| Author | Message | ||
     Xb_blaster |
I am considering buying a XB12R that will be a track bike only. I have been poking around the internet and got some crazy ideas put in my head. I also have a ton of questions for BadWeb and your wealth of knowledge. I saw that someone put a turbo on his XB and I would do the same thing but I also would like to send the case off to be bored so that I can get 88" out of it with stage 3 head work done. I would upgrade the rear caliper to a Brembo and use a ZTL2 for the front. Not sure what exhaust would be best or to straight pipe it. Looking for some guidance. Also what year should I look at for simplicity of tuning? I'd be open to suggestions for better mods I havent thought of. | ||
| Shoggin |
A 'Track bike' or a 'Race bike'? A race bike can make you money if you are a VERY, VERY, good rider. But you need to stay within the class rules you are racing in that usually restrict engine mods. A track bike is a fun machine that should be as dependable and cheap as possible to run. You'll be spending enough on tires, gas, and admission. IMO there is NO reason to add HP to a track bike. There's no 'winning' a track day and building a motor is expensive and usually less reliable. Brakes, however are a good upgrade. The ZTL-2 with a 19mm radial M/C, EBR solid mount hardware kit on an EBR Race rotor is a good, cheap, upgrade for the front. Any more and you'll be getting Ohlins forks and normal twin disks. The rear is pretty pointless, but a smaller M/C bore will get rid of that wooden feeling and give you nice progressive rear brakes with the stock caliper. You can put a Buell "Race" tune in your ECM using tools like ECMDroid, ECMSpy, and TunerPro, or call IDS for a plug n Play ECM to match the muffler you want. IMO Open pipes are dumb and annoying. Look at Keda Designs (Dean Adams) or APH for the most power gains. Have fun on the track, it's addicting! (I'm going to Streets of Willow on Sunday)  | ||
| 1_mike |
What Shoggin said. Read every line. Mike | ||
| Tleighbell |
what Shoggin said. you'll get far more gains by spending your money on seat time, suspension and brakes than on motor. Plus you'll have the satisfaction of passing "faster" bikes. (Or if you're like me, the excuse of being down on power!) | ||
| Skipbarberman |
I have a mildly built XB9R now, but this is before the 1050 kit. Race Tech had done the 43mm forks, and I had an Ohlins in the rear I had just installed and was out tweaking. Kid tried chasing me around the reservoir by my house (30 turns, 3.5 mi.) on 2010 ZX-10. Couldn't keep up.....when I stopped to change rebound damping, he asked me, 'What the hell are you riding?!' I told him an air cooled V45. He was stunned. Point being, focus on skills and suspension.....then brakes, then motor. It will keep you out of the poor house and likely alive. +1 on the Dean Adams Exhaust. I had bought a new 2010 XB12 header, and had it and Dean's muffler ceramic powder coated (think JetHot). Dramatically reduces heat, power is better when combined with the XB12 TB from Phelan, and it sounds awesome.....so good, I sold the XB Race muffler to my brother. (Message edited by skipbarberman on August 24, 2019) (Message edited by skipbarberman on August 24, 2019) | ||
| Tpehak |
Here are the pure track bikes and my favorite racing discipline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddQVuhd7xLI | ||
| Skipbarberman |
Hilarious. | ||
| Xb_blaster |
If I wanted a track bike I didn't care about I'd buy an older liter bike and strip it down and use that. I am a tinkerer and would like to be able to get as much out of an XB12R as possible and have a place to try it out. I guess my tuning question got lost, what I meant was the post 2007 changes to the computer. Which would be better for performance upgrades 04-07 or 08-09? Is the Keda designs so the bike is not as loud or for some back pressure? Anyone know anything about boosting such a bike? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
The 2008 and 2009 have a bigger crank pin and therefore higher redline. If I were to choose to boost anything, I would start with the stronger bottom end. Cooling it would be a major issue I think. XBs already run pretty hot in there. I guess you would have to reduce the static compression ratio a bit so it doesn't get all explodey on the boost. Seriously, if you want a 150Hp track bike, you should start out with a bike that already has that. An old R1 would do that all day til the tires bake off. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
Tpehak: that's what you do with Blast rather than cubing.... Anybody? | ||
| Tpehak |
2010 has second O2 sensor and fuel pressure sensor so you will have more control tuning it. | ||
| Skipbarberman |
If I wanted a track bike I didn't care about I'd buy an older liter bike and strip it down and use that. I am a tinkerer and would like to be able to get as much out of an XB12R as possible and have a place to try it out. I guess my tuning question got lost, what I meant was the post 2007 changes to the computer. Which would be better for performance upgrades 04-07 or 08-09? Is the Keda designs so the bike is not as loud or for some back pressure? Anyone know anything about boosting such a bike? You REALLY might want to consider that.......read further. I, like you like to 'tinker' or tweak as it were. More fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow, perhaps? The 08+ bikes have improvements over the prior 03-08 bikes in terms of longevity and engineering changes resulting from durability (crankshaft, oil pump. ignition). But also consider the more complex DDFI3 vs. DDFI2, substituting wide-band O2 sensors, et. al. In my opinion, there is only so much you get out of a air-cooled 45 degree V-twin with a reasonable amount of cash. Can you build a track monster....sure. Search '1169' and the username 'Slaughter' on this site. You can see where Steve and others told me about Pandora's box and opening it. Be prepared to tune and chase it all the time. Loads of fun, but lots of cash and work. So, how fast do you want to spend? | ||
| Xb9sxvtwin |
This thread reminds of how the BUELL race team bike was, as proudly claimed by Erik, a customer's bike w/ NO mods (no ABS!) that raced against THE best the world had to offer whose team bikes had unlimited mods. I think its fair to say had BUELL had 1/2 the budget Ducati & the Jap teams had they'dve won multiple races. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQirRe48S-E |
