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!

Short and Long-term Projects

The off-season... the time to maintain or improve fitness, do work on the bike, and for the privateer, scour the internet for deals on consumables.  Its time to stockpile and hoard what you will need in the future.  To illustrate both the packrat mentality and the patience of my long-suffering wife Kate, here is a pic of our exercise room (don't be too impressed -- we have a modest 4-bedroom house with no kids).  Spare engine in boxes to the right of the "Le grand tour de Michelin".

In the short term, I'm sending my forks off to my sponsor, Racetech, for a rebuild, installation of a G2-R Fork Cartridge Kit, and springs to suit my weight.

A long-term project is the rebuilt engine.  After considerable research, I am shipping the cylinder head across the pond to Rick at RLR Motorsport in the UK.  A hassle, perhaps, but the Brits know a lot about tuning EX650s for their supertwin classes, and the price of the headwork and cams is much cheaper, even with exchange, than what I can get done in North America.
Here is a pic of the stock intake tract... room for improvement, even by my untrained eye!

The cylinder head, including the stock cams which are to be exchanged for Kent cams, in a spec to work with my stock-ish (by UK standards) engine.

I think it is important to note that gains to this engine will be made without "cheating" -- I'm using stock pistons, stock rods, a stock bore, and simply building the engine to a higher degree of tolerance.

Boxed, with build instructions for Rick inside.

Ready for a trip to Canada Post.  It won't be cheap, but it needs to be done.

New Helmet and Refinished Rad

The helmet from my Nexx sponsorship arrived the other day.  As advertised, it fits well, appears to be pretty quiet, and is incredibly light.  Looks pretty sharp as well!  I was able to get 2 other shields, a clear and a light smoke one as well.

ECE 22-05 and Dot approved.

Side profile.

Tri-composite shell -- a mix of fibreglass, kevlar, and carbon fibre.

Stopped by CycleBoyz to pick up the R6 rad.  Looks good.  Did a pressure check in the tub (yes I cleaned it afterwards) and no leaks, based on as much pressure I could load the rad with after plugging the spigots.

Mig-welded, I think.  This spigot is the lower on on the RHS as you sit on the bike.  A bit more filler rod was required, as a 3/4" outlet was going into a whole where a 1" used to be.

Once mounted, this will make sense -- I had to "hook" the coolant flow around one of the frame tubes.  You can see where the old spigot used to live.  Once it dries out, I will get it painted with some radiator paint I had left over from the supermono project.

In engine news, Scotty from Transcanada had the correct flywheel puller I needed to finish disassembling the engine.  He lent it to me for the weekend, and the engine is now apart, in a few boxes.  Time to start saving my pennies for the soup-up work!