Track Craft .....................................
Dean Ellison talks building trackbikes
Last issue we looked at the risks and rewards of buying a used, ready-built track machine. It is a bit of a lottery because quite often you’re buying on faith, and the hope that the bike you’re purchasing is what the seller claims it to be. That reality can be a different story, and a lot of people end up being burned by their new buy, with very little scope of going back to the seller and getting any help or compensation. With these factors in mind, you’ll probably grasp why my preferred route to go down is building my own bike. The downsides of this path include the build cost, the price of new parts and the time it will take you to put it together, but the bonus of knowing you own a bike that’s straight and has the spec you want is very rewarding. If you’re tempted to go down this path too, here are some points to consider…
Bike – Where possible, you should start with new or even exdemo from a dealer if you can. If not, you really want to search for pre-owned bike with low mileage that’s well maintained. If you don’t know exactly what bike you would like, then think about future repairs and general maintenance. Buying an exotic or obscure model could bite back in later years, especially when you need parts for the engine or any electrical components.
Exhaust – We all know how much a catalytic converter restricts engine performance; each year manufacturers have to meet increasingly stringent emission regulations and although your new bike will feel pretty fast on the road, there’s so much more to come, like a coiled spring waiting to burst free.
Depending on your available funds, this could be the single biggest spend if you buy a full replacement titanium exhaust system, so consider if you really need to squeeze that last few brake horsepower from the bike, or could you settle for a decat link pipe and silencer and spend the money you save on some other parts? Or invest in some seat time and book a few more No Limits trackdays? If I were only building a track bike, I’d be happy with the standard system and just remove the cat, but if you’re planning to ride on trackdays only, then buy a quiet silencer so you don’t limit the circuits you can ride in the UK – under 102db gets you on most.
Fuelling – This should be done as soon as you buy the bike
anyway, even if using on the road; having the correct air to fuel ratio makes the bike so much easier to ride and will improve your fuel consumption. But more importantly than improving your fuel consumption, the air to fuel ratio needs adjusting and fine-tuning after you change components such as the exhaust and air filter. If this was my project, I would get my bike completely built and then take it to a dyno centre for a tune on the rolling road, either a plug-in system such as the Dynojet Power Commander V or an ECU reflash – although if just going for a refuelling option, then I would always just opt for the Power Commander V because of Dynojet’s experience and technical support.
Suspension – This is another hefty investment and depending on your pace, you should probably only upgrade when you feel you need to. If you’re a racer, then definitely look at an aftermarket shock with a spring rate to match your bodyweight and some upgraded front fork internals to prevent overworking the standard damping. For trackday-only use, I think the original equipment is more than adequate. Get a base set-up from the trackday suspension support service and then upgrade as and when you need it; as your pace improves, you will eventually run out of adjustment and then you can introduce harder springs and upgraded damping kits, or even a replacement shock, fork internals and ultimately some replacement forks. If you’re not up to speed, you will find a race bike too hard, and that’s not good for your confidence. I’ve always had great service and support from K-Tech and Öhlins; they have the highest quality products, years of experience and someone at the other end of the phone for technical support.
Brakes – Unless you’re building a full specification superbike, you really only need to upgrade certain brake components and whatever your pace, you will get a better feel and more braking confidence if you disable and completely remove the bike’s ABS system. As a minimum, replace the standard brake lines for braided hoses and the standard pads for a race-quality pad such as the Brembo Z04, then flush through some really high temperature racing brake fluid to help prevent cooking your brakes when you start upping the pace.
If you want more braking power, then you could gradually add some more components, depending on your budget. Start with aftermarket discs and then an upgraded replacement master cylinder, which should finish off your build nicely. If you do want to upgrade everything, you can buy some great value brake systems from Hel in the UK or the ultimate, in my opinion, would be Brembo – but that’s going to cost you.
Wheels – Superstock specification bikes can run seriously fast lap times and often get within a second of a front-running superbike time, so all the bolt-on goodies don’t actually amount to as much time as you think. If you’re racing, you should really have a spare set of wheels, if not two, but consider these points when choosing what to buy.
Race wheels are stronger and lighter than original equipment wheels but, as expected, more expensive.
On the flip side, you might actually find that the OEM wheels are easier to sell on afterwards if needed; they hold their value because of the high number of superstock racers across various championships, and it’s probably thanks to the increasing popularity of trackdays in the UK, where having a spare set of wheels with wet tyres fitted is essential.
Race wheels and carbon fibre wheels do improve the handling of a bike. The bike will change direction quicker and obviously look so much better than your standard rims. You can also order race wheels in your preferred colour and the spacers are easily modified to suit aftermarket swingarms and front forks, so they give a wider range of use and can be kept for a few seasons and used on different machines.
Bodywork – If you have purchased a new bike for this project, then you must remove all the bodywork and replace it with an aftermarket race fairing.
Road bike kits eventually go up in value (not by much), but the older the bike gets, the more valuable the kit will become, so remove everything and wrap it up straight away. Find a kit that will bolt straight on and make sure you purchase the screen, fuel tank cover and front fender (mudguard).
Replacing these components will make your bike cheaper to crash and you can actually buy a full replacement body kit for between £400 and £800, with a standard set costing more than £2000.
In addition to the bodywork, you should also start switching the standard handlebars and footrests for race-ready parts. These components allow you to adjust your riding position and again, they’re designed to be crashed and much cheaper to repair or replace than genuine parts.