Trying to Race Street Legal 2016 GSXR750

Just got my racing license. Signing up for first race in Feb or April. I would like to race my 2016 gsxr750 as close to street legal as possible, so i can practice on the street between track days and races (until the day the bike is holding my performance back....which i hear may be a day that never comes).

I read the wera rules and it looks like i could take the mirrors (with contained blinkers) off, and remove the back blinkers and race it with stock fairings, if i have a belly pan. It doesn't look like stock fairings have a belly pan. The rules suggest I can remove the kickstand and tape the bike as if for a track day and that would suffice.

Can i get a belly pan for stock bodywork?

Will i have to remove the bodywork for tech inspection?

I believe I would be in the B SuperStock group/class?

Any suggestions (other than don't keep it street legal)?

Thanks!

 

You're going to get a lot of flack for "so i can practice on the street between track days" (rightly so..)

You can cobble up a belly pan using a turkey pan inside the stock lower (yes, really)

 

Tape it up and run the foil pan as advised. I raced my first season like that and had no problems. read the rulebook and safety wire everything it says to.

 

Thanks!!!! I didn't see a solution to this conundrum. I hope to catch all kinds of sh** for my aspirations to keep the bike street legal, as the racer sense of humor is refreshing (just like the climber sense of humor I'm used to). I figure I will earn the right to a full track dedicated bike once I get 5th or better in a novice race - if I can pull that off, only 4 novice racers will have earned the right to give me sh**. As a preemptive strike to the imminent sh** storm, I'll describe my street legal practice. It entails some safe, flowing riding (ie, see "the pace" motorcycle article from way back when) on a stretch of road in north atlanta where there are no houses, kids, etc. and which culminates in max braking from 70-80 to zero on a short hill (creating the emergency braking stoppie effect to build muscle memory on the proper response when all hell brakes loose). I am very anti-hooligan antics on the road, so I keep my fast riding for the track. (I'm also max high viz on the roads, befitting my 51 years of experience).

I'm getting Thermosman to upgrade my suspension and Opie Caylor to otherwise safetywire and prep the bike, as my day job keeps me hopping.

You may have saved me some effort and money for this 2020 first race season for me! I'll be able to keep up the practice and staying comfortable on the bike - thanks!!!!

 

If your having Caylormade prep the bike, you might discuss with Opie/staff if they have some decent used raceglass to include in the deal.

It’s a crap ton easier to remove lower etc for tech and possible maintenance/repair at the track.

just a thought, welcome to the madness.

 

Wait! You’ve been conversing with Chris and you’re asking clowns here for advice?

 

thanks RRP! I'll ask Opie about the raceglass. I have very limited time/ability/tools to mess with the bike, so, it would be great to be able to remove the bodywork easily for tech inspection. Opie has done all the work on the bike for track days, but I've yet to run by the shop to race prep it....just trying to get educated on a few issues first. I plan on asking Opie how to keep the bike street legal as well if possible. Or, I'll just go full race bodywork. I'm humbled by all the knowledge/experience that's necessary to race.....overwhelming at the moment, but, I'm looking forward for the first green flag drop!

 

I don't race (yet...) but I picked up some used race bodywork for like $150 for my track bike. I know plenty of other guys that did the same. You could easily swap between track plastics and street. I can have my track plastics off the bike in 10 minutes. I still use my stock fairing stay and can put street bodywork back on in 1hr or so. Street plastics are way more expensive than track plastics, and nowhere near as strong.

Just zip tie your wiring harness, toss on your race bodywork on and ride. Come home, pop the zip ties off, throw your street bodywork back on.

 

Riding on the Road with race glass will give you much more
“Street Cred” ... than stock plastic

 

thanks lopitt85 - i may just need to resign myself to doing some more work to go racing. i'm looking a sharkskinz and it seems i have to remove the headlight for sharkskinz, so, that sounds like more work than just popping on or off some panels. i'll hunt for some youtubes to see if i can watch someone go through the process. i'll also have to look for a youtube with the foil pan solution.

 

If you wish to use the same bike for street and track, best way to go for me was to get a
spare display panel, sub harness and fairing stay and set those up as a full "bolt on" unit along
with the front fairing and windshield. I don't even bother with the ram air tubes anymore.

This way the very expensive street plastics don't get destroyed in a crash and you can swap
back to a full street setup in a half hour easy. GSX-R's are great that way with the single connector
between the main and sub harness. At least it is on my old bike. YMMV

 

so, i just assessed the bottom of the 2016 gsxr750. It is completely open. To use a foil pan that holds 5 quarts (the wera rules require 5 quart capacity) would involve quite a lot of contouring of the foil pan and using foil tape (used in hvac work). It would look like a foil scrotum sack dangling below the muffler pipes (hanging below the bottom yellow fairing "floor"). Or, for those 2 that pulled off using a turkey foil pan method, could the bottom of the pan be flush at the low point of the yellow side fairings, and run up the fairing to make the "pan" effect that would hold 5 quarts?
In other words, the "pan" or vessel to hold the 5 quarts would run up the side of the fairings? Is there a way to get pre-approval from WERA if I go the foil pan route?

For me, it's feeling like either a foil pan / scrotal solution or just committing to track only bodywork. Thoughts?

 

You are setting yourself up for more work, and more problems. Buy a set of used race bodywork. Remove stock bodywork, headlight, and tail lights, bolt on race bodywork. When you want to street ride, reverse process. You are only inviting problems trying to rig as much shit up as you are.

 

I guess I need to get better and just remove all and put on race bodywork to see really how much work that is - I’ll do 2-3 races in 2020, so guess I just keep the bike street legal and race prep it 2-3 times this year....the foil scrotal pan seems difficult to pull off, but would have been ideal for my first season

 

It's not ideal really.

Look at it like this.

300 used race skins+manual labor - crash= bodywork was used anyway.


Stock bodywork+manual labor scrotal pan- crash= replacing stock bodywork, and labor.

The stock bodywork is worth more in good condition rather crashed to shit.

 

My .02: You need to be willing to risk your streetbike being a complete write-off. If your streetbike is your pride and joy and you love to keep it looking pretty, then there's a very good chance you will be disappointed. If you say that you'll be careful, then I'd say that there's no guarantee that the racer next to you will be as careful. The other part of that is psychological. If you go into racing with the thought that you need to be extra careful with your bike you're already mentally handicapping yourself in relation to your competition.

 

+1000

No one has asked and I'm not trying to create issues, but are you hauling to the track or wanting to ride to the track?

If hauling that means you already have a trailer or truck. Are you running race tires and tire warmers with generator or racing on your street tires?

 

This is well made, affordable race bodywork. Been using it for years. Usually gets delivered in 2 wks.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-GSX...Suzuki&hash=item1ce0788b84:g:3QUAAOSwAYtWJktt

 

This biggest thing I was told when starting racing, and I feel it was the best advice I was ever given. Do not put anything on the track that will significantly hurt you financially if you pushed it off a cliff. It is always a possibility for it to be a total loss from a minor crash. Keep this in mind. It does not matter how "Safe" you say you will be. A temporary lack of judgement by the guy beside you can have major consequences.

 

Just put an upper and lower on it and change it out for the race weekend. I did that with my ZX10r and it took me less than an hour to go from street to race and back to street. Once you do it a few times its fast. Taped up tail section.