Kawasaki ZX-10R Forum banner

moto316's 2016 ZX-10R racebike build

10K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  Jeffreymedley5 
#1 · (Edited)
Well time for a new project! After my 2011 met her demise a few weeks ago at PBIR I've been scouring craigslist/forums/ebay for a Gen5 so I can get back in the game with some new updated machinery. Managed to find a 2016 ABS model that a squid traded into a wholesaler for a Harley after he/she laid it down on the right side. She's got 3000 something miles on the clock so the engines not super fresh but not terrible.



 
See less See more
3
#2 · (Edited)
First order of business is getting her stripped down and getting the wiring harness, emissions and ABS system completely removed. Which is a hell of a lot easier said than done. My 2011 was a non-ABS model and it didn't have the emissions/evap shit on it so I was a little worried once I started to see how big the pile of junk I was ripping off the bike was growing.



This might be common knowledge but I was floored to find out that you need to remove the swingarm to get to a bolt that holds one of the ABS line junctions going to the rear brake line. Kawi must of been having a laugh when they designed this system. While I had it off I cleaned and greased the swingarm pivot and linkage bearings. A good thing I did since it seemed like the last owner took this thing through a field of mud before they traded it in.

 
#3 ·
First order of business is getting her stripped down and getting the wiring harness, emissions and ABS system completely removed. Which is a hell of a lot easier said than done. My 2011 was a non-ABS model and it didn't have the emissions/evap shit on it so I was a little worried once I started to see how big the pile of junk I was ripping off the bike was growing.



This might be common knowledge but I was floored to find out that you need to remove the swingarm to get to a bolt that holds one of the ABS line junctions going to the rear brake line. Kawi must of been having a laugh when they designed this system. While I had it off I cleaned and greased the swingarm pivot and linkage bearings. A good thing I did since it seemed like the last owner took this thing through a field of mud before they traded it in.



Back together and fresh n clean:



I'm hoping that's not the original oil...


Oh my. Did you get an oil analysis from blackstone labs? I like to do that on bikes/cars/trucks/motors i buy used to see how they were maintained and treated prior to me.
 
#9 ·
Giddyup! Subscribed to this now. :wink:

Sorry to hear of your demise with the G4, but glad you found an upgrade now! Interested in the updates on the new one along the way. :ayyy:
 
#12 ·
Um....yeah. I'm not a real big fan of the red hoses with the green accents :wink:, but holy hell! Other than that, it looks pimpin' dude! Nice job! Can't wait to see more pics of it out on the track. :ayyy:
 
#20 · (Edited)
Here is where the build is at currently:


E/T Rearsets
E/T clip-ons
Cox rad guard
Ohlins damper
Cordona sensor
Sharkskinz bodywork and paint
Arrow 71155ckz full Ti exhaust
MWR WSBK filter
Block off plates
Samco hoses
Motion Pro Rev2 throttle
Stomp grip
KIT ecu
KIT harness
Apex switches
Speedcell battery
Ape CCT
Captive spacers
Coremoto brake lines
MMR lightened rear rotor
K-tech 35DDS Pro

Just finished installing the kit harness, about to head over and get the shock installed:



MWR WSBK filter:


Apex switchgear:


E/T clip-ons


Custom coremoto brakelines, this is from their works360 line, you can get them customized with staubil dry break connectors, integrated brake pressure sensor, etc. Pretty trick


Arrow full Ti system


 
#23 ·
Sorry for the lack of updates, finally back in FL and riding again!


Took the bike out for it's maiden voyage at a track day Dec 10th at PBIR to get it sorted out before my first race round the following weekend. Just before that I took the bike over to my guy Dave Weaver at Full Spectrum Racing to get it tuned. The Gen5 showed a healthy 5-10hp gain past 8k compared to my Gen4 so I was happy with the results!

Graph comparison

Gen4 output

Gen5 output


First impression - Completely different bike than the Gen4. Gearing and power delivery are the major differences I felt at first. With the 17/41 gearing I was finding myself running close to the limiter in 4th gear entering turn 1 whereas on the gen4 with 17/43 I was only using 3rd in that section. I didn't get a chance to put down many hot laps due to an issue I was working out with the aftermarket cordona strain gauge sensor and the Kit ECU. For some reason it would cut/blip just fine if I short shifted down the back straight and kept my pace below 80%, but once I laid the hammer down it would get stuck after the first upshift and downshift and not cut and blip anymore.

After speaking with Dave about my quickshifter issues from the prior weekend we thought we should try out a different linkage than the one I'm currently running. I have the Evol Tech GP shift setup where it uses the kickstand mount as a pivot and a small block that attaches to the quickshift sensor and offsets it from the shift knuckle. Since this rearset system was designed to be used with the stock sensor slotting into that small block and I was using a different much smaller sensor that wasn't slotting into the block I had a hunch this might be the issue. Dave has several guys running the same cordona sensor paired to the kit ECU with success but they were all using the traditional shift linkage with the shift rod crossing over the frame. I contacted Steve at Evol Tech and we talked for a bit about my issue and how to tackle it. I took some pics and measurements of the current set up and sent it over to him. He ended up rush shipping me their standard shift parts and a custom length shift rod to convert it to a traditional linkage setup so that I had time to get it installed before my first race round that weekend! Huge thanks Steve!

Old shift setup


New shift setup
 
#24 · (Edited)


First race round - Went out first practice session Saturday morning crossing my fingers hoping that the new linkage would sort out my issues and lo and behold it did! Ignition cut all the way to 6th gear and blipped all the way back down to 2nd down the backstraight at full pace :) Shifting was a little firm so I spent the next few sessions messing around with the shift voltages in the kit ECU, got it a little bit better but not 100% to my liking, I'll have to spend more time on that during a trackday weekend.

Spent the rest of the day getting acclimated to the new bike and trying to get down to my previous pace before my crash back in May. After tucking the front end on my Gen4 I can definitely tell I'm lacking alot of confidence on corner entry and midcorner now (The nice new bike and paintjob definitely doesn't help with breaking through mental barriers either! lol)

After all of practice and qualifying was done I was only about a second off of my previous pace thankfully. After being off of a bike for 6 months in addition to the crash I was hoping for only being about 3-4 seconds slower but I guess it's hard to hold myself back! I'm like a light switch, either on or off! lol.

Sunday race day - First race was the 12 lap Superbike 1000 Grande Corsa. My mentality going into this was to just use it as more practice time for the sprint races later on in the day and to focus on proper mechanics and fundamentals. Had a new front Pirelli SC2 on and a SC1 takeoff on the rear with a few laps on it. I believe I was gridded up 4th with only 2 guys on the front row. Right off the start my teammate Todd (fastest 1000 amateur in the series) who was gridded up 5th beat me to the first corner and just checked out that first lap, after a few more laps an expert who I finished consistently ahead of last year passed me as well. Ended up 5th overall. Best time was about 2 seconds off my usual pace.

Second race - Superstock 1000 Sprint. Gridded up 4th, entered first corner 5th after a veteran expert rocketed past both Todd and I from the 6th grid spot, accidentally downshifted all the way to first entering the first corner letting the lead group get away a bit. Passed that expert on the 2nd lap on the backstraight to take 4th position back. After a few more laps I took a peek behind me out of turn 4 curious to see where Todd was, only to find him right on my tail, lol fuck! Put my head down and took some defensive lines going into the hard braking zones where most of the passing occurs to try and keep Todd behind me. Ended up finishing 4th with a new race PB by about 2 tenths of a second and towing Todd to a new PB for him as well!

https://youtu.be/v5L8xC6ClfQ

Final race - Superbike 1000 Sprint. Gridded up 4th again, had a great start passing one of the fast guys on the front row entering into turn 1 in 3rd place only for him to ride around me and snatch it right back before the flip to the right lol. Opened up a 1-2s gap from Todd in 5th place, but after a few laps he clawed that gap back after I made a mistake going too deep into turn 4 and almost clipping the curbing in turn 8 on the same lap. After that I concentrated on getting a good drive onto the back straight and guarding the inside line in the heavy braking zone into turn 9 to not give him a chance to dive up inside me. Plan worked and I finished 4th again.

https://youtu.be/dsN5riZmrqw

Overall I'm really pleased with how the Gen5 is, the rear is way more planted than my Gen4 ever was and the front forks are truly amazing for still being stock. Those will be getting swapped out soon however with DDS cartridges.


The MPH Racing team bikes lined up for a photo op


Trying to keep Todd at bay


 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top