[Collin Kelly]

Weekend update!

I mounted and torqued the forks back on to the triple trees, taking care to leave the stock amount of room above the top triple (using the old stock clip ons as a measuring stick). I also received the Graves steering damper mount, and mounted what i could (essentially only fork clamp) during the triple re-install. Looking at the rest of the kit, I found that I’ll need to modify (i.e. cut off the welded on nuts) the stock cluster bracket for the damper kit to be mounted properly… then on to find a reasonably priced gently used damper!

In other news since the rear of the bike was pretty well sorted, I noticed a couple things. After bleeding the rear brake, the pedal was returning DIRECTLY against the Vortex base bracket. It also had some mildly unnerving play at the hinge pin of the pedal and rear master cylinder. I ended up doing two things… 1) adjusting the master cylinder shaft to "start" higher, which eliminated the contact between the pedal and the rearset base bracket, and 2) making a shim from a soda can to have the hinge pin fit the Vortex pedal hole a bit tighter, removing the play. This is obviously VERY picky, but now the pedal will start moving fluid PRECISELY when you touch it, rather than having 1/4-3/8" of dead movement as before.

I moved on after that, dying to hear this sucker run, so… installed the muffler can for the Spark exhaust, filled the young lady with ~2.2L of oil (5w-40 synthetic), then flushed and refilled the radiator/cooling system with Liquid Performance glycol-free coolant (thanks @GoFaster !). Made a nice hard foam spacer block for, and installed the, fancy Antigravity ATZ-7 Li-Ion battery. Go time!

She fired right up… exhaust has a nice note, not stupid loud w/ dB killer inserted, but healthy when goosed. Quick video (don‘t mind the tomfoolery)

Moving on next to the aforementioned cluster bracket hacking, and front wheel (reinstalling bearings, axle, new brake shoes, bleeding, etc. Progress pics below!

 

[Collin Kelly]

So over the past 3 weeks, I‘ve hit some snags, but have continued to make progress despite some challenges.

Firstly, ran into a front brake issue that baffled me. I rebuilt the front brake caliper thinking that was it, but it wasn’t (however upon disassembly, was glad I did it anyway). I wont bore you with pictures, suffice to say that the pistons were rusty AF and it needed new seals BADLY. ANyway it became clear that the MC wasn’t building pressure. Ordered an AllBallz rebuild kit, which ended up containing literally NOTHING the correct size. FAIL.

I now have a OEM rebuild kit on it’s way. For the test ride, I ended up using an old Ducati MC from Sharky’s stash. Worked fine, however is a little wooden .

Turns out this thing fucking rips! I am used to vintage bikes here, so the close ratio transmission and the suspension / brakes were stunningly, err modern! What a blast.

BIG smile on my face under the helmet. Took a little on-road rip that is not shown here to prevent self-incrimination / 5th amendment reasons…

This is stock ECU, no O2/AF sensor…

 

[Collin Kelly]

Hope everyone had a good 4th weekend! I got my master cylinder rebuilt finally (the OEM kit arrived after a 2.5 week wait). Re-bled the front brake, feels even better than the temporary MC I had on there.

I am now down to final bodywork fitment (before sending it to the painter), and a steering damper placement decision.

So the last few things I did, I had to shave a bit of the seat / tail of the front to get the holes to line up in the rear. I used a contour gauge to get a decent line on the shape of the tank where it meets. Once i had shaved about 1/8" off, it bolted up pretty well, and feels rock solid when you’re sitting on it.

Next was making holes for the Woodcraft frame sliders so they can protect this bodywork in the event of a crash (all but a certainty for track riding and racing). I used some prussian blue on the end of the aluminum parts of the frame slider to get an initial center on the hole from the backside, then finished with some nerve-wracking hole saw usage.

It also turned out that the Spark exhaust receded about 3/4" lower than the stock exhaust, which unfortunately means that it interferes with the belly pan. I sadly had to cut a pretty long ovular hole to get a bubble around that bit (mostly springs holding the collector part of the header to the exhaust extension.

Photos for clarity and hope to update again next weekend!

 

[ApexSpeed]

Wait, you're out of the MGM shop?

I'm an IG follower...

 

[Collin Kelly]

@ApexSpeed Yessir! Right on. If my back/neck is behaving in 2 weeks, we should have at least 3 (possibly 4) bikes (2 Ninja 300s, 1 R3, and 1 FZ-07) at the next NJMP CCS/ASRA event.

Lots more racing fun (and content!) to come.

 

[Tank46]

I noticed you set your Vortex rear sets to motogp shift. I have these rear sets coming in the next day or so and I plan to set mine up that way.

Did you use the long or short rod? Also, does it matter if the shift rod is placed in the top or bottom connection on the rear sets? I notice you have your in the bottom. I called Vortex to ask, but was on hold forever.

The wheels look awesome!

 

[Collin Kelly]

@Tank46 Good spot. I think I had 3 different rods on hand, and I’m still not through as I have a QuickShifter to install. But I seem to remember using a 110mm rod… not sure if that rings any bells for you? Happy to double-check and measure the rod that worked for the test ride.

As far as it mattering if the rod is placed in either connection, I’m fairly sure it’s meant to go in either, but not 100% sure as to which part you refer to. Happy to take a closer photo this evening for you and PM.

 

[Tank46]

Thanks, I should get the rear sets today. I've read that it comes with two shift rods. I think I'll try the longer one first and go from there. Thanks again!

 

[Maxpressure520]

Updates have been spotty due to a pinched nerve in my neck. RLV chainbreaker and master links came tho, so the chain is finally the right length!
Is there a common practice either way for keeping or removing the acetate / rubberized swingarm chain guard?
Also, in the habit of safety wiring my master links on 520 chains on other bikes, but looks mighty challenging on a chain as small as the 415. Any tips there or am I being overly cautious?

I hope your pinched nerve is already better bud. Also, i am very impressed with your build. It warms my heart when riders breathe new life into salvage bikes.

 

[Collin Kelly]

More bodywork fitment donee last night! I THINK I have the belly pan sorted so it‘s ready for modification by the glass fella that is prepping and painting everything. Had to open the hole I initially cut to clear the exhaust (to make a bubble around since it needs to bear oil in a track emergency). But got all thee holes drilled for the Dzus fasteners. Also learned I bought fasteners that are too long so reordering some 14mm pins to replace when the kit returns painted.

I also took a few mins to fit the TST Industries CF front fender… boy is it sexy. Maybe a little too nice for a race bike, but like all motorcycles, this thing is a mandala. You can’t be scared to completely destroy it in the name of speed, and one might as well look good doing it amirite?

Tonight, it’s drilling and fitting the top fairing (8 more holes!), and making sure the whole kit is square and sorted before removing everything and taking it to the painter tomorrow.

 

[Collin Kelly]

@Tank46 Upon replacing, the rod that was working in there for my GP shift setup sans QuickShift measured 152mm. Hope this helps!

 

[Tank46]

Thanks! I got it installed Friday. I used the longer rod it came with and placed the connection point for the rod in the upper position on the rear sets as that seemed to give it a closer 90 degree angle.

I rode into work today and I need to adjust the shifter position down a tad, but it shifted great!

Thanks again.

 

[Collin Kelly]

Welp, after a whirlwind of hasty decision-making to get ready for the ASRA / CCS event at NJMP July 24-26, here is where i am at: ended up sanding, Bondo-ing ,skim coating, and otherwise fully prepping AND painting the entire kit myself (I was 1.5 weeks late dropping off to the painter, and he informed me the timeline was now a little too close to guarantee). I have done this before with smaller tanks side covers and smaller bits, but this was another animal that I had intended on leaving to the professionals. But onward…

Wednesday and Thursday night: Tending to any needed fiber-reinforced Bondo areas (namely the bubble to dodge the exhaust, and a couple errant corners that were damaged during shipping), as well as doing some general gelcoat sanding to ensure the high-build primer had something to stick to.

Friday: continued with the prep, doing skim coating with dolphin glaze and making sure to sand the high build primer smooth for a clean base coat application.

Saturday night (into Sunday morning): whoa, it was a late one. Ended near 5am, but ended up with a really nice base coat application (Diamont R-M Porsche Oslo Blue, reduced 1:1 with PPG DT885). Most of it went on perfect, but i got a little carried away on the nose piece and got a run. After base coat on the 5 pieces that were fine, cheated a little and used all the 2k SprayMax Gloss Clear that we had laying around at MGM that was about to expire. I was a little *****-footed with it, so got a bit gentle orange peel, but all in all, looks pretty good for the a track bike!

Sunday was a day of rest… but I went in and mounted the pieces that were finished and cured to the bike anyway,.

Yesterday (Monday): Wet sanded the run out of the nose, then decided to quick spray the inside matte black since it will be "looked into" on track, wanted the least amount of distractions. Then RE-shot the base coat, not once but TWICE thanks to some ass hat who tipped over the stand of the piece while it was drying. Re-sanded all the scratches and **** out of it, base coated a third and final time, before TOTALLY ACING the clear coat this time around with the remainder of the Spraymax 2K (hint: it needs to be JUST on the edge of running to set and self level, especially when its stupid hot outside).

I spent the remainder of the wee hours of this morning sweating the racing numbers. I have a new vinyl cutter which I Used to cut some test shapes with in card stock for number areas. Kind of a fail so far but have learned a bit and now know what needs doing before EOW.

Remaining: Need to mount the freshly painted nose, along with fabricating a seat pan with a pad, as well as cutting some tank pads to fit from the sharkskin generics i bought. All that, and vinyl numbers /plates.

I also need a final run through on CCS/ASRA safety wiring, but I should have some help from the shop boys on that, with any luck!

Taking a break tonight to let the final piece (the nose) cure and to get a proper night’s sleep! Enjoy the photos, and let me know how much you all love/hate the color

 

[Muhammad Zahid]

Looks like good progress to me!

 

[Collin Kelly]

Track day Friday!

After a sketchy first session and scattered t-storms, I was able to keep up with one of my Ninja-riding teammates on the second session. The bike is QUITE stable in the corners and really gives me confidence to push it.

I have a good amount of work to do with regards to getting up to speed, but I am overall very happy with how the build turned out. Hope we get another session in today (it’s raining again ).

With regard to the 415 chain: it’s wearing in for sure and I’m keeping a close eye after every session on its condition and tension.

Without further ado: some photos for your pleasure! Don’t have all the numbers on yet but getting there…

 

[Muhammad Zahid]

I love the look of the GGRetrofitz kit! Any plans for a modern retro street build any time soon?

 

[kj7687]

What gearing did you run?

 

[Collin Kelly]

@kj7687 415 chain, so 18/55. Any better tips? It felt ok… and was pulling to just shy of 110 on the front straight.

 

[Collin Kelly]

Sunday update: personal best was a 1:49. I need to be at THE VERY least 4-5 secs faster to compete in amateur classes.

Time to work on my race craft and fundamentals. But I do hope everyone enjoyed the window into my build and the process. I will certainly try and update this thread with any other changes I make to the bike (the front number is next up, as the vinyl for the yellow background turned out less than ideal).

I will also be adding some more graphics (via vinyl and possible respray down the road) with team-based MGM graphics and sponsors as time goes on. Stay tuned here or @mgm.racing on Instagram! ✌🏁✌

 

[kj7687]

@kj7687 415 chain, so 18/55. Any better tips? It felt ok… and was pulling to just shy of 110 on the front straight.

No I was just wondering. Sounds good!