Of course!
Hawt Motorcycle Talk
- Thread starter 1to392831weretaken
- Start date
Of course!
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Now I get why you sent me the ignition pic! I didn't notice the red and thought, "That's a strange angle..."
Looking forward to the Ninja 400 saga. Few questions/comments:
1.) Keyless start and gas cap just for the cool factor? I've never bothered to do that to a bike before, as it never seemed worth the time/money. Interestingly, my first track bike came from Michigan, where it held the #1 plate in whatever club racing org they have out there: Regular ol' key for the ignition and gas cap. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing!
2.) I'm a weirdo who actually doesn't mind ABS on track. I'm guessing the Ninja's isn't as good as sport bike cornering ABS, but I've never found it limiting, and I actually like the linked aspect, as I never touch the rear brake on my own. Having the system feather the rear brake steadies the bike a lot more on entry, and I'd rather just carry a few extra pounds than learn how to use the damned thing...
3.) What do you mean by new throttle system? Like a Domino or MotionPro with exchangeable cams to speed up the throttle ratio? If that's the case, you might be able to get away with a $10 stock throttle tube from a different bike with a faster ratio. Seems a stock R6 throttle can get just about any other bike to a 1/6 turn. (Edit: Yup, I was right.) Pro tip for grip removal: Fine tipped air nozzle poked under the lip of the grip, blast compressed air between grip and bar or throttle tube, pull grip. Pro tip for grip installation: Aquanet hair spray. It's a lubricant when wet and a glue when dry.
4.) Lacomoto bodywork is great stuff. The black gelcoat looks fine without paint, they tend to fit pretty well right out of the box, and I seem to remember them even coming with dzus fasteners already mounted. That being said, plan on having to make at least a couple of improvisations for when mounting holes don't line up perfectly. I recommend having a step drill handy. Also, I've only tested their crashworthiness once, but it was a total loss. They're lighter and more flexible than any other bodywork I've used, which I thought might be a good thing, as they'd perhaps give a little instead of shattering. Nope. Shattered into a million pieces.
5.) Does the Panigale force the break-in period on you like BMWs do, lowering the redline until a certain number of miles are met? That would drive me crazy. I'm a hard break-in believer.
I totally forgot this thread existed...
I want to go keyless on the Ninja 400 for the convenience. The cool factor thing wasn't a consideration.
As for the throttle, I was thinking about installing the Norton race spec quick-turn throttle. A buddy did this with his Ninja 400 track bike and recommended it. Plus, it would go with the Norton keyless start system. As for the grip removal, I've seen the compressed air trick.
As for the Lacomoto fairings, they are indeed nice. But, I'm thinking about installing 3M style vinyl on it with the carbon fiber pattern on it. I have been thinking about some kind of paint scheme, but can't decide. Plus, I really don't want to deal with painting them myself or paying someone else to do it.
I look at the Ninja 400 as a fun project. Sure, I'll take it to the track, but I just want to have fun modifying it.
Ducati does not limit your RPMs during the break-in period. They expect you to keep things below 10000 RPM until you get to 650 miles and the oil change.
As for the throttle, I was thinking about installing the Norton race spec quick-turn throttle. A buddy did this with his Ninja 400 track bike and recommended it. Plus, it would go with the Norton keyless start system. As for the grip removal, I've seen the compressed air trick.
As for the Lacomoto fairings, they are indeed nice. But, I'm thinking about installing 3M style vinyl on it with the carbon fiber pattern on it. I have been thinking about some kind of paint scheme, but can't decide. Plus, I really don't want to deal with painting them myself or paying someone else to do it.
I look at the Ninja 400 as a fun project. Sure, I'll take it to the track, but I just want to have fun modifying it.
Ducati does not limit your RPMs during the break-in period. They expect you to keep things below 10000 RPM until you get to 650 miles and the oil change.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Wanna cyber?
This sucks, because I have some more thoughts on that Ninja build, but I have chores to do, so it'll have to wait until I get to work. In the meantime, they're going to look at me weird at the dump when I hop out of my truck with a motoboner...
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Alright, finally have a break at work. First off, if we're bashing "cool factor," I'm out. Didn't mean that in a disparaging way at all, rather pointing out that every extra billet part that's added to a bike is, indeed, cool in a way that I fully support.
That being said, there's a hierarchy of needs when it comes to building the ultimate track weapon. Your recent baller level board donation and expanding sweet Ducati collection suggests to me that there's a lot of whynotboth.gif choices to be made here, but the list of bike upgrades in order of how beneficial it is goes (as far as getting a N400 onto the track):
1.) Tires: ~$400.
2.) Suspension: ~$1500 or cheaper if you're willing to fuck around with emulators.
3.) Brakes:
---Stage 1: $100 for pads, $130 for lines. I like Spiegler's rotating fittings.
---Stage 2: $300 for 6mm rotor
---Stage 3: $290 for Brembo RCS master.
---No mater what, you'll need a $240 ABS delete plug if you want to fully remove the ABS module and still have the speedo work.
4.) Ergonomics: $700 for Woodcraft rearsets and clip-ons. Can also add levers and throttle tube* to taste.
5.) Bodywork and protection: You already have bodywork. Call it ~$500 for case covers and frame sliders.
6.) Mandatory convenience: Swingarm spools and front and rear stands for tire/brake maintenance.
7.) Grip pads.
8.) It's debatable, but you might put lightweight forged wheels here. At somewhere around $3000, price is high, but there's benefits for both acceleration and handling. Only reason I hesitate is that I imagine these bikes already have a fairly light wheel and the cost might make for lower bang-for-buck than things below. If you just have a shitload of money to spend on the most fun track bike possible... Let's just say wheels either go right here on the list or not at all depending on budget.
After all[/i] that is done comes performance mods...
9.) FTECU bike side tuning harness: $380 gets you the interface and a license to hook up your laptop and go nuts. Mostly, having this allows you to add on other things like a quickshifter, exhaust, race air filter, etc. And it's cheaper than a PCV anyway.
10.) Quickshifter: $240 from FTECU. I'd take a quickshifter over moar power any day.
11.) Exhaust and air filter: You can't do this until you have a way to tune afterward, hence down the list. Saves over 7 pounds and you get a >10% power bump, so not bad. I like Hindle exhausts even though they're MIG welded (and ugly MIG welds at that...) because they're great power and sound per dollar and you can get a replacement extremely quickly if needed.
Things that are cool but not necessary...
12.) Cool paint job or vinyl***
13.) Billet bling like gas caps, chain adjusters, brake lever covers, etc. Ignition key delete**.
...
65.) Glue-on winglets.
...
10459.) Helmet mohawk.
Anyway, everything costs money, everyone has a budget (especially for a "cheap" track bike that's going to be ridden sparingly and expensively), so, having built (and occasionally rebuilt) four track bikes at this point, this is exactly the order of operations I would go after if I had a Ninja 400 and wanted to have the most fun at the track.
That being said, there's a hierarchy of needs when it comes to building the ultimate track weapon. Your recent baller level board donation and expanding sweet Ducati collection suggests to me that there's a lot of whynotboth.gif choices to be made here, but the list of bike upgrades in order of how beneficial it is goes (as far as getting a N400 onto the track):
1.) Tires: ~$400.
2.) Suspension: ~$1500 or cheaper if you're willing to fuck around with emulators.
3.) Brakes:
---Stage 1: $100 for pads, $130 for lines. I like Spiegler's rotating fittings.
---Stage 2: $300 for 6mm rotor
---Stage 3: $290 for Brembo RCS master.
---No mater what, you'll need a $240 ABS delete plug if you want to fully remove the ABS module and still have the speedo work.
4.) Ergonomics: $700 for Woodcraft rearsets and clip-ons. Can also add levers and throttle tube* to taste.
5.) Bodywork and protection: You already have bodywork. Call it ~$500 for case covers and frame sliders.
6.) Mandatory convenience: Swingarm spools and front and rear stands for tire/brake maintenance.
7.) Grip pads.
8.) It's debatable, but you might put lightweight forged wheels here. At somewhere around $3000, price is high, but there's benefits for both acceleration and handling. Only reason I hesitate is that I imagine these bikes already have a fairly light wheel and the cost might make for lower bang-for-buck than things below. If you just have a shitload of money to spend on the most fun track bike possible... Let's just say wheels either go right here on the list or not at all depending on budget.
After all[/i] that is done comes performance mods...
9.) FTECU bike side tuning harness: $380 gets you the interface and a license to hook up your laptop and go nuts. Mostly, having this allows you to add on other things like a quickshifter, exhaust, race air filter, etc. And it's cheaper than a PCV anyway.
10.) Quickshifter: $240 from FTECU. I'd take a quickshifter over moar power any day.
11.) Exhaust and air filter: You can't do this until you have a way to tune afterward, hence down the list. Saves over 7 pounds and you get a >10% power bump, so not bad. I like Hindle exhausts even though they're MIG welded (and ugly MIG welds at that...) because they're great power and sound per dollar and you can get a replacement extremely quickly if needed.
Things that are cool but not necessary...
12.) Cool paint job or vinyl***
13.) Billet bling like gas caps, chain adjusters, brake lever covers, etc. Ignition key delete**.
...
65.) Glue-on winglets.
...
10459.) Helmet mohawk.
Anyway, everything costs money, everyone has a budget (especially for a "cheap" track bike that's going to be ridden sparingly and expensively), so, having built (and occasionally rebuilt) four track bikes at this point, this is exactly the order of operations I would go after if I had a Ninja 400 and wanted to have the most fun at the track.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
I loaded that post with asterisks but wanted to separate out the csb tim. So...
*I mention throttle tube again not because I'm trying to be argumentative or disagree with your friend with the N400 track bike, but just in case it's something that you haven't considered. And to be transparent, I'm pointing this out as somebody who has damaged wrist ligaments (ykw) and spent $130 on a MotionPro Revolver II throttle kit that's still pointlessly there on my bike. So been there, done that. The Norton kit you mentioned looks really nice, and if you've got the money, why not? There are other ways to tackle throttle throw problems, though, and you might prefer one of them. If your goal is to simply shorten the throttle throw, a '03-'05 R6 throttle tube will do everything the Norton kit will do for only $5. Also, even though aluminum is a much "nicer" material for a throttle tube, nylon is a natural bearing material and should slide against an aluminum bar more smoothly than aluminum on aluminum, particularly if any grit gets in there. For me, I went with replaceable throttle cams because I needed a progressive cam for both a shorter overall throw and finer control at small throttle openings (uncorked engine is basically uncontrollable below 3rd gear). If this is also what you need, Norton/Domino/MotionPro/etc. is your only option. I have RBW, so I can just map the throttle with FTECU, so it ended up being a waste.
**It's definitely a convenience to never need the bike's key again, and there's a bit of weight savings up high by removing the tumbler. I've never had an unlimited budget, so it's always been too far down the list to do, and I haven't minded. Probably the biggest benefit from removing the key from the equation is that the key ALWAYS bends flat against the top triple in a crash. The bike could buck you off, ghostride down the runoff, and somehow miraculously wedge itself upright between a couple of hay bales, taking zero damage in the process, and you'd walk up to your otherwise mint condition bike to find the key bent over 90 degrees...
***Making a track bike look cool is a lot of fun. It's easy, too, because every bike looks better with the street shit removed. The only downside is how shitty it is if you ever lay it down. My kids were still pretty young when I put my bike together, and I was in the mood to do something different and cool, so I shot every piece in black and handed one side fairing to my daughter, the other to my son, and the tail to my wife. Then I gave them several tubes of acrylic paint and some brushes (and my daughter insisted on glitter), told them to go nuts, and left for work. The next day, I shot clear over everything. When a 3-year old paints part of your bike, it's definitely going to be unique. And when your wife paints your bike without supervision, you ride around like this for three fucking years...
She's a dick.
Anyway, long wait on the grid, tires got cold, went too hard through T3, and the bike just disappeared from underneath me. I'm sliding down the asphalt, and all I can think is, "MY KIDS' PAINT JOB!!!" (Then I left the asphalt, caught the grass and started violently tumbling for over 100 feet, and stopped thinking about the paint job because I was too busy thinking, "FUCK! FUCK! OW! FUCK! OW!"...)
With the replacement fairings, I decided the black gelcoat would be just fine.
*I mention throttle tube again not because I'm trying to be argumentative or disagree with your friend with the N400 track bike, but just in case it's something that you haven't considered. And to be transparent, I'm pointing this out as somebody who has damaged wrist ligaments (ykw) and spent $130 on a MotionPro Revolver II throttle kit that's still pointlessly there on my bike. So been there, done that. The Norton kit you mentioned looks really nice, and if you've got the money, why not? There are other ways to tackle throttle throw problems, though, and you might prefer one of them. If your goal is to simply shorten the throttle throw, a '03-'05 R6 throttle tube will do everything the Norton kit will do for only $5. Also, even though aluminum is a much "nicer" material for a throttle tube, nylon is a natural bearing material and should slide against an aluminum bar more smoothly than aluminum on aluminum, particularly if any grit gets in there. For me, I went with replaceable throttle cams because I needed a progressive cam for both a shorter overall throw and finer control at small throttle openings (uncorked engine is basically uncontrollable below 3rd gear). If this is also what you need, Norton/Domino/MotionPro/etc. is your only option. I have RBW, so I can just map the throttle with FTECU, so it ended up being a waste.
**It's definitely a convenience to never need the bike's key again, and there's a bit of weight savings up high by removing the tumbler. I've never had an unlimited budget, so it's always been too far down the list to do, and I haven't minded. Probably the biggest benefit from removing the key from the equation is that the key ALWAYS bends flat against the top triple in a crash. The bike could buck you off, ghostride down the runoff, and somehow miraculously wedge itself upright between a couple of hay bales, taking zero damage in the process, and you'd walk up to your otherwise mint condition bike to find the key bent over 90 degrees...
***Making a track bike look cool is a lot of fun. It's easy, too, because every bike looks better with the street shit removed. The only downside is how shitty it is if you ever lay it down. My kids were still pretty young when I put my bike together, and I was in the mood to do something different and cool, so I shot every piece in black and handed one side fairing to my daughter, the other to my son, and the tail to my wife. Then I gave them several tubes of acrylic paint and some brushes (and my daughter insisted on glitter), told them to go nuts, and left for work. The next day, I shot clear over everything. When a 3-year old paints part of your bike, it's definitely going to be unique. And when your wife paints your bike without supervision, you ride around like this for three fucking years...
She's a dick.
Anyway, long wait on the grid, tires got cold, went too hard through T3, and the bike just disappeared from underneath me. I'm sliding down the asphalt, and all I can think is, "MY KIDS' PAINT JOB!!!" (Then I left the asphalt, caught the grass and started violently tumbling for over 100 feet, and stopped thinking about the paint job because I was too busy thinking, "FUCK! FUCK! OW! FUCK! OW!"...)
With the replacement fairings, I decided the black gelcoat would be just fine.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
My coworkers are all sleeping, so I guess I have time for a tripleshitpoast to cover two more tidbits that might be of interest:
1.) Not sure if you went to the Superbike races in June, but one of the better races was the Junior Cup race on Sunday. Kayla Yaakov won the race on a Ninja 400, making her the second woman ever to win a professional road race in the United States. What blew me away was that she did so with a best lap time of 1:53.6, which is two seconds faster than I've ever gone around that track and using less than one-fourth of the horsepower (never mind the disparity in chassis and electronics). To add insult to injury, I see them interviewing her afterward on the big video screen, and I say to me kids, "Holy shit, she has to be maybe 14 years old!" Turns out that's exactly how old she is. So, yeah, I'm a pussy, whatever. Point is, it's entirely possible to make a great bike out of a Ninja 400. Hell, the one she was riding even had to conform to series rules. After seeing that, I started really wanting one. I'd probably be able to ride one for more than seven laps without collapsing from exhaustion! I bet you're going to have a ton of fun on that thing once it's finished.
2.) Panigale break-in. A long time ago, I stumbled upon an article online that really made me think about my break-in process. I've built several engines (mostly dirt bike singles, but not always), and I completely changed the way I was breaking them in after reading this. I know it looks like a Geocities page that's so old none of the picture links work, and I guess that's probably because that's actually what it is. But the information checks out and jives with what I learned when I was studying these things in college.
Anyway, with dirt bikes, I start the bike up for the first time with cheap, shitty mineral oil in it, let it get warm, then run it down the street and back really hard, doing several sustained WOT pulls through all six gears. Come back, dump oil, put in expensive synthetic, bike is ready to go. With my track bike, it was the same thing. Bought new with zero miles, took it straight to the track and went full send in the morning session. A track session is a perfect hard break-in. Dumped the oil and filter between sessions, replaced with new, and I've had seven trouble-free years since. The bike made more power on the dyno than a guy there the same day with a full Graves system.
I would be seriously pissed to buy a bike and have it nanny me until 600 miles or some such nonsense. I'd have that ECU flashed before the first mile ticked off...
1.) Not sure if you went to the Superbike races in June, but one of the better races was the Junior Cup race on Sunday. Kayla Yaakov won the race on a Ninja 400, making her the second woman ever to win a professional road race in the United States. What blew me away was that she did so with a best lap time of 1:53.6, which is two seconds faster than I've ever gone around that track and using less than one-fourth of the horsepower (never mind the disparity in chassis and electronics). To add insult to injury, I see them interviewing her afterward on the big video screen, and I say to me kids, "Holy shit, she has to be maybe 14 years old!" Turns out that's exactly how old she is. So, yeah, I'm a pussy, whatever. Point is, it's entirely possible to make a great bike out of a Ninja 400. Hell, the one she was riding even had to conform to series rules. After seeing that, I started really wanting one. I'd probably be able to ride one for more than seven laps without collapsing from exhaustion! I bet you're going to have a ton of fun on that thing once it's finished.
2.) Panigale break-in. A long time ago, I stumbled upon an article online that really made me think about my break-in process. I've built several engines (mostly dirt bike singles, but not always), and I completely changed the way I was breaking them in after reading this. I know it looks like a Geocities page that's so old none of the picture links work, and I guess that's probably because that's actually what it is. But the information checks out and jives with what I learned when I was studying these things in college.
Anyway, with dirt bikes, I start the bike up for the first time with cheap, shitty mineral oil in it, let it get warm, then run it down the street and back really hard, doing several sustained WOT pulls through all six gears. Come back, dump oil, put in expensive synthetic, bike is ready to go. With my track bike, it was the same thing. Bought new with zero miles, took it straight to the track and went full send in the morning session. A track session is a perfect hard break-in. Dumped the oil and filter between sessions, replaced with new, and I've had seven trouble-free years since. The bike made more power on the dyno than a guy there the same day with a full Graves system.
I would be seriously pissed to buy a bike and have it nanny me until 600 miles or some such nonsense. I'd have that ECU flashed before the first mile ticked off...
Hey dude,
Thanks for all the recommendations. Yes, I know I just spent $18K ($21K+ out the door) on the Panigale and donated $1000 to HCH. But, that doesn't mean I want to sink a lot of funds into this Ninja 400. I just want it to be a decent & fun track bike for me to learn on and become better skilled.
I'm not trying to set lap records or anything. If I can improve my corner speed & body position (put down a knee), then mission accomplished. Yes, I'll work on improving beyond that, but I don't aspire to race, etc. Too old for that, even though I'm in good physical shape... 52 is not a good age to start doing that shit.
Not sure if I want to install Brembo brakes for example. Tires are definitely very important and maybe better suspension than the stock Kawasaki stuff.
I'll start working on this bike in a couple of months. Will be referring back to your posts for sure.
BTW, nice picture. And you deserve that slogan from your wife for letting her paint the tail fairing.
Thanks for all the recommendations. Yes, I know I just spent $18K ($21K+ out the door) on the Panigale and donated $1000 to HCH. But, that doesn't mean I want to sink a lot of funds into this Ninja 400. I just want it to be a decent & fun track bike for me to learn on and become better skilled.
I'm not trying to set lap records or anything. If I can improve my corner speed & body position (put down a knee), then mission accomplished. Yes, I'll work on improving beyond that, but I don't aspire to race, etc. Too old for that, even though I'm in good physical shape... 52 is not a good age to start doing that shit.
Not sure if I want to install Brembo brakes for example. Tires are definitely very important and maybe better suspension than the stock Kawasaki stuff.
I'll start working on this bike in a couple of months. Will be referring back to your posts for sure.
BTW, nice picture. And you deserve that slogan from your wife for letting her paint the tail fairing.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Hey dude,
Thanks for all the recommendations. Yes, I know I just spent $18K ($21K+ out the door) on the Panigale and donated $1000 to HCH. But, that doesn't mean I want to sink a lot of funds into this Ninja 400. I just want it to be a decent & fun track bike for me to learn on and become better skilled.[/b]
I'm not trying to set lap records or anything. If I can improve my corner speed & body position (put down a knee), then mission accomplished. Yes, I'll work on improving beyond that, but I don't aspire to race, etc. Too old for that, even though I'm in good physical shape... 52 is not a good age to start doing that shit.[/b]
Not sure if I want to install Brembo brakes for example. Tires are definitely very important and maybe better suspension than the stock Kawasaki stuff.
I'll start working on this bike in a couple of months. Will be referring back to your posts for sure.
BTW, nice picture. And you deserve that slogan from your wife for letting her paint the tail fairing.[/b]
I'm like Oprah for chins in this thread--"YOU get a chin! YOU get a chin! EVERYOOOOONE gets a CHIIIIIN!" There are exactly zero people in my life who don't immediately roll their eyes and start mentally going over their grocery list the second I start talking motorcycles, so I hope I'm not pressing here...
Anyway, to the second bolded point, you couldn't have chosen a better bike to get started at the track. You're doing things the smart way, starting off "cheap" and small-displacement, and you'll learn a ton because of it. Riding a bike like that makes you fast and safe in a lot less time. Also, the old saying that it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow is 100% true. I have about $25K sunk into my bike at this point, and it's a monster, but I have the biggest smile on my face when I'm out on the backyard track on my KLX110. Lastly, if you're a fit 52, you're probably better off than me (unfit and injury-riddled 42), and the liter bike is just too much. It beats the shit out of me and tires me out so quickly. For a couple of years now, I've been wondering if I'm approaching a crossroads at which I need to decide whether to hang it up altogether or move onto something that's a better fit for my age/state-of-decay like a small displacement sport bike or a Streetfighter/SDR/etc. I have a lot invested and am still having a ton of fun, so not quite yet.
To the first bolded point, that's why I've been (probably annoyingly) harping on some of the parts you've suggested you want to throw at it. With a finite budget, you'll never regret passing on "cool" things so that you can afford more things that make the bike actually more fun to ride out on track. I mention the throttle and keyless because they happen to be the few parts you mentioned, but they're a good example: The good thing about a Ninja 400 is it is naturally light and agile, being a small displacement budget bike. The bad thing is that the suspension and brakes are shit, being a small displacement budget bike. Even if your goal is just to learn and have fun and you're not trying to set lap records, that suspension and those brakes will get in your way. They'll also (slightly) increase tire wear and odds of an expensive crash. When the bike is parked in the pit between sessions and you need to top off the fuel, you're going to love that keyless cap for about five seconds. When it's time to start the bike, you're going to love that keyless start for about five seconds. When you easily and quickly twist the throttle to the stop while charging out of 12, you won't care at all whether there's a $5 R6 tube or a $130 Norton tube hidden under the grip (and you won't have had to spend a couple of hours removing tank and airbox to replace the cable). In the meantime, if you spend the $350 you would have spent on those three things on brake pads, stainless lines, tank grip pads, and all-day suspension setup and tuning at the track (best $60 you can spend), you will be REALLY glad you did roughly 15 times per lap. If you're out of the ~30 lb. Goldilocks zone weight for the stock suspension, you'd NEVER regret reallocating that $350 toward the suspension budget, even when you're starting the bike with a boring ol' key.
When you get started building, hit me up if you want. If I have a day off, I'd be down to come help out. Hell, you could even trailer it up and throw it on the lift, and we could knock out most if not all of those mods in a day.
As to the last bolded point... I know it doesn't play well on this forum, but I actually really like my wife, and I mostly just thought her little prank was funny. I kind of owed it to her, anyway, after how the purchase of that bike went down. My shop burnt down with my old track bike inside, and, after the firefighters finished putting it out and I had a little chat with the fire marshal, I stood in the driveway in front of the smoldering remains and first made a call to my insurance agent and then made a call to the local dealer to buy the R1 (had a track day coming just a couple weeks later, after all...). Picked it up on the way to work that afternoon without first discussing with the wife. She was NOT amused... So, yeah, I let her get away with her little joke.
Because it's something you don't see every day, my last track bike was in here (along with four other motorcycles of various kinds):
Hey dude,
Thanks for all the recommendations. Yes, I know I just spent $18K ($21K+ out the door) on the Panigale and donated $1000 to HCH. But, that doesn't mean I want to sink a lot of funds into this Ninja 400. I just want it to be a decent & fun track bike for me to learn on and become better skilled.[/b]
I'm not trying to set lap records or anything. If I can improve my corner speed & body position (put down a knee), then mission accomplished. Yes, I'll work on improving beyond that, but I don't aspire to race, etc. Too old for that, even though I'm in good physical shape... 52 is not a good age to start doing that shit.[/b]
Not sure if I want to install Brembo brakes for example. Tires are definitely very important and maybe better suspension than the stock Kawasaki stuff.
I'll start working on this bike in a couple of months. Will be referring back to your posts for sure.
BTW, nice picture. And you deserve that slogan from your wife for letting her paint the tail fairing.[/b]
I'm like Oprah for chins in this thread--"YOU get a chin! YOU get a chin! EVERYOOOOONE gets a CHIIIIIN!" There are exactly zero people in my life who don't immediately roll their eyes and start mentally going over their grocery list the second I start talking motorcycles, so I hope I'm not pressing here...
Anyway, to the second bolded point, you couldn't have chosen a better bike to get started at the track. You're doing things the smart way, starting off "cheap" and small-displacement, and you'll learn a ton because of it. Riding a bike like that makes you fast and safe in a lot less time. Also, the old saying that it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow is 100% true. I have about $25K sunk into my bike at this point, and it's a monster, but I have the biggest smile on my face when I'm out on the backyard track on my KLX110. Lastly, if you're a fit 52, you're probably better off than me (unfit and injury-riddled 42), and the liter bike is just too much. It beats the shit out of me and tires me out so quickly. For a couple of years now, I've been wondering if I'm approaching a crossroads at which I need to decide whether to hang it up altogether or move onto something that's a better fit for my age/state-of-decay like a small displacement sport bike or a Streetfighter/SDR/etc. I have a lot invested and am still having a ton of fun, so not quite yet.
To the first bolded point, that's why I've been (probably annoyingly) harping on some of the parts you've suggested you want to throw at it. With a finite budget, you'll never regret passing on "cool" things so that you can afford more things that make the bike actually more fun to ride out on track. I mention the throttle and keyless because they happen to be the few parts you mentioned, but they're a good example: The good thing about a Ninja 400 is it is naturally light and agile, being a small displacement budget bike. The bad thing is that the suspension and brakes are shit, being a small displacement budget bike. Even if your goal is just to learn and have fun and you're not trying to set lap records, that suspension and those brakes will get in your way. They'll also (slightly) increase tire wear and odds of an expensive crash. When the bike is parked in the pit between sessions and you need to top off the fuel, you're going to love that keyless cap for about five seconds. When it's time to start the bike, you're going to love that keyless start for about five seconds. When you easily and quickly twist the throttle to the stop while charging out of 12, you won't care at all whether there's a $5 R6 tube or a $130 Norton tube hidden under the grip (and you won't have had to spend a couple of hours removing tank and airbox to replace the cable). In the meantime, if you spend the $350 you would have spent on those three things on brake pads, stainless lines, tank grip pads, and all-day suspension setup and tuning at the track (best $60 you can spend), you will be REALLY glad you did roughly 15 times per lap. If you're out of the ~30 lb. Goldilocks zone weight for the stock suspension, you'd NEVER regret reallocating that $350 toward the suspension budget, even when you're starting the bike with a boring ol' key.
When you get started building, hit me up if you want. If I have a day off, I'd be down to come help out. Hell, you could even trailer it up and throw it on the lift, and we could knock out most if not all of those mods in a day.
As to the last bolded point... I know it doesn't play well on this forum, but I actually really like my wife, and I mostly just thought her little prank was funny. I kind of owed it to her, anyway, after how the purchase of that bike went down. My shop burnt down with my old track bike inside, and, after the firefighters finished putting it out and I had a little chat with the fire marshal, I stood in the driveway in front of the smoldering remains and first made a call to my insurance agent and then made a call to the local dealer to buy the R1 (had a track day coming just a couple weeks later, after all...). Picked it up on the way to work that afternoon without first discussing with the wife. She was NOT amused... So, yeah, I let her get away with her little joke.
Because it's something you don't see every day, my last track bike was in here (along with four other motorcycles of various kinds):
View attachment 51021
If my garage burned down and took out the 85 Jeep Scrambler and the 911 I'd kill everything. Mostly for the 85 Scrambler. 911s are easily replaceable. Your Dad's prized Jeep you spent countless hours doing trails with him on is not replaceable for any amount of money. I'd fucking lose my shit. I hope you didn't have any heirloom grade stuff in the fire. That's awful.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Having your house/shop/dildo collection burn down is a surreal experience, for sure. Nobody expects it to happen to them. At least it wasn't on my[/i] radar. In my case, it was my shop, about 20 feet away from the house. Which is a bummer, as I'd have much rather had the house burn down... If you haven't experienced a big fire and the aftermath (dealing with insurance and investigators and rebuilding), I found it to be really fascinating, and my fire in particular had a lot of funny elements (my wife's response to discovering the fire definitely had Yakety Sax playing as the backing track). Not gonna tell that story here, though, because it's longer than three sentences and that sort of thing doesn't fly... (@swaye, I believe I passed you a link to where you can read all about it if you want when were were talking Porsches.)
Luckily, there's not much about my childhood to be sentimental about, and I'm a way more practical than sentimental person anyway, so nothing in the fire was irreplaceable. In fact, the fire gave me the motivation and opportunity to replace a decade and a half of random tools and toys collected over my adult life--from cheap, shitty tools that were all I could afford in college on up--with a more cohesive collection of tools and things that I'd buy now as a decently-paid adult. It also gave me the motivation and a little seed money to finally get off my ass and rebuild that shop into something much bigger and better, which I'd already planned on doing but things kept getting in the way. It was a five-year process...
Closest to a sentimental loss was a 1980 Yamaha MX80 that I found in a shipping container on my FIL's property while my wife and I were still dating. I drug it home, removed the rodent's nest from the airbox, replaced the carburetor, threw a new piston in it, cleaned out the tank, and it became my yard bike. It was my brother-in-law's bike when he was a kid, and it became the bike I'd ride my kids around on. It was the only thing I was really bummed about losing at first, but I replaced it shortly after the fire with a new KLX110, rode it one time, and changed my tune to, "Fuck that old Yamaha; this is WAY better!"
So, yeah, no killing spree from me. Ended up being a pretty positive event overall, and, getting back to the thread, allowed me to build yet another track bike, the experience gained from which I can pass on to @PurpleBaze!
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MikeDamone
Active poster
They Balla Twins had their place burn down a couple of times. I think each time they turned it into a go fund me grift.
MikeDamone
Active poster
I fancy myself as more of a motocross guy.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
That's funny. My YZ250FX is currently for sale, as I'm hanging it up in the dirt. Never been as good at it, so it's always turned into mostly me bench pressing my bike off of myself in the mountains. I've only ridden MX three times, and it's super fun but insanely tiring. No way am I fit enough for that at this point!
MikeDamone
Active poster
The 250 dream race is today. Look it up
I went for a ride this afternoon and decided to swing by Ducati Redmond just to say hi. Turned out they had the remaining parts I'd been waiting for - Bar-end adapters for CRG Arrow mirrors, Futurismoto mirror block-off turn signals, and a pair of spacers for getting rid of the front tire reflectors.
Here's a before picture.
Here's what the bike looks like now.
Futurismoto tail tidy:
I don't have a big enough torx attachment for my ratchet to get the factory bar-ends off. So, the bar-end mirrors will have to wait until I go to the hardware store and get the appropriate torx.
This is what the bar-end mirrors look like.
So, here is the list of mods to the bike:
1) Passenger footpegs removed.
2) Rear seat removed and replaced with a cowl.
3) Clutch and brake levers replaced with Bonamici folding levers.
4) Rear plastic fender / license plate holder removed and replaced with Futurismoto tail tidy.
5) Stock mirrors removed and replaced with Futurismoto block-off turn signals.
6) Bike wrapped in XPEL paint protection.
It's really tempting to not install the mirrors. The bike looks way better without them. BUT, I actually do like using rear-view mirrors. Call me crazy.
Here's a before picture.
Here's what the bike looks like now.
Futurismoto tail tidy:
I don't have a big enough torx attachment for my ratchet to get the factory bar-ends off. So, the bar-end mirrors will have to wait until I go to the hardware store and get the appropriate torx.
This is what the bar-end mirrors look like.
So, here is the list of mods to the bike:
1) Passenger footpegs removed.
2) Rear seat removed and replaced with a cowl.
3) Clutch and brake levers replaced with Bonamici folding levers.
4) Rear plastic fender / license plate holder removed and replaced with Futurismoto tail tidy.
5) Stock mirrors removed and replaced with Futurismoto block-off turn signals.
6) Bike wrapped in XPEL paint protection.
It's really tempting to not install the mirrors. The bike looks way better without them. BUT, I actually do like using rear-view mirrors. Call me crazy.
1to392831weretaken
New Fish
Nice work! As long as the bars don't vibrate too much, the bar-end mirrors give you a view of something other than your shoulder, too.
Already sexted you most of this, but in case anybody else is interested, my current project currently looks like this:
It's a Yamaha TT500 from the '70s, and a buddy of mine wants to build it into a flat tracker for the One Show in Portland. No way we'll make it for the upcoming show, but shouldn't have a problem with 2024. So far, the engine is rebuilt and a lot of parts are ordered and measurements taken, but still a lot to do. The major engineering problem is that this is a vintage metric bike that's going to have 19" HD Sportster front mag wheels both front and back (with different size tires). On top of that, we're converting to disc brake in the rear, and the front end is being swapped out for one from a 2015 Yamaha FZ-07 (that bike had a GSXR600 front end swapped onto it several years back).
Step one: Get modern metric brake discs spaced out properly from an old imperial rim:
Step two: New triple tree to clear the fatter tire and rotors:
Still virtual at this point, but should turn into metal soon, as I have a pile of 7075 burning a hole in my shop floor. The other advantage of this triple tree is that it is made to accept eccentric inserts to change the offset and rake angle. Apparently, you want to de-rake this bike up to 5 degrees for flat tracking, so -5 degree inserts are what I'll machine first:
After these parts are cut and the stem is turned, it's back to the rear end of the bike for sprocket, rotor, and wheel spacers. At that point, it'll be a roller, and he can take it back apart and get everything powder coated.
Already sexted you most of this, but in case anybody else is interested, my current project currently looks like this:
It's a Yamaha TT500 from the '70s, and a buddy of mine wants to build it into a flat tracker for the One Show in Portland. No way we'll make it for the upcoming show, but shouldn't have a problem with 2024. So far, the engine is rebuilt and a lot of parts are ordered and measurements taken, but still a lot to do. The major engineering problem is that this is a vintage metric bike that's going to have 19" HD Sportster front mag wheels both front and back (with different size tires). On top of that, we're converting to disc brake in the rear, and the front end is being swapped out for one from a 2015 Yamaha FZ-07 (that bike had a GSXR600 front end swapped onto it several years back).
Step one: Get modern metric brake discs spaced out properly from an old imperial rim:
Step two: New triple tree to clear the fatter tire and rotors:
Still virtual at this point, but should turn into metal soon, as I have a pile of 7075 burning a hole in my shop floor. The other advantage of this triple tree is that it is made to accept eccentric inserts to change the offset and rake angle. Apparently, you want to de-rake this bike up to 5 degrees for flat tracking, so -5 degree inserts are what I'll machine first:
After these parts are cut and the stem is turned, it's back to the rear end of the bike for sprocket, rotor, and wheel spacers. At that point, it'll be a roller, and he can take it back apart and get everything powder coated.
Damn, dude. That's incredible. I admire the talent, knowledge, and skill to pull all that off. Very impressive!
Nice work! As long as the bars don't vibrate too much, the bar-end mirrors give you a view of something other than your shoulder, too.
Already sexted you most of this, but in case anybody else is interested, my current project currently looks like this:
It's a Yamaha TT500 from the '70s, and a buddy of mine wants to build it into a flat tracker for the One Show in Portland. No way we'll make it for the upcoming show, but shouldn't have a problem with 2024. So far, the engine is rebuilt and a lot of parts are ordered and measurements taken, but still a lot to do. The major engineering problem is that this is a vintage metric bike that's going to have 19" HD Sportster front mag wheels both front and back (with different size tires). On top of that, we're converting to disc brake in the rear, and the front end is being swapped out for one from a 2015 Yamaha FZ-07 (that bike had a GSXR600 front end swapped onto it several years back).
Step one: Get modern metric brake discs spaced out properly from an old imperial rim:
Step two: New triple tree to clear the fatter tire and rotors:
Still virtual at this point, but should turn into metal soon, as I have a pile of 7075 burning a hole in my shop floor. The other advantage of this triple tree is that it is made to accept eccentric inserts to change the offset and rake angle. Apparently, you want to de-rake this bike up to 5 degrees for flat tracking, so -5 degree inserts are what I'll machine first:
After these parts are cut and the stem is turned, it's back to the rear end of the bike for sprocket, rotor, and wheel spacers. At that point, it'll be a roller, and he can take it back apart and get everything powder coated.
WC Choppers !