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CMG TRACK BIKE PROJECT - PART 1
Of course, Editor ‘arris couldn’t care less about his crutch-laden photographer and ad guy, as long as he continued to get the job the done (you make me out to be such a nasty boss. Now stop yer whining and get on with yer sad tale – ‘arris). What he did care about was the fact that that the beautiful beemer I had been riding was destroyed, whilst attempting to pound its rider into the ground. Sadder still, was the fact that Norm Wells at BMW Canada has an elephant-like memory. The result? Mr. Seck gets banned from racing. Sigh …
We all met at my friend Andre’s place where, sitting in the driveway was a mint 1989 Kawasaki ZX-7. “Cool bike Andre”, says I. “Do you want to ride it? It’ll be last your last chance, I’m selling it”, responds Andre. Shortly thereafter we’re en-route to the Halton Hills with me on board the shiny green machine. We finally clear the ‘burbs of Toronto and find some corners, Andre takes the lead with his R1100GS and arcs through a left-hander at a leisurely pace. I follow, lightly push on the left bar, and ... WHAM, lowside!
“Guys, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Yes, yet another dramatic episode of, Bike Attempts to Pound Brittle Man into the Pavement, only this time it was just my collar-bone that managed to snap into three or four bits. And that was that for that. In the true spirit of: you break that thing, you bought it, shortly thereafter my credit line was increased to the amount of a mint ZX-7, and the CMG Track Bike Project was born. THE RESURRECTION
Good question. Initially Editor ‘arris thought this bike had Streetfighter project written all over it. That just seemed wrong to me. This ZX-7 is a classic. When it arrived in ’89 it was hailed as the tool that would carry Kawasaki riders to World Superbike to racing glory. It was loosely based on Kawasaki’s ZXR-7 endurance racers, and it is an extra-plus, super-cool-lookin’ sport bike even today (in an 80’s sort of way), IMHO. It just didn’t seem happy with its skin ripped off. And, based on my current track record, there may still be an opportunity to do that Streetfighter project yet…
Did you ever calculate how many track days you can have for the cost of your insurance? For these reasons, and the fact that riding on a track, with no speed limits—or cops—is F-U-N of the highest order, I began the process of transforming the now-battered ZX-7 into a usable track tool. Economically does it …
I started by doing some research on the web and quickly discovered that hardly anyone makes bodywork for 1989 sport bikes. But with the help of the gang on the discussion board of the ZX-7 website, I was led to a company in the UK that still make replacement bodywork for these aging machines. This company—amusingly called Skidmarx—actually produces street and racing bodywork in a choice of 5 colours, one of which is Kawasaki green! Brilliant, no paint job required, as the colour is impregnated into the fiberglass. This would seem to suggest that mild, or even deepish scratches may not be as noticeable as on painted bodywork. Thankfully, I haven’t been able to figure if that’s true or not (I’ll give you two more track sessions – ‘arris).
The Check Up Before bolting all this on, it seemed prudent to give the bike a thorough mechanical check. As luck would have it (for me anyway) I was able to enlist the services of ace mechanic, Mr. Ronn (Hoppalongg) Moffatt, who was still recovering from his Daytona injuries, and so had some time to spare.
Flushing the cooling system and replacing the coolant with a distilled water/Water-Wetter combo finished the motor work. Usually, no safety wiring of bolts etc. is required for a track days—so being lazy—I didn’t bother. In keeping with the economical philosophy, we didn’t perform any mods on the motor, and besides, it was powerful enough for me to begin with. The idea was to just make sure that everything was to spec and working properly.
With the tire mounted, the chain was cleaned checked and lubed. Once the engine and other mechanical bits were sorted, I removed all the equipment that is not required in the track environment: rear pegs, headlights, taillight, and signals. All the wiring was labeled, bagged and taped so that the lighting hardware could be remounted and reconnected easily if someone wanted to put the bike back on the street. Reskinning Before bolting up the fairing, I cut and bolted some Plexiglas with a white backing behind the headlight holes. The fairing was a bit of a struggle to mount, mostly because I kept finding more broken bits on the bike, delaying the process. Some shimming and enlarging of bolt-holes was also required before everything lined up, but the effort was worth it as—once together—it looks eff’n cool. Better, in my opinion, than that OTT blue, green, and white colour that came stock.
I can’t really say how long the whole process of bolting the fairing took. I’d just stop when it wasn’t fun any more, or when I found a new broken bit. If you were just replacing your stock panels on an undamaged bike, I don’t imagine it would take more than an hour or two. Less when you have it figured out. Good to Go! With everything bolted together, I couldn’t resist; I fired her up and did some hot laps down my alleyway. What a beast! This ZX-7 gave me the feeling that it was just aching to get out on the track. That made two of us! Check out Part II, where Mr. Seck updates you on how the green monster fairs on the track! TRACK BIKE TIPS
2) You can save a lot of money if you hunt around for parts at the bike wreckers. Again, you’ll need time for this. We opted for getting the parts from the dealer because of our time constraints. Surprisingly, most everything that was required was still available from Kawasaki. 3) If you, like me, are new to this, don’t go nuts putting performance parts on your bike before you can exceed the capabilities of the stock bike. Track days are not racing (not supposed to be anyway), they are about going fast and having fun. Save your money for good rubber. TOTAL COSTS:
* Price includes $70 mounting & balancing COST DETAILS:
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Thanks to:Pirelli North America for the Diablo tires. Street Fighters by Design and Skidmarx for the bodywork. Pro-Bolt for the screen and fairing mounting hardware. Cycle World West for helping with getting the other required bike parts and accessories. |
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