New member and new track bike project

[GregS]

Hi there,

Just picked up a salvage Ninja 300 and looking forward to converting this into a nice little track bike. I currently have a Gixxer 750 that I mainly use for track work, but made the mistake of borrowing a Ninja 250 while the Gixxer was being worked on and had a blast on it. Shortly thereafter I started scanning Craigslist for a 250 or 300 and came across this little guy. It's been wrecked and has a salvage title, but mostly cosmetic damage with the fairing, tail section and fender pretty trashed and the muffler is missing. Apart from that appears to be mechanically sound and frame looks and feels straight.

Should be a fun project, can't wait to get it out on track and start riding it.

[Sirref]

these bikes are great

welcome to the forum and good luck with your build, we're all around if you have any questions regarding your build. It sounds like you know what you're doing though (gixxer 750 track bike already)

[cbinker]

Wait wut? did you double post?

[GregS]

Originally Posted by cbinker

Wait wut? did you double post?

Well I introduced myself in the new members section, then also headed here. As this will be a track only bike figured I'd start a track build thread over here.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Sirref

these bikes are great

welcome to the forum and good luck with your build, we're all around if you have any questions regarding your build. It sounds like you know what you're doing though (gixxer 750 track bike already)

Thanks, I've been bitten by the crack (track) bug for a couple of years now. I started out with my Ducati Monster which while fun was not suited well for the track, unless I wanted to spend a crap load of money and even then I was always worried about the cost of dropping the darn thing. So I bought a ZX6R as my first dedicated track bike, which lasted about a year and a half until the transmission let go. That's when I bought the Gixxer 750 and that has been a lot of fun as well, but I've always wanted a small bike to mess around on as well, and here I am

Here's some pictures of past and present track bikes

[cbinker]

Ah, I thought i was in a time warp for a minute there.

[MKlein3004]

Greg,

Glad you are getting into the small displacement track bikes. I bought the header, fairings and forks from your 636. They are serving me well. Do you plan on getting back into the CMRA? Hope all is well and have a blast on the little bikes.

Mitchell

[chixwithtrix]

Verreh nice!

[GregS]

Originally Posted by MKlein3004

Greg,

Glad you are getting into the small displacement track bikes. I bought the header, fairings and forks from your 636. They are serving me well. Do you plan on getting back into the CMRA? Hope all is well and have a blast on the little bikes.

Mitchell

Hi Mitch- good to hear you are enjoying the parts I sold you. Still have the Galfer rotors, tank and subframe if you need any spares.
No plans for any CMRA. At 52 years old I'm happy to just do my thing at the track with no pressure to race for trophies.
Really looking forward to riding this little guy at Harris Hill, hope to see you there sometime.

[Snake]

Hello and welcome.

[Braden07]

yeah based upon the looks of your track builds and that most recent 750 id say you are most likely capable of building out the 300, assuming you did the grunt of the work.. and yeah good look with the build. I as well was tracking on a bigger bike (600), never raced on it, but my good riding buddy built his 250 for more fun in addition to his 600 race bike and off i went on the 250 and ever since then i had to have my own, built mine out this summer and it has been a blast ever since. Keep us updated on your progress! Sub'ed to your build.. If i ever get back home to dallas with my 250 i wanna roll down to austin or San An or houston and hit up some of the tracks out there

welcome to the fam

[psych0hans]

Welcome aboard, I'm jealous... Good luck!!!

[GregS]

Thanks to all for the warm greetings,

I'd like some suggestions on the exhaust. I really want to hold off on doing engine mods until I'm done with suspension and rear sets and some bodywork, but I'm in a dilemma regarding the exhaust system. It currently has no muffler, and it's pretty obnoxious with out it so I need to address it first.

If I buy a decent slip-on , can I purchase the full exhaust header later and add it? From what I've seen most companies either sell the muffler or the whole system, but not the header by itself. Also worried about doing slip-on by itself without accompanying fuel adjustment.

Another option would be to just buy the cheapest piece of crap I can find that will quiet it down until I want to do full exhaust later.

If I bite the bullet and do full exhaust now, that pretty much means doing K&N and PCV/Bazzaz as well, and that's money I'd rather spend on suspension/rear sets/bodywork

Any thoughts?

[ninjamunky85]

If you just want to put a muffler on there, then pretty much anything that will fit would work. If you want to go all out then AreaP is the best exhaust out there for the ninjettes imo.

[csmith12]

Let the market decide what your doing exhaust wise. If you can't find a sick deal on a slip on then go full. Full is always better and $$$ well spent performance wise, but you can go fast on a slip on if your bike is tuned well and the rider is quick. Just have to ensure ground clearance. That is the beauty of these bikes, the guy in the grid spot next too you might be on stock bits and beat ya.

As far as $$ goes, Spend on the front suspension first, then tires, rear suspension next, then go for the clip ons, rear sets, engine and performance mods like exhaust and such. You can spend a mint and a chap on bone stock bike may beat ya. Ya know?

[Braden07]

it also depends on what you are wanting to accomplish riding wise.. i remember you saying that you arent going to be racing but mainly just track use.. if that is correct why spend much money on exhaust etc at all and just go suspension.. if you are potentially going to race it you need to find out what the rules are at your local club as far as the 250/300 class. For us in utah the 300 can race in the 250 class but no modifications other than ergo's are allowed so check your rule book.

if you not going to be racing then screw it go all out with whatever you want

i have a full Leo sbk on mine and love it.. my buddy has the full leo gp growler on his and it is super dope if your gonna spend on an exhaust might as well go full in my opinion and if you do then you wont [I]have[I] to get a mapping system but it would increase the power..

i dont think there will be many more trackdays in texas but i could be wrong.. piece by piece you can build it..

i would agree with chris that suspension is the way to go on these things first and foremost since that is what is going to allow to put that speed on the ground.. get the front done then tires then go for the rear

[GregS]

I'm definitely not going to be racing, so no rule book to follow

I'll eventually end up with a full exhaust, but don't want to spend the money on that now as suspension is more important. However I do need to get a muffler as the bike did not come with one. I think I'll just try and find the cheapest piece of crap I can for now, then later on do the full exhaust/K&N/fuel map.

I've read most of the suspension threads already, and will consult with my local guru this weekend to decide on plan of action.

Plenty of track days left in Texas as I'm a member at Harris Hill. Two weekends every month plus every Monday. So possible 6 days per month for the paltry sum of $150/month, you can't beat that plan anywhere else.

[Braden07]

Originally Posted by GregS

I'm definitely not going to be racing, so no rule book to follow

I'll eventually end up with a full exhaust, but don't want to spend the money on that now as suspension is more important. However I do need to get a muffler as the bike did not come with one. I think I'll just try and find the cheapest piece of crap I can for now, then later on do the full exhaust/K&N/fuel map.

I've read most of the suspension threads already, and will consult with my local guru this weekend to decide on plan of action.

Plenty of track days left in Texas as I'm a member at Harris Hill. Two weekends every month plus every Monday. So possible 6 days per month for the paltry sum of $150/month, you can't beat that plan anywhere else.

Shiiiz man, where is that?? I need to get on that. Utah here is done and done. Where is Harris hill. And then go with a slip on from a company that makes a full to where you could have the option of getting the headers

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Braden07

Shiiiz man, where is that?? I need to get on that. Utah here is done and done. Where is Harris hill. And then go with a slip on from a company that makes a full to where you could have the option of getting the headers

Harris Hill is in San Marcos, Texas about 25 miles South West of Circuit of the Americas (COTA)

http://harrishillroad.com/

It's a 1.8 mile track, but with no particularly long straights it is a great track for a 300.

If anyone is ever in the area and needs an invite, it costs $150 for the day (10am till 4pm). There are no sessions, you ride as much as you want.

[Foxrider64]

Welcome- have fun building it out. I too moved from bigger track bikes to a ninjette when I started racing competitively. Never had more fun on the track.

[Braden07]

Originally Posted by GregS

Harris Hill is in San Marcos, Texas about 25 miles South West of Circuit of the Americas (COTA)

http://harrishillroad.com/

It's a 1.8 mile track, but with no particularly long straights it is a great track for a 300.

If anyone is ever in the area and needs an invite, it costs $150 for the day (10am till 4pm). There are no sessions, you ride as much as you want.

wow that is pretty dope, if i ever head back home (dallas) with the bike i'll have to head out there. (no plans to make the trip down in the near future, let alone with the track bike, but maybe some day).. the track looks cool tho

[GregS]

Dropped the bike off at the local suspension guru and we decided to go with the Racetech Springs and Gold Valve cartridge emulators up front and a reworked GSXR shock in the back. This should result in pretty decent suspension for a reasonable amount, as I really didn't want to go full blown racing setup (Ohlins/Penske etc) on a relatively cheap bike. My buddy just happened to have a spare GSXR-600 shock laying around that he donated for the cause, so that will save a few bucks.

[Braden07]

That's pretty much the same suspension set up all my buddies are runing.. I'm currently in the process of doing the Gsxr shock swap, just waiting for my dogbones to arrive. Sounds like you have a guy who knows his stuff. Does he go to the track when guys are out there? Once it's set up you'll obviously need some tweaks and changes and its best to do it out there to really see and feel the difference it makes

Suspension is the way to go with these things first and foremost. Power sucks and always will be but we don't ride them for the power obviously, it's for the challenge of using what we have on tap at 100 all the time. My plan was to build mine and probably spend two years or so on it getting faster and more comfortable on the track then moving up to the 600 class and carrying over as much as I coukd

Anyone else with more knowledge please chime in

[MKlein3004]

Did you take it to Road and Track?

[cbinker]

that is pretty much my set up, front doesn't have much feel, i need to raise the rear a little to have more of the weight on the front.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Braden07

Sounds like you have a guy who knows his stuff. Does he go to the track when guys are out there? Once it's set up you'll obviously need some tweaks and changes and its best to do it out there to really see and feel the difference it makes

Originally Posted by MKlein3004

Did you take it to Road and Track?

Keith Hertell who owns Road and Track suspension in San Antonio does all my work. Keith has raced for many years, and is usually present most track days at Harris Hill. So if I have any questions about tweaking the setup I can get him to ride it and make recommendations.

I spent a good part of yesterday riding Keith's 250 Ninja around the track and really enjoyed reeling in some of the bigger bikes out there.

[GregS]

Quick update - Still waiting to get my bike back from the suspension upgrade, as the Gold Valve cartridge emulators were on back order - Grrr. Hopefully will get it back before the end of the week as I've just received a few boxes from Santa. Woodcraft clip-ons, Vortex rear-sets, some race plastics, Area P high mount with CF can, K&N pod filter and an Area P fuel mapper. That should keep me busy for a little while.

[stimpee]

Thanks for posting your plans and experiences. I am still toying with what to do for rear suspension on my 250 for track/racing. Most options are too expensive, but I havent spent enough time looking at the GSXR or other shock options to figure out what I want to do.

[GregS]

Got the bike back from Keith at Road and Track and have had a bit of time to work on it. Keith installed the Gold Valve Emulators in the forks and built the "Frankenshock" for me.

Once I got her home, I installed the Vortex rear sets, Woodcraft clip ons, Area P high mount exhaust, and removed the kick stand and mount.

Had to remove the instrument cluster for now, as the clip ons are interfering badly with the cluster, and the clutch lever is also rubbing on the lower part of the dash surround. I'm thinking the front fairing stay must be bent just enough to cause problems. For now I'll just have to run without the dash for a couple fo shake down runs.

Here are a few pictures of work so far.

Track day tomorrow so I'll get a chance to see how she runs. Still need to do the pod install, and retune the ECU and then sort out the issue with the clipons and front fairing stay.