Getting Ready For Race Season 2CO R6 *Pic Heavy* - Result

[.Bishbash.]

Thought I'd plant a post on self-maintenence on getting a race bike prepped for race season.

So until now I've been pretty lazy and now just over a month to go until my first race is due, I best get to my parents house to get the bike sorted out.

So, on the list is;

DynoJet
Quickshifter added
Custom map to the after market can
Respray all fairings
Take off all broken parts from last season and replace
Service
Adjust Cam Chain Tensioner to eliminate cold start up rattle
Set up suspension for conditions
Adjust leathers


So, phoned up the local Dyno Jet company booked it in to get set up and powered correctly, adding the dynojet quickshifter and custom map at the same time, all in price of £260 was happy with this as the QS requires a bit of setting up as well, I will report the outcomes of all that after the bike goes in on the 20th.

Got myself in the garage the last few nights to get the broken fairings sorted out from last seasons crahs tyhat I never really fixed properly. I crashed at Donington Park(round 2) on test day of all days bodged the bike to get through scrutineering to get me into my race and never 'properly fixed the bikes fairings after that

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpszffmqh7k.jpeg

Main damage was to the upper fairing which took a battering, cracks and scratches everywhere;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf4z6rq1j.jpeg


So yeah, konda fooked up my fairings....Engine casing easy to fix/reaplce, I did that back on race day last year....skin of my teath.

Fairing on the other hand took me a while longer..til now, so, bought myself a fibre glass repair kit, got youtubing on 'How to's' and taught myself.

this is my fist time fixing fairings, painting priming, fillering so feel free to hurl advise at me.

I do have a paint gun, but thought I'd start on cans first and try to get a good result. Reason being, I will probably crash again this season, so I would like a comparison between thw two, ease, cost, speed and result. So here is the can prep and result;

I want to start with the upper fairing. There were lts of cracks and scratches here, this took the main hit of the fall, so I fibreglassed the inside up, patching all the cracks up. This is SO easy to do, all you need is to pre cut the patches of new fibre glass up, I used 3 layers per crack, starting small, to quite large patches.

So, you layer the surface area with the mixed resin and hardener then apply the cut up patches, each layer adding more resin, then another layer....repeat etc etc. Leave that to dry/set..Litteraly childsplay, this gives so much strength BTW.

THEN, it's the filler, here's where my black paint fooled me.

I fillered all parts I thought was needed;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsmjj46a5g.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswto0wkml.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsmo8rptwf.jpeg


Happy with the results afte letting them dry etc. Had a good grope around and found nothing that needed altering.

I then sanded down all areas of the top fairing with an electric sander in 20 mins. An easy section of the process I found;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsin6rbydq.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbybetehm.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsjnul4qlu.jpeg

Happy with that result, I hit up the primer, I chose grey as I'm painting it black again to suit my race colour scheme.

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgaht7ydj.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsreeisfv7.jpeg

But, on closer inspection I noticed a few parts I missed whilst the bike was black...Such a sneaky colour when cracks are in play;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnso0xz8l.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsylcuwzkc.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswfakk0bs.jpeg

Back to the drawing boards.

Cracked the filler out again and got to work, filled all the missed gaps and now waiting for it to dry properly;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsijuebj1j.jpeg

Now waiting for this all to dry properly. After that, back to the sander, and repeat I guess.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[geordie1234]

Great read so far keep us updated
____________________

[.Bishbash.]

Managed to get the top fairing sanded down properly this time and gave it another coat of primer. Left that to dry for a day and I will add a coat of Black tonight.

Whilst that was doing it's thing, I got cracking on my lower fairings. This has also taken a battering and it willn test my fillering skills when this is dry. This is how it 'Faired'(sniggers to self) after the crashes from last season;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpscske5ezd.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpspfcr3ume.jpeg

This one I already fired some filler on it to give it an extra bit of strength. As you can see, quite a bit of weight lost by a couple of falls.
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2h6xzjsy.jpeg

Here is how I have learned how to fiber glass fairings. Seems to have worked quite well on the upper fairings, as they are so strong now.

Kit needed;
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsw3udx3yw.jpeg


You want to layer the damaged area as shown below. Cut small pieces of the fiber glass up. Do this before you mix the resin up by the way, and don't mix then cut as I found out the hard way. Layers, back to layers. Small cuts of the cloth and then build it up with a few layers. Like so;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpszhqb43ij.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsvcsx2gfj.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgiebsfeg.jpeg

Once I was happy with the pieces I was going to use, time to mix up the resin and hardener. I haven't quite perfected the mix yet as my mix tends to go hard pretty quick, so might have to dial down on the hardener.

Get yourself a paintbrush and coat the area you need to repair, add the first layer, then coat the cloth with the mixture, repeat until all layers have been added. Leave to dry for about 12 hours to be sure.

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsk4zxtoxd.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnyfjs22v.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsvbdskjio.jpeg

Picking my leathers up this afternoon after I had the legs lengthened, due to me being a tall mofo, had an extra 4 inches added to the legs with velcrow to fasten, at a cost of £35
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[Matt B]

Your scissors concern me
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[.Bishbash.]

[.Bishbash.]

Bit of an update, I finished the upper front fairing, so that's painted and lacquered. Happy with the results here, considderring this is my first paint job AND out of cans, I will take this result. Could have used more lacquer as it's not that shiny, but lesson learned I guess.

As you can see, last years damage is completely un-noticeable;

Before;
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf4z6rq1j.jpeg

After;
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsctgxszcc.jpeg

Few other shots of the finished product;
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsmt6hknxq.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsmkhzwv2l.jpeg

Now to cut some new decals, had some vinyl left over from last year, and I want the same design, so this was easy to resculpt;

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsdpid8sdf.jpeg

(Obviously, I can't take claim to the R6 sticker)
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps34p1wybt.jpeg


And add them to the front;
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsebpfyalq.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsl3uvfttr.jpeg

Also, I thought of a few more places to add some more vinyl to make it look a little better.


I am also half way through the bottom fron fairing section, this is currently sitting on it's first coat of primer, in need of more filler, as I spotted a few dimples here and there.

BUT, not showing you any of this yet as I am pretty happy with this result.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[Fizzer Thou]

Have you set about checking the valve clearances yet?If not,they take quite a time to check and adjust as the cams need to come out.

Are you on the https://www.yamahar.co.uk/ forum?You might be able to pick up some spare brackets and levers from bods on there to keep for those 'oooops' moments
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[.Bishbash.]

[Fizzer Thou]

I asked about checking the clearances because a friend races a CBR600RR and in between races he would change the oil and clean the air filter as well as have the cam cover off so as to check the clearances.As he has a habit of revving the nuts off it,several clearances did tighten up,which would have done nothing for performance if he had continued to run the engine the way it was.

As I have found with the KTM enduro,regular maintenance is the key for the best performance
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[.Bishbash.]

Quite agree on the maintenance, clearances should be OK for a couple more races.

Bike goes into the shop tomorrow for a tune up, custom map and the new chain fitted. Might have a cha with them about the clearances see what they think.

Seems like a lot of work in between races to do all that work. How does he get time, I'm usually flat out doing other stuff.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[Fizzer Thou]

We have regular spannering sessions at the workshop where he keeps his bike.In between races he takes the bodywork off and he and I go over the bike looking for any problems or items that might cause a problem during the next race session.

What coolant do you use in your engine?If it is just distilled water,then you need to drain it down in between races.
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[DrSnoosnoo]

[.Bishbash.]

[chris-red]

[.....]

[Fizzer Thou]

We use ultra pure water and Water Wetter in the CBR600RR as I have been using this product in all of my water-cooled bikes since I first bought the Exup1000

https://www.redlineoil.com/Products.aspx?pcid=10

It is approved by the ACU and helps keep temperatures down better than 100% water.But on road bikes the anti-corrosion inhibitors in anti-freeze are needed.

Only a small percentage of WaterWetter is needed in the race bike
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[.Bishbash.]

Thanks dude,

I will enquire about that with the race co-ordinators. Might be worth a try. The bike doen't get that hot, running/standning it sits at 90-100 running/moving 79-89 degrees from memory, could be a little off with those numbers but runs OK with water.

So, with that added, you say lowers it by 20%?? What's the optimal temperature for a bike these days?
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[.Bishbash.]

Dropped the bike off at the DynoTech in Basingstoke to get a custom map for the exhaust I added last saeson, a quick shifter added, new chain to be added and a dyno run to get the fueling and power to be setup properly as I fear the bike is a bit low powered, my guess is it is running at 110bhp . This will all be done tomorrow and really looking forward to the results.

I set up the suspension correctly as that was still in 'wet mode' from my last trackday at Mallory with Matt J. I hardened the compression and adjusted the rebound.

Awaiting for more lacquer to turn up to finish the lower fairings off.

Also sanded down and fillered the tank cover, so that is now ready to be primed up.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[.Bishbash.]

Got the bike back

Bike was pushing out an adaquate power prior to the dyno run, here's the stats and graphs;

BHP
Before - 110.87
After - 114.85
With baffle - 112.74

Tourque
Before - 42.02
After - 43.85

https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpseayckeau.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsvtyyavou.jpeg

He showed me the rideability graphs and explained them. the bike was running lean when under accelleration through the gears. Now it is running where it should be, resulting in the extra few bhp and tourque output. Cutom map added for the exhaust probably assisted this too.

Bad news is that the quickshifter I bought off my mate didn't quite fit my bike, it was meant for a R1 not a R6. We thought it would fit as the bike were of the same year. They rewired it and fitted it for a small cost, now fitted.

Ended up buying a new chain off them as the one I bought was a little too short due to the rear sprocket isn't standard(currently has -1 +4)

Total cost £410

Could care that that was over what I intended to spend, at least I won't have any of this on my mind.

Oh and the cold start up rattle i mentioned. Chap had a listen and it isn't the Cam chain, said it was due to the aftermarket exhaust headers I had on the bike.... Happy Xmas!!

ANNNNNDDDD

Landed myself a small sponsorship deal. More on that to follow.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[.Bishbash.]

Thought I'd change the water, and turns out, I did the right thing and emptied it before winter. Glad I checked it now Bought some distilled water from Halfrauds for a bargain of £3.50 for 5L.

Annoyingly I set the suspension back to dry settings and it's looking wet this weekend, which I am looking forward to as all last years points I got in the wet and I seem to do quite well. Either way, I need to set them back and change the rear wheel over again.

All my race documents tunred up on Friday, scrutineering form, timetables, race info, garage plans and spare tickets.


Lower fairings finished, now, I'm a little proud of this, it turned out better than I thought it would. So, remember this battered old fairing;




https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpspfcr3ume.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2h6xzjsy.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpscske5ezd.jpeg

Well, learning from the upper fairing woes I had in not sanding down properly, not fillering properly(this is what they mean when they say, prepareit well), this was the result.

Primed, painted, lacquerd and stickered up;


https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpstdft4lbr.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsovwu2u8x.jpeg
https://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/Neileng/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqqacynmn.jpeg

Still have some more stickers to add, gotta love stickers. but it's looking OK so far. What do you think?
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[Matt B]

I think it's a fine job seeing as you are only going to throw it down the track and give it gravel rash anyway.

Just kidding Looks good but get some more stickers on there
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[.Bishbash.]

[Fizzer Thou]

Sunday does not look too bad

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6693234
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[.Bishbash.]

Metcheck is saying Saturday is dry. Gotta love the accuracy of a weatherman right?

I have the bike set to half dry, half wet, so I will just turn up and see what it's like.
____________________
Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[Fizzer Thou]

I used to refer to Metcheck.Up until they said it would be bright sunshine at midnight and winds of 367mph

Mind you,the Beeb are not that much better.On Mayday Monday a few years ago they said do not even bother getting out of bed as their prediction was for torrential rain and high winds.But it was an excellent day with nothing but bright blue sky and no wind.

How do weather forecasters get paid for getting it so wrong
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'