stlcbr's '12 ninja 250 Race Bike Build

[stlcbr]

Hey guys, new here from St. Louis.

A quick background:
I ride and have my race license through our local organization MCRA. Been riding the track for a couple years and really looking forward to something completely different! Coming from my previous track bikes an '05 cbr 600rr, an '09 zx6r, and my latest bike, a '02 drz400e Supermoto... the 250 should be a blast and a completely different track experience.

This year MCRA introduced a 250 class and since day one it has been growing rapidly.
After watching the races and crazy battles, I finally gave in and picked up a Ninja 250!

Anyways,
after searching around I was able to find a Brand New leftover stock 2012 Ninja 250r SE. Buying a track ready 250 would have definitely been cheaper and easier, but I enjoy the builds and like the thought of a nice fresh motor





We only have one more weekend before the end of the season, and it being less than two weeks away; I am starting pretty basic, leaving the majority of upgrades ( full suspension, full exhaust, filter, jets, bodywork, etc.) for this winter.

For now I'm starting with clip-ons, rearsets, different brake pads and fluid. Along with the required safety wiring, and coolant changes.

Once in the garage it was time to say goodbye to the fancy new bodywork




It was pretty straight forward, and nothing too crazy... but I still HATE oem bodywork and tabs, and pop pins, and ugh




One one issue i did run into was the stock fairing stay



It has two loops to hold everything in place, and without removing throttle and clutch cables, along with wiring, I didn't see an easy way to remove it... so I cut it:



2 small cuts with some snips and I was able to pull the fairing stay right off without having to mess with any cables or wiring:



From there it was time to safety wire. I usually directly saftey wire everything, but wanted to try a clip/ and tubing (for cleanliness) method for easy removal and quick fluid/tire changes.




Here's the route I went with:

Drill a small hole for mounting:



Thread the wire through:



Measure out the lenth and twist:



Measure out tubing length:



Slide tubing over the twisted wire:



Slide the clip into the open wire:



Twist the remaining safety wire:



Cut the excess:



This method I can simply slide the clip through what I need wired, and can easily remove and reattach when changing fluids or tires.

Here's a look at the finished product:






Like I said I won't be running any bodywork yet as there's just not enough time to get them, drill and mount before the next weekend. So onto a front number plate...

I used some universal rubber fork mounts I had from my supermoto, and simply a piece of cardboard to mock up a plate and get the size/shape right:






Like I said the cardboard is just a template, I will use that to cut one from plastic to mount.

That's it for day 1, here's how she sits now:




My first round of parts should be here on Tues:

Woodcraft Clip-ons
Woodcraft Rearsets
Rental Grips
Water Wetter

and a few more bits later this week.

I'll be updating as things come in and have plenty of pics of the progress

[ChickenRun]

Excited to see more!

[c-dog]

This will be a fun thread to watch!

[JohnnyBravo]

Nekkid

[ChrisJuliano]

Quick progress!

[DCMoney]

You running the Pirelli combo for tires, SC1 front, Rossa II rear?

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by DCMoney

You running the Pirelli combo for tires, SC1 front, Rossa II rear?

Going with the Rosso II rear, but not sure on the front yet

[Foxrider64]

They will let you run without a lower?

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by Foxrider64

They will let you run without a lower?

No, I won't be racing in Oct, simply running the track day. This first weekend is more about getting the bike set up.

I work two jobs and am in school on my nights so just not enough time to get the things i want done.

[stlcbr]

And without the protection of race bodywork or sliders of any sort, don't want to be pushing too hard battling for a position and do any major damage.


Not that I've ever crashed before or anything....

[Fuzion7]

Subscribed. Keep it detailed!

[stlcbr]

UPS Tracking shows on time! So after school tonight it will be time for rearsets and clip-ons...

[Alex]

[tfkrocks]

Excited to see how this turns out

[stlcbr]

Came home to some new bits

Black Woodcraft Rearsets
Black Woodcraft Clip-ons
spare Woodcraft bar
Renthal Grips, SOFT compound
spare Spark plug
Water Wetter




It was time replace my old Bell Star as it has seen the pavement twice, both in pretty rough crashes... so picked up a new shiny one

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by stlcbr

It was time replace my old Bell Star as it has seen the pavement twice, both in pretty rough crashes... so picked up a new shiny one

Nice!

[stlcbr]

got home from school last night and decided to tackle the Rearsets.



stock rearset



first thing was to get that hunk-o-junk out of the way




I actually had to read the directions as I seemed to be a few bolts short ... turns out the Woodcraft set requires you to use some of your stock hardware:





Woodcrafts put on



I like to run a GP or Reverse shift pattern, so had to flip the knuckle, but realized it hit the front sprocket cover...



so pulled that off



which cleared up plenty of room



A quick look at the difference from stock (on the right)



and the difference in pegs



not a huge fan of the way they have the peg set up to break off, My Attack rearsets on my zx6r had a much better design IMHO. but I guess we'll see



And the brake side



same process just making sure to get all the hooks, springs, and pivots right. And yes I kept the brake switch and everything there seeing as I'll probably ride this on the street in the off season






BOOM



Another thing about these I don't like is the adjustability of the peg, not very much compared to others I've used....

So I had my friend Zach machine some risers for me! Up 1" back 1", using his OEM rearset for reference







I think they turned out great especially considering he milled it all by hand from scratch, no cnc. I'll see how they fit and go from there!

[stimpee]

Nice progress and thanks for the updates!

If you want to sell your stock pegs, particularly the right (brake) side, PM me since my son "modified" one by crashing...

Originally Posted by stlcbr

got home from school last night and decided to tackle the Rearsets.

stuff deleted....

I think they turned out great especially considering he milled it all by hand from scratch, no cnc. I'll see how they fit and go from there!

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by stimpee

Nice progress and thanks for the updates!

If you want to sell your stock pegs, particularly the right (brake) side, PM me since my son "modified" one by crashing...

Sorry but I'm keeping the OEM rear sets and clip-ones as spares

[RedPepper64]

Sooooooooo jealous..... Looks great! I'm dying to do the race bike thing but having to wait a couple years. Another thread marked for stalking *ahem* I mean subscription.

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by RedPepper64

Sooooooooo jealous..... Looks great! I'm dying to do the race bike thing but having to wait a couple years. Another thread marked for stalking *ahem* I mean subscription.

Thanks! I try to do all my build threads in a sort of "How To" format so it's easy to follow and look up when the time comes for others to build, hang in there

[stlcbr]

Sorry for the time gap, work and school have made it hard to get down to the garage...

But Gateway is a week away so the show must go on

Next up is the Woodcraft Clip-ons,

I really like the 2-piece design of the clamps, avoiding ever having to drop the forks simply to change out clip-ons or replace clamps.


and put together to make sure all the bits were accounted for


So out with the old...

Taking the time to read up before I started, it let me know Kawasaki uses RED LOCTITE and how stubborn the bar ends would be, and a torch and impact drill would make things much easier.


Simply heat up the bar end for about a min,


And using a #3 Phillips bit; take the impact drill to it,


and Boom, they come right out notice the Red Loctite


And yes just for fun I tried simply using a #3 Phillips screwdriver with no heat to see if it was even possible... didn't take long to start to strip the screw So save yourself the frustration and go right for the torch and impact

With the bar ends off, next was to do away with the old grips. I hate the OEM ones and will never use them, so rather than fight the glue to take them off... it's much easier to just cut them off.

Seeing as she'll be riding it too, the girlfriend gave me a hand. Using a utility knife balde to cut the old grips off


With the grips off you can slide the controls off. The controls have a little set pin to keep them from moving on the bars...


You can either drill out the clip-on bar so the pin will have a place to sit... OR my favorite route, remove the little set pin

So Brittany used a dremel tool to take off the set pin


All sanded down


Now they will slide right onto the Woodcraft bar with no issues, and simply tighten the phillips head screws enough on the controls to keep them from rotating. (Again this will be riden on the street so I'm keeping all the controls)

With the old clip-ons striped down, time to take them off. 2 6mm allen screws and they are off,


The bottom of the Woodcraft clamps are engraved with little L's and R's so you can't mix up which side is which



Then bolt the clamps onto the forks, just below the triple



And repeat the same process for the right side: Remove the bar end, cut off the grip, dremel out the set pin on the controls, remove the old clip-on and bolt up the new Woodcraft.

I just snug everything up at this point and don't torque anything down yet as I still need to get the height and angle I want from the bars.

Then sit on the bike and play around with the angle/height until I get something I like, then tighten them up



next step is to put all the controls back on, and install the new Renthal grips.

Left side,



And right,



Once everything was back, it's just a matter of sitting on the bike again, and making sure the angle of your controls and levers are where you like them, then tighten all your bolts

[SMman]

You can save the old grips by easily removing them with an air compressor instead of cutting them. I replaced mine with Progrip grips but have the old ones on the stock bars. I used soft compound Renthal grips on my 636, and liked them, but they only lasted one month.

I drilled my Woodcraft bar instead of taking a dremel to the plastic pin. It is there to prevent your controls from spinning on the bar so is the best route to take.

My Woodcraft bars are silver. I've read about people with black ones having trouble with fading.

[DCMoney]

Originally Posted by SMman

You can save the old grips by easily removing them with an air compressor instead of cutting them. I replaced mine with Progrip grips but have the old ones on the stock bars. I used soft compound Renthal grips on my 636, and liked them, but they only lasted one month.

I drilled my Woodcraft bar instead of taking a dremel to the plastic pin. It is there to prevent your controls from spinning on the bar so is the best route to take.

My Woodcraft bars are silver. I've read about people with black ones having trouble with fading.

All your points are valid for a street bike, this is a 100% race bike.

[SMman]

I wouldn't risk possible loose controls by the choke lever on a street or race bike.

I ditched the horn, signal, and high beam switches on my 04 ZX-6RR race bike, as well as the ignition (no key to forget for the big race ).

[subxero]

Originally Posted by stlcbr

got home from school last night and decided to tackle the Rearsets.




I like to run a GP or Reverse shift pattern, so had to flip the knuckle, but realized it hit the front sprocket cover...

Doesn't your shift lever make contact with the side stand mount?
I understand this is a race bike so you just plan on removing it in the end so it is non issue in the end?

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by SMman

You can save the old grips by easily removing them with an air compressor instead of cutting them. I replaced mine with Progrip grips but have the old ones on the stock bars. I used soft compound Renthal grips on my 636, and liked them, but they only lasted one month.

I drilled my Woodcraft bar instead of taking a dremel to the plastic pin. It is there to prevent your controls from spinning on the bar so is the best route to take.

My Woodcraft bars are silver. I've read about people with black ones having trouble with fading.

Originally Posted by DCMoney

All your points are valid for a street bike, this is a 100% race bike.

As Drew said this is my race bike. Yes it will see the road from time to time but that doesn't change anything on my process as every track bike i've had has seen the street.

I won't ever use the OEM grips as I don't like them, so no point in fussing with a compressor just to toss them in the trash. I use the Renthals, Medium compound which hold up great for me.

As for the controls, like I said you simply tighten the phillips screws until the controls don't rotate, which doesn't take too much. I have gone this route on all my builds and never had an issue with controls spinning on me. So it's not worth the time drilling out the clip-ons, and also makes for quick replacement at the track.

Worse case on a race weekend if I crash and have already gone through a spare bar, I can grab one from a buddy and not have to worry if it's drilled out for a pin (most are not seeing as they remove the controls all together)

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by subxero

Doesn't your shift lever make contact with the side stand mount?
I understand this is a race bike so you just plan on removing it in the end so it is non issue in the end?

I have it adjusted so i stops just short of the mount. But yes, I will be removing it before this weekend so I don't have issues dragging it.

[SMman]

Good point about being able to swap out a clip-on quicker without having to drill the bar. Clip-ons, levers, and rearsets are definitely needed as spares for anyone who races. Thankfully I kept all my extra race parts from my 04 ZX-6RR for my 636.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by stlcbr

So I had my friend Zach machine some risers for me! Up 1" back 1", using his OEM rearset for reference







I think they turned out great especially considering he milled it all by hand from scratch, no cnc. I'll see how they fit and go from there!

Do you have AutoCAD/Solidworks files of these with dimensions between holes and threading/etc? I'm going to make my own and I either have to wait 3 weeks for fall break to be over or I need someone's already started files that have shown to be the correct measurements.

I already have rearset adjusters with my OE rearsets, but I want them back further. So I'm just going to make my own rearset adjusters and sell my current ones.

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Do you have AutoCAD/Solidworks files of these with dimensions between holes and threading/etc? I'm going to make my own and I either have to wait 3 weeks for fall break to be over or I need someone's already started files that have shown to be the correct measurements.

I'll find out for you, he has to remake the right side as he made both just using the left side for reference, and apparently the space between the bolts is a little wider on the brake side.

[choneofakind]

Thanks Ryan, I appreciate that!

[rc-rick]

It's not like you need to do this because you are a skinny ass. You can get rid of the left side controls, it saves about 1/2 pound. I use a coat hanger for the choke if I need it.

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by rc-rick

It's not like you need to do this because you are a skinny ass. You can get rid of the left side controls, it saves about 1/2 pound. I use a coat hanger for the choke if I need it.

With only a few track days left, the plan is leave all the wiring, switches, and controls on for now. I'll be riding Gateway this weekend, and Putnam the next weekend.

Once this track season is over, the bike will go back into street trim for the winter and me and Brittany will both ride it on occasion.

Once we get close to next season I'll start really tearing into it, loosing any extra weight I can

[stlcbr]

So I hit a small snag on the rearset risers...

The left side lines up perfect and won't be an issue


The problem is on the right side


Apparently the two sides are not spaced the same for the bolts. When Zach made these up he only had the left OEM rearset to use for reference so made both sides from that. It wasn't until I went to put them on we realized the spacing is different from the two sides.

you can see the small about the right side is off:


Now that we know, he's going to use the right OEM rearset and make two from that, so there will be two sets of risers ....so one for RcRick

All part of the learning process when making your own custom bits

[stlcbr]

Also got thrown a set of torn up OEM fairings, so the bike will have a little protection until the Race bodywork gets ordered this winter.

They are bashed up but will at least protect more than nothing. And nothing a quick spray job can't clean up...

I had to move the stable out into the lot to make some room for the "paint booth"



Time for SPRAY BOMB

quick sand


prime


and the color


same for the side





The belly will get sprayed black tomorrow.

I'm not worried about fixing cracks or making it perfect, just something temporary to protect the bike and look half way decent

[rc-rick]

Throw a turkey pan on the bottom and race! That's what Drew is doing.

[DCMoney]

Originally Posted by rc-rick

Throw a turkey pan on the bottom and race! That's what Drew is doing.

LOL yep! Sitting next to the bike ready to be installed once fairings go on!

[csmith12]

The turkey pan will get you out there but it's ugly as sin lol.

Also, those woodcraft rearsets should hold up really well in the crash. I left about an inch of my right one in turn 1 at Putnam. It ground down instead of breaking. Another racer had his rip the threads out of frame instead of breaking in turn 8.

[stlcbr]

Originally Posted by rc-rick

Throw a turkey pan on the bottom and race! That's what Drew is doing.

Originally Posted by DCMoney

LOL yep! Sitting next to the bike ready to be installed once fairings go on!

I won't be racing till next year just track days for now. I can't risk getting hurt right now with school, in the middle of the Fire Academy right now and if I miss one practicle day because of injury i'm out. Money lost and have to start back over again.
So just Track days right now, no pushing too hard or battling for position with you guys

Originally Posted by csmith12

The turkey pan will get you out there but it's ugly as sin lol.

Also, those woodcraft rearsets should hold up really well in the crash. I left about an inch of my right one in turn 1 at Putnam. It ground down instead of breaking. Another racer had his rip the threads out of frame instead of breaking in turn 8.

That's exactly what I'm concerned about, they don't look like they easily break off at the end. My Attack rearsets had the bottom half of the peg cut away at the break point, so they always break where they should. No issues of ripping off the bike or breaking too far down, etc.