Wheels have Arrived

As promised, the Carrozzeria wheels have shown up for the racebike.  As advertised, these are things of rotational beauty!  I test fitted the rear wheel, offering it up to the Versys swingarm.

The wheel fit perfectly!  The spacers used are "captured" in that they don't fall out and roll all over the garage when you line things up.  A great looking rim that is 5.5" in width, which will allow for a 180 rear tire.

As a bonus, the bolt pattern is "stock" Kawasaki, in that it works with zx6r/10r sprockets from about 2003 onwards.  That means, my Renthals will work with these wheels!  Bonus, indeed!

Even more good news!  The great crew at Carrozzeria also sent an ultralightweight rear rotor at no extra charge.  Check it out!  As you might imagine, using the exclamation! mark! is pretty easy today!!!

As I am still waiting on the front forks to come back from RaceTech, the front has yet to be test-mounted.  I also have a set of wavy zx6r discs that I hope will fit these rims.  When I pick those up, I will be sure to post more pics.  This picture turned out a bit blurry, sorry.

Even has a trick directional sticker to help mounting tires.

Based on what I have seen so far, these wheels are an awesome deal, considering many factors...

• they are cheaper than Marvic and Marchesini, as well as Dymag.
• From what I can see, they are on the only manufacturer of bespoke wheels for the ex650/er6.
• It was fairly straightforward to order -- I indicated that the front and rear were from different models, but they had no problem sending me what I needed.
• All the stock hardware fits -- rotors, sprockets, spacers, etc.  
• If you are a supertwin/mintwin racer, you should really consider these wheels.  Many other color options are available, and they of course have a front rim to work with the stock ex650 forks (for minitwin racers)
• Considering the pound/euro vs US dollar right now, British/Euro riders should really consider these wheels as an upgrade for their bikes.

I shudder to think of the hassle of retrofitting wheels from other machines onto my project.  I doubt anything would have fit as nice as these did... I envisioned the purchase price (when suitable wheels could be found), and then the hassle of machining the necessary spacers and etc. to make them work.  This is a bolt on affair!

Of course, the Level 2 sponsorship discount sweetened the deal considerably, but even at the list price, these ARE the only option, in my opinion.  Getting the rear rotor thrown in for free only added to the quality of these rims.

Factoring the weight saving of the hollow rear axle, and these wheels, the bike will likely be noticeably lighter on its feet come the spring.  I can't wait.

For now, the wheels will be stored downstairs out of the cold.  No sense mounting new race rubber and then letting them freeze outside!

Preliminary Schedule for 2013

According to the MRA Website, the season starts early and cold!  Two rounds in May this year.  As well, it looks like Trackaddix is doing a May round at Motorsports Park Hastings in the spring (finally!)  Not sure how it will work out scheduling-wise, but I would really like to get there, especially considering it is during the Victoria Day long weekend and so I would only have to take 1 extra day off of work:
Round 1:  May 11 and 12  (Long Underwear Special)
Hastings:  May 18 and 19
Round 2:  May 25 26
Round 3:  June 22 23
Round 4:  July 20 21
Round 5:  Aug 17 18
Round 6:  Sept 21 22

So 3 race weekends in 3 weeks in May.  If I can manage it, it should put me in good stead for the remainder of the season.

Eagerly anticipating some visits from the postman.  Forks are on their way back from Racetech, wheels have cleared Canada Customs, and the shock should be built and sent sometime in January.  The bike is really coming together!

More Sponsorship News

Two more sponsors have been added to Piston Broke Racing for 2013!
JRi Shocks is fabricating a made-to-measure rear shock for the EX650.  Makers of suspension components for F1, Indycars, and Nascar, a JRi shock was fitted to the rear of Geoff May's EBR superbike in 2012.  Technical Features include:

3 way adjustable

Small body design and ½” shaft

Lightweight - 4.5lbs with spring

Better sealing & improved frequency response designed into pistons

Low friction, high pressure, high temperature Teflon based primary seal

12mm of ride height adjustability

Further, Piston Broke Racing is now a distributor for JRi shocks.  MSRP on 3-way adjustable shocks are $985.00 -- PBR price is $800, plus shipping.  Please contact me directly for more information!  As always, check out the link to JRi on the right.

Speigler USA is also a new sponsor for Piston Broke Racing.  From their website:

We've built our reputation designing and manufacturing brake lines that are DOT approved, assuring riders of a product they can rely on and trust. Our own in-house research and development uses data acquired on high-pressure test benches. And, because of the exceptional strength and durability of Spiegler Brake Lines we can offer customers a LIFETIME WARRANTY. 

The customer really does come first. At Spiegler, innovations like our custom-made brake lines allow the enthusiast to specify the exact system they need and receive it in any one of 81 color combinations. Our proprietary torsion system eliminates line twist making installation smoother and safer. 

Manufactured in Dayton, OH and distributed from our centrally-located head office we can deliver stock OEM and custom brake lines in the shortest time possible. 

In the world of high-performance aftermarket motorcycle parts, Spiegler is a name that enthusiasts and dealers have come to count on for highest quality products and service anywhere. It's our business and our passion.

Spiegler Performance Parts is also a distributor for the following companies: LSL, ABM, Esjot, Kellermann, CL brake pads, motogadget and Ohlins to name a few.

Click on the link to the right!

Bellypan Progress

A few shots of the bellypan being test-fitted.

Side view -- I was wanting to extend the length of the bellypan, and accommodate the Arrow exhaust as well.

I used a male plug, made out of cardboard to get the basic shape.

As you can see, it is still rough, so a lot of finish work is required.  I am going to use some aircraft-spec products -- microspheres, epoxy resin, and super-fil to try to smooth things out.

As you can see from this moto3 bike, the lower fairing (albeit a full fairing) extends right to the rear wheel.

Benefits for electric bikes may be even more profound!

Stay tuned next week for more sponsorship announcements!

More Sponsorship News!

Piston Broke Racing is proud to announce that Carrozzeria Wheels has come on board as a sponsor!  A set of V-track forged wheels are inbound for the ex650 racer!  I am pretty thrilled to be getting the "only" set of purpose-built wheels for the Kawasaki EX650.  As it stands, no other aftermarket wheel manufacturer offers "bespoke" wheels for the 650.  I will be sure to post photos of the wheels when they arrive, and provide my initial impressions.  Of course, I eagerly await trying them for the first time "in anger" when I hit the track in the spring.
Those of you who are serious about racing the Ninja 650 should consider this wheelset.  Please be sure to check out the link on the right, as well as the following video.



Note that there are 4 more videos that detail the suspension setup changes required when you lop significant pounds of rotating mass off of your bike!

fairing option

Idle time is dangerous for me... I need to be working on something in my spare time or else I go a bit bonkers.  As such, I was staring at the supermono bodywork that is now surplus to my needs, and did some wondering.  While the full fairing would definitely not fit at all around the wider frame, engine, and radiator, perhaps trimming it a bit and coming up with some sort of bikini-style upper would work.  I decided to test-fit the fairing stay (which was modified to fit with the Cagiva Mito frame) and sure enough, the bolt holes lined up perfectly!  It was off-centre, but a bit of metalworking and some welding sorted that.  Still in the original paint scheme, but ready to be primed, it looks as so:

Screen not added, but it does mount on the stay, along with two aluminum tabs along the sides of the frame.  This, along with the full-length lower fairing I am making (from scratch) might help a bit in the aerodynamics department.

Rad and Rear Axle

The R6 radiator has been properly fitted, and hoses mounted to the engine.

Notice how the upper spigot needs to clear the frame tube.  There is provision for the water temp gauge in this section of the hose assembly.

Quite a considerably larger frontal area that the stock radiator!  Should result in a cooler running engine due to the increase in coolant volume as well.

Still need to mount the puke bottle... been designing a bracket in my head.

A bit of internet research and some machine work has allowed me to drop at least 1 lb off the rear wheel assembly.  The stock rear axle is solid steel -- certainly strong, but a bit overbuilt and utilitarian in this capacity.  I discovered that the Triumph 675 uses a 20mm axle as well.  I bought one for under $10 on ebay, and found it was made of aluminum, and came with a cool metal locknut.  Surprisingly it was about 1/4" too short to work with the stock axle adjusters, so I got them machined down 1/8" on each side which got me back enough threads to engage the locking mechanism.  On the nut side, Cycleboyz machined a pocket that perfectly accommodates the washer.  Looks very clean!

On the other side, a shoulder was left that locks the "head" of the axle in place.  This speeds up wheel changes as only one 27mm socket is required to deal with the rear axle.  This hollow assembly allows the fitting of axle sliders, a pit-bull trailer restraint, and is considerably lighter.  If it is strong enough for a 120 hp triumph triple, it will be strong enough for my bike.  I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring this out... Note this will not work with stock swingarms!