Suzuki GSX-R750
Ringleader: Angie Loy
Msrp: $9999 (2006)
Miles: 4794-6234
Average Fuel Mileage: 28.2 mpg
Accessories & Modifications: Dynojet Power Commander III USB, Ignition Module and Quick Shifter, Hotbodies bodywork, KR Tuned exhaust, Vesrah RJL brake pads, Dunlop D208 tires
If you recall my last update, I concluded that the GSX-R750 is the ultimate track-day machine. So why stop there? The WERA National Series was coming to Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, and having had a blast racing there last year I wanted to do so again-and try out my new Expert license! So my next step was to race-prep the bike. Thankfully, I've got friends who were willing to help me.
Step one was taking the Gixxer to Pete Cristensen, an ex-Willow Springs club racer who now works as service manager at Cal Coast Motorsports in Ventura, California. Pete took care of all the time-consuming prep work, such as removing the street equipment and lighting, the stock footpegs, exhaust and sidestand, and safety wiring everything so the bike would pass tech.
After the bike was stripped down, Pete added all the racing-specific aftermarket parts, starting with a new exhaust. We'd heard praise of the new KR Tuned (as in Kenny Roberts) full-titanium race system ($1549.95; www.krtuned.com), so decided to try it out. Not only does the KR Tuned pipe weigh significantly less than the stock system, it looks really cool and is not as loud as I'd expected.
After the pipe, we added a Dynojet Power Commander III USB ($339.95; www.dynojet.com) to optimize throttle response, along with a Quick Shifter ($289.11) that allows full-throttle clutchless upshifts. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a map for the new exhaust in time for the Miller race so had to use one for an Akrapovic system, which worked pretty well. The WERA West series is scheduled to visit Las Vegas soon, so I'm planning to take the bike to Dynojet HQ and run it on their Tuning Link-equipped dyno to create a custom map.
Next came new brake pads. Andrew Trevitt from Sport Rider magazine recommended Vesrah RJL sintered-metal high-performance pads ($59.99 per side; www.vesrah.com), so I decided to try them out. After the brakes, we bolted on a Vortex fairing bracket ($157.95; www.vortexracing.com) and a set of Hotbodies full-race bodywork ($649.95; www.hotbodiesracing.com) with a killer Yoshimura Suzuki replica paint job from MC Pro Designs (www.mcprodesign.com). The only problem was I didn't realize there needed to be a bracket over the battery for the tailpiece to rest on, and with the race fast approaching there wasn't time to order one. We ended up cutting the tailpiece to accommodate the stock seat, which left an unsightly gap but worked fine. Last but not least, we replaced the GPR steering stabilizer I'd installed in my last update with the company's new lower-profile V4 version ($475; www.gprstabilizer.com), which doesn't get in the way when you tuck in.
After everything was bolted together I had to test the bike, so I went to a Track Club track day at Buttonwillow Raceway with a couple of my fellow instructors from Jason Pridmore's STAR Motorcycle School, Mark Gallardo and James Lickwar. With the bike rolling on Dunlop 208 race tires (the rear a massive 190/55-17) from Sport Tire Services (www.dunlopracing.com), the pair dialed in the stock suspension-a difficult task considering I only weigh 125 pounds. It still wasn't working great, but I was hopeful since Buttonwillow is bumpy and Miller is relatively smooth. Near the end of the day, the guys procured an f-hlins shock from a friend whose racebike had just blown up-unfortunate for him, but a blessing for me. Now I was ready to race. Er, almost: The Quick Shifter wasn't working, so I'd have to rectify that at Miller.
There, another of my fellow STAR School cohorts, Hawk Mazzotta, introduced me to his tuner, Jeremy Daniel, who didn't realize he was about to inherit another rider and lots more work. Daniel quickly identified the problem: Unlike the '05 GSX-R750 I raced last year, the '06 requires both a Dynojet Power Commander and an Ignition Module ($355), which I didn't have. Fortunately, he found one for me and installed it. He then tuned my bike, changed my tires, adjusted my suspension, took my lap times and acted as my crew chief for the entire weekend.
Hawk and I teamed up for Saturday's 6-hour endurance race and ran as high as ninth overall en route to third place in the Heavyweight Superstock class, despite me low-siding while outbraking a backmarker entering the Turn 5 hairpin. Oops! And in Sunday's sprint races I finished 10th out of 28 competitors in B Superbike and 17th out of 32 in B Superstock. Not too shabby for a relatively stock bike in my first-ever Expert weekend-and at a WERA National to boot!
I'm still loving it, so stay tuned for more.
Suzuki DR-Z400s
Ringleader: Dexter Ford
Msrp: $5599 (2006)
Miles: 6706-8502
Average Fuel Mileage: 51.6 mpg
Accessories And Modifications: Factory Connection suspension, Thumpertalk everything
The semi-mighty DR-Z400S is now a dirty, dirty boy.
The most important tweak was reworked suspension by Factory Connection, the same Pro-class tuners who fine-tune the factory MX bikes of Honda's Josh Grant and Yamaha's Kevin Windham ($615.85 total-$240 less if you can use the stock springs; www.factoryconnection.com).
The Factory Connection guys needed the Showa fork legs and shock pulled off the bike before they could do their magic. They then tore everything apart, added the right FC/Eibach springs to support my manly girth, added their own high-speed compression-damping valve spring to smooth out the shock's response, did their magic with the damping valves, filled the boingers with high-quality fluid and sent me on my merry way.
The DR-Z had been pretty darn plush before, but these suspension mods turned it into a whole 'nuther animal. Unlike my own, the rear end no longer sagged, and what used to feel like bumps and whoops seemed more like television.
Now that I was going (slightly) faster in the doyt, it was time to add both pro-tection and lightness. Thumpertalk (www.thumpertalk.com) set me up with a White Brothers aluminum skid plate ($78.26), a pair of T-Talk sidecase shields ($34.99) and Unabiker Radiator Guards ($95). They also recommended a manual cam-chain tensioner ($47.96), plus a Kientech extended fuel-mixture screw ($14.26) that lets me tweak the carburetion to suit the elevation-considering that my riding takes me from sea level to 8000 feet, not a bad idea.
A UFO integrated taillight/turn-signal unit ($83.95) weighs about as much as eight Pringles. It did, however, take most of an evening with a voltmeter and a big roll of electrical tape to get all the flashers flashing the way they're supposed to. In Italy, where the UFO stuff is made, red is apparently the new white-with-a-black-stripe.
Is the DR-Z400S a KTM 450 EXC? Not exactly. But it probably suits me better than a more dirt-oriented dual-sport would. Like me, it's overweight, soft, just powerful enough, reliable and endlessly forgiving.