My new racebike and its journey

ridgerunner · #1 12-31-2007, 08:01 AM

I know it's been awhile since my last post and for that I apologize. I have since been promoted from moderator to admin on another motorcycle specific forum I frequent and it has kept me busy. I have since sold my Aprilia Tuono and bought a 2005 Suzuki SV650S that will be raced in WERA 2008 Mid-Atlantic National Challenge series.

I will be racing as a provincial novice for my first two race weekends in order to earn my novice license. There are eight scheduled race weekends in the Mid-Atlantic region. We will be racing at the following tracks:

Mid-Atlantic

3/21-23 Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA-rs,
4/19-20 Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV-rs,
5/3-4 Nelson Ledges Road Course, Garrettsville, OH-rs,
6/7-8 Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV-rs,
7/19-20 Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC-rs,
8/2-3 Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA-rs,
8/30-31 BeaveRun Motorsports Park, Wampum, PA-rs,
9/20-21 Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV-rs,
9/27-28 Nelson Ledges Road Course, Garrettsville, OH-rs,

My weapon of choice for my first racing season is the Suzuki SV650 simply for it's wide application to track conditions. It is very light, carries great cornerspeed and I can race it in multiple classes on the same weekend. Here is a shot before she went under the knife yesterday and lost 26 pounds.

A pic of the goodies that will make her race ready:

I'll have to get a pic of her current state. It's quite funny as she is missing front forks, rear shock and bodywork. The suspension is off to a shop getting new springs for my weight and tuned for my riding style. Ohlins baby!

kbrew8991 · #2 12-31-2007, 10:20 AM

you found 26lbs on a motorcylce? nice!!

want to do some weight reduction on a full size car?

ridgerunner · #3 12-31-2007, 01:54 PM

Shaving weight off this bike is easy. Removing headlights, taillights and turn signals, as they all came off in two pieces lost 15 pounds compared to race glass. All the extra weight was in nuts, bolts, radiator fan, horn, misc. brackets and mirrors. I switched to an aftermarket exhaust, but it only shaved 14 ounces from stock. That's usually one of the largest weight savings. I can still change the chain and sprockets to hard anodized aluminum that should shave another 3 pounds of unsprung rotational weight. I'm hoping to have her under 400 pounds race ready.

JimLill · #4 12-31-2007, 02:04 PM

CF wheels save a bit......

ridgerunner · #5 12-31-2007, 02:24 PM

Yes, unfortunately though I can't run CF wheels or even a lighter battery in my current class. Have to stick with the OEM for now. If I run a different class in the future, I can change a few more things.

ridgerunner · #6 01-03-2008, 01:01 PM

Here she is currently:

SD26 · #7 01-04-2008, 07:30 PM

Nice!

What's next?

We used a Factory Pro Teka FI thing to adjust the OEM fuel injection on my SV1000. Really cleaned up some of the feeling of being lean in the middle RPM's and the fatness up top.

ridgerunner · #8 01-31-2008, 07:22 AM

Gratuitous SV shots. Almost ready to ride.

A few of the garage/workshop:

SD26 · #9 01-31-2008, 07:30 AM

When's your first event of 2008?

If you know anyone looking for a MotoST dry break tank for an SV, I have one for sale too.

ridgerunner · #10 01-31-2008, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD26

When's your first event of 2008?

If you know anyone looking for a MotoST dry break tank for an SV, I have one for sale too.

First race is March 22, 23 at VIR North. I have a trackday scheduled w/ NESBA on March 9, 10 for shakedown runs. I'll ask around about the tank. I only know a small handfull of Moto-ST riders. Although that is by far my favorite racing series. I wish they would take ownership of the AMA superbike series.