet! Someday I'll hope to be doing this :laughing in the meantime I'll just be putzin' around

 

[clutchslip]

Rooting for ya'.arty If I was younger and had bigger bazookas, I would umbrella for ya'.

Why spend the money on a nice bike, rather than a mechanical fine, but maybe cosmetically flawed bike that might be cheaper?

 

[papa911]

Good luck with the build and the racing.

 

[fraz]

Hit the throttle already

 

[westie]

I hate you. Be my Daddy?

 

[Archimedes]

Post pics when she's done. Had the same problem with my 07 600RR getting the bodywork off and the track plastics to line up. Can't for the life of me figure out why Honda decided that 40 individual pieces of plastic and 400 screws are really required to get a good looking front fairing. And eRacing plastics...don't even get me started...

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

So excited for you, and so completely jealous!! I wish I had the knowledge (and cash) to do something like that myself. Good luck!!

 

[stangmx13]

Why spend the money on a nice bike, rather than a mechanical fine, but maybe cosmetically flawed bike that might be cheaper?

mostly cuz i can and i want to. the market for 09+ CBRs was also very limited.

I hate you. Be my Daddy?

u think anyone that does this is responsible enough to have kids... and how old do u think i am?

Post pics when she's done. Had the same problem with my 07 600RR getting the bodywork off and the track plastics to line up. Can't for the life of me figure out why Honda decided that 40 individual pieces of plastic and 400 screws are really required to get a good looking front fairing. And eRacing plastics...don't even get me started...

ya the plastics were nuts.

these aint eRacing fairings and were almost twice that price, so i expected them to fit considerably better. more info to come on that.

 

[stangmx13]

first update...

last night was a shit show. managed to get the lower mounted to the upper, the tank trimmed to let the seat fit better, the lower trimmed, the upper trimmed, oh and mounted the front fender. it doesnt look half bad if u cant see the tank

but then theres this... thats gonna take some extra fiberglass to get anywhere close, same problem on the other side too.

oh, and i trimmed the exhaust heat shield so it doesnt stick out past the tail

so the list for today is:
- add glass to the upper, trim, and primer
- finish bodywork... last few holes, bolts, washers, etc
- install front SS line
- install Penske shock
- drain coolant
- finish exhaust
- start some safety wiring

 

[EastBayDave]

Hit the throttle already

Watch a couple earlier races; study starter, & see if he twitches one arm or the other just prior to the flag drop, see if he twitches the flag/arm/shoulder/head/etc.

This may gain you some places when your race comes up...:thumbup

 

[stangmx13]

lunchtime update...

brake lines installed, not bled though. they are custom Speigler lines and turns out i got the fittings backwards, R caliper was on L side etc. but i made it work and it looks great. the 3-line setup is def a cleaner install than 2 lines coming from the master.

the fiberglass to make that seam between the tank cover and upper has been added. after lunch ill trim it to fit, sand it a bit, and primer it. since im not painting now, ill do bondo later and hopefully no one will ever know its there. its 4 layers of glass so it should be strong enough to have two dzus fasteners go through it.

and lastly, the exhaust is fully mounted and the tail fits too (though not pictured). yes i scratched the subframe a ton by taking the race tail on and off, but that part is always covered by bodywork, so ehh. and thats the old racebike in street-trim in the background.

 

[Spec-ECU]

looks cool. buy yourself a bench to raise that thing up on.

Echoing this. Love my folding steel work table whenever I'm doing any kind of dabbling on the bikes.

 

[stangmx13]

end of sunday update....

today was a bit of a scramble. i scheduled a dyno tuning session for tomorrow morning, so i had to rush to get a new Bazzaz Z-FI and Z-Bomb installed, while also taking care of removing the PAIR emissions stuff so i could get a good map.

but before that, i completed the fiberglass work on the upper and installed some buttonhead Dzus fasteners.... way better than leaving a huge gap. i may primer it before the race, i may not. pics of the whole bodywork to come tmrw AM when i load it up.

getting down to the valve cover to remove the emissions was a bit of a pain. i was shocked when the upper injector fuel rail just popped apart and all the injectors practically fell out. Honda traded the bulky metal rail on my 04 for plastic parts, not sure how i feel about that.

finally got down there and installed some PAIR block-off plates from Dan Kyle. heres one plate on the L and the original piece on the R for comparison.

after all that, assembly was kinda scary. the first time i had everything connected and turned on the key, fuel sprayed out from underneath the fuel rail on one of the injectors. had to remove the rail, fix the o-ring on that injector, and re-install everything... thank the moto gods that it worked fine after that.

after all that, the list is a bit shorter. Penske shock is in (though the res isnt mounted) and the front brakes are bled. so really, all i have left is:
- safety wire entire bike
- swap chain/sprockets
- coolant -> WW
- make bracket for Penske Res
- install brake pads
- revalve and respring forks
ya, plenty to do still, ha.

Echoing this. Love my folding steel work table whenever I'm doing any kind of dabbling on the bikes.

def will get one sometime. itd be nice to be able to sit on a stool and work low instead of on the ground

 

[Spec-ECU]

def will get one sometime. itd be nice to be able to sit on a stool and work low instead of on the ground

I'm six feet tall; trust me, nice is an understatement. :laughing

Will PM you some info. :thumbup

 

[stangmx13]

id say this bike has at least 10-15HP more than my old one. the old bike didnt even have a PC let alone an exhaust on it. not sure im going to know what to do w/ all that midrange power. oh, and just to be clear, the baseline run here is already w/ the Akra full exhaust and the Bazzaz running its preloaded slip-on map. the tuner said 101-102 is normal for a bone-stock 600RR.

 

[stangmx13]

another update. getting very very close

my Penske res mount... not bad for a piece of AL angle, a dremel, and a drill

new springs on the way, should be here tmrw. these forks were def more difficult to take apart than my last pair.

and heres some of the magic in the forks... the compression stack. i havent yet decided how much im going to modify this shim arrangement, but most likely itll be a dramatic change. im actually surprised the OE stack is as stiff as it is. ill prob go to something maybe 3x as stiff for starters. ya, im making a 10% change in springrate and prob a 300% change in stack stiffness, hehe.