Nearly There! Electrical Re-install and Body Test Fitting.
I got out in the shop yesterday after too many hours reading internet forums. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if it was motorcycle related. Unfortunately it was all car related, and Miata car related at that! To pay my penance I hit the garage to tackle the reinstallation of the electrical wiring harness so that I could mock up how I'd like to fashion an under tail fender.
Starting off I removed the rear suspension and put the bike up on the jack. I knew I needed to get the carbs and air box on the bike to see what I was going to be working with for space. There is no way the air box can go on with the rear tire in place that I can figure. Contrary to what you see online most of the time, factory air boxes make more power than pod filters. Especially when you have a carbonated bike. The Ninja's air box makes the most use of its available space, but that means it needs a lot of room to install.
After getting the fuel/air system and battery in place and well secured I had better idea for the size and shape of the proposed under tail fender. Next was mounting up the wiring harness so that I could place the components that would be mounting to the new fender. All of the electrical components that will need to be mounted on the new inner fender are either right beside the air box or behind the air box.
After laying the harness and connecting a fees components that were in the area, I decided to try the old under tail fender to see how that would work. It actually worked very well and I had plenty of space to tuck the starter solenoid and a bundle of wire from the fuse box behind the battery. The slightly relocated rear brake master cylinder fit interfere with any of the electrical components. The good thing about using the stock tail is that the CDI box and the reg/rec can mount in their stock locations along the side of the plastic fender. I think I'll keep the stock plastics. I will need to mount a new coolant overflow and carb overflow bottle somewhere which may make me have to modify the plastics somewhat.
Here is what is left to assemble before I can call it ready to ride. Not much really when you think of it. I also went through a prepped my calendar for the next few months with various races and track events. I want to get some track time in for a treat and tune of the bike before any actual races. I have all the safety gear I need to race and an 80% bike. Next up will be getting my track kit ready to go so that I can set up my pit garage. Work will get busy for the next 5 or 6 weeks so we'll see how I can manage that. Oh yeah, my wife should be delivering our second daughter sometime in the next two months. I guess I'll have to get cracking!
Blue
Starting off I removed the rear suspension and put the bike up on the jack. I knew I needed to get the carbs and air box on the bike to see what I was going to be working with for space. There is no way the air box can go on with the rear tire in place that I can figure. Contrary to what you see online most of the time, factory air boxes make more power than pod filters. Especially when you have a carbonated bike. The Ninja's air box makes the most use of its available space, but that means it needs a lot of room to install.
After getting the fuel/air system and battery in place and well secured I had better idea for the size and shape of the proposed under tail fender. Next was mounting up the wiring harness so that I could place the components that would be mounting to the new fender. All of the electrical components that will need to be mounted on the new inner fender are either right beside the air box or behind the air box.
After laying the harness and connecting a fees components that were in the area, I decided to try the old under tail fender to see how that would work. It actually worked very well and I had plenty of space to tuck the starter solenoid and a bundle of wire from the fuse box behind the battery. The slightly relocated rear brake master cylinder fit interfere with any of the electrical components. The good thing about using the stock tail is that the CDI box and the reg/rec can mount in their stock locations along the side of the plastic fender. I think I'll keep the stock plastics. I will need to mount a new coolant overflow and carb overflow bottle somewhere which may make me have to modify the plastics somewhat.
Once I had all of the wiring done from front to back, I continued on mounting body pieces. I wanted to ensure that everything I did to the wiring and all of my work didn't create other issues with body panel fitment. It all went well so I kept going. I will have to pull much of this back off, but the wiring harness is back on to stay. I need to get new coolant hoses as mine are too soft. Since I will be racing in SoCal where most of the tracks are in the Cali desert I want to make sure the coolant system is top notch. I still need oil and water wetter. The chain needs a good scrub and there're a few odds and ends tasks that need to be done, but really I have hit the 80% complete mark on the race preps.
These are the take off parts that won't be going back onto the race bike. Two plastic bins of pieces and parts. I will weigh all of this stuff at some point to see how much I improved the power to weight ratio.
Here is what is left to assemble before I can call it ready to ride. Not much really when you think of it. I also went through a prepped my calendar for the next few months with various races and track events. I want to get some track time in for a treat and tune of the bike before any actual races. I have all the safety gear I need to race and an 80% bike. Next up will be getting my track kit ready to go so that I can set up my pit garage. Work will get busy for the next 5 or 6 weeks so we'll see how I can manage that. Oh yeah, my wife should be delivering our second daughter sometime in the next two months. I guess I'll have to get cracking!
Blue
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