Track Bike - Plan B

Got a customizing or restoration project? Discuss it here

Moderator: rztom

Message
Author
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#436 Post by Hooligan » Fri Dec 04, 2015 4:52 pm

Where the hell did you get a price like that on tires?

I am looking at the vintage radials from Continental? And they are about $500 a set.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#437 Post by Off Road » Sat Jan 07, 2017 5:58 pm

I had this bike parked for most of last summer and only started riding it in September.
And by then, summer was pretty much over.
Still I managed to put 876 km (540 miles) on it.
Most of it was going back and forth, from home to work.
Got lucky a couple of weekends, I was off work and the weather was semi-decent.
I had a nice 70 mile ride in late October.
Made the most of it because I thought it might be last good ride of the year.

Image



Had another nice day early in November.

Image



My last ride of the year was Nov. 21/16.
Temperature got up to 5*C (40*F) for about 1 hour that afternoon.

Image



That was it. No more. I parked the bike for the winter. Mother Nature wins again. :smt012



I’ve seized the Right cylinder on this bike 5 times, which is probably a record.
The first 2 times were due to stupidity on my part.
And there’s a good chance that the last 3 times were also due to stupidity on my part.

When I rebuilt this motor for the 3rd time, I put 932.8 km (576 miles) on it, and seized the right cylinder again.

Rebuilt this motor for the 4th time, put 392.8 km (242 miles) on it, and seized the right cylinder again.

So I rebuilt the motor for the 5th time, and this time I did a cheap and nasty job of it.
Left the motor in the frame, only pulled 1 cylinder, bought 1 new piston, and bored the right cylinder 0.25 mm larger than the left cylinder.

When the engine seized for the 5th time, I noticed that there was NO fuel in the clear fuel lines running to the carbs.
As soon as I started to pull the line off the gas tank, and let air into the system, fuel started flowing.
I suspected that the gas tank vent had plugged off, and the tank had vapor locked, so I removed the small filter element from the gas cap vent.

So far, I’ve got 2395.6 km (1479 miles) on this rebuild. Almost twice as many km as the 2 previous rebuilds combined.
The motor’s been running great. Starts fine. Pulls strong. No troubles at all.

Hopefully, I’ve finally fixed the problem, instead of just replacing the damaged parts.
Time will tell.

I rode my Purple RZ for most of the summer, and only rode this bike for the last month of the season.
However, I did notice a huge difference in the handling between the 2 bikes.
This bike has way quicker steering.
When an obstacle appears on the road, it takes a small push on the bar, and I’m instantly around it.
The Purple bike is much, much slower to respond to input on the bars.

This is definitely my favorite RZ to ride. :smt003

User avatar
Redline Junkie
-----
-----
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 12:55 pm
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#438 Post by Redline Junkie » Sat Jan 07, 2017 6:05 pm

What is the difference with regards to the steering? FZ vs RZ suspension?
1985 RZ350F being restored now!
1987 RZ350 Stock
1985 RZ350F basket case
1985 RZ500 Stock

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#439 Post by Off Road » Sat Jan 07, 2017 7:14 pm

Hey Redline.

On the Purple bike, I am using an FZR400 swingarm.
This swingarm lowers the rear ride height by 30 mm, which increases the rake and trail.
In addition, I'm also using the FZR400 triple tree's, forks and front wheel.

The FZR forks are longer than the RZ forks, which also increases rake and trail.

I calculated rake and trail numbers for the bike a few years ago,
but after reviewing the information I found that I had made a calculation error.
I need to take another look at the calculations to determine what my rake & trail number really are.

I suspect that I have too much rake and this is what is slowing down the steering response.

In addition the FZR front tire is is a 110/70-17.
The wider tire may also be affecting how the bike handles..

User avatar
JonW
Posts: 10599
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 4:33 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#440 Post by JonW » Sat Jan 07, 2017 8:14 pm

Steve, can you adjust the height of the rear end to get back some of that fast steer response?
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#441 Post by Off Road » Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:39 am

I post a lot of stuff about my project bike, but hardly anything about this bike.
I thought it was time for an update.

On Nov. 25, 2017, I went for the last ride of the year.
I brought the bike home, turned it off, and pushed it into a heated garage.
Over the winter, I removed the seat, the side panels, and the gas tank.
I wanted to give the tank and side panels to my painter so that he knew where to put the decals on the bodywork for the project Bike.

Last Thursday after work, I put the tank, side panels, and seat back on the bike.
I put in some fresh gas, kicked it over a half dozen times with the ignition off.
Turned the key on, kicked it twice, and it fired up.
I checked it over, added some air to the tires, lubed the chain and clutch cable, and called that a Spring Tune-up. :smt003

On Friday, I rode the bike to work, then to Motor vehicles, back to work, and then home.
Put a total of 5 miles on it.
Pulled 3 wheelies.
When I got home, I had a huge smile on my face.

Today, it was 25*C (77*F), one of the warmest days we’ve had all year.
After work, I jumped on the bike and headed out of town.
I went about 60 miles, and didn’t pull any pull any wheelies, but when I got home, I still had a huge smile on my face.

Tomorrow, I have the day off.
The weather forecast is calling for a high of 7*C (45*F), and just under 1” of rain. :smt013
Attachments
r019.JPG
r019.JPG (240.57 KiB) Viewed 2114 times

hondaror
Posts: 2828
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:44 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#442 Post by hondaror » Tue May 01, 2018 3:37 am

Yup, it rained in Calgary.
Rory
2 1984 RZ350s
1985 RZ350
9 1986-1990 RZ350s
2000 ST2
2005 749
2005 749 with 999 engine

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#443 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:10 am

Hey Folks.

During my time on this forum, I’ve made some really, really, really long posts.
And I’m pretty sure that today’s post will be the longest one I’ve ever made.
It’s probably going to take 15 or 20 minutes to get through the whole thing.
So, I broke it down into several shorter posts (or chapters), hoping to make it easier for you guys to follow my wild train of thought.

I’ve owned my track bike for over 30 and I use it for everything.
Road Trips, Commuting, Track Days
It’s quick, it’s fun, and it’s reliable. It’s my Go To bike.
Unfortunately, I treat it with a mixture of neglect and abuse.

Here’s how I treated it a couple of weeks ago.

On Monday, I decided to ride the bike up to my mom’s place, which is 200 miles NW of Calgary.
Before leaving, I thought I should do a quick service on the bike, so I filled the oil tank, checked the tire pressure, and lubed the chain.
Had a great trip. The weather was awesome.
On the way up, the air temperature was 25*C (77*F), and the temp gauge on the bike stayed steady at 80*C, and the bike ran good.
On the way home, the air temperature had dropped to 16*C (61*F), and the temp gauge on the bike dropped to 70*C, and the bike ran Great.

On the return trip, I was getting a bit tired of being on the road, and I didn’t care about the gas mileage,
so I was being very generous with the throttle, and I was making really, really good time.

I was cruising in 6th gear, engine revving at 6500 rpm. Just nicely coming on the pipe.
I caught slower traffic, signaled, rolled on a little more throttle, and pulled out to pass.
Just as I’m at the rear bumper of this car, I hear cars the engine kick down, and he starts accelerating.
I roll on more throttle (all of it, if I remember correctly).
By the time the tach read 7500 I was at his front bumper. I held it open until 8500, and then backed off the 6500.
Never saw that guy again.

The bike survived the 400 mile trip with absolutely no problems or issues.
Sadly, my old body had a few sore spots the next day.



For the next 4 days, (Tuesday to Friday), I used the bike to commute back and forth to work.
I put a total of 5 miles (8km) on the bike, because I only live 1 km from where I work.
The bike doesn’t even get a chance to warm up.


On the weekend, (Saturday and Sunday), I went for 20 short rides, and put a grand total of 10 miles on the bike.

It was the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle since Oct. 2, 2011. My last track day.

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#444 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:11 am

I work at a bike shop and the shop owner drag races in the Canadian Motorcycle Drag Racing Association (CMDRA)
The CMDRA is the onlyfully sanctioned NHRA drag bike racing association in Canada

Thursday nights at our shop are Dyno nights for the local racers.
A few guys usually show up with a case of beer and one or two of them bring a bike down to do some tuning on the dyno.

The guys bring in some pretty interesting bikes.
Stretched out ZX14’s with engine work and a pretty good shot of nitrous.
Turbo Hyabusa’s
GS1150’s with 1500cc aftermarket cylinder blocks and GSXR heads.
Most of the bikes run the ¼ mile between 7 and 9 seconds.
Not the world’s fastest bikes, but when you hear (and feel) one all wound out on the dyno, or see it fly past you at the finish line, you can’t help but be impressed.

Anyway, last Thursday I was hanging out and giving them a hand on one of the bikes and we started talking about the CMDRA race on the weekend, in Rimbey, Alberta.
It was the first race of the 2018 season.
I mentioned that I had thought about taking my stroker bike out, just to see what it would do.
I thought that the Rimbey race would be good because the track is only 1/8 mile.
All the other CMDRA races are at ¼ mile tracks.

But, I hadn’t had a chance to finish setting the carbs and ignition.
I told them there was no point in taking the stroker anywhere; my red bike is way quicker.
As soon as I spoke those words, everybody said, “Then come out and race your red bike”

So, I bought a tethered kill switch, and went home to Race Prep my bike.
I removed the mirrors and wired in the new kill switch.
Then I filled the oil tank, checked the tire pressure, and lubed the chain.
I thought about putting in a new set of plugs, but decided against it.
The plugs will be fine, I only put them in last August. :smt003

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#445 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:11 am

Saturday morning I showed up at the track and went to the CMDRA trailer to check in.
Told them I wanted to run in the Street class. They said OK and gave me a dozen forms and waivers to sign.
They also said that my first race was free. No charge.
Cool.
Then they asked me what number I wanted to be. Ummm, I don’t know.
They told me to pick one, but it couldn’t be numbers 1 to 10.
After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, I said 350.

After checking in, drove down to the pits and parked my truck beside the shop truck.
By the time I got out of the truck and finished stretching, I had a crowd of 3 or 4 people checking out the bike,
talking about when they had one, and so on.

As long as they were there, I got them to give me a hand unloading it.
Then I headed down to get a tech inspection on the bike and my gear.

After tech inspection, another small group of people came over to check out the bike.
It’s been a while since anybody showed up at the races with a 2 stroke.
I got to talking to a couple of guys and they told me that since my bike was a 2 cylinder, I could also run it in the Hot Twin class.
They were running Victory motorcycles in both the Street and Hot Twin classes.
I thought what the hell, twice as much track time would have to be a good thing, so I spent $50.00 and entered in the Hot Twin Class.

Let me tell you about my 2 new friends.
They’re part of a team called Evil Twin Racing, and they’re running a pair of almost identical 106 cubic inch Victory’s with Custom paint,
aftermarket exhaust, Power Commander ECU’s and air shifters.
The one guy is the 2017 points champion in the Hot Twin class.
His teammate was #3 in the points last year, but he was the point’s leader the 3 previous years.


Anyway, after I’m all signed in, the track held a “Race School” :smt005 for first time participants.
They introduced us to track personnel, who told us how the races were going to run, and what everybody on the track was going to be doing.
The guy who will take down our number and dial in time and wave us onto the track.
The next guy who will get us into the burnout box and through a burnout.
And the Starter, who will get us pre-staged and then staged.
Then they told us go get your bikes and do a couple of runs down the track.

So, I’m on the track, the guy backs me into the burnout box, waves me forward a couple of feet, and gives me the signal to do a burnout.

The only problem is, I’ve never done a burnout before. Why would I? Tires are expensive.
I’ve seen people do burnouts, and I’ve read some articles on how to do a burnout, and I was about to find out if any of it sunk in.
I had visions of grabbing traction and having the front end slide out, and me crashing in front a large crowd of people.
Or grabbing traction and pulling a sky wheelie, and me crashing in front a large crowd of people.

It’s funny, but when the time came to light up the rear tire, it just seemed like a natural thing.
I didn’t have to think about it at all. It was like I’d been doing it all my life.
Whack the throttle and let out the clutch.
Definitely the easiest thing I did all weekend.

Moved on up to the Starter, and the timing lights
The CMDRA uses a pro tree system that works like this.

Both bikes move up until they trip the Pre-stage light
Then both bike move up until they trip the Stage light.
Some random number of seconds later, 3 yellow lights come on
4/10 of a second after the yellow lights, the green light comes on and you’re racing.

We got 2 runs down the track just to get a feel for it, and that was it, school’s over, you’re ready to race
After the race school, I did 3 rounds of qualifying for Street class, and 3 rounds of qualifying for the Hot Twin class.

I had a hard time with the lights and had horrible reaction times of 0.4 to 0.6 sec. :smt011
I also had a hard time finding the right combination of rpm and clutch. :smt011
Once I was staged, there was no way I could check the tach, so I was judging the rpm by sound, and wasn’t doing a very good job at it. :smt011
Either the rpm would be too low and the bike would bog, or the rpm would be too high and the bike would wheelie. :smt011

Speaking of wheelies, I did a lot of wheelies on the weekend.
(so many that complete strangers were commenting on it)
Most of them were out of control sky wheelies. The bike came up way too hard and too fast, and I had to chop the throttle.
I f*cked up big time on 1 run and did 2 sky wheelies in a row coming off the line.
I did manage to pull a few nice, long, controlled wheelies, with the front wheel a foot or foot and a half off the ground.
That was cool.

After making 8 runs down the track, my best time was 8.537 seconds. However most of my runs were between 8.7 and 9.0 sec.
My top speed at the finish was between 83.11 and 84.60 mph.

Where you place in the Elimination rounds is determined by your reaction time in the qualifying rounds.
The person with the quickest reaction time qualifies first and the slowest reaction time qualifies last.
I qualified LAST in both the Street and Hot Twin classes, so in the first round of Eliminations, I got to race the number 1 qualifier.

Elimination Round 1 - Street
I’m racing a Harley.
He red lights and is disqualified, so I advance to round 2.

Elimination Round 1 – Hot twin
There are an odd number of competitors so the fastest qualifier (last year’s #3 Victory) gets a bye to the next round
I’m racing the number 2 qualifier (last year’s #1 Victory).
He stalls his bike when lights go green, and I win.
Since there are an odd number of bikes in the field and I took out the #2 qualifier, I get a bye in round 2, and advance to round 3.

Then the rains came and everything was postponed until Sunday.

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#446 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:12 am

The CMDRA is running 7 races this year to determine the championship.
Race 1 of the series was Saturday’s race. Race 2 of the series was being held on the Sunday.

So Sundays schedule went as follows:
Round 1 of qualifying for Race 2
Finish the eliminations rounds left over from Saturday’s Race 1.
Round 2 of qualifying for Race 2
Elimination rounds for Race 2

Before the day’s festivities started, I figured I should service the bike.
I removed last year’s BR8ES plugs installed a new set of BR9ES plugs.
OK, I’m ready. Let’s do this.

Race 2 – Round 1 Qualifying (Street and Hot Twin) went pretty much the same as what I did on Saturday.
Reaction Time of 0.457 and 0.507 seconds.
ET's of 8.719 and 8.540 seconds.
Top Speed at the finish 85.78 and 85.83 mph.
The good news is that the bike ran 1.2 mph faster than my best run on Saturday.
Probably due the cooler air Sunday morning.

Then we got back to Round 2 of the eliminations for Race 1.

In the Hot Twin class, I kept my Dial In time at 8.50 seconds.
I was racing a Harley that had a Dial In of 9.5 seconds, so the Harley left the lights 1 full second before me.
He had a bad start, I had a pretty good launch, and I passed him about half track and went on for a win, which put me in the Finals.

In Street, I had a bye in round 2 and go sit it out.

In the Final round of Hot Twin, I’m racing the #3 Victory, which had a Dial In Time of 8.10 seconds.
This is the guy who told me that I should enter this class.

Anyway, my race went as follows:
Reaction time of 0.384
Pulled a huge wheelie off the lights and had to chop the throttle
ET of 8.728 seconds
Top speed of 84.27 mph (my slowest top speed out of the 10 runs that I did on Sunday)

My opponent on the Victory, had an air shifter problem and blew his shift into second gear.

I just won the Hot Twin class at the CMDRA season opener. WTF?

However, I have no time to celebrate, because I have to get right back to the starting line to race in round 3 of the street class.
This time my opponent is a stretched out Hyabusa with a Dial In of 6.29 seconds
I had an average run.
A bit of a wheelie. Big enough that I had to back off the throttle.
I gathered it up pretty good and had a decent run going.
I got to about 2 bike lengths away from the finish line and still no sign of the Hyabusa.
I thought, “Holy crap, I’m going to win this and go to the final round of Street”.
At 1 bike length before the finish, the Hyabusa blew past me like I was standing still.
Damn. So close.

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#447 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:12 am

We now had an hour or two to prep our bikes for Race 2 qualifying and eliminations.

While I was checking over the bike, one of the track officials comes over and says I have to take my bike down to the CMDRA office.
OK, Fine.
WTF?

So, I head over to the office and they gave me a plaque for winning the Hot Twin Class,
and they took a picture of me and the bike, and they handed me cheque for $105.00.
Bonus.

Then we went on to Race 2 – Round 2 Qualifying

In the Street class qualifying, I did a blistering 8.323 seconds at 85.98 mph.
That’s a full 0.22 seconds faster than any of my previous runs. :smt023

In the Hot Twin class, I had a lousy run, but I had an excellent reaction time of 0.220 seconds (my best of the weekend). :smt023


Out of 18 passes down the track, I only had 1 pass that was quicker than 8.5 seconds, so I didn’t change my Dial In for the elimination round.

In round 1 of the Street Eliminations, I ran 8.452 seconds at 86.31 mph, and broke out.

In round 1 of the Hot Twin Eliminations, I pulled my biggest wheelie of the day.
Later on, a few guys in the pits said it looked pretty spectacular, a couple of guys said it looked kinda scary.
From where I was sitting, it was freaking terrifying.

And that was it, my race weekend was over.
Attachments
r054.JPG
r054.JPG (161.12 KiB) Viewed 1802 times

User avatar
Off Road
-----
-----
Posts: 2070
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:31 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#448 Post by Off Road » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:13 am

I’ll finish this post up with some interesting observations, and some funny shit.

The Hot twin and Street classes were run back to back.
This meant that I would do a burnout, make a pass in Hot Twin, come straight back through the pits, onto the track, do a burnout, and make a second pass in the Street class.
A couple of times during Qualifying and Eliminations, I was making 2 passes down the dragstrip in less than 4 minutes.
Needless to say, the bike was running hotter on the second pass down the track.
And my top speed at the end of the track, on the 2nd pass, was always 1.5 to 2 MPH Slower.
The heat buildup in the motor is definitely robbing it of some power.

My reaction times are getting better.
On my last 3 runs on Sunday, my reaction times were all under 0.25 seconds.

My highest top speed at end of the 1/8 mile was 86.31.
The highest top speed of the Victory bikes was justunder 88 mph.



I got really, really, really lucky, and managed to win a couple of races.
And because of beginner’s luck, after 2 of 7 races in the series, I am currently the points leader in the Hot Twin class.
And I’m 4th in points in the Street class, because I made it to the semi-final round.


The Hot Twin class used to be called the Hot Harley class.
The CMDRA changed the class rules, and name, in order to open up the competition to more bikes.
Unfortunately, nobody told the company that made the plaques, about the new name. :smt005
Attachments
r055.JPG
r055.JPG (133 KiB) Viewed 1794 times

hondaror
Posts: 2828
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:44 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#449 Post by hondaror » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:36 am

Fucking rocking it! Way to go Steve. Oh, by the way, I know you said it, but wholly shit those were long winded posts.

Congratulations!!!

I guess you have to go to round 3. Keep us posted CHAMP!
Rory
2 1984 RZ350s
1985 RZ350
9 1986-1990 RZ350s
2000 ST2
2005 749
2005 749 with 999 engine

hondaror
Posts: 2828
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:44 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Track Bike - Plan B

#450 Post by hondaror » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:37 am

Fucking rocking it! Way to go Steve. Oh, by the way, I know you said it, but wholly shit those were long winded posts.

Congratulations!!!

I guess you have to go to round 3. Keep us posted CHAMP!
Rory
2 1984 RZ350s
1985 RZ350
9 1986-1990 RZ350s
2000 ST2
2005 749
2005 749 with 999 engine

Post Reply