99 TL1000R racebike project

Gday folks.

Im currently awaiting delivery of my latest project bike. Its a 99 TL1000R. Its a clear title, crash free machine with 18k miles. It has had its headlights caught fire.. hence the project.

I plan on racing it locally in the F6 category which is anything pre 2000. So it should be reasonably competitive-ish while being a hoot to ride.

So.... whats the skinny on building a good TLR racebike?

I plan on getting a LE rear link at some point, also building a replica M4 system.

Class rules are fairly open as long as whatever mods are from the era the bike is from.

Engine wise im planning to leave it internally stock other then removing scissor gears and fitting TLS Intake cams on the exhaust side.

Any tips/tricks would be helpful.
Of course ill update with pics as i can

Cheers.joe.

 

What the hell is a F6 category!? Anyways I'll be watching

 

A lot depends upon how much you want to spend. I went as cheap as I could for the most part on mine, but the best setup would probably be some Ohlins forks, Brembo brakes, GP master cylinder, Marchesini wheels, etc.

The rear shock is the most important for sure. I went with a Bitubo shock, which works well for me.

For the front suspension, I installed some Ractech gold valves/springs. It's feel pretty steady now on the front. The internals are already 25mm carts, so not much upgrades to do other than valving/springs. Maybe swing the extra money and have the fork legs coated to reduce stiction if you want that.

The brakes need at a minimum: good fluid, race pads (I use Vortex carbon pads), and some braided lines. I also use an aftermarket lever to get a little more travel on the master cylinder. A radial cylinder would be better, but I didn't want to pay for one, haha. The front discs are massive and perfectly good. The stock calipers are effective when they are clean and well maintained. One possible modification would be the caliper pistons from a Hayabusa. Same brake calipers, same part #, but they use lighter pistons. The rear caliper from a 01-02 GSXR 1000 will fit the bike and be lighter. The rear brake disc from the modern GSXR 1000 will fit, and be much lighter.

Exhaust. The M4 system is nice, and it's still available for purchase, but I went with a used Yoshi system. Saves a large amount of weight with removal of the heat guards as well.

Tuning. There isn't really a good tuning solution for the ECM, so a piggy-back is the way to go. The PCIII USB works for me, which you can easily add a quickshifter too for not much more money.

Rearsets. I used the woodcraft rearset brackets/pegs. They re-use the stock levers, so it's a pretty affordable option.

Airbox. The airbox has a bunch of junk in it for noise, take a look on Google for the "TL1000R Airbox mod". Also, if your rules allow it, heat shielding (such as heat-reflective tape) is a good idea. There is zero heat shielding on it stock and it gets a lot of heat into the box.

Cable Clutch conversion. I left my clutch alone because I like it, but some people don't like the feel of the hyd. clutch and switch over to the TL1000S cable clutch setup.

Gearing. A good 520 setup is nice. I run stock front and +2 teeth on the rear right now and am happy with it.

Engine. Scissor gear removal and removing the de-compressors makes the engine a little more faster to spin-up. There are scissor gears on the crank and the cams. A good air filter is nice as well. The fast idle lever was pointless to me, so I removed that entire setup. When you're removing the cams, check the valve buckets carefully, the 2 most front buckets commonly crack, and sure enough, mine were both cracked. Check your valve clearances while you're in there.

Plugs. After experimenting with a couple different plugs, go with the stock dual electrode plugs...they're the best. The plug wires are also pretty old at this point. Mine were corroded and needed replacement. I bought the Nology wires, but they're kind of silly, maybe just some new OEM wires would be a good idea. I was getting some cutting out.

Fuel pump. The filter is inside the tank on the fuel pump assembly, and by this point (17 years after it was made), it probably needs replacement. Be sure to follow the service manual when putting it back together. Too much torque on the bolts and you'll have fuel leaks.

Battery. It's a fairly good sized battery, so a Lithium-Ion battery will save you a good amount of weight.

Steering Damper. The cheapest solution is to re-fill the stock one with heavy oil, but I went with a GPR damper I got on Ebay and it works even better now.

Bodywork. I went with Sebimoto since it was cheap, but the fitment sucked and there were a lot of issues with it before painting. That said, I did get it mounted and saved a lot of money. I ended up not using and fairing brace, the fiberglass seems to hold up well enough without one, especially since there are no longer mirrors mounted. The stock fairing stay will work to hold the gauges.

Wheels. Wheels are expensive, so I didn't get new ones, but the stock ones are pretty darned heavy. If you have the cash, some lightweight wheels would save a few pounds. Also, checkout your cush drive rubbers. Mine were destroyed, so I picked up a nice set of new ones from Schnitz racing. They're a little stronger (same parts as 99-07 Hayabusa).

Misc. There is a wire you can clip on the ECU that will give you another 500rpm if you need/want it. Google that and you can find the specific wire. Remove weight wherever you can, this thing is heavy but the engine is already pretty strong, especially for the era. I also left 1 radiator fan on, as I have experienced over-heating with this bike before. I normally would remove the fans on a racebike, but sitting on the grid it can get hot. Samco makes a nice hose-kit if you need to replace the hoses.

Wew, there's a little info.

 

All I can say is.... WHOA lol.

And that I saw this today. No fucking way for $2800 though.

https://neworleans.craigslist.org/mcy/5567552055.html

 

Hey, it still has 1 exhaust pipe! haha.

 

Damn skippin!!! About the pump its the bolt rotation @ 3LBS that is key for leaks.... Also just replace the internal filter with a EXTERNAL inline filter.. Less times you need to remove pump... I have the cable conversion on both of mine as well as 1 fresh EBC Clutch kit in one.... Much better than the hydraulic IMO... I would leave the scissor gears in but that's just me... As far as running in V-6 are you sure its not V-8?

 

Get it Dustin!!!! And ask about him Having to Lay it down.....LOL

 

Oh yeah, forgot about the clutch. I use OEM fibers with Barnett springs. But yeah, need to so something with the clutch or it has a tendency to slip.

 

That's almost the reason I want to call. Had to lay er down Bro! lol

 

Oh and the most important thing.......... Make that Frame Black when you got it apart...!!!

 

Is the cam swap (TLS intake on the exhaust) like the SV swap? Meaning is it just a bolt on or do you have to do a lot more?

For the front wheel you could always just swap the whole front end to whatever GSXR set up you could find.

For the rear shock the Bitubo is the only one you can actually buy right now or you can modify the frame to fit a Honda F3 shock.

 

Cant answer the Cam question but I thought the Cams were way different from the R to the S.... Front end would work from the GSXR but not be SS Legal.... The Ohlins shocks with adapters are still available and the Penske 8987's are still available.... Its the Lindermans link that works for the Penske's that are like hidden treasure now and hard to obtain.... I am looking for a second one so if anyone that is reading this has one that wants to sell please PM Me!

 

I see it's superbike rules but it has to be from the same era. If it fits and has lighter parts I'd say go for it

 

Its a formula class here in OZ. f6 consists of bikes from 1980 to 1999 rules for modifications are fairly open.... just as long as its from the era.

Cheers.joe.

 

I have the ability to make my own linkage (cnc mill at work) but i thought ed sorbo was gearing up to make some more.. if thats the case I dont want to step on his toes and make some.

As for cams. I cant see how the tls and tlr cams are much different since everything else shares the same dimensions other then valve sizes? Might hit up sam on the zone and see if he knows more.

As for front end... i plan on doing ktech pistons and needles in the stock carts. Ill hard anodised the damper rods and cart bodies whilst there. Id like to track down some ap racing or beringer calipers with matching slim line iron rotors. As it stands i have some k1 gixxer thou calipers and some oem rotors modified to full floater.

Can't afford fancy wheelsets so ill swap them out for K3/4 wheels i think.

Cheers.joe.

 

Oh and yes i will be blacking out the frame. Will also sort fuel pump/filter.

Found a schematic on a race wiring harness too, since im expecting half of whats on the bike to be melted lol.

Has anyone played with triple clamp offsets? Rake/trail? Offset swingarm pivots?

Anyone play with airboxes? Maybe a modified lower airbox to meet the tank as the upper half with a pair of k&n pods?

Anyone played with bored throttle bodies?

Cheers.joe.

 

Woohooo..race glass just arrived.....just need the bike to arrive now!

Cheers.joe.

 

From what I've read on the TL, larger throttle bodies actually hurt HP, unless you've done huge modifications to the engine. They're a good size already.

The steering could be made a bit better by triples. I just lowered my front end to help, but triples would make it cleaner. I did put tapered bearings in, which feel nice.

As for the swingarm pivot, there are some available from a guy on the TL forum, but with modern slicks on, I haven't really found any traction issues out of turns. Although I do have the rear raised a good amount with the bitubo and a shim on the clevis, so that changed the swingarm angle too.

So, I was happy lowering the front and raising the rear, but you could use those parts to make the corrections without affecting geometry, but I don't know if it would be worth the money.

As for the racing harness, good luck, I spent a couple weeks sorting through mine, it was a mess. But I was able to knock out a keyless ignition and all unnecessary stuff removed. Pay close attention to the starter relay connector, it corrode and distributes power for the whole bike. Had to get a new one for mine.

 

You Sir, have a problem. lol

 

LOL.... All I need is that and some bodywork for the second one and they will both be set up perfect..... Both run fantastic.....