Race Prepping the Ninja.

To get the Ninja Race Bike from stocker to rocker, I'll need to do a great deal of work to make the ragged little beginners bike into a safe and hopefully quick racer. I will be detailing the individual projects that go into this process in depth through the "Projects" page, but here is the list of major steps that I plan on doing:

1.  Fix the hanging throttle problem. This is starting to get to me. My buddy fought with it until he punted and sold the bike to me before transferring. I am still struggling to get it under control.
2. Reassemble and street test extensively so that I can get an idea of what I'll need to do to the suspension and engine to get the bike ready for my first race. I also want to weigh the bike and maybe even do a Dyno run so that I have baseline information for future mods.
3. Strip the bike. There are quite few bits and pieces that I won't need to run it in race trim. Hopefully I'll be able to throw the parts on eBay or some forum classifieds to recoup some cash that will be needed for other prep work.
4. Race bike conversion. Here I'll be changing out parts for race counterparts, removing unneeded frame tabs and wiring, rerouting hoses and vents for safety rules and installing race body work like number plates, a tail section and a oil containment belly pan.
5. Mechanical refresh. In this step I will systematically go through the bike front to back and check every seal and bearing for wear and proper torque. I will then re-safety wire everything that needs it. Any fluids will get changed and a full operational check will be done to verify that I didn't forget anything. I will be referencing the CVMA rule book all along the way.

It is a short list, but each step will take a good amount of time. I have until January to get the bike ready, but with holidays and work related travel I will lose most of December. The hanging throttle problem is also a source of a possible delay. I have been thinking about race prepping a bike and am as excited about that project as I am about racing. Check back for the progress as I get started making the little Ninja track ready.

Blue