I recently went through a phase where I was focused on purchasing another, track-only bike. After riding the Kawasaki ZX-6R during my California Superbike School (L1) class, I was sold on the need to ride something a bit sportier at the track. And I do love riding the track!
After much agonizing over potential used track bikes, including the conundrum of where to store it (I live in an apartment and my FZ6 currently resides in front of our one parking space), I decided to purchase a couple choice parts to make the FZ6 more track-worthy. After all, I had already re-sprung the forks with .95kg Racetech springs, and changed out the fork oil for 15wt., might as well get the rearsets up off the ground a bit more and put in some lower bars.
I had already purchased a T-Rex Racing rearstand, and so now I'll be able to remove both the center and sidestands while I am at the track.
After looking at the options, I decided to go with the setback plates that oso2k had fabbed up for the rearsets, and the Suburban Machinery bars to achieve a sportier posture without having to commit to clip-ons for every other time I ride my bike off the track (like 95% of the time).
I also bought some Tech Spec tank grip pads to help with body positioning. I got the ones that were cut specifically for the FZ6, and I got the "snakeskin" texture because I had a chance to check it out at Laguna Seca during the MotoGP weekend last year. It helps a lot and I think it actually looks really good on the bike! Best of all, it peels off and is supposedly reusable, I don't know how good it will stick after you peel it off for the first time.
I did the setback plates first. As many people here know, the plates require rerouting the shift linkage outside the frame, due to placing the setback plate in between the frame and the rearset. Several members on this forum and the other forum have come up with various ways to do this, including bending the linkage into a slight "S" shape in order to clear the frame spar, or even modifying (by cutting and rewelding) the shifter arm so that the ball joint is on the outside, rather than on this inside. I wanted to do this mod, but to keep the option to remove the setback plates (and lower bars) for long moto trips, if I ever commit to one in the future.
Once I determined that I wanted to do it without having to bend the linkage rod, I shimmed the setback plate out from the frame with a bunch of washers - 7 per bolt to be exact. As many people here have pointed out, that is probably not the safest way to go and I will be re-doing this when I get home tonight (though I did take it out on a fairly long canyon ride over the weekend and everything performed fine). I am concerned, as oso2k stated, that a crash could cause the frame to break down there with the added leverage that the washers/shims create.
It did take some doing to get it all back together and shifting correctly (the adjustment part took a lot of trial and error - a couple of hours' worth).
The bars went on much easier. I did take a look at the service manual to get an idea of what's involved, but it was actually pretty simple. As I said, I wanted a more aggressive riding position without completely sacrificing comfort, and I didn't want to limit the stock turning radius or fairing in order to accommodate clip-ons. Turns out, a couple of my riding friends have Suburban Machinery bars on their SV650 and Monster, and I had an opportunity to trade bikes for a segment of our most recent group ride. (Wow, the SV650 is a lot of fun to ride! I would definitely consider it for my next bike. The one I rode was pre-FI, so it was very smooth. Really, super-fun bike!) The bars are aggressive (to me) but not crazy low like the 6R I rode in the California Superbike School sessions.
Suburban Machinery drills holes into the bars in the appropriate spots where the stock switchgear has a little nub, so it takes the guesswork out of determining where everything fits together. Once I re-assembled everything, I did a lock-to-lock turn of the bars - no clearance problems, though the front brake reservoir does get fairly close to the fairing. Oh well, no harm no foul I always say.
Finally, I cleaned up the sides of the tank and eyeballed the placement of the Tech Spec grips. They are cut to fit nicely within the curvature of the stock tank, and I put them on without the help of a hair dryer or heat gun - they went on well, they are about a quarter inch thick so it's not like applying a decal - they rolled on nicely.
So, onto the pictures. Bear in mind I am going to relocate some of the shimming washers on the shifter side rearset (I'll move most or all of them to be between the plate and the rearset, rather than between the frame and the setback plate).
You can see the 7 washers in this shot:
I also took the opportunity, with the two extra washers I had leftover, to finally fix my crappy job on my fender eliminator. It looks good now, not hanging pointed down straight at the tire:
Now all I need is a new shock and I'm good to go.
Although a decent shock would probably cost almost as much as all of my previous mods combined, though it would be a nice addition.
I'll post up after my track day - I just got a new camera and a new zoom lens is in the way, hopefully my Level 2 riding buddy can get some good shots of me! :Flash:
After much agonizing over potential used track bikes, including the conundrum of where to store it (I live in an apartment and my FZ6 currently resides in front of our one parking space), I decided to purchase a couple choice parts to make the FZ6 more track-worthy. After all, I had already re-sprung the forks with .95kg Racetech springs, and changed out the fork oil for 15wt., might as well get the rearsets up off the ground a bit more and put in some lower bars.
I had already purchased a T-Rex Racing rearstand, and so now I'll be able to remove both the center and sidestands while I am at the track.
After looking at the options, I decided to go with the setback plates that oso2k had fabbed up for the rearsets, and the Suburban Machinery bars to achieve a sportier posture without having to commit to clip-ons for every other time I ride my bike off the track (like 95% of the time).
I also bought some Tech Spec tank grip pads to help with body positioning. I got the ones that were cut specifically for the FZ6, and I got the "snakeskin" texture because I had a chance to check it out at Laguna Seca during the MotoGP weekend last year. It helps a lot and I think it actually looks really good on the bike! Best of all, it peels off and is supposedly reusable, I don't know how good it will stick after you peel it off for the first time.
I did the setback plates first. As many people here know, the plates require rerouting the shift linkage outside the frame, due to placing the setback plate in between the frame and the rearset. Several members on this forum and the other forum have come up with various ways to do this, including bending the linkage into a slight "S" shape in order to clear the frame spar, or even modifying (by cutting and rewelding) the shifter arm so that the ball joint is on the outside, rather than on this inside. I wanted to do this mod, but to keep the option to remove the setback plates (and lower bars) for long moto trips, if I ever commit to one in the future.
Once I determined that I wanted to do it without having to bend the linkage rod, I shimmed the setback plate out from the frame with a bunch of washers - 7 per bolt to be exact. As many people here have pointed out, that is probably not the safest way to go and I will be re-doing this when I get home tonight (though I did take it out on a fairly long canyon ride over the weekend and everything performed fine). I am concerned, as oso2k stated, that a crash could cause the frame to break down there with the added leverage that the washers/shims create.
It did take some doing to get it all back together and shifting correctly (the adjustment part took a lot of trial and error - a couple of hours' worth).
The bars went on much easier. I did take a look at the service manual to get an idea of what's involved, but it was actually pretty simple. As I said, I wanted a more aggressive riding position without completely sacrificing comfort, and I didn't want to limit the stock turning radius or fairing in order to accommodate clip-ons. Turns out, a couple of my riding friends have Suburban Machinery bars on their SV650 and Monster, and I had an opportunity to trade bikes for a segment of our most recent group ride. (Wow, the SV650 is a lot of fun to ride! I would definitely consider it for my next bike. The one I rode was pre-FI, so it was very smooth. Really, super-fun bike!) The bars are aggressive (to me) but not crazy low like the 6R I rode in the California Superbike School sessions.
Suburban Machinery drills holes into the bars in the appropriate spots where the stock switchgear has a little nub, so it takes the guesswork out of determining where everything fits together. Once I re-assembled everything, I did a lock-to-lock turn of the bars - no clearance problems, though the front brake reservoir does get fairly close to the fairing. Oh well, no harm no foul I always say.
Finally, I cleaned up the sides of the tank and eyeballed the placement of the Tech Spec grips. They are cut to fit nicely within the curvature of the stock tank, and I put them on without the help of a hair dryer or heat gun - they went on well, they are about a quarter inch thick so it's not like applying a decal - they rolled on nicely.
So, onto the pictures. Bear in mind I am going to relocate some of the shimming washers on the shifter side rearset (I'll move most or all of them to be between the plate and the rearset, rather than between the frame and the setback plate).
You can see the 7 washers in this shot:
I also took the opportunity, with the two extra washers I had leftover, to finally fix my crappy job on my fender eliminator. It looks good now, not hanging pointed down straight at the tire:
Now all I need is a new shock and I'm good to go.
Although a decent shock would probably cost almost as much as all of my previous mods combined, though it would be a nice addition.I'll post up after my track day - I just got a new camera and a new zoom lens is in the way, hopefully my Level 2 riding buddy can get some good shots of me! :Flash:
