by greenman43 » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:32 pm
Weight reduction – here’s my simplistic philosophy: take a close look at every last single part of your bike. If it helps it accelerate, brake or turn, make it lighter / stronger / more powerful. If it doesn’t, then get rid of it. Above all, nothing is too small to be not worth looking at. The key to pulling weight out is attention to detail; despite what people might want to think, there are no hidden 10kg lumps of steel waiting to be unbolted. I’m a big fan of a guy called Ron Murakami, who was a fabricator for American Honda when they were building the Spencer-era CB-F superbikes. His one comment that sticks in my mind was “There’s no secret to removing weight. Take off a gram here and a gram there, and 454 grams later you’ve taken off a pound.” Wise words indeed ...
Specific items for your ZXR – there’s a mountain of them, but a couple of the less obvious ones that leap to mind:
• Remove the lower radiator mount – it’s not needed to hold the rad in place, and if you happen to fall off, all it will do is encourage the rad to bend
• Swingarm – find and fit a J or K part. They’re about 1.5kg lighter I believe, due to the pivot section being fabricated rather than cast
• Swingarm pivot sleeve – get ye a ZX7R part. They’re ally rather than steel, although being 3 or 4mm shorter you’ll need a small spacer to take up the difference
• Engine mount clamps (the crenelated rings that lock the spacers in place) – remove them, they serve no purpose on a track bike
There’s a stack of others, perhaps I should have a good look at your bike sometime to prod my failing memory!
Cheers,
Brian
07 ZX10R track 09 ZX6R road/track 93 ZXR750 race 89 GPZ900 project
Do not walk behind me, for I may not be leading
Do not walk in front of me, for I may not be following
Do not walk alongside me, for the path may be narrow
Just piss off and leave me alone
