Bens 2014 Race Bike

[ChowderV4]

After a great first season which i experienced every up and down possible its time to get to work for next year. With 2014 on its way i plan to have a bike that fully prepped and ready for the season

So within 3 days of coming back from thruxton the bike looked like this


My plan is to strip the bike completely and go through every component making sure everything is working, replaced or upgraded and set up perfect for the start of the season.



So after a little while i was left with a pile of parts, first was to strip the carbs and note downs all the settings, i was happy to find all jets and pilot screws etc were all the same which is a good start! First on the list was a new shock as racing on the standard shock just isn't smart!



I decided to strip the frame and swinger to give a it a different look, plus it saves getting gravel rashed paint and making it look crap after a crash.
I've gone on a weight binge and chopped off any unnecessary lugs and mounts off the swingarm and subframe too.


After fighting crap brakes all season im glad i stripped the calipers as they were horrible! Also gave them a fresh coat of paint to make them look a bit fresher.



Once the engine was out i gave it a good degrease (not quite finished yet) and valve clearance which is all finished.
I need to make up some oil cooler blanking plates and get it sorted for total loss but thats being put aside as i hate electrics!!!



My lovely professional workshop


Picked up this bad boy for £30! gsxr750 shock with hyperpro spring very slight modding at it was a perfect fit, and i now have full adjust ability.



Also picked up some stick coils to upgrade and also sheds a little weight too




And here it is in its current state, a lot of work to do but at least it kinda looks like a bike now.

[cbr400rrn]

I like the wording/logo on the nosecone in your pic showing your workshop, gave me a chuckle

Those calipers look a hell of a lot better with a spot of paint as well.

What else have you got planned for it?

[ChowderV4]

haha yep that was my paintscheme for half the season :)

Next is ram air, strip the loom to total loss, make a custom rear brake/spacer to take small caliper and relocate it to the top of the swingarm.
New bodywork + paint.
QA throttle
possibly respray wheels
New clutch, oil, plugs etc
Chain and lots of sprockets

and im sure ive forgotten something.

[alexwitham]

Looking good Ben.

[Zippy]

Are you going to do any races in the Bemsee championship next year?

[ChowderV4]

If the funds allow it i'd like to do one, probably snett or brands gp, but it all depends on how saving goes as im committing to a full season with NG

[ChowderV4]

After reading StrayAliens race bike build i got inspired and started to mock up a template for a custom undertray/batterybox

Due to fitting the gsxr shock i had to cut out the brace that the battery box orginally sat on, but this will be rewelded on once everything is all measured up.

Heres my lovely cereal box template so far.

[ChowderV4]

got the ali sheet this afternoon, set about measuring and cutting it up, will take it to work tomorrow to finish all the bends and make a start on the battery box :)

[ChowderV4]

So i decided to get the engine back in the frame and fit the subframe, unfortunately the undertray is too flexible and there are clearance issues so i've had to revert back to the standard undertray.



Had a little more spare time so i decided to get the exhaust back to its former glory, some wet&dry and a lot of scrubbing got it from this.


to this :)



Got another set of supercorsa's ready for next season, get em while they are cheap i say!!


I just got a nice sized offcut of alcantara so im going to have a go at recovering my seat tomorrow, i'll post the end result when its done

heres the before shot anyway.



I've got a week off next week so hopefully will be getting a lot more done, oil cooler blanking plates, removing charging gear & system, caliper rebuild and much more

[ChowderV4]

Here is the after of the seat. Really pleased with the result, turned out much better than expected :)