Budget Race Build

[unicorn_violence]

Hey peeps. decided to make a build thread since i'm starting to make a lot of changes to the bike.

after putting in a bunch of miles on the track over the winter, followed by a successful race school at the beginning of the month, i decided to try and get into some races this summer. my budget is small, so i'm trying to focus on the upgrades that matter most first, and i will continue to make changes here and there when the wallet (and the fiance) approve.


below is the last pic of the stock bike:

 

[unicorn_violence]

the first upgrade i looked at over the winter was suspension. although the bike felt great on the track as is, once i got comfortable with the bike i started to notice some issues with the rear shock. considering my weight (211) i was probably bottoming out. i got the ohlins shock installed and fork oil and springs changed from a local guy in Denver.

here is a pic:

the difference was far more than i expected! the bike felt 100% planted to the road, and i gained a couple seconds at the track. the only issue i have is with the location of the reservoir, but i'm sure i could change that if i decide to.


i think that was the single most important upgrade i could do to the bike. after feeling the difference, the cost was worth every penny.


i continued to ride the track through the winter trying to improve on my technique. Teknojoe was nice enough to meet up with me a few times and show me some pointers on what i was doing right as well as what to improve on, which definitely helped me out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icU4nm1rgNg

 

[unicorn_violence]

nothing else was changed to the bike until about the beginning of this month. my original plan was to keep riding track throughout the summer to gain more experience, then possibly race next year.
those plans changed very quickly after doing the local club's racing school on April 1st.
i got some great advice from one of the instructors, and was able to improve my speed throughout the day. he advised i would be sitting about mid pack. i wasn't so sure on this, as the RC is my first bike, and I've only been riding since about September. i got validation though during the two mock races. i wasn't close to any of the riders in the fast group which includes Big_Sur, but i also wasn't in the slow group. and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy
i passed about 7 riders in the race, which were all on similar sized bikes. i'm not sure if all of them were getting race licenses, but it gave me confidence that i won't be dead last....hopefully

that sealed the deal on racing this summer. next step was to get my race program in order!

 

[DCMoney]

My opinion as far as importance to get the most out of the bike.

Pirelli SC1 front SC2 Rear
Rear Shock - Which you have
Powercommaner V from KTMperformance.
Rearsets of your choosing - I hate the stock pegs on that bike. Wish Vortex would hurry the F up and get some to market!
Front Springs - again which you have.
KTMPerformance Thinner head gasket - OEM one is going to fail eventually.
Motion Pro Revolver Kit- My GPX pro showed on the stock throttle I wasn't going WOT everywhere I thought I was because of the twist rate of the stock throttle.
Brembo Brake pads.
Exhaust of your choice.
Andreani fork kit - I had different spring and oil in my bike for a few races last season, Andreani this season, big difference.
Bodywork

Sure im missing some stuff but thats what comes to mind.

 

[unicorn_violence]

My opinion as far as importance to get the most out of the bike.

Pirelli SC1 front SC2 Rear
Rear Shock - Which you have
Powercommaner V from KTMperformance.
Rearsets of your choosing - I hate the stock pegs on that bike. Wish Vortex would hurry the F up and get some to market!
Front Springs - again which you have.
KTMPerformance Thinner head gasket - OEM one is going to fail eventually.
Motion Pro Revolver Kit- My GPX pro showed on the stock throttle I wasn't going WOT everywhere I thought I was because of the twist rate of the stock throttle.
Brembo Brake pads.
Exhaust of your choice.
Andreani fork kit - I had different spring and oil in my bike for a few races last season, Andreani this season, big difference.
Bodywork

Sure im missing some stuff but thats what comes to mind.

i thought about the cartridges but the local club doesn't allow those for the production class, hence me going the oil and spring route.
hoping to get some SC's on the bike soon with some better brake pads, but the budget is getting tight!

 

[unicorn_violence]

the first thing needed for me to be able to race, was a way to transport the bike to the track. i had been borrowing the ladies truck before, but decided i needed a trailer so my jeep could do the transporting.
i bought one of those harbor freight trailers that folds up. it was pretty cheap, and i thought it would be an easy build since it was a kit. QC was horrible. i was missing hardware, missing the caster wheels. however i did end up with 2 tongues instead of one, and an extra part that never actually fit the trailer. half the holes didn't line up. and best of all, the washers holding the bearing in the hub didn't fit properly, causing the hub to be very loose. had i ignored that, there is a good chance the trailer would have broke the moment i took it on the road. its safe to say i'm probably never shopping there again.
10 days and much cursing later, i got it all finished

after it was finished i took it on a 200 mile journey to get inspected by state patrol. the trailer functioned great! i must have done the hubs properly, as there was no heat in the hub after the long drive.
now that transport was finished, it was time to get the bike going!

 

[unicorn_violence]

Christmas came early this year in the form of a very large box from Matt at Formula390! time to get to work.

first thing was stripping down the bike. it was a little sad taking everything off the bike that made it street legal, but i guess i can always put the headlights on if i ever get the itch to go do some mountain roads again.

i went ahead and installed the T-rex sliders. one thing i noticed is that a couple of the holes had a lip on the top of hole that caused the bolts to not fit. since the bolt was 8 grade i fed it through the other side, and basically created a new thread were the lip was. it didn't damage the bolts, and i was able to complete the install:

 

[tecknojoe]

like button

 

[big_sur]

Nice! When's your first race?

 

[Seth]

Awesome post, keep us posted on the progress!

 

[unicorn_violence]

Nice! When's your first race?

well i was planning on missing round 1 at Pueblo and shoot for round 2 at PPIR. looks like everyone else is doing the same though since round 1 was cancelled. gotta love a foot of snow in early may! lol

 

[unicorn_violence]

next step was the Tyga Rear sets. install went pretty smoothly, except for a little messing around to get the swing arm bolt back in. i reversed the shift to GP. the bike shifted perfectly, but i'm gonna have to do some track sessions before the race to get used to it.

then i did some pre-fitting of the fiberglass. the fiberglass pieces themselves are very sturdy and look to be well built. the rear seat fit perfectly. the nose cone lined up to the bike great, but i had to finagle the windscreen to get it to fit on the cowl. i'm super excited to see how it looks when all the other fairings are on.
i haven't put the belly pan on yet, but i'm a little confused as to how its gonna attach to the bike, specifically on the right side. that's probably a newb error though. i'll cross that road when i get to it. next up will be a full drain of the bike, then some safety wiring

 

[green_bread]

i haven't put the belly pan on yet, but i'm a little confused as to how its gonna attach to the bike, specifically on the left side. that's probably a newb error though. i'll cross that road when i get to it.

There should have been spacers and brackets included with your belly pan. Since you have the Tyga rearsets, it will make it super easy to mount. On the left side, you use the "Z" shaped bracket and remove the bolt that doesnt go all the way through the frame. Thats where that bracket gets attached. On the other side, you use the spacer and the threaded hole on the rearset bracket.

If that doesnt make sense, let me know and I can snap pictures of mine when I get it back from the dealership.

 

[unicorn_violence]

There should have been spacers and brackets included with your belly pan. Since you have the Tyga rearsets, it will make it super easy to mount. On the left side, you use the "Z" shaped bracket and remove the bolt that doesnt go all the way through the frame. Thats where that bracket gets attached. On the other side, you use the spacer and the threaded hole on the rearset bracket.

If that doesnt make sense, let me know and I can snap pictures of mine when I get it back from the dealership.

ya i have the brackets, and the left side made sense, but the right side is what stumped me. that large U shaped bracket i can't seem to figure out. if you wouldn't mind snapping a pic that would be awesome.

 

[unicorn_violence]

went ahead and drained the bike. it had been a while since the oil was changed (600 mile service) so it was definitely needed. oil was black. screens didn't have a lot of metal shavings but there was some nasty stuff. hopefully not related to the gasket issue that other bikes have had.

 

[tecknojoe]

Big U shaped bracket is for the front. Take the OEM bracket off first.

Ugh, give my bike to someone for a week and it gets filthy

 

[unicorn_violence]

started my first safety drill on the oil filter bolts. broke a bit but got both holes all the way through pretty quickly! went ahead and put them on for a test fit. tightened the bolts a little more and.... ahhhhh @#$%!!!!

 

[big_sur]

I did the same thing. Not sure if those bolts are super brittle or what, but I ended up salvaging some off my old 690 and as silly of a thing as it sounds, the bolts off the 690 were noticeably nicer than those on the 390.

 

[green_bread]

@tecknojoe hit the nail on the head with the U shaped bracket. What is that other clip on toward the left side of the picture? Coolant drain bolt?

if you wouldn't mind snapping a pic that would be awesome.

I will get pics for you as soon as I get my bike back from the dealership, but maybe @tecknojoe could snap a pic of the other mount points for you before that? It might be a week or two before I get mine back.

I did the same thing. Not sure if those bolts are super brittle or what, but I ended up salvaging some off my old 690 and as silly of a thing as it sounds, the bolts off the 690 were noticeably nicer than those on the 390.

Its pretty common from what I understand. @DCMoney recommended I replace the brittle bolts with better ones before drilling them for safety wire, which is what I did.

 

[unicorn_violence]

Big U shaped bracket is for the front. Take the OEM bracket off first.

Ugh, give my bike to someone for a week and it gets filthy

ahaa!! that makes sense now. i knew it was something simple

I did the same thing. Not sure if those bolts are super brittle or what, but I ended up salvaging some off my old 690 and as silly of a thing as it sounds, the bolts off the 690 were noticeably nicer than those on the 390.

ya i was surprised that it snapped with that little pressure. the bolts have the grade 8 symbol but i'm pretty sure thats a farse.