Shopping list for 2013 track season | Page 29 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Shopping list for 2013 track season

Here's what I got so far, and I think I'm finally done spending money for now, time to feed the kids..

Trailer
Back protector
Race fairings
Race fairing stay / bracket
Set of slicks (Bridgestones, scrubs with 20 laps at cayuga on them)
Bickle warmers (used)
Generator (clunker from CT)
Ferodo XRAC brake pads
Spiegler brake lines
Accossato PRS adjustable master cylinder 19x17/19x18/19x19 (+ reservoir, bracket, tube..)
Motul RBF660 brake fluid
NRC left and right engine covers (used but good, left one is rashed)
Peg riser plates and round pegs
Driven -1 front and rear alum +3 sproket
520 EK MVXZ chain

Considering:

Nuts/bolts/whatever it's called to make my front brake rotors fully floating...should I?

Also bought:

Bearings for roller blades to make me a homemade wheel balancer :)

To learn:

How to change tires.
 
I just bought some new undersuit gear. It's nice to have dryish and less smelly stuff to wear each day.
 
I just booked a trackday more than a week before. OMG the world must be ending...
 
Corsara said:
Here's what I got so far, and I think I'm finally done spending money for now, time to feed the kids..

Trailer
Back protector
Race fairings
Race fairing stay / bracket
Set of slicks (Bridgestones, scrubs with 20 laps at cayuga on them)
Bickle warmers (used)
Generator (clunker from CT)
Ferodo XRAC brake pads
Spiegler brake lines
Accossato PRS adjustable master cylinder 19x17/19x18/19x19 (+ reservoir, bracket, tube..)
Motul RBF660 brake fluid
NRC left and right engine covers (used but good, left one is rashed)
Peg riser plates and round pegs
Driven -1 front and rear alum +3 sproket
520 EK MVXZ chain

Considering:

Nuts/bolts/whatever it's called to make my front brake rotors fully floating...should I?

Also bought:

Bearings for roller blades to make me a homemade wheel balancer :)

To learn:

How to change tires.
Click to expand...

All that stuff but left the suspension out ...
 
kellen said:
All that stuff but left the suspension out ...
Click to expand...

Oh, the suspension... there were a few essential areas I wanted to address, suspension being one of them, but also the most expensive. Could have been that, but nothing else. It will have to wait for mid summer.
 
A simple seal and oil refresh with a little custom shim work (while it's open and apart already) is an inexpensive way to beef up stock forks if you aren't ready or able to afford a quality piston kit.

Replacing the fish water should be the bare minimum..... depending how old the fork oil is.

It's better to have the parts/upgrades you need BEFORE you reach that point where you know and feel you need the upgrade. Otherwise you could find yourself frustrated with your components on the first morning of a 2 day track weekend.
 
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kellen said:
All that stuff but left the suspension out ...
Click to expand...

On my way to work this morning I caught myself thinking about your post again, seems like you hit a soft spot :(

The suspension of my 2003 gsxr 1000 is stock, and even though it is probably more on the crap side, it still allows some degree of adjustments. However, even if the delta between good suspension and a properly setup stock suspension is probably big, it's nowhere near the difference between the super crap stock brakes on my gixxer and what I'll be running next season. So, I guess I decided to "fix" the bigger difference first and also have some leftover budget for other useful things, like a trailer, chain conversion goodies, warmers (which was pretty high on my list anyway), etc.. But yeah, hopefully mid-year bonus from work would be good for a nice suspension upgrade for sure!
 
Just a service and proper setup adjustment would be %100 better than what your riding on now. It'll save you $ on rubber also.
 
dricked said:
Just a service and proper setup adjustment would be %100 better than what your riding on now. It'll save you $ on rubber also.
Click to expand...

I had the seals on the forks replaced last summer, so we changed the fork oil too...i guess that counts for some service. I had the suspension professionally set up by Ryan Gill, and I was really happy with it during the season. However, that was with street tires, now I'll be with slicks and those are much taller in the rear, so I was thinking to just raise the front a bit to compensate?
 
doozerdave said:
Dude, you must be spoiled if you think gixxers have super crap stock brakes. haha... You should try my SV some time. ;)
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I had some scary moments last summer with late braking---I felt like I'm running out of lever space to squeeze and brakes were just fading...and I'm a heavy 190lb guy on a thousand, that's one heavy unit to stop..
 
Corsara said:
However, that was with street tires, now I'll be with slicks and those are much taller in the rear, so I was thinking to just raise the front a bit to compensate?
Click to expand...

Do nothing until you ride it and see how it feels and how the tires wear. Always do a before and after comparison when making suspension changes (and write them down). And don't change 2-3 different settings at the same time either, be patient and work with one at a time.

There's no right or wrong, it's all about what you like or don't like.
 
Mr.Azim said:
Do nothing until you ride it and see how it feels and how the tires wear. Always do a before and after comparison when making suspension changes (and write them down). And don't change 2-3 different settings at the same time either, be patient and work with one at a time.

There's no right or wrong, it's all about what you like or don't like.
Click to expand...

I bought this "Suspension Tuning" book to read and educate myself. Your advice is very good, however I will preliminary raise the front a tiny bit before my first trial/error session at the track. Suspension was good with 190/50 tire, but when I switched to 190/55, I was getting some dancing around under heavy braking, so I'd bet my *** the even taller slicks would make this even worse. As for the actual suspension settings---yes, I won't touch anything and tweak it at the track.
 
Corsara said:
I had some scary moments last summer with late braking---I felt like I'm running out of lever space to squeeze and brakes were just fading...and I'm a heavy 190lb guy on a thousand, that's one heavy unit to stop..
Click to expand...

I'm not one to talk people out of sweet upgrades, so don't take it that way, but it sounds like a pad issue and maybe a lever adjustment issue. I'm heavier than you, but my bike isn't fast enough to generate as much heat as your bike likely generates, no matter how hard and late I'm braking.
 
Corsara said:
I was getting some dancing around under heavy braking
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That can be corrected with compression/rebound settings on the forks and even the shock..... sounds like the rear can't expand as fast as the front compresses.

Raising or lowering the front affects turning... lower front/jacked up rear = less turn effort, higher front = more turn effort. Some people like the 'nose-dive' effect, some don't.
 
doozerdave said:
I'm not one to talk people out of sweet upgrades, so don't take it that way, but it sounds like a pad issue and maybe a lever adjustment issue. I'm heavier than you, but my bike isn't fast enough to generate as much heat as your bike likely generates, no matter how hard and late I'm braking.
Click to expand...

Great new Ferodo XRAC pads + steel lines + great master + good fluid should have this problem of mine fixed for sure for next season :) I might also convert my rotors to fully floating too..

It was not a lever adjustment issue---the brakes were just not there under heavy braking, especially well into the session. As for running out of space between lever and handlebar, I didn't feel comfortable having the lever adjusted too far from the handlebar because the fingers on my hands are somewhat short :(

Mr.Azim said:
That can be corrected with compression/rebound settings on the forks and even the shock..... sounds like the rear can't expand as fast as the front compresses.

Raising or lowering the front affects turning... lower front/jacked up rear = less turn effort, higher front = more turn effort. Some people like the 'nose-dive' effect, some don't.
Click to expand...

Some really useful info here, thank you! I'll remember these tips.
 
With "higher turn effort" usually comes "more turn-in," however... so to get "less effort" you also often get "less turning." Bear that in mind. I have tried both and I prefer sharper steering (more effort). Every model has different geometry, for example the 2003 GSX-R 1000 shortened up the trail a bit and it actually went the wrong way, Suzuki went back to the front-end geometry of the 2001 model for its 2005 model and actually relaxed it further for the 2007 model (there my knowledge gets fuzzy). For the 2003/4 people went with different clip-on offsets and worked for more turn-in, as they tend to want to go wide.

As for the brake issues, go to a better pad. Ferodo XRACs, the new-ish Vesrah SRJL XX that I want to try, or something along those lines will help a LOT, along with braided steel lines and a caliper clean. There were complaints of fade with the stock pads on that bike but a good pad will cure most of it.
 
Shaman said:
With "higher turn effort" usually comes "more turn-in," however... so to get "less effort" you also often get "less turning." Bear that in mind. I have tried both and I prefer sharper steering (more effort). Every model has different geometry, for example the 2003 GSX-R 1000 shortened up the trail a bit and it actually went the wrong way, Suzuki went back to the front-end geometry of the 2001 model for its 2005 model and actually relaxed it further for the 2007 model (there my knowledge gets fuzzy). For the 2003/4 people went with different clip-on offsets and worked for more turn-in, as they tend to want to go wide.
Click to expand...

That's a lot of info for me to digest... Personally, I'd also prefer sharper turn in but requiring more effort. However, without knowing exactly why, I felt very little difference in the effort required to push my Gixxer 1000 into the corner and another gixxer 600, not sure what year.

Shaman said:
As for the brake issues, go to a better pad. Ferodo XRACs, the new-ish Vesrah SRJL XX that I want to try, or something along those lines will help a LOT, along with braided steel lines and a caliper clean. There were complaints of fade with the stock pads on that bike but a good pad will cure most of it.
Click to expand...

Ferodo XRACs waiting at home to be installed = check
Braided steel lines waiting at home to be installed = check
Accossato adjustable master cylinder waiting at home to be installed = check
Motul RBF660 fluid waiting at home to be put in = check
Emery cloth waiting at home to make love to the rotors = check

I think I'll be good with that, no? :) Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is involved in "caliper clean"? I'm new, so please bear with me :confused:
 
Corsara said:
I had the seals on the forks replaced last summer, so we changed the fork oil too...i guess that counts for some service. I had the suspension professionally set up by Ryan Gill, and I was really happy with it during the season. However, that was with street tires, now I'll be with slicks and those are much taller in the rear, so I was thinking to just raise the front a bit to compensate?
Click to expand...

Had Ryan setup my stock susp at a track day as well. Bike did ride better after.
The next year I upgraded to racetech gold valves, racetech springs and an aftermarket rear shock with racetech spring, then setup by Accelerated Tech. HUGE improvement over a setup 'stock' suspension. Well worth the money.
 
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