Ninja Race Prep

[lmac]

What are you guys and girls using for case covers, or do you need them in the states?

[Peanut_EOD]

How did you safety wire the rear caliper bolts? Got any pics? I took your advise and bought the Hotbodies 2 for 1. Great deal!

[tiggen]

Originally Posted by lmac

What are you guys and girls using for case covers, or do you need them in the states?

Case covers are not necessary to race WERA. I've never seen any for the 250.

[ithaca00]

The 250 doesn't use them.

[tiggen]

Originally Posted by Peanut_EOD

How did you safety wire the rear caliper bolts? Got any pics? I took your advise and bought the Hotbodies 2 for 1. Great deal!

New gen or old gen?

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by Peanut_EOD

How did you safety wire the rear caliper bolts? Got any pics? I took your advise and bought the Hotbodies 2 for 1. Great deal!

I drilled out the top of each one of the allen heads and just did a normal safety wire deal... I'll post some pics up soon.

[lmac]

Originally Posted by tiggen

Case covers are not necessary to race WERA. I've never seen any for the 250.

Thanks : ) Looks like I do not need it here either.

[Rexbo]

UPDATE:

Raced with the new CVMA racing series this past weekend and it was a TON of fun. Ran there with Nope, Nemesis and Peanut and two more (forget names!) for the races, then saw Dean (duno forum name!) on friday, so it was a good turnout. There were 6 of us on grid for the 250 supersport class, which was pretty fun, and there are some fast guys out there, buuuut not quite fast enough!

Anyway, bike was awesome. The gsxr rear shock and racetech front forks make all the difference in the world. Tons of grip, didn't even slide it at all the whole weekend and I was pushing pretty hard. Switched from the BT-003RS front tire to the Pirelli, and all I can say is that Matt was right, and I should have listened to him earlier. Much more grip, not a single complaint or loss of grip at any point on the track, warmed up quickly and really didn't grain at all! The rear BT-003 never had a complaint, only stepped out just slightly once because I was off line and onto some rough stuff, but even then was very progressive. Rear preload is probably a little stiff, so before next time that needs to get reset, and possibly add a some rebound damping. The steering damper was nice to have on, but definitely not necessary, though it was pretty fun getting set into a turn with nearly knee down and pretty much being able to take your hands off the bars and know it will be stable. Unfortunately it rattled off halfway through sunday morning so it got taken off and the bike felt a little more nimble.

RACING: Saturday 250 supersport race, I somehow managed to land pole position with a 2:14:9 qualifying time in practice, with Nemesis right next to me in 2nd. They gridded the 250s in front of a lightweight formula class and started us all at once, so the formula bikes shot off ahead. On the start I managed to BARELY beat out the other two to pile into corner #1 (unfortunately missing peanut's epic wheelie), but since I had just come off a previous race in another class, my tires were still on the cooker and I could get on race pace immediately. It felt really good, and I was doing about 90% of maximum so I didn't wad it up on the first lap, but nobody came to challenge me so I kept cruising at that pace. Rest of the race was pretty uneventful until the white flag came out and RIGHT then... the bike starts to cough. APOKHAFOIHASFKLMWEFE I'm out of gas and spend the rest of the lap sputtering around the course and just as I cross the finish in last and have to walk the bike back to the pits. /facepalm

Saturday night is spent in the sleep of the dead so when our alarms go off at 5 we're pretty refreshed only to find on exit in the motel 6... that someone has stolen EVERYHING except for my bike out of the back of my truck. My entire tool box, tire warmers, generator, ez-up, chairs, ramp, front and rear stands, and even my spare OIL. Theres $1500 down the drain because of some ass clown. Great. Head to the track pissed off and depressed, but vow to get some frustration out by actually winning this 250 supersport race. This time, they gridded the 250s behind the formula class. I see the starter do his countdown and I see Nemesis on my left take off with me and its ON. Again I somehow I'm in front at the first corner. I catch up to Nope at the end of the first lap, and the rest of the race we BATTLE 4 GREAT JUSTICE. My bike has a little more pull in the straights, but we've got about the same cornering speed and he's better than me in the tight 8,9,10 section, so we keep fighting every lap at that corner to get the drive onto the back straight. Anyways, its the most fun 10 minutes I've EVER had on the track, and we manage to not smear each other! I cross the finish just barely ahead of him, only to find out after the race they want to disqualify me & Nemesis, because their intention was to have TWO starts, one for each class. They didn't bother to tell this to me or Nemesis before the race, plus they changed their race setup from the saturday race, AND they failed to follow their own rule book and meatball flag us for a ride-through penalty for false-starting. So we got the ass end of the stick through a combination of poor communication, switching starting formats, and forgetfulness on their part. So instead of a ride-through penalty (~30 sec), they disqualify us. Piss. Oh well, next time.

So, two blown trophies, a bunch of stolen ****, sore legs, a track record (2:14:9 in race, but I pulled a 2:14:6 in practice) and an epic battle with good friends, and nothing broken, so I call it a good weekend. I'll see you at round 2 in April!

Saturday 250 supersport start:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Hot lap during practice on saturday (sorry didn't get the race):

Link to original page on YouTube.

The crew: (luke the DAWG, Me, Cheeks and TQ)


Gettin our haterade on:



Its like the little kid putting his Michael Jordan or Prince poster on the wall:



Battling with TQ on the sunday race:










An eventful weekend for sure. But I'm definitely hooked on racing! Learned quite a few things this weekend:
1) Check your gas
2) Don't trust the race organizers
3) Lock yo **** up
4) Prepare ahead of time (yes we safety wired a motorcycle, and changed fork oil on another in a motel 6 hotel room)
5) Sunstroke is a bitch. Shade, ice towels, and tons of advil are mandatory in SoCal.

If anyone else had doubts about coming out to race, don't. Its worth it, and it would be tons of fun to have more ninjas on the grid next race!

[Alex]

Epic!

[dino74]

Originally Posted by Rexbo

Saturday night is spent in the sleep of the dead so when our alarms go off at 5 we're pretty refreshed only to find on exit in the motel 6... that someone has stolen EVERYHING except for my bike out of the back of my truck.

Sorry to hear about the theft, that just blows! Was it this Motel 6? Google maps I stayed there Thursday night and it felt sketchy.

It was cool hanging with you, Andrew, and Jon on Friday, hopefully I'll see you guys again on April 15.

Nice write up and thanks for the hotlap vid, gives me some lines to look at. What camera do you have cause it didn't look like a GoPro.

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by dino74

It was cool hanging with you, Andrew, and Jon on Friday, hopefully I'll see you guys again on April 15.

Nice write up and thanks for the hotlap vid, gives me some lines to look at. What camera do you have cause it didn't look like a GoPro.

Nah we stayed at the one in north palm springs farther west, which was sketch too.

I have a ContourHD, which can do 1080p@ 30fps, but I like the 720p @ 60fps much better for fast moving stuff. Only problem is its about 7 mins per GB >.<

[Peanut_EOD]

Great weekend! I can't wait for the next race. We need more bikes in the grid.

[Bueller999]

Nice write up, thieves should die!!
That track looks like a lot of fun for sure.

What Pirelli front did you switch to? I just went through a 003rs in 4 days at our local kart track, not happy about that

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by Bueller999

Nice write up, thieves should die!!
That track looks like a lot of fun for sure.

What Pirelli front did you switch to? I just went through a 003rs in 4 days at our local kart track, not happy about that

the supercorsa sc1... definitely an improvement over the bridgestone. Two hard days on it and it barely shows wear which is cool, we'll see how it handles the heat cycling. But blowing through tires is part of the deal when you're tracking!

[Bueller999]

Originally Posted by Rexbo

the supercorsa sc1... definitely an improvement over the bridgestone. Two hard days on it and it barely shows wear which is cool, we'll see how it handles the heat cycling. But blowing through tires is part of the deal when you're tracking!

I am assuming you jumped up to a 120?
Definitely not my first racebike but one of the big reasons I went for the 250 is for the lessened tire wear and expense. I have gotten more time out of takeoffs on an R6. I gotta say though I am way more used to the rears going quicker
I will need to run the same brand front and rear for contingency purposes, and that will ultimately narrow down my choice of manufacturers. I am not wild about putting a 150 on the rear although I have not tried it yet. I have had even bigger reservations about going up on the front.

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by Bueller999

I am assuming you jumped up to a 120?
Definitely not my first racebike but one of the big reasons I went for the 250 is for the lessened tire wear and expense. I have gotten more time out of takeoffs on an R6. I gotta say though I am way more used to the rears going quicker
I will need to run the same brand front and rear for contingency purposes and that will ultimately narrow down my choice of manufacturers. I am not wild about putting a 150 on the rear although I have not tried it yet. I have had even bigger reservations about going up on the front.

110 front/140 rear. You could definitely go pirelli front/rear with 110/150, I don't know much about their rear tire compound but going to a 150 doesn't seem to be a huge issue with other people and I'd be alright with it most likely as well. You can always get a little quicker turn-in if it really annoys you by dropping the front forks down a few mm if you haven't already, or getting adjustable dogbones and adjusting up the rear if its allowable per the rules.

[Peanut_EOD]

Hey Bueller, are you doing the trackday at HPR next weekend?

[Bueller999]

I am planning on IMI as long as I get my new front in and mounted. I'll wait for HPR until the temps pick up a bit (although 70 ain't bad). I am also going to try to set up some group punch card days next month.
3 half days $243=$81ea.
6 half days $475=$79ea.
12 half days $900=$75ea.

[Peanut_EOD]

Where is IMI? I have a NoMar if you need a tire mounted.

[Bueller999]

I really appreciate the offer, I will keep it in mind. I have a friend down in Parker that let's me use his machine.

http://imimotorsports.com/
No bike prep, $35 for the day, rental carts have priority, but we generally get more than enough track time, just have some long intermissions at times.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_...=google%20maps

[Peanut_EOD]

That track looks like it might be closer to me. What day are you going?

[Bueller999]

Oh I am sure it probably is it is exit 232 off of I-25.

Looks like Saturday, at this point.
Check this thread starting @ #193

Here is a video of IMI, my bike was only putting out 16 hp in this (leaky diaphram) so it is a little quicker now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GczGO8j4lLM

[Peanut_EOD]

I'm already signed up for HPR on Saturday.

[Daeldren]

Just ordered me a gsxr 600 rear shock, seems like everybody is liking that setup. Im going to have to get the spring replaced with one rated for my tiny 120lbs, but that still seems like a great deal for a $20 performance shock.

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by Daeldren

Just ordered me a gsxr 600 rear shock, seems like everybody is liking that setup. Im going to have to get the spring replaced with one rated for my tiny 120lbs, but that still seems like a great deal for a $20 performance shock.

Damn skippy it is!

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by Peanut_EOD

How did you safety wire the rear caliper bolts? Got any pics? I took your advise and bought the Hotbodies 2 for 1. Great deal!

oh yeah... here:

[Peanut_EOD]

Thanks Steve, that looks about like what I did.

[Daeldren]

I'm waiting on a lighter weight spring for the gsxr shock, i ordered it about a week ago. I may need to go to racetech suspension if this company keeps me waiting.


As far as removing the stock spring on the gsxr shock you just need to loosen the pre load rings all the way and slip the split washer things from the very bottom of the shock. The stock spring and bushing will just slide off.

[randomwalk101]

after installing and using the 08 ninja 250 with GSRX shock for awhile, I feel like the shock is too hard for the 250. Everytime I hit a bump, the front end absorbs fine but the rear is too hard. I feel it right in my seat as the rear bounces over the bump. Am I alone on this?

[Cuongism]

What are your settings at, especially the spring preload. I haven't done too much research yet, but I think the stock spring is ideal for someone 200lb? You might have to get a spring meant for someone less than 180 if you're light. Mine feels hard right now as well, but I haven't had a chance to play much with it yet.

[randomwalk101]

Drove my 600rr with ohlins, it absorbs the bumps. This 250 with gsxr shock I feel like the rear make me bounce over bumps.
I'm at 170lbs. Jap bikes normally are make for 120lbs guys on avg. Where you get the 200 lbs figure?
Preload set at 35mm front and rear. Front is perfect. Rear is really rough (hard).

[Cuongism]

Wow, 35 mm is on the soft side too. I got the 200 lb figure from the gixxer forum so take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228772

[kkim]

Originally Posted by randomwalk101

after installing and using the 08 ninja 250 with GSRX shock for awhile, I feel like the shock is too hard for the 250. Everytime I hit a bump, the front end absorbs fine but the rear is too hard. I feel it right in my seat as the rear bounces over the bump.

is the shock adjustable?? compression and/or rebound?

[Cuongism]

Originally Posted by kkim

is the shock adjustable?? compression and/or rebound?

Yes, it should have spring preload, compression damping and rebound damping. I've started at full and am slowly clicking down...

[kkim]

considering the GSXR is a heavier bike, I would start at mid range on both the rebound and compression adjusters and move one click at a time, doing only the rebound until you get where you want, then work on the compression in the same way. one will affect the other in how the bike reacts, so you might need to touch up the settings once you are close.

race sag (rider aboard) should be set to 30% of the total travel of the rear suspension travel. do this first.

I'm not a believer of using shocks from other bikes as a cheap substitute, if bike specific shocks are available. You really need to get lucky to find one that will mimic a properly valved shock for a specific bike.

[randomwalk101]

Originally Posted by kkim

considering the GSXR is a heavier bike, I would start at mid range on both the rebound and compression adjusters and move one click at a time, doing only the rebound until you get where you want, then work on the compression in the same way. one will affect the other in how the bike reacts, so you might need to touch up the settings once you are close.

race sag (rider aboard) should be set to 30% of the total travel of the rear suspension travel. do this first.

I'm not a believer of using shocks from other bikes as a cheap substitute, if bike specific shocks are available. You really need to get lucky to find one that will mimic a properly valved shock for a specific bike.

Thanks Kelly.

GSXR def heavier although it's weird that racetech website said both spring rate are the same (well within 0.1 kg/mm diff).
There are rebound/compression adjustment unlike ours. I believe there are 4 turns from min to max (no click). I believe it was set in the middle..I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

[kkim]

the spring rate is just one part of the equation. the linkage ratio is most likely different than what is used on the 250 ninja, allowing for a softer spring to compensate for the heavier bike.

even then, you have no idea how the internal valving is setup and if it will work on a lighter bike. I'm sure you'll get it to work, but is it really "better" than the stock shock at that point? The only real test is if your lap times improve.

Experimenting with the new shock settings is the only way to find out. Good luck... suspension tuning takes almost as much time to perfect as carb jetting.

[sowega]

My racebike is almost complete. Is there a way to increase the rear ride height without a new Ohlins/Elka/Penske/etc?

[kkim]

Originally Posted by sowega

My racebike is almost complete. Is there a way to increase the rear ride height without a new Ohlins/Elka/Penske/etc?

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36055

[sowega]

Sweet, thanks!