It is all well and good being the best rider on this planet, however, in modern-day motorcycle racing and achieving a MotoGP ride, it’s just not enough to pin your hopes on. The modern day motorcycle racer requires a broad skill-set for the most sophisticated of all modern sports. The skill-set includes on-bike rider skills, physical and mental skills as well as management, and bike set-up skills!

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The degree of how well you can set-up your bike is measured by a lap time, as well as a race distance time. Qualifying works on a single fast lap for placement of starting position. Race distance time is taken from the start to the finish of the race. How well we set up our motorcycle to stave off tyre degradation and rider fatigue is all about having the best condition tyre in the last and closing laps so you can destroy your opposition and take that chequered flag!

All too often we see a rider that can qualify well yet they suffer in the race, all because they don’t have a suitable race set-up that will go the full race distance and allow them to be as competitive at the end of a race as they were at the start.

TRADE-OFFS
The reason that the name ‘the black art’ is given to what we call the knowledge of suspension and chassis set-up is because there are so many different options available to the rider and his team of technicians. The most important part of a set-up session is to understand that whilst we make a change in one aspect of the motorcycle, we may affect the performance of the motorcycle in other areas.

A harder spring may be fitted but this requires hydraulic adjustments and the ride height may have been affected so then a chassis adjustment may be required. 

Sometimes we may even move in the wrong direction. Simply, we make an adjustment with back to back testing that appears to be working and it is not until we have moved a full circle with testing that we realise we were on the wrong track. More than likely the initial adjustments masked the initial problem, meaning the adjustment did not fix the problem but just helped the symptom. There is a defining need to be flexible and commit to doing a full testing package away from a race meeting where you have time to concentrate on testing in a suitable environment.

When we adjust suspension we can affect the geometry of the motorcycle both front and rear. Likewise, when we adjust geometry we affect suspension settings, it is imperative we have a good understanding of adjustments and all the trade-offs, before we really get started in the set-up of a motorcycle’s chassis and suspension.

Modern-day motorcycle racers are well aware of the above points. The black art of set-up is really what puts the pressure on the individual riders and their teams come race weekend. The race organisers have realised this as well. In fact, most race series organisers limit test sessions in a competition year in a bid to keep a level playing field for all competitors.

BACK-TO-BACK TESTING
An essential part of setting up your motorcycle is to ensure that you are going about the research and development of your motorcycle in the correct manner. A systematic testing program that takes in a holistic approach is essential.

Try to test under the exact same riding conditions as this will help to ensure that when we are making changes to the set-up they are relevant to the last test or race conditions. Being able to test back to back in similar conditions takes a lot of guesswork out.

It’s hard enough to work through the black art of chassis and suspension set-up but when you have to consider the effects of changing weather conditions, you can just imagine how lost you can get when you don’t consider the effects of all areas.

“Making assumptions in testing is the mother of all mistakes. Remember, the changes are so small for huge gains especially when you start to get on top.”

Making assumptions in testing is the mother of all mistakes. Remember, the changes are so small for huge gains especially when you start to get on top of your game. The faster you are, the smaller and more subtle are the changes that give you huge advantages, especially when the final measurement of all your work is in the last or closing laps.

RECORDING INFORMATION
To record information you will need an appropriate set-up sheet with all the details of the test. Conditions of the track surface including surface temperature, number of turns, length, undulations, height above sea level and obviously the track name all need to be recorded accurately. Weather conditions the test was run under, wind direction and strength, humidity, temp and air density of each test session.

Chassis set-up needs to be recorded as well including front and rear ride heights, position of rear wheel and front and rear sprocket sizes. Make note of suspension settings including front and rear spring rate and preload. Also record hydraulic adjustments such as fluid levels, compression and rebound settings.

Brand of tyres and exact model info including sizes, compound, rolling diameter, and crown radius. In the engine section you need to keep track of oils, fuel, and any modifications likely to effect performance. Finally, lap times must be recorded accurately and specify the type of testing, eg single lap or simulated 10 lap race including total race time. 

MAINTENANCE OF YOUR MOTORCYCLE
Incorrectly adjusted, lubricated or worn items like wheel, steering head, swing arm, shock absorber and pivot bearings, or chain and sprockets, will all negatively effect the feel and performance of the suspension and chassis. 

I have a maintenance sheet that allows my customers to personally go through and check their own motorcycle. I suggest that you get one organised and ensure that your motorcycle is in peak condition. Going through this checklist after every ride will enable you to identify any possible faults. Why after every ride? Management like this will give you enough time to order parts and organise workshop time.

GEOMETRY OF BIKE
In Australia we are lucky to have one of the world’s best measurement devices for a bike’s overall geometry set-up. The inventor has found a set of what he refers to as ‘sweet numbers’ that will clearly determine where adjustments are required to get the motorcycle’s geometry optimised.

I insist on all of my elite people in the sport having their machine put through the GMD Computrack system to ensure that the chassis is straight as well as finding a starting point to have the bike in the closest position to perfection for competition.

RAKE AND TRAIL
A lot of riders and mechanics make adjustments in a range of areas that affect the rake and trail of a motorcycle yet most are totally unaware of the full effects of their changes. When you look at the rake and trail diagram, you will see how we measure both. If you think a little more about all of the tuning options, you can see how adjustments will change the rake and trail of a motorcycle.

The adjustments therefore effect how quickly or slowly the motorcycle will turn, move the centre of gravity, and affect the motorcycle’s amount of mechanical grip. The effects are not just in how the motorcycle turns but also how the motorcycle brakes and its overall stability as well.

All too often the general motorcycle public are fooled into believing that grip is all about how we shift weight to the front and rear to create grip using mechanical tuning as in ride height. When we consider mechanical grip, we can increase or decrease grip, not by moving weight forward or rearwards but by adjustments in the rake and trail and swingarm angle to create mechanical grip. 

FRONT AND REAR RIDE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
We can adjust the ride height of the front of the motorcycle by simply moving the forks through the triple clamps. The adjustment of the spring preload to a softer or harder setting, or changing of the spring rate, will also change the ride height.

The hydraulic settings available (as in oil-level height, amount of compression and rebound adjustment) will also affect the front ride height of the motorcycle!

The rear ride height can be adjusted by lengthening the shock absorber, changing a ride height adjustor or the geometry of linkages. All have tradeoffs. It’s very important to remember that just by adjusting your chain you can change your rear ride height and also the trail and rake at the front of the motorcycle!

ADJUSTABLE TRIPLE CLAMPS
Front triple-clamps are a very important chassis tuning device that is available to the motorcyclist when we want a particular characteristic tuned in or out by changing our motorcycle’s rake and trail which affects the amount of front grip, and how the bike turns as well as stability. Changing the offset of the triple-clamps does this.

REAR WHEEL POSITION
The position of the rear wheel is so important to quite few areas of the motorcycle. We have the wheelbase to consider; in basic terms we can shorten and lengthen the wheelbase. Obviously this becomes a vital part of servicing the chain on the motorcycle. As it stretches and the wheel is moved back to maintain correct tension, the wheelbase is lengthened

When we adjust a chain, depending on the motorcycle swingarm design, we can increase the rear ride height and even in some cases decrease the ride height, which again will change the rake and trail of the front of the motorcycle. 

The worst cases happened to be the single-sided swingarms that came on some of the endurance style racers, in particular, the VFR and RVF Hondas as well as a few of the NSR and RS250 Hondas. These bikes have an eccentric adjustment in the rear hub to adjust the chain. Unfortunately while the rear wheel looks very clean and stylish and allows for quick wheel changes, this adjustment changes the rear ride height.

Even a conventional swingarm can change the ride height. Check out your bike and work out whether the rear wheel moving back or forward works on a horizontal plane or an angle. This is very simple, if it’s not parallel to the ground then moving the rear wheel forward or rearwards will change the ride height, which again will change the front rake and trail.

CHAIN PULL SQUAT
The chain pull effect comes into effect when we accelerate the bike and is the action of the front sprocket pulling the swingarm around its pivot. This obviously affects the rear ride height as well as the rake and trail.

Adjustment can be made in a few areas. The size of the front sprocket will change the angle of the pulling chain as will the size of the rear sprocket. The position of the swingarm pivot will also affect the pull of the swing arm.

The goal would be to have the swingarm and front drive sprocket sharing the same pivot point centre.

Another change can be made through the lower control arm linkages on the swing arm. This affects the rate of pull on the rear shock, which can change the rear ride height. When you consider this in detail, changing gear ratios will have an effect on your chassis set-up not just make a change in the way the power is delivered.

SUSPENSION
The job of the suspension is to help keep the tyres in contact with the road to offer the best grip whilst cornering or braking. Let’s face it; it’s all about grip. Obviously in this process the suspension is soaking up all the bumps expected and unexpected, whilst keeping that perfect contact patch on the road.

SPRINGS
The job of the front and rear spring is essentially to take the weight of the rider and motorcycle. Given that the motorcycle weight is what it is, the variable will be the rider. As the weight of the rider increases, the need for a heavier spring to deal with the extra weight is required.

To get the full advantage from our spring we need the spring to be able to offer its total amount of free travel, which means that there is a certain amount of pre-load available on a spring before its available range of movement is affected.

All too often we see people run way too much spring pre-load, meaning that when the spring is put to work the energy in the spring is not allowed to fully dissipate on its return, which means the spring starts an oscillation cycle.

So the first step is to establish what spring would be suitable for your bike and rider setup. How do we know what spring to run? By having the knowledge of the rear shock’s total travel and working on the fact that the riders weight should never take up more than one third of travel when static. We also have a certain amount of spring preload available for each weight spring. With these two measurements we are able to establish what spring is required and what you want.

HYDRAULICS
The job of the hydraulics is to help the spring do its job of absorbing the bumps and uneven surfaces, whilst keeping the motorcycle on its original line or horizontal plane. As a child I was lucky to have a pogo stick. This was basically a stick with a big spring and two footrests on it and all you had to do was bounce around on it. Funnily enough, when we were young lads riding, if the bike didn’t have enough rebound dampening we used to say the back or front of the bike was like a pogo stick to ride. We have moved on and most kids would rather play on the computer, but you know it was a great way to understand why we need rebound dampening. The effect of not having rebound dampening would see us getting sprung all over the place.

Rebound dampening is the hydraulic action that slows the spring to its original position ready for the next bump in the road. Without rebound dampening what we would experience is a bouncing effect. If the rebound action is too fast we get a similar feeling just like a pogo stick. If the rebound action is too slow the spring will not return to its full length ready to do its job again. This is also known as ‘packing down’.

So what is compression dampening? Well, it works in the opposing direction to rebound dampening and assists the motorcycle under braking as well as reducing the effects of squat and acceleration. The adjustments of the above can be made with the clickers on the bike, however, once we start changing front or rear springs we also change the speed of the shock absorber and this is when we need to also change the valving of the hydraulics.

HIGH SPEED AND LOW SPEED REBOUND AND COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS
Sounds incredibly difficult all this high and low speed adjustment stuff but it’s fairly simple. Our modern day valving and hydraulic systems have become so sophisticated. In the expensive aftermarket shock absorbers we have the option to not only adjust the rebound and compression using on-bike clickers, we now have the ability to adjust rebound or compression in two areas. Rebound adjustment can be adjusted for the harsh and fast bumps. We use high-speed adjustment for those big bumps, while also having the ability to adjust low speed rebound for smooth bumps or acceleration-related rebound issues. 

Likewise with compression adjustment we have the same scope of adjustment, which is great for adjustment under brakes or deceleration over a set of bumps with squat to the rear. Yes I know, just when you thought you were getting it!

GRIP
One of the most important rules to understand with your suspension settings for both spring and hydraulics is that the harder (or firmer) you make your suspension, the less feel (or feedback) you will have for surface grip.

The fine-line in tuning the suspension is to get the bike so it can cut a lap on the track, be predictable, offer great feel and be positive the harder you push it. Obviously the harder you push and the faster you go, the more you need to tune the suspension. To find the appropriate setting we must be constantly pushing the limits and improving yourself and the motorcycle. Also don’t forget, we should consider the effects of any chassis changes likely to affect our mechanical grip.

SUSPENSION GURUS
Our modern day racers have a range of technicians surrounding them. The suspension technician’s job is to ensure that not only has the rider got the correct springs for the job, but that the hydraulics are operating in the correct window of adjustment. The suspension gurus will also look at track conditions and offer even finer tuning advice to suit a high or low speed circuit to obtain an advantage that other riders may not have.

Not all riders use the same style, which means that not all suspensions are set the same. Riders prefer different settings to others and obviously every rider is a different weight and shape. However, it is interesting to note that although riders have different track preferences, they all have strengths and weaknesses, and the rider that comes with the most competitive package wins. Who is the best rider in the world at a top level? It’s the argument fought every weekend at tracks all around the world. But you can be assured of one thing in the modern-day racing world, it is no longer just about the rider, it’s definitely about the whole team and their ability to work together, searching for the ultimate performance of their motorcycle and rider. For me, it’s all about great feedback and feeling from a motorcycle that should feel like a physical extension of you.

Suspension Set-up Check List

• Step 1 Ensure that everything is serviced correctly, i.e. lubrication and adjustment to all bearings and pivot points.
• Step 2 Get your bike to GMD Computrack to make sure it’s straight and within the right range of sweet numbers and has the right springs and valving to suit.
• Step 4 Get yourself organised with a check sheet and some record of the adjustments you are about to make. 
• Step 5 Log all information before you start the day’s testing, that way if it turns to shit you can backtrack.
• Step 6 Start your test day with all the confidence you possess and be ready to evaluate and make changes. 
• Step 7 Don’t be scared of enlisting expert help, there are suspension gurus out there.
• Step 8 Remember that the test is not just about one lap but the best set-up for race distance.
• Step 9 You will never be happy with your set-up, you should always be ready to push for faster, better and quicker. 

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The decision to change gearing is stemmed by the initial want for more power or speed, a holistic view will have you consider how the new gearing will affect following areas; rider input, geometry of your bike both front and rear, corner speed, how many gear change, what we gain in one corner, we lose in another or in an overall lap time?

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As a coach I Quite honestly believe gearing has a huge impact on rider development. Gearing a bike around a poor riding habit is not going to help the new rider develop. What I usually find is as the rider improves he or she goes back to an original gearing, so the original problem was a riding problem and not a gearing issue.

Gearing sounds simple but there are some trial blunders made especially by novices. I know because I made them myself. You know it’s funny how losing can be a real lesson; it’s the pain that makes the lesson stick in your head. Racing was great educator for me, I hated losing, and racing taught you one thing. The past should not equal the future!

With motorcycle road racing, if you did not make a change to what you were doing wrong, then you were getting much the same result at the next race meeting. So I learnt you can never sit on your arse and expect things to change – you had to sit down, work it out and not be complacent, competition tells you that just because you win today does mean you will win tomorrow.

The dynamics of the bike and rider, the bond between the two, is paramount and a critical consideration in gearing decisions, even race strategies will be made around how you set up your bike, especially if you are interested in endurance racing. 

It is also very important to understand that gearing doesn’t change the horsepower of the motorcycle, although different gearing on a dyno will change how the dyno reads your engine rpm may reflect a different opinion.

• Reasons for change
  Road bikes are usually set up for a range of different conditions so when we race our road registered sportsbikes we are trying to improve lower acceleration in a straight line or out of a particular corner.
• Maybe we are at a track where there is a lot of low speed turns requiring bottom power to drive.
• Improve top end speed, especially if we get to a fast track or a track with a large long straight.
• Get better engine performance in certain parts of the track
• Different tyre manufacturers can have the same size tyres but have variances in rolling diameter. 
• Running out of rpm
  

  ---

Down sides 

• Better bottom end power off the turns maybe great but the top speed of your motorcycle is affected 
• Gear engine rpm to your current riding skill and speed. 
• Not tuning for the slip stream
• Increase wear and tear on tyres 
• Harsher acceleration = harder to get on the throttle earlier 
• More engine rpm in turns can make you feel real busy and that you are going faster than you actually are

There are quite a few ways we can change our gearing. Internal gearbox  cassette gearboxes in genuine GP bikes and other exotic bikes means you can alter all gears – input and output – to gain an advantage in a particular area without losing out in another area… very good fun but very complex and expensive.

Front sprocket 
The larger the sprocket the faster top speed less bottom power, the smaller the front sprocket the better bottom end power less speed. There are issues with changing the front sprocket in the way it pulls the chain and effects swingarm movement and rear squat. 

Rear sprocket
When we change the amount of teeth on the rear it work in the opposite to the front. Three teeth up or down on the rear equals one on the front.  The issues on changing this sprocket is not as bad as the front, however there are still changes which will affect ride height and wheelbase. 

Diameter of wheel
Rolling radius of rear tyre is just the same as your wheel-not every manufacture has the exact rolling radius tyre dimensions, knowing if you have a larger or smaller diameter tyre is critical especially if you have tuned the bike and gearing to a track then you change brand in tyres or model. It should be remembered that larger diameter tyres will also affect you steering geometry.

Gear Ratio chart
A gear ratio chart-can be a very effective way of calculating the overall ratio of the front and rear sprocket. The chart should be laminated and kept with track maps and tuning information. I have always used one and it is such a brilliant tool. The ratio can be worked out mathematically using a calculator – divide your rear sprocket i.e. let’s say your motorcycle has a 38-tooth rear sprocket, divide 38 by your front sprocket, which is 14 – this gives you a ratio of 2.714:1.

If we change the front sprocket to say 13 and maintain the same 38 rear this would give a ratio of 2.923:1. A gear ratio chart makes finding these ratios a lot easier and you have a better idea of what options you have available firstly with the sprockets you possess or may even need to buy so you can create a range of front and rear sprockets to fine tune your exact gearing.  

Rider input
When we lean a motorcycle over we use a smaller diameter of the tyre. When this happens, if you are paying attention, you will realise that the rpm will pick up. Likewise as we stand the motorcycle up we increase the rolling radius of the tyre, which also affects the gearing of your motorcycle lowering engine rpm. This means a good road racer or track day punter knows when to pick up the bike and why!

Being able tune your gearing so you can maintain concentration, reduce fatigue, high corner speed, good acceleration and easy motor, is a great advantage, we do this by reducing engine braking, noise, reducing the amount of gear changes we have to do, or just quite simply moving a gear change point to suit an action that makes the lap more efficient. This is a rider skill as much as a tuners skill.

Measuring performance
The measurement of rpm on the exit of every turn can help. The noise of an under geared bike can make us feel we are travelling faster than we are especially when we look at the overall lap time. If you get real smart you may even be able to get a friend to do track splits where you can measure a performance in one part of a track, this great to iron out both riding and gearing on your bike and help you run different lines to make a set-up work.

You will need the following information on your bike set up sheets:

• Map of the track
• Track information (length turns etc). 
• Engine hours
• Fuel used
• Weather conditions
• Track surface conditions 
• Tyre details
• Suspension settings
• Chassis settings
• Gearing
• Lap times

Record the following info too

• Make a map of gear change points up and down
• Rpm out turns and max rpm on straight
• Acceleration points 
• Braking points 
• Feeling of harsh acceleration
• Feeling of lack of acceleration
• Weather conditions

Dry conditions allow us to run more corner speed which means we will be able to pull higher gearing. Wet conditions means we are down on grip which has a huge effect on your corner speed so lower gearing. Windy condition may blow you around on the way into and out of turns which can affect your corner speed.

Change in sprockets can have an effect on your chassis set up. Front sprocket is preferred not to be changed from std as it changes the way the chain is pulled and that has a huge effect on the swingarm especially under hard acceleration. Rear sprocket change will affect the rear wheel position which can have an effect on the rear, wheelbase which will also have an effect on the geometry of the bike.

Personal gearing lessons and strategies
One of my racing mates would be over to our pit garage after every qualifying session asking what gearing we were running. We would not disclose it so we could keep the opposition guessing and play with their heads 

My mate kept this up for quite a while, so I took this game one step further and I wrote in white marker on the rear sprocket the incorrect gearing. I knew I had succeeded with my little trick when he came to me all despondent asking how the hell we ran such tall gearing. I just laughed. 

 Bernie tells us some tips to final gearing choices… Words: Bernie Hatton

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If you have supplemented your road riding with some ride days, are running in the fast group and now find you spend most of your day at the local track being held up by slower traffic, then the logical progression is to have a go at racing. The good news is that if you own a late model sports bike or nakedbike, then you already have a great base from which to build a competitive racing motorcycle by carrying out some reasonably straightforward improvements.

This guide is designed to take you through the modifications required to convert your existing road bike into a race specification machine, and covers a range of performance levels to suit your budget and skill level.

The bike you start with is really going to determine how important engine modifications are to your lap times. If you are running a late model 1000cc bike and you’re starting out in racing, then you can’t fully utilise the 162bhp your stock bike has. 

If you are running a 600cc machine then more horsepower could definitely give you an advantage, especially in passing down the straights during a race, so your requirements may be different. I’m going to break this down into a number of stages, and if you’re inexperienced then I really recommend keeping engine mods to a minimum and spending your dollars on suspension setup, weight reduction and practice, as that is where you will find the biggest improvements.

Stage 1 – Bolt-ons
The obvious starting point for engine upgrades is to use off the shelf parts that do not require the engine to be rebuilt. As a start point a slip-on muffler ($250-$800) or Stainless Steel full race exhaust system ($1200-$2000), race airfilter ($80), plus a Power Commander and map from a reputable dyno room ($800-$1200), will get you around 170HP at the back wheel on a late model Japanese 1000 and a good clean torque curve right through your acceleration zone. This is really all you need to do to your engine until you are running top 15 in one of the major Australian Championship classes.

Stage 2 – Light internal mods
If pulling your engine out and taking the head off is not too scary for you, then a relatively simple and cheap mod is to install a thinner head gasket ($200), which will give a noticeable improvement in torque and throttle response, and brings your power up to around the 175HP mark. At this stage I’d also look to add a quickshifter ($350-$600), which not only improves acceleration but also allows you to “spend” valuable concentration in other areas.

Stage 3 – Getting serious
If a 200hp monster is what you really must have, then serious engine work is the only way to get there. This is going to require camshafts ($1200-$1800), a CNC ported head and multi angle valve job ($1500-$2000) plus possibly machining of the pistons, blueprinting and labour ($1500-$2500). Alternatively you can drop your motor off to someone like PTR Racing or Motologic and just ask them to build you an ASBK spec motor ($6,000-$8,000).

Suspension
This is an area where correct setup is critical to lap times no matter what type of machine you ride. If there is one area of bike preparation on which to focus, this is it. Poorly set up suspension will not only be the biggest barrier to improving your lap speed, it could also land you in hospital and see your pride and joy being carted home in a wheelbarrow.

Again there are a range of options here and buying the most expensive Ohlins WSBK kit is not necessarily the answer. Installation of the correct springs for your weight and an after market valve kit into your stock forks and shock ($800-$1200) by a reputable specialist such as Terry Hay’s Shock Treatment will make an enormous difference to lap times and allow you to find your limit more safely. You should also add an aftermarket steering damper ($250-$500) to keep those headshake issues under control as your new motor has the front wheel pawing at the sky. 

Next in line on the suspension upgrade list are race specification fork cartridges from Race Tech ($1200) or Ohlins ($1800), plus an aftermarket Shock ($1400-$2000), which will provide further improvement. If you want to get really serious then a set of SBK specification gas charged Ohlins or K-Tech front forks ($13,000-$16,000) will certainly make you the envy of all in pit lane, just don’t forget the factory technician to service and set them up.

Brakes
Most of the national classes in Australian racing are quite restrictive in terms of the modifications you can make to the braking system. Modern sports bikes do have extremely efficient brakes as standard, however they are set up more for road use than the repeated high load requirements found during a circuit race.

You can achieve significant improvements and a very good braking package by simply adding braided front brake lines from an aftermarket supplier such as HEL, Galfer or Goodridge ($80-$150) and some race specification pads ($50-$200). 

In choosing pads there are a huge amount of options out there. I personally use Performance Friction pads, and have found them to be excellent, however others have achieved equally good results with products from EBC, Brembo, SBS, the list goes on. 

Last but not least is some high performance brake fluid. What you are looking for here is a high wet boiling point. Castrol’s SRF ($160/L) is probably the most popular choice out there, but I have also had excellent results from Motul RBF 660($30/500ml). These three modifications will give a substantial increase in feel and braking power over the stock road setup, and most importantly they will dramatically reduce the amount of “fade” you experience towards the end of a race.

If the rules allow then an upgraded front master-cylinder should be next on your shopping list. Brembo offer an 18-20 x 19 RCS option ($400-$500), which allows adjustability between increased feel from the 18 ratio and a stronger bite using the 20 option. This is great if you are new to the race scene and aren’t yet sure what you prefer, and it’s not substantially more expensive than a non-adjustable aftermarket master-cylinder. The performance increase from a master-cylinder change will depend on how good your stock system was to begin with, however I did notice a substantial improvement on my GSX-R1000 from the Brembo MC.

If rules and budget are not restrictive, then it’s time to look at some aftermarket rotors and calipers. On the rear I normally just run a wave type rotor ($150-$250) to save approx 100g of rotating mass and leave everything else stock, as I rarely use the rear brake unless I’m off in a gravel trap! On the front you can look to a wave type setup from Galfer or Braking ($600-$800), however most of the front running teams are still using traditional circular rotors from Brembo ($800-$1500). 

For callipers Brembo have a range of options starting at their cast entry level items ($1000-$1500/set) and progressing up to their ultra trick race specification billet Monoblocs ($6000-$8000/set).

Bodywork
Replacing your stock bodywork with something more suitable for track use is highly recommended and due to the rules for most series stipulating a bellypan able to hold a certain amount of fluid, pretty much essential. Aftermarket fairings made from fibreglass ($800-$1200) or carbon-fibre ($2000-$3000) will save a substantial amount of weight from the heavy stock plastics and are also much easier and cheaper to repair if you happen to have an off. At this time I would also suggest picking up a slightly damaged tank from a wrecker if you can find one at a reasonable price ($350-$700), as replacing a stock tank is a very expensive exercise if you want to return your bike to road trim down the track.

Other items on the bodywork list include fibreglass/carbon-fibre air-intake ducts, tank cover, chain guard and rear hugger. All these items will be lighter in fibreglass or carbon-fibre and will also be cheaper than replacing damaged OEM components. While you are doing the bodywork consider moving to an aftermarket screen from Zero Gravity or Puig ($80-$150) and I would recommend a double bubble unit if the rules in your class allow. Again this will be cheaper than replacing an EOM item if it gets damaged and a double bubble design reduces buffeting immensely when you pop up to hit the brakes at the end of the straight.

Some fairing suppliers now offer to supply your race bodywork with the gel coat pre coloured to your requirements. The finish and tone may not be as good as quality paintwork, however it is a very cost effective way of having some colour on your bike and with the addition of a few stickers will still look fine from 10 metres away. If you want a full custom paint job then prices can vary widely ($500-$2000) depending on the complexity and quality you require. 

Weight Reduction
Weight is the enemy of just about everything that makes a motorcycle go fast around a racetrack. Acceleration, braking and cornering performance are all hugely effected by the overall weight of the bike and any reductions can have significant benefits in reducing lap times and also tyre wear. Depending on the rules in your class you may be quite limited in what you are allowed to change on the bike and may also have a minimum weight limit, however here are some things you can do if the rules allow. 

Probably the easiest and best bang for your buck weight reduction item available these days comes through replacing the stock lead acid battery with a much lighter and smaller Lithium-Ion unit ($200-$400). This will save multiple kilograms for the price of a few hundred dollars and let me tell you, the top WSBK teams are spending thousands to save a few grams by the time they get to the end of weight reduction programs.

Next on the list are lightweight aluminium alloy fasteners. You would be shocked to find out how many nuts and bolts there really are on a motorcycle and to say you could replace somewhere in the region of 150-200 steel bolts with aluminium would not be overstating it. Just don’t get too excited with this, structural bolts such as engine mounts, brake calliper mounts, triple clamp bolts, etc should all be left off the alloy replacement list. You do not want to have a brake calliper bolt shear through when you hit the anchors at over 280km/ph into turn one at SMSP! 

Still on fasteners you can spend hours knocking off the spare 3-5mm of thread on the end of structural steel bolts, and drilling out hollow bolts for items such as the subframe mounts to an extra 1mm oversize. I was once talking to the owner of a well known performance shop about this type of work and his attitude was, “Just go and have a piss before you race, it will save more weight than drilling out that bolt”.

“Well yes and I do but you can only have one piss and all these little things add up to make a big difference when you multiply it by 200.”

Speaking of sub-frames, alloy aftermarket race units are available for most sports bikes ($500-$800). Alternatively you could save quite a bit of weight here by reducing the amount of brackets in the stock item, and replacing the heavy plastic OEM undertray with fibreglass or carbon-fibre unit, although you may have to make this up yourself as I haven’t found suitable items to be readily available off the shelf.

If budget and class rules are not a problem then a set of lightweight aftermarket wheels are possibly the most significant weight reduction item you can add, due to the fact that any weight saved here is both unsprung (improved suspension action) and rotating (improved handling, acceleration and braking). Aftermarket aluminium rims are the most cost effective option ($1500-$2500/set) and should provide a small but noticeable improvement over OEM. For a more pronounced improvement Magnesium Alloy ($2500-$4000) or carbon-fibre ($4000-$5000) are the materials of choice for WSBK and GP teams and look just as trick as they perform.

Other Add-Ons
The majority of race series now require high strength engine case covers to be fitted, as modern OEM covers are very fragile, and also a shark fin rear sprocket guard to prevent “Daryl Beattie syndrome” (No toes). Damaging engine cases in a crash will almost definitely result in a serious amount of oil on the track, which is dangerous for other competitors and creates a lot of clean up work for the marshals. Kits are available from Vortex, GB Racing, Woodcraft, Yoshimura and others ($250-$500) and while you are at it get some rear stand swingarm bobbins ($40-$80).

To protect the expensive OEM items and allow increased adjustability, you should look to replace the standard handlebars with aftermarket clip-ons ($150-$250) and swap OEM footpegs with adjustable rearsets ($350-$800), from Vortex, Renthal, Woodcraft, Yoshimura, Sato or similar. I also prefer some grips with a little more bite and find the Renthal dual compounds to work very well ($25). 

While not essential a 520 chain conversion kit ($250-$400) will reduce power losses to the rear wheel and allow a wide choice of gearing options, as this is the most popular pitch for racing world wide. A lot of national series run a control tyre at the moment, which means you don’t have to worry about making a choice and prices average around $550 per set. 

If you do not need to run a control tyre, then some brands can be picked up for around $480/set fitted and you would expect to go through a minimum of two sets per race weekend. Also keep in mind that you will need spare tyres in reasonable condition for practice days, so it’s advisable not to race them until they are completely finished. The last thing you want to do is be trying to race on completely shot tyres, then shell out for a brand new set just for practice. It’s far better to partially use one extra set of tyres on race day and leave yourself with enough rubber for your next practice session.

Lockwiring
Finally on the bike preparation front, all race bikes are required as a minimum to have the following items lockwired – oil filler cap, oil filter, sump plug, radiator cap and front brake calliper bolts. I like to use a hose clamp around the oil filter, and “R” clips through the caps and calliper bolts, this allows easy removal without having to rewire everything each time.

Check out how to lockwire your bike here…

Riding Gear
Before you get out on track you are going to need some decent protective clothing. The price of leathers has come down significantly in the last decade and reasonable quality kit is now available for a much more affordable price ($500-$800). If you want something with a bit more style and comfort then you can upgrade to some premium brand Leathers from Dainese, Alpinestar, Spidi, or similar ($1200-$1800). For those who are a bit different in body shape or just want a custom design or perfect fit, made to measure leathers are produced locally by specialists such as Ricondi, Trinity Racewear, Quin Leathers or Tiger Angel ($1500-$2500).

A back protector ($100-$350), gloves ($100-$400) and boots ($250-$600) are all mandatory and you should always shell out on the best kit you can afford in this area. Trying on a range of brands and styles is a good idea, as they all have a slightly different fit and some will suit your individual body shape better than others.

The last and most important item is a quality helmet. If you’ve been around motorcycles for a while, then you’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “If you’ve got a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet”. Surgeons are pretty skilled these days and can repair most things you are likely to break in an accident, however your brain is not on that list. Spend some dollars and protect it. In my personal opinion, if you can’t afford a $500 helmet as a minimum, then you can’t afford to go racing. Cheaper lids do pass all the safety criteria, or you wouldn’t be allowed to buy them, however they tend to be heavier, which increases the whip force when your head smashes into something solid (like bitumen).

Top range helmets, think Shoei, Arai, AGV ($600-$1200) are lighter, more comfortable, afford a better field of vision and have had the R&D dollars spent to ensure the best possible fit and protection.

Equipment
Additional equipment you will require to go racing includes a trailer or van to get the bike to and from the track, and what you choose here will generally reflect what you can afford and also what suits your requirements away from racing. I use a box trailer ($800-$1400) with a runner and tie down points, and chose this option as it does double duty for garbage and mulch shifting purposes. A fully enclosed trailer ($3000-$6000) would be ideal if you want everything locked up and protected and also allows you to leave tools and parts stored in the trailer at home rather than having to unpack after every meeting.

Check out our transportation tips here…

Front and rear stands are mandatory ($250-$450/set) and I’d recommend going with a head lifting style front stand, which allows easy removal of the front forks for suspension adjustment.

Tyre warmers ($250-$800) are really an essential item these days. Modern race tyres are designed to run only one to three heat cycles, so you need to get them warm, and keep them warm all day to reduce the negative effects. They are also intended to run off tyre warmers and will cold tear badly if you try to ride without heat in them. Trust me, your reduced tyre bill will pay for the warmers after only a couple of race weekends and going out on pre-heated rubber will also dramatically reduce the chances of a first lap crash.

Other desirable equipment includes a decent tool kit, crash spares including clip-ons and footpegs as a minimum and preferably spare fairings and screen, brake levers, throttle tube and grips. Also include cable ties, lock wire, duct tape, spare knee and toe sliders, tinted and clear visors, ear plugs, alternative sprockets, spare rims with wets, chairs and table, extension leads and power boards, Loctite and a selection of nuts bolts and washers.

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The great thing about the Slacker is that it makes a job that previously required two people easily achieved on your own as it does all of the measuring and calculations for you accurately and quickly.

Normally, when adjusting sag, you first need to measure full extension, then static distance from the floor, then subtract that from the extended distance to give static sag. You then need to repeat that sitting on the bike in the riding position, repeating it twice for both ends. To do that, you need a helper to do the measuring while you handle the bike. With the Slacker, you can do it all alone very quickly.

Once you have the Slacker string connected, hook up the handlebar mounted display so you can easily do the job on your own. This simply plugs into the Slacker with the lead provided and attaches to the handlebars via a velcro strap. Makes life a lot easier when trying to read the results.

The remote display has the same functions as the Slacker so everything can be controlled now from the handlebar. Lift on the bars and fully extend the forks, then zero the slacker.

Once sorted, it is time to stand alongside the bike holding it upright. Holding the front brake, bounce the front-end up and down five times to loosen and seal stiction on the fork inner tube and to help the forks settle. Release the brake and give the forks one more bounce with no brakes.

You will now have a reading on the display showing the static sag (unloaded) of the front of the bike for your records, the WR was 49mm. Next, sit on the bike in your normal riding position. Again, bounce the forks up and down, then when they settle, you will have the sag amount displayed on the remote display. Repeat this a few times until you get a consistent reading. The WR was 79mm.

If your bike has preload adjustment, this is the point where you can repeat steps until the correct sag is achieved, either adding or removing spring preload. Sometimes compression damping adjustment can help to set sag as well as preload but you don’t want to be riding on compression rather than spring, so it is generally best to set spring sag with the comp and rebound backed completely off.

With the WR, we ended up with compression at 9/21clicks, rebound at 11/29 clicks and a sag with rider of 79mm. With no spring preload adjustment, we can’t do anything else but those numbers are fine for now as Mike is still a relatively new off road rider.

Once you have set the front up, it is time to move the Slacker unit to the back of the bike. Fit another stick on hook somewhere in a straight line of travel above the rear axle, move the magnetised Slacker to the back axle and connect the string/cable. You can leave the remote display on the handlebar as the cable is very long, which is convenient. Kneeling alongside the right hand side of the bike, push up under the seat area to fully extend the rear suspension, or stand alongside it and lift the rear, then zero the Slacker using the buttons on either the main unit or the remote unit.

Now walk around to the left side, take the bike off the stand and bounce the rear up and down five times then let it settle. You will now have a static sag figure for your records. In this case, 40mm.

Sitting on the bike now, bounce the back up and down with your weight then sit in your usual spot. Try not to take any weight through your legs, which will be on the ground only for balance. If you are alone this will be the best you can do and will be fine, maybe rest an elbow on the wall to stay upright.

You will now have your rear rider sag figure, in this case for the WR, 108mm. We are aiming for 100mm. So we increase rear spring preload to 12mm (three turns on the collar). We do this one turn at a time, checking sags each time. Now the WR250R has 100mm rider sag at the rear and exactly 30mm static, which is spot on with 80kg Mike on it and he is the only person riding the bike. We also set the rear rebound to 8 clicks out and the rear compression to 8 clicks out.

So using the Slacker is so easy compared the old fashioned mate with a tape measure way. You can quickly and easily do this by yourself and the entire process took us around 15-minutes start to finish.

The Slacker is easy to use, comes with a range of connections and is available for $199.95 RRP (Street kit an extra $39.95 RRP) in all good bike shops via the national distributor Pro Accessories, you can check out the Pro Accessories website here.

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In this fitment guide we cover the main points of properly fitting fairings, in what order to tackle the job, as well as showing you some of the tricks used to do a good job and help you get around some of the problems that can arise when fitting aftermarket race fairings to your bike.

Check out our other tech tips here…

Firstly, there is a proper order to things. You’ll want to fit the fairings before you paint them, then take them off to be painted. It takes us around four hours in the shop with all the tools and know-how, so allow yourself six hours or more to finish the job. Make sure you have the bike clean and set up on stands or a workbench with plenty of room to move around. 

You will need the correct tools. A compressor and a die grinder is a must for cleaning up rough areas and drilling holes. Some sand paper – 180 dry for rubbing down moulding seams and 320 dry for cleaning up edges and finishing off for paint (keep in mind that your spray painter will be able to take care of most of this when prepping). Plus all the usual workshop tools. Make sure all drill bits are sharp and ready for use!

When fitting race fairings you need to be patient. Sometimes you’ll find bolt marks that don’t line up. Often it’s simply a matter of taking a quick breather then getting back into it and you’ll find it will be something simple like the fairing not mounted correctly.

Sometimes the fairings may have warped a little during shipping, this is not a problem, it’s just a matter of bending them back into shape and fitting them to the bike in the correct position. Once the bike has been through a couple of heat cycles the fairings will re-set to that position.

You need to keep in mind that race fairings do not fit as well as factory plastics, so you may find areas where there are small inconsistencies. This is quite normal and not usually noticeable once the paint and stickers are on. If you check out other race bikes at the track you’ll be surprised how good they look from a distance but upon closer inspection the fibreglass fairings rarely look as neat as street fairings.

Start with the tank cover (if you have one), then seat support, ducktail, ducktail lower, upper fairing, lower fairing and finally the windscreen. You will need to be prepared to remove and refit panels a number of times to confirm correct fitting – be patient! 

You will need to use the original factory bolts to mount the fairing to the frame of the bike. Taper bolts allow you to make accurate marks in fairing panels so you know where to drill. Keep in mind that sometimes mounting points on bikes will be not perfectly aligned. If your bike has been in any kind of crash, it will be likely that things such as the subframe, radiator or other mount points will be not exactly aligned. If this is the case then you may need to straighten them before fitting the glass. 

Sometimes you may need to grind areas off the fairing so that they fit around corners/over edges or if there are parts on the fairing that you do not require. If this is the case do not panic! Fibreglass is very easy to work with and can be easily shaped using a die grinder, electric grinder or even a hand file. If you need to remove a section of panel, simply mark what you need to remove with a marker pen and grind off the area. Finish the ground edge off with some sandpaper. 

When fitting upper and lower fairings, sometimes you will find that a mount point will not line up exactly to the area on the fairing that has the recess to mark where the hole should be drilled. If this happens do not panic! Sometimes previous accidents can cause alignments to go out but it is not a problem. You can simply drill the hole in the appropriate position or you may need to space the fairing out a little from the frame with some spacers.

Dzus Fasteners are great for connecting upper and lower fairings; however you need to be careful. Dzus Fasteners come in different shaft lengths and you’ll need the correct length for them to work properly. The Dzus Fasteners supplied with Doctor Glass fairing kits have 10mm shafts and are suitable for most applications so long as the fibreglass being connected is not too thick.

If the glass is too thick, such as in situations where carbon bordering has been chosen as an option, you may need to sand or grind the contact points between the fairings so that they reach the correct thickness for the Dzus Fastener to function correctly. Rivnuts also work as an excellent replacement for Dzus Fasteners if available. 

When mounting the windscreen for the first time it’s best to do so with the upper fairing off the bike. Get someone to hold the screen in position then mark any holes in the fairing or screen that need to be drilled. Some windscreens come pre-drilled but sometimes you will need to drill yourself. If you need to drill holes in the screen make sure you put tape over the area first (both sides), then use the drill in reverse at a very high speed. Don’t push too hard or you’ll crack the Perspex. 

Another point that is worth making is that it’s important to try to keep contaminants such as oil, grease and especially silicon off the unpainted fairings as this will make them much harder to paint. 

There you have it! It might sound like a big job but if you take your time, measure twice and only cut once it’ll fit great. Then its off to the painters for your fairing and you’ll have a great looking track bike in no time!

Words and Photography: Doctor Glass

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Check out our other tech tips here…

The first and foremost is that you get a more consistent solid lever under extreme repeated hard braking conditions. When brake fluid reaches high temperatures stock lines soften and swell under lever pressure, meaning the rider loses lever and this is a nightmare. 

The second is feel – with a more one-to-one ratio due to no swelling at all during braking the lines give you a more intimate fell and you can brake on the limit with much more finesse in both wet and dry conditions.

Fitting lines compliments changing to race brake pads and even cast iron rotors if you have the cash. But in general standard stainless steel rotors, brake lines, good quality fluid and a good master-cylinder, along with race brake pads, will give you a top braking package but remember your brakes are only as good as your suspension and tyres!

If you are serious about track days, aftermarket performance brake lines are on the must-fit list… Words: Jeff Ware

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Repeated hard braking from high speed generates temperatures that simply don’t come into the equation on the road and suddenly, you find that your OEM or street compound brake pads are not coping. They may glaze up due to excess temperature and fade. They may get so hot that they overheat your brake fluid and cause excess lever travel or a spongy lever.

Check out our other tech tips here…

You may also find you don’t have enough braking power or initial bite at the track and these things all contribute to overloading street compound brakes – expecting them to perform outside of their intended operating parameters is just not going to work. So, the solution is to head to your local bike shop and grab a set of race pads.

Whether you prefer EBC, Dunlopad, Bendix, Ferodo or any other quality brand, the trick is to get a set that is designed for what your needs are. Sometimes you need more than one type of pad, depending on whether you are racing or doing ride days.

A good sports sintered or organic brake pads will give you stronger initial bite with more feel than a street pad. It will also offer more intimate feel when modulating brake pressure and give much more stopping power, with out the heat and fade issues. A sintered or organic pad will give you a good range of operating temperatures and you can still expect a good few track days out of a set, usually with less rotor wear than harder compound street sintered pads will create.

If you want to get really serious you can go with a pad like the Bendix Carbon-Matrix, which is what I use on short circuits where there is a short straight. They need to be up to temperature to be effective and they are seriously hard-core when it comes to stopping power and initial bite. On tracks with long straights, however, such as Eastern Creek, they cool down and do not perform as well until back up to temperature again. 

There are plenty of good brands out there and lots to choose from. Ask your local Spare Parts Interpreter at your local bike shop for the right advise and get fitting!

You can squeeze that lever as fast as you like but unless you have the correct brake pads you’re never going to be a late braker… Words: Jeff Ware

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Obviously, we all want to make sure our pride and joy is going to be transported safely and arrive at the destination in the same condition as when we started. This is where it can be difficult if you don’t know or understand what the bike needs and what you need to do to make sure that all is safe and all is not damaged.

Check out our other tech tips here…

First and for most is how you get the bike into the transportation you have decided to use. I can’t think of many examples where you can just roll the bike in without having to climb some sort of gradient, so, we are going to need a ramp. Now, I mean a ramp, not a lump of timber, not a section of U channel from a building site and not a convenient couple of mates to help you lift it on. Mind you I have one ingenious rider at Eastern Creek load and unload his and hers bikes using a hydraulic crane off the side of his truck using slings to support the bike! Very clever.

The height that you have to get the bike to, ute or trailer or van, can be made far easier if you obtain a ramp that can be long enough to make the ramp angle more shallow, this alone will make the job of pushing or riding, yes riding, you bike into or onto your transport.

There are many types and styles of aftermarket ramps, most are aluminium and most fold for convenient storing; some have supports to the ground in the middle and so on.  One of the most important things you can do with your ramp is have it lock in, in some fashion to the trailer, van or ute. This obviously stops the ramp from moving when loading or unloading, a secure ramp gives you confidence to hit the ramp with speed when loading. If it slips to the side you will drop the bike from a fair height. You might even end up under it and injured. 

Once the bike is on board, it has to be secured; many bike trailers have a built in front wheel support area. Box trailers, vans and utes don’t so you need to make sure that the front will stay where you want it to. There are many aftermarket support stands that can be bolted down to the floor of a trailer, van or ute. Most will hold the bike upright when the front wheel is in place giving the luxury to then move around the bike without the fear of it falling while you tie it down, these are a must if you are doing this a lot on your own.

Tying the bike down is the most critical and misunderstood aspect of the job. This is where damage can occur to your bike, forks and fork seals can damage very quickly if you tie the bike down incorrectly.

The bike, even when tied down, must be able to move, the suspension must be able to go through it’s normal movement without being hindered. The bike needs to be able to bounce but not come loose. If you lock in both the front and rear wheels absolutely solid with no back and forth movement the bikes suspension can’t move or travel. Think about it, the wheel base of you bike changes as you ride, the suspension when fully extended gives the longest wheel base to the bike, when the suspension compresses the wheel base shortens because the forks are angled, the swingarm also changes the wheel base.

So, if you lock both wheels, there is nowhere for the suspension to move except to try and compress and as a result damage will happen to your bike. Most common is fork seals and steering stem bearings, but the longer the bike is tied down and the longer the distance of transport, more damage can occur. You also need to ensure that hooks or soft ties are secured in a way that when the suspension of the bike compresses over bumps, the strap or tie down won’t become unhooked from the bike when the strap goes slack momentarily. 

The answer is to only lock down one wheel, if the front is your choice, lock it by the axle or lower section of the forks near the axle, not by the triple trees pulling the front down, this will cause damage. If by the rear wheel, the same applies, only by the wheel, there are some very good tie down systems for rear wheel on the market. There are also many types and brands of tie downs, I prefer the ratchet type, fitted properly they never come undone. To support the bike from rocking from side to side, use points on the frame about mid point and about at wheel height. This will support the bike but not put strain on it.

Think about where you put your fuel can, tools and any other gear including the ramp, if these are just placed in the vehicle or trailer and not secured they will move, they can then rub or scrap your bike, rub or scrape on other gear, it wouldn’t be good to have you fuel can rubbed through on a trip and end with 20 litres of fuel sloshing around in the back of the van or trailer. 

And one thing I always remember – Mark Stenburg, our contributor and lawyer, once represented a man who’s bike ramp bounced off his trailer, went through a car windscreen and seriously injured the driver. He did jail time. So always secure your ramp!

If your bike falls off on the freeway, it’s gonna cost you big bucks! Words: Paul Bailey

The post Tech Tips: Transporting Your Bike To The Track appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Firstly, any motorcycle used for competition, in our case, road racing, must by National and State motorcycle racing governing bodies standards, have certain parts lock wired for safety reasons. Parts including, drain plugs, oil filters – either spin on type or cartridge type oil filters, filler caps, radiator caps, water overflow caps front brake calliper mounting bolts and any other plug or drain that can allow the escape of any fluid from the motorcycle must be lock wired and inspected before the motorcycle can be used for any competition.

Check out our other tech tips here…

Track bikes, although not race bikes, should still be lock wired. Track bikes are under far more stress over a short period of time than a road bike. Any mechanical device has an inherent vibration or harmonic point that can loosen bolts, nuts and fittings with great ease, everything may be tightened to torque specifications, but with constant high rpm many of these fittings will loosen and can then cause a weep or a spill of fluid.

Obviously any fluid spilt onto a track during racing or track days is a highly dangerous event. It can sometimes take half a lap or more before a rider of a leaking bike may realise he has a oil or fluid leak, or it may cause him or her to crash as a result of the same fluid leak, it can also of course, cause other riders to crash when they run over the spilt fluids. As you can imagine this can seriously delay any racing or any track sessions while the offending fluid spill is cleaned up from the track to then allow racing or track sessions to continue. As a racer and track day manager of Eastern Creek Ride Days I’ve seen the results of these spills in both lost track time, damage to machinery and personal injuries.

By adopting the attitude of safety and lock wiring the motorcycles drain plugs, filters, filler caps and radiator caps; these unnecessary track incidents could almost be eliminated completely. I can hear some of you saying, if I lock wire my road bike, when I sell it people will think it has been raced. It only takes a few dollars to replace the drilled parts with new; no one will really know what you have done. The reality is most race bikes sold as road bikes have had this done already. The benefit is, you have made your bike safer for you for either on the track or road.

Special lock wire tools are available from most good car or bike performance centres. Stainless steel wire of different gauges are available also, but too light a gauge wire may break too easily during fitting, so a reasonably strong wire is best that is also flexible enough to be twisted by the tool.

Once you have identified the bolts and plugs that need to be lock wired, use a sharp drill bit, use either a bench drill (for more control) or a variable speed hand drill to do the necessary drilling of the parts. Try to think about where you are drilling, thinking ahead to where you will attach the lock wire from the part to another securing point on the bike. Try to position the two points so that the plug or part can’t unwind any distance, imagine how the plug would unwind, and attach the wire so it can’t rotate from the locked position.

If you have a spin on oil filter, attach a good quality hose clamp around it and have that clamp pinching the lock wire under it, then you can use the tool to spin the two strands of wire and then attach the wire to another point on the bike, again think about the direction that the filter will unwind and counter that with the anchoring of the lock wire.

The tool is simple to use, cut a length of lock wire, pass it through the pre drilled hole you have created in the plug or part, then double up the wire so you have the two strands next to each other. Hold the wires to where you are going to attach to the frame or other anchor point, at this distance place the tool over the wire and clamp the wires tightly, then lock the pliers shut.

You can then pull on the spiral knob at the end of the plies and they will automatically twist the wires together. Do this a number of times till the wires are twisted like a rope, be careful not to over twist or you will break them and have to start again. Find the anchor point you are using and pass one wire either side of the anchor point and then lock and twist the wires around the anchor point, you can then trim and fold the twisted wires out of the way. You have now successfully lock wired your bike!

Lock Wiring Costs

• Lock wire tool  $35 – $70
• Stainless steel wire per container   $30

Lockwiring is one of the most important things you should do to your bike before heading on track… Words & Photography: Paul Bailey

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