Topic: Bike prep for a newbie racer

[Kickstart]

I was hoping to get some suggestions and advice on what (and how) to prep on my 1975 CB750F in preparation for race school and a novice vintage race, as I've never done this before.

I decided to sign-up for the August 2 AHRMA race school during the upcoming American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Festival this summer (August 2-4) at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.

http://www.njmp.com/6713-2.html

I've read through the AHRMA handbook and have even been in contact with Cal Lewis (Chief Technical Inspector) on what's required, but I have no previous experience with prepping a bike for race. 


If anyone could share pictures and/or suggestions on the following, I would really appreciate it:

• Oil catch pan - do most people fabricate their own, or is there a good source to purchase these from?  I know with the CB750 it only needs to hold about a quart since we have a dry sump - can it be placed between the case and the exhaust, or do these usually go under the pipes?
• Lock/race wiring - how do you lock wire the front axle?
• Any pictures or suggestions on general race prep

I plan on attending the school, and if that goes well I'll participate in the Novice Historic Production Heavyweight race.

Oh... am I making a mistake taking my 20k road bike to the track (I don't think I'll have my build ready in time)?  I'll swap out my tank with something I wont be too upset if it gets dinged up.  I mean... am I asking to blow up my engine?

Thanks in advanced for the help!
Chris

[gschuld]

Unfortunately, I have no useful information for you.  I'd like to know the answers as well though.  Please keep us posted on any info you do get.  I'm in NJ and I'd like to go to the event to at least watch some.  I'm not sure if I want to be tempted to push my K0 that hard though...

George

[bear]

Welcome to the racer's fold Chris.
Nice to have another RR to balance all those mad drag racers.
Can't see any problem using your road bike at the race school.
I don't see why you would need to flog your bike to get the most out of the school.
Just short shift it and you should be right.

Cheers,
Brian

[Tintop]

+1 on Bear's advice.  You don't need to beat it up to do a race school.

re belly pan - something like this will do the job, although you may have to do some cutting at the back for exhaust.
http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/vintage/vintagebellypan.htm

Also buy your self lock wire tools (& SS wire), you'll never stop using them.  You need the pliers ( http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-safety-wire-twisting-pliers-45340.html )  I would hightly recommend a jig for drilling the hole(s) in nuts & bolts.  It will save a lot of broken drill bits ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/310362702598#ht_963wt_1091 ).  As for what to safety wire, or cotter pin just about anything.  Anything carrying fluids, brakes, suspension components.

[turboguzzi]

ask for dutch at airtech, to a certian degree i was the one that originally asked for that belly pan top be made but eventually went with an ally pan  between case and exhaust solution. tell him turboguzzi sent you, you will make up for my missing purchase...

honeslty, fitting one like airtechs is much less painfull, just dig some flat straps, bolt to some non important bolts and hang the thing bellow, cutting the pan as you need.

Many will disagree but I am for wire locking just what is specifically required, as far as i know AHRMA  only asks for fule lines, oil lines and drain plugs but i could be wrong. seven season so far and never had stuff come loose. its a japanese  bike not a british vibrator

if there is one area i wouldnt overlook is tires, tires, tires. youll be leaning much further than ever (hopefully) and sticky stuff gives confidence. BT45's are a very good and cheapish fit

last, i hate the way its written (as if adressing people with IQ of 90 max) and much of his technical reasoning doesnt makes sense, but keith codes books are good initial guidance.

[Tintop]

.......its a japanese  bike not a british vibrator ..........

last, i hate the way its written (as if adressing people with IQ of 90 max) and much of his technical reasoning doesnt makes sense, but keith codes books are good initial guidance.

My XS is Japanese TG, and it could shake fillings loose.    Re lockwire - I wire or pin anything that if it came loose would cause a loss of control / crash, plus all the normal fluid things that are asked for.

+1 on Keith Codes books though.

[turboguzzi]

that's a japanese bike speaking in japanese english for you

told him people will disagree, last time the topic was raised at least Mec agreed with me and he raced for quite some time

walk the pits of major league racing and youll be surprised by how little lock wire is used.

and just think about it, if it was really needed, endurance racing teams would do tire changes in 15 minutes rather than 30 seconds   it's all quick release there

[Kickstart]

Thanks for the welcome, feedback, and recommendations.

I'll try to post pictures as I make progress, and if I run into anymore questions.

I think my biggest challenge will be the stock exhaust on my F0, as the muffler doesn't allow enough lean clearance on the right side.  I'm not sure if I can just replace the muffler with something that will give me more clearance while not disqualifying me from the Production Race category.

Which of the Keith Codes books do you guys recommend?

Thanks!

[Tintop]

"A Twist of the Wrist II' - everything that's in the 1st one +.

TG if I had a million dollar race budget I'm sure I could come up with a 30 second tire change as well.  F1 does 4 in less than 5 seconds, but then they have an even bigger budget.

I lockwire oil & fuel line connections, drain plugs (x2 on XS), brake caliper bolts, rear lower shock bolts, brake line banjos, & throttle cable @ grip.  Cotter pin rear upper shock bolts, swingarm bolt, front shock bolts (Earl's type).  Oil filler has a wire that is hand twisted (easy to undo).  'Hitch pins' on the axles for fast removal.   If I have to remove any of this, removal of the lockwire is the least worry, and there's not a lot of it.

[bwaller]

TGwe are asked to do a crazy amount of wiring, honestly the wiring isn't so bad but drilling is nuts!

A friend who raced Superbike in the 80's laughed at the miles of wire on my little docile vintage bike.

Good luck Kickstart, I'm at the racetrack right now, it can be a lot of fun... Maybe look for a Kerker or the like &save your stock exhaust. Lighter and better clearance.

I find Codes 1st book hard to read and maybe a bit simple. You'll learn alot in the school. I'll send wiring pics when I get home. My belly pan is under the pipe because I didn't leave room. Made it out of taped together cardboard first, then bent &welded aluminum.

I lock wire the axle clamp nuts together.

[Tintop]

I lock wire the axle clamp nuts together.

+1 .......forgot I do that too.

[Kickstart]

OK... so I wired the fork oil bolts and the fork axle nuts.

Pictures attached.

Looks a little sloppy to me (maybe this will get tighter with practice.)  I didn't have a safety wire pliers as my not-so-local dealership said they had one available when I called... but when I got there they couldn't find it.  So I ended up doing these with regular dykes and pliers.

When you guys wire the caliper bolts, do you drill a hole straight through the bolt, or do you just drill the hole at an angle between to connecting sides of the bolt?  Drilling straight through seems easier (like I did with the fork oil bolts, but I wasn't sure if that was the right way to do it.)

Thanks,
Chris

[Tintop]

Here's a pic of the safety wired front caliper on my sidecar.  Couple of different versions used.

[Kickstart]

Thanks Tintop... that helps

[Kickstart]

I safety wired the caliper bolts (and the ones bolting on the swingarm).

Do I need to safety wire all the brake banjo bolts? 
It's not really clear in the AHRMA handbook if those need to be done.
I assume I don't need to wire the bleeder valve or the connections on the hard pipe brake line peice.

Thanks,
Chris

[Tintop]

All my banjo bolts are wired (see pic) as per VRRA, not sure about AHRMA requirements.

[bwaller]

I breezed through the AHMRA rulebook and didn't notice mention of banjo bolts. That said, the rule of thumb is that any fasteners that will leak fluids should be lockwired. It takes a long time drilling everything but you only have to do it once.

 

[Kickstart]

Thanks... I guess I should error on the side of overdoing it and lockwire the banjo bolts as well.

TinTop, did you wire the bleeder valve?  I can't really tell in the picture (did you just lop it around it?)

Thanks,
Chris

[Tintop]

Didn't do the bleeders, just wrapped it around the back with some tension.

[freedomgli]

Bend the pigtail ends of your safety wire inward 180 degrees so there isn't a sharp edge to get snagged on.

[Kickstart]

Does the belly pan not have to cover the full width of the engine?

The airtech ones are only 11.5" wide, but if you measure from the outside edge of the alternator to the points cover... our engines are a lot wider than that.

11.5" inches is just wide enough to span the frame tubes.

[Tintop]

Majority do go from outside frame rail to outside again.  Alternator & point's end(s) stickout (unless modified ).  Check out the one in bwaller's build.  Same coverage just in 'glass.

[Kickstart]

OK... thanks.

I might go the cake-pan route then... if I can find one long enough.  This one might fit nicely:
http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_6009246

[JohnN]

Chris:
 Do you have a sheet metal brake? Rather than the cake pan you could bend a pan to fit your frame rails without too much effort. I bend mine out of .025 aluminum and fasten with aircraft rivets and is much stronger than it would appear. You could get by with pop rivets. I secure it with cable ties and it has survived abuse from crash truck ramps and worse!
John

[Kickstart]

I don't have any metal tools (except for sheet metal snips). 

I was thinking about trying my luck at bending some sheet metal, but I assumed it needed to be water/oil tight.
If I can get away with pop rivets and silicone at the seems, then I might give it a try.

I suspect the seams don't matter much if I put some oil absorbing pads in there... BTW, where do you guys get those oil absorbing pads from?

Thanks!
 

[bwaller]

At this point our assn. doesn't require. For the USCRA I bought some from Jegs?? Then at Laconia I noticed no one else had anything so last time there I didn't either!

I made my bellypan out of cardboard & ductape then adjusted it until it fit well, finally made it out of aluminum. It's 1/2" wider than the frame rails.

[turboguzzi]

at several racing people's request (mine included), airtech made some FG belly pans for vintage I-4s

ask at the site to see a picture and dimensions

[Tintop]

One of these should do - http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/vintage/vintagebellypan.htm

[Kickstart]

Everyone... Thanks for all of your help!

I got back from the event last night.  I had a great time, and met some really great people.

Tech inspection went super smooth. 
A friend of mine made a pan for me out of some aluminum sheet metal that worked out OK (although we made it a little too large).

For most of the first day I thought I was the only guy there with a CB750 SOHC, but at the end of the day I bumped into Andrew (with the ChiVinMoto group) who was racing a 76 CB750K.  We were both happy to meet another CB750 racer (If I can call myself a racer now)... and he had some good tips and general encouragement for me.  I think he might be a member here.  We both raced in the Novice Production Heavy races on Saturday and Sunday.

I've got to say, not that I have much to compare it to, but the CB750 seems to take a lot of effort to get around turns/switchbacks.  I noticed Andrew was really hanging off his bike, so I tried to do the same thing, and that seemed to help... I was exhausted at the end of each practice and race.

Oh, the "race class" I took on Friday was really lacking technical training.  It was mostly focused on flags and procedures.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for suggesting the "A Twist of the Wrist II" book.  I didn't get a chance to read it before going down (boy I wish I did), but after not getting the instruction I was looking for I stayed up Friday night and read as much as I could.  I realized I was doing SR1 and SR2 all day.  So I spent the rest of my practice runs (and races) focusing on throttle control and lightening my grip... and just doing that made a huge difference.  I went from panicked turns to really enjoying myself in the more challenging turns trying to improve myself each run.


Attached is a picture of my bike (the spray painted black one) and Andrews (but that's my friend Ted in the picture)

Thanks again... I've caught the bug, and I'm now trying to figure out how I can make the trip to Barber

[Tintop]

Does sound like your hooked, bet the cheeks still hurt from the grin.

Any chance your going to make it to Mosport for the VRRA Vintage Festival??

[RAFster122s]

Congrats on the school and track time.  Just need to dub Stones "Paint it Black" in any videos you do for the bike...

[gschuld]

I made it out on Sunday.  WAY TO GO KICKSTART!  It was cool watching two cb750S romp around the track .  It seems that the twin cylinder bikes were out front  though(weight advantage I suppose) 

It would be great if there were more vintage events in our area.  Virginia and New Hampshire are solid 5-6 hr road trips.

[Old Scrambler]

Kickstart..............Good on You! 

[70CB750]

Way cool, Chris!

I don't think I will ride with you again, you will be too fast for me 

[bwaller]

Glad you made it out Chris, most fun you can have with your leathers on huh?

Often here there will be a trackday (run by an independant company) just before the race event so when possible I sign up for those. A few extra bucks and gas = plenty extra seat time. Practise, practise, practise!

Well done man.

[Lostboy Steve]

Everyone... Thanks for all of your help!

I got back from the event last night.  I had a great time, and met some really great people.

Tech inspection went super smooth. 
A friend of mine made a pan for me out of some aluminum sheet metal that worked out OK (although we made it a little too large).

For most of the first day I thought I was the only guy there with a CB750 SOHC, but at the end of the day I bumped into Andrew (with the ChiVinMoto group) who was racing a 76 CB750K.  We were both happy to meet another CB750 racer (If I can call myself a racer now)... and he had some good tips and general encouragement for me.  I think he might be a member here.  We both raced in the Novice Production Heavy races on Saturday and Sunday.

I've got to say, not that I have much to compare it to, but the CB750 seems to take a lot of effort to get around turns/switchbacks.  I noticed Andrew was really hanging off his bike, so I tried to do the same thing, and that seemed to help... I was exhausted at the end of each practice and race.

Oh, the "race class" I took on Friday was really lacking technical training.  It was mostly focused on flags and procedures.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for suggesting the "A Twist of the Wrist II" book.  I didn't get a chance to read it before going down (boy I wish I did), but after not getting the instruction I was looking for I stayed up Friday night and read as much as I could.  I realized I was doing SR1 and SR2 all day.  So I spent the rest of my practice runs (and races) focusing on throttle control and lightening my grip... and just doing that made a huge difference.  I went from panicked turns to really enjoying myself in the more challenging turns trying to improve myself each run.


Attached is a picture of my bike (the spray painted black one) and Andrews (but that's my friend Ted in the picture)

Thanks again... I've caught the bug, and I'm now trying to figure out how I can make the trip to Barber

I'm going to have to grab that book and read it. I would love to run my 550 around the track.