Project Sparta - 300 Track Build

[gogoKawi]

I ran into a pretty good deal for a brand new 300 that was damaged in shipping. I brought the 250 in to get some work done and saw the 300 sitting in the garage looking pitiful. I asked the fellas there what's up with it, and they told me the story about the crate, and some other tidbits. Long story short, the dealer couldn't file insurance for it, so it was just sitting there until they did something with it. I gave them an offer and they took it, even though they still lost a nice chunk of money on it.

The left and bottom fairing were destroyed. The rear cowl is cracked pretty good. There's a small dent on the tank. And the left rearset is toast. Other than that, brand new bike!







This will be a replacement for the track 250. My friend is buying it, after I twisted his arm. I need some company in the lightweight grid this year. There aren't many 250s/300s racing CCS.

I won't have many pictures of the progress. The dealership is building the bike. I want them to make sure that there's nothing else screwy with the bike before I take it out fo their hands. I'm sure it's fine though.

With that said, I have quite a bit going on the bike:

• motofairings track fairings
• Elka shock
• Yosh full exhaust
• R&G case covers
• PCV with ignition module
• Driven clip-ons and grips
• Sonic Front Springs
• Slighshot Preload Adjusters
• K&N air filter
• Woodcraft frame sliders (yes-cut)
• Area 22 Rearsets (eBay)

So let's talk rearsets... I thought long and hard about this. I run Woodcrafts on my 600. I love them. No complaints what so ever. If the stock shifter was still intact on this bike, I would have just bought the bare-bones set. But for $350, I couldn't stomach it. So, I looked and decided to take a chance on these. $200 for the set. Of all of the eBay offerings, this set has just about everything that I was looking for in terms of functionality. The quality is pretty good. Though, I wish Sportsi still shipped to the US. I would pick-up those XRace rearsets in a second. Sadly, I left them on the 250.



The last mod I am thinking about doing is the GSXR front stabilizer. I didn't have any issues with the 250's front-end. And I don't expect anything with the 300. But this is the first season I'm racing the bikd. And for some reason, bikes seem to behave different when riding them competitively. I'm sure it's all me, but I still blame it on the bike.

I can't wait to get this on the track. I was hoping to get this for Jennings at the end of the month. But I doubt it will be done.

[Sirref]

Nice, a properly sorted 300 would be a sick track bike for sure and those rearsets look pretty good for $200

I hope you do get it all sorted for the jennings trip though it is understandable if you can't since it's less than 10 days now and that's a time cruncher if you're ordering parts off the internet.

I'm interested to know how the front springs feel on the front end vs stock since I've always felt the 300s front to be a little soft for my tastes

[sharky nrk]

i want to upgrade my 250 track bike to a 300 but can't really justify it unless I can come across the right deal like it sounds like you did.

[JohnnyBravo]

Best wishes this season on your new ride... Sweet find

[GregS]

Great find and best of luck to you on your project

[gogoKawi]

Thanks fellas. If the deal wasn't there, I would have stayed with the 250.

The fork upgrade was a must for me. $90 investment was well worth it. The diving under hard braking was killing me. And at certain tracks, the front just felt off going over bumps, especially while leaning.

And the last piece of the puzzle showed up today, the Elka shock. I have an Elka on my 600, and it's working well. No compression adjustment on this one. But I don't expect to need more than preload and rebound for this bike.

[KawiKid860]

Are you going to have a FS thread for the stock parts? I'm interested in that oem rear shock if you want to sell it

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Are you going to have a FS thread for the stock parts? I'm interested in that oem rear shock if you want to sell it

Yeah, there will be a FS post. I probably won't post that up for a few weeks. But it will include the 250 stuff as well as the 300 parts that are salvageable.

[Sirref]

depending on how you go with this build I may be interested in a few of those parts. I'll wait and see though

[gogoKawi]

Bike is pretty much together. Main things left are paint, tires, and a few adjustments to ergos.

Fairing:
I did the eBay special and tried out MotoFairings. Overall, they aren't bad, but not great. They are not as flexible as I would like. After painting, they should have a little more bend to them. But I'm sure the first kiss of the pavement will required some extensive repair work. But for $350, worth it!

The fit is pretty good, except for the tail. There is quite a bit of space, about 1/2 inch, between the rear of the seat and the rear fairing. I will fix this by adding a piece of rubber to the seat to seal it. The holes are pre-cut and line up very well.





Rearset
I need to play around with these a little more. I'm no t digging the current location of the shift rod. It's directly underneath my foot, which feels like I'm going to hit it every time I down shift. Luckily, there are two other adjustment points for the rod. Mounting it further up should solve it.



Shock
The Elka shock is a direct bolt on. I haven't tested it on the track yet. Looking forward to shaking it down.



Exhaust and Stuff
I like Yoshi's new emblem! It has a nice modern look to it. The difference between the sound of the 250 and 300 are staggering. The 300 is much deeper, even with the same exhaust. She sounds mean! Install was pretty much the same as the 250.

I just need to get rid of the FI light. I yanked out the kleen air system and didn't realize I needed to leave the valve with the two ports in the bike. That will be going back in later on.





Forks
Sonic springs are in. The front doesn't dive now!!! It feel planted when sitting on it. Can't wait to see how it feels in the corners. Pre-load adjusters in and functional.

This is my second set of Driven clip-ons. Though installing Woodcraft is easier, I like the angle adjustment on these. And their grips feel great too.



Tires
I like the Rosso 2's a lot. But I'm going to try to Dunlop Unbeatens 02 . I bought a set while at Calabogie last year and have heard good things about them. If they don't work out, I'll be going back to the Pirelli. Finding that SC1 110 is going to be a pain. They are sold out everywhere. I really don't want to go 120 in the front.

[Hero Danny]

Looking great! I can't wait to track out my 300. Gotta wait for the 600 first though.

[sharky nrk]

She is getting there, looking good. Let us know your opinion on the Dunlops when you get some time on them.

[Braden07]

Most of my buddies and myslef are on the Bt-003rs and love them (120/140).. a couple guys run the unbeatens and like them too.. i had the pirellis and just didnt like them very much.. maybe its the surface where im at or something but the 003s felt so much better.. on the 110 i was going all the way to the edge of the tire.. which doesnt bother me but leaves me wondering how much lean can i get.. on the 120s i still have a notch of space that doesnt see much action but makes me feel better knowing i have that little extra.. and i feel like i am goin hard on it.. pictures do better justice

what are you going to do for steering stabilizer?? I thought it ridiculous to pay 400 for the name brand stuff so i bought the chinese one for 80 off ebay.. i cant compare it to the 400$ cause ive never used it but i could definitely feel a difference with having it vs not having it.. may have had to crank it to the hardest damping it would allow me to do but it works well

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Looking great! I can't wait to track out my 300. Gotta wait for the 600 first though.

Just ride it on track as is, just don't exceed your comfort level and you should be good to go

on topic: Bike looks sick, looking forward to the dunlop review since I'm a fan of dunlop tires

what are you thinking for paint scheme?

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Looking great! I can't wait to track out my 300. Gotta wait for the 600 first though.

Hopefully you are taking the 300 to the track now. The 600s are fun. But I find the 250s/300s to be just as much fun, if not more.

Originally Posted by sharky nrk

She is getting there, looking good. Let us know your opinion on the Dunlops when you get some time on them.

I am really torn. I just can't find a lot of feedback on running these tires at race pace in lower temps, sub 60s. First race of the year is in March and it will be chilly at Roebling. If I don't find out something soon, the Pirelli's will be fitted, with the Unbeatens pulling duty during summer. Tires...

Originally Posted by Braden07

Most of my buddies and myslef are on the Bt-003rs and love them (120/140).. a couple guys run the unbeatens and like them too.. i had the pirellis and just didnt like them very much.. maybe its the surface where im at or something but the 003s felt so much better.. on the 110 i was going all the way to the edge of the tire.. which doesnt bother me but leaves me wondering how much lean can i get.. on the 120s i still have a notch of space that doesnt see much action but makes me feel better knowing i have that little extra.. and i feel like i am goin hard on it.. pictures do better justice

what are you going to do for steering stabilizer?? I thought it ridiculous to pay 400 for the name brand stuff so i bought the chinese one for 80 off ebay.. i cant compare it to the 400$ cause ive never used it but i could definitely feel a difference with having it vs not having it.. may have had to crank it to the hardest damping it would allow me to do but it works well

I was torn over the 003RS. I looked at them years ago, before I had a dedicated track bike. I didn't like them because I ready they were crap in the rain. Now, I may have to rethink this since I'll rock the Pirelli's in the rain. Again, tires...

As far as stabilizers go, there is a thread on here where someone used a GSXR damper with a Pro Tek fork Tube clamp. I really like that setup. But I'm not going to do anything until I ride the bike for a few months. I want to shake-out the kinks before I make any more changes to it. You should do a write-up of your eBay stabilizer. I'm curious to see how it's installed and hear how it performs.

Originally Posted by Sirref

Just ride it on track as is, just don't exceed your comfort level and you should be good to go

on topic: Bike looks sick, looking forward to the dunlop review since I'm a fan of dunlop tires

what are you thinking for paint scheme?

Paint scheme was easy. I'm keeping it simple. Kawasaki green with the black bottom, on both the 300 and 600. I just finished painting the 300 Sunday. It came out great for a first time painter and using rattle can. Clear coat is a PITA! Here's the mostly finished product.






And a little something to dress up the front.

[Sirref]

Use some tape to write messages on the bottom of the oil pan to mess with the photographers

Looks good, I like the world superbike styled sticker headlights

[JohnnyBravo]

What knew paint did you use? Looks good!

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by Sirref

Use some tape to write messages on the bottom of the oil pan to mess with the photographers

Looks good, I like the world superbike styled sticker headlights

Suggestions?

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

What knew paint did you use? Looks good!

Colorrite, which has the OEM Kawasaki green. It's expensive when compared to regular rattle can, but worth it. About 3 cans took care of these fairings.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Suggestions?

I have been putting messages on the bottom of my belly pan for about 2yrs now. It's super fun and gives something unique to your bike as you fly around the corners for the photo guy and fans watching. There are a few pics of it floating around here too.

I just use black electrical tape so I can change it easily. There is a list that I had in one of these threads somewhere, but I can't find it. Maybe someone could help us.

I am gunna make an "achievement" sticker for the bottom of my pan. "Got Lean?"

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Hopefully you are taking the 300 to the track now. The 600s are fun. But I find the 250s/300s to be just as much fun, if not more.

I want a cbr600rr strictly for the streets, I couldn't handle that thing on the track. And I want my ninja 300 to be a track bike. Nothing for sure yet though, since I live 2 hours away from the closest track i'm not sure how much use i'd be able to get... :/

OP: I wanna see some pics of the bike all together!!

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Suggestions?

"gogo" to start really it's a spur of the moment "that'd be cool" type thing the morning of a race.

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I want a cbr600rr strictly for the streets, I couldn't handle that thing on the track. And I want my ninja 300 to be a track bike. Nothing for sure yet though, since I live 2 hours away from the closest track i'm not sure how much use i'd be able to get... :/

2 hours from a track is close...I drove 16 hours to jennings and it was worth it, 10-12 hours to mid-O and it was worth it as well.

You'll want to track your cbr, trust me you'll want to track it. Think of it like this, if you don't think you can handle a bike on the track (where you don't have to go fast in novice if you don't want to) then what makes you think you can handle it on the street where control is arguably more important.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Sirref

Think of it like this, if you don't think you can handle a bike on the track (where you don't have to go fast in novice if you don't want to) then what makes you think you can handle it on the street where control is arguably more important.

[Bigballsofpaint]

Originally Posted by Sirref

You'll want to track your cbr, trust me you'll want to track it. Think of it like this, if you don't think you can handle a bike on the track (where you don't have to go fast in novice if you don't want to) then what makes you think you can handle it on the street where control is arguably more important.

Thats how ill convince myself to put the Ninja 1000 on the track, ya, thats it!

And Danny havent we concluded that the track in Palmer MA will be close to you?

Nice build you have gogo, i need to repaint my 250 again this winter!

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

Thats how ill convince myself to put the Ninja 1000 on the track, ya, thats it!

Don't do it! I put my Ninja 1000 on the track 2 years ago and it was awful. At most, it was a good test to see how bad the stock suspension is. It wobbled all over the place. Forks and shock will be swapped out at some point this year.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Sirref

You'll want to track your cbr, trust me you'll want to track it. Think of it like this, if you don't think you can handle a bike on the track (where you don't have to go fast in novice if you don't want to) then what makes you think you can handle it on the street where control is arguably more important.

Lol maybe you're right bro. I may change my mind in the future. Just as it is right now I feel like I'd rather sharpen my skills with the 300 before I move up. Also riding a motorcycle on the streets isn't exactly hard... I don't go very fast to be honest, I kinda just cruise around in the country roads or go around the city and what not. Yes, every now and then I like to beat the piss out of the 300 but for the most part i'm gentle and just enjoy the ride. I mainly wanted the cbr because I love the way it looks, imo it's one of the best looking bikes money can buy, behind the ducati. Also I would like just in general a little more power for the highway.

But then again who knows. Maybe i'll change my mind after riding the cbr and say "you know what, I wanna ride da piss out of this, let me bring it to the track". lol

[Sirref]

I agree to the looks part as that is why the cbr600rr is one of my favorite bikes

time tells all, I have a feeling you'll want to

[Bigballsofpaint]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Don't do it! I put my Ninja 1000 on the track 2 years ago and it was awful. At most, it was a good test to see how bad the stock suspension is. It wobbled all over the place. Forks and shock will be swapped out at some point this year.

I love finding reasons to spend money though, and i just cant get that 100+mph on the 250 at the track . But for real thats the only reason i thought about it. I would still track the 250, just once in a while it hits me to bring the 1000 to stratch its legs.

In reality i need to get my finances in order so i can buy a panigale 899 as a track bike, that is the end goal...

[gogoKawi]

Nothing is ever perfect, especially when you are dealing with eBay rearsets. I was hoping for no drama, but I expected something to not be right. Well, the picture should tell the story.



I contacted the distributor. We'll see what they come back with. Luckily, it's not a deal breaker. I'm going to fix this by inserting a washer/spacer about 10mm thick between the frame and the rearsets. It may need to be 15mm for some additional room. That should align the shift rod. And then to GP shift!

The sprocket cover will have to be trimmed and cut to turn the shift knuckle upward. I'm just glad Kawasaki made it easier this time, compared to the 250.

[JohnnyBravo]

Yikes... Color rite is expensive, you did it right though

I'd probly be cheap an shoot mine grabber green

[Braden07]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

I was torn over the 003RS. I looked at them years ago, before I had a dedicated track bike. I didn't like them because I ready they were crap in the rain. Now, I may have to rethink this since I'll rock the Pirelli's in the rain. Again, tires...

As far as stabilizers go, there is a thread on here where someone used a GSXR damper with a Pro Tek fork Tube clamp. I really like that setup. But I'm not going to do anything until I ride the bike for a few months. I want to shake-out the kinks before I make any more changes to it. You should do a write-up of your eBay stabilizer. I'm curious to see how it's installed and hear how it performs.

As far as rains are concerned some people run the pirelli GP rains from what i hear.. out here at our track the majority have decided to go with michelin pilot road 4s.. I have yet to race in the rain but usually our first round in april is a rain round and i have my set on order so i can let you know how those work out..

for the stabilizer install is pretty east.. just gotta take off the tank and it makes it a sinch.. its base clamps over the spine of the frame that runs under the tank and the top part has two bolts that go into the spot where the stock handlebar riser fitted in.. ill take a close up and show you

[Braden07]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Lol maybe you're right bro. I may change my mind in the future. Just as it is right now I feel like I'd rather sharpen my skills with the 300 before I move up. Also riding a motorcycle on the streets isn't exactly hard... I don't go very fast to be honest, I kinda just cruise around in the country roads or go around the city and what not. Yes, every now and then I like to beat the piss out of the 300 but for the most part i'm gentle and just enjoy the ride. I mainly wanted the cbr because I love the way it looks, imo it's one of the best looking bikes money can buy, behind the ducati. Also I would like just in general a little more power for the highway.

But then again who knows. Maybe i'll change my mind after riding the cbr and say "you know what, I wanna ride da piss out of this, let me bring it to the track". lol

I started track riding on my cbr600rr then decided to race and mostly because my good friend was in the class i went and bout a 250.. cost was a big factor too.. wont be running through tires and relatively cheap to fix if needs be.. because of me and my friend that raced this past season we convinced 3 others of our street friends to do the same.. they all went out and bought wrecked or used race 250s and we will all be racing this season together.. pretty stoked about it

[Sirref]

sounds like good times

[Braden07]

It will be, I'm trying to get them to get on here and make their own build threads. Plan is to make a race season thread to post up pictures and share with you guys the spoils. If some of you guys are willing to drive quite a ways for the track should make the extra long trip out here. It is a great facility and we'd be happy to host some of you guys. If anyone is seriously interested I can get the race weekend dates. The nice thing about them here is they do a trackday and on the Friday of race weekend and then races are sat/Sunday

[Sirref]

Is that a track day for no extra charge?

Here it seems that we get a heavily discounted practice day, or there's a different vendor who's already doing a day the friday before. Regardless I find it to be silly to not ride at least a full day within two weeks of the race at the track so I'll pay the fees to ride, as much as my wallet will hate me for it.

[Braden07]

Trackday out here is 200$.. race weekend is 330ish.. our club just went to a flat fee style for this next season... plus transponder its 380 for the weekend. so with track day and race weekend its 580 just in riding fees...

the track day company used to only do the fridays of race weekend, this year they are almost doubling the dates so it will roughly be trackday with race weekends and another trackday between race rounds which will be nice.

[Braden07]

@gogoKawi here is a picture of the stabilizer.

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Nothing is ever perfect, especially when you are dealing with eBay rearsets. I was hoping for no drama, but I expected something to not be right. Well, the picture should tell the story.



I contacted the distributor. We'll see what they come back with. Luckily, it's not a deal breaker. I'm going to fix this by inserting a washer/spacer about 10mm thick between the frame and the rearsets. It may need to be 15mm for some additional room. That should align the shift rod. And then to GP shift!

The sprocket cover will have to be trimmed and cut to turn the shift knuckle upward. I'm just glad Kawasaki made it easier this time, compared to the 250.

couldn't you flip the knuckle around so the shifter rod is behind?

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by Braden07

@gogoKawi here is a picture of the stabilizer.

That looks pretty good. I think I like this setup better than using the GSXR stabilizer.

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

couldn't you flip the knuckle around so the shifter rod is behind?

The knuckle will be flipped once I adjust the rearset. Right now, it's impossible to do with the alignment of the shift rod the way that it is.

I plan to finish the bike this weekend so I can be ready for the Roebling Road CCS races next week. Not much more to do. Just finish the rearsets and put the body work on. With all of the snow, I won't be able to do a shakedown of the bike, which really sucks. I'm just hoping that the weather holds out.

[gogoKawi]

Bike is pretty much done. Today was an exercise in patience. But I made it through!

For now, here are some pics of the pretty much final product. I don't think I'm going to do too much more to it besides sponsor decals.







So far, the 250 and 300 have been playing nice. I haven't had to break-up any fights between them yet.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Braden07

@gogoKawi here is a picture of the stabilizer.

Where did you pick up the stabilizer and what was the cost? Have you noticed much difference with it?

Thanks