prepping my kz650 for vintage

[fonzy]

im not having alot of luck selling any of my bikes to buy a race bike , so i think to get my feet wet , i ll run my ol kz till i sell something , at 1 st just some track days, then maybe a race later in the year, so a few questions, i know i need hard covers but they seem to be hard to find for this bike , could i build a guard instead? also would it be better to covert to newer wheels and brakes?( i understand this would most likely take it out of vinatge and run sportsman which is fine with me) or should leave it be? thanks for your time

[yak]

Steve

I'll give your questions a go.

1. Yes you can build engine guards. Juan is working on clarifying what will be acceptable so I'd recommend posting up your design before starting to work on it.

2. At this point you would be the only Vintage bike racer so modifications wouldn't improve your finishing position. I personally wouldn't put a lot of money into race prepping a temporary race bike especially an older one since it would be more cost effective to start with a newer bike.

Starting with some track days makes a lot of sense to me.

Good luck,

Todd

[fonzy]

may leave that one one the back burner for now or just sell it , thanks for all the advice

[YZF1000jon]

You were running quick enough times on the duc that you wouldn't be left for dead in the sportsman race (if that's where we'd stick you). Remember, you'd still have to complete 4 novice races to get going anyway, why not jump in with both feet? I overheard someone at round 1 say the novice races are for bike prep, safety, and track awareness, racing against someone shouldn't be the priority. That's what intermediate racing is for. I have to agree, those first 4 races should be just a more intense version of a track day.

And if you've already got the NSR, why would you bring the KZ?

[Streethawk]

What is this about engine guards? I've been rebuilding an old two smoker I am planning on vintage racing and hadn't heard anything about needing engine guards. Please enlighten me...
Cheers

[oldskool]

What is this about engine guards? I've been rebuilding an old two smoker I am planning on vintage racing and hadn't heard anything about needing engine guards. Please enlighten me...
Cheers

You need engine gaurds.

[fonzy]

i sold the nsr, the kz is right now on ebay , so is my drz400, my ducati is alos up for sale with not much action

[Streethawk]

You need engine gaurds.

So what exactly do i need to do? I see nothing on the website regarding guidelines for this.

[oldskool]

What you didn't like my first reply? lol

You need to either put aftermarket engine cases on, have your stock ones beefed up by welding a plate on or build some sort of protective cage or some kind of frame slider dealio that will protect the cases in a crash.

[Streethawk]

That answer was more what i was looking for, thanks :). Hopefully I can get away with some frame sliders doing the job. Wouldn't want to ruin the looks of the engine cases I polished up.

[oldskool]

That answer was more what i was looking for, thanks :). Hopefully I can get away with some frame sliders doing the job. Wouldn't want to ruin the looks of the engine cases I polished up.


If aftermarket engine casings can be found for your bike you WILL have to run them or you will be sitting out with tears in your eyes. Sliders aren't a simple answer, pretty much everyone had sliders before this rule came into effect. Good luck.

[Streethawk]

Aftermarket engine cases for a '70 Suzuki T250... I really doubt it, but I will look into it. thx

[yak]

Streethawk

In my opinion it is likely that your bike is an exception to the rule. The purpose of the rule is to avoid putting oil down on the track. I'm not familiar with your specific bike but on the surface a 2 stroke engine is unlikely to be at risk of losing a measurable volume of oil out of the crankcase. It is also unlikely that your transmission fluid is at risk of being released in a crash, but this would need to be evaluated. Drop Juan a note and see if he buys in to this. A couple of pictures may help your case.

On a related note: if you are still using the oil injection system you'll want to ensure that it won't dump oil on the track in the event of a tip over.

Regards,

Todd

[Streethawk]

Thanks Yak, that seems to make sense.
I'm mixing my oil and gas, so I'm not using the old oil injection system. I'll send Juan a pic and get his input when the bike is done (hopefully 2-3 weeks)