[woodsracer]

This thread is meant to aid in the track setup of a new (to me) bike and to document the build. This is gonna be a good time for sure, but hard on the pockets!!

I got a killer deal on an 06, it wasn't running and turned out to be a simple electrical problem. Got it for $1700, 20k miles but is in pretty good condition. I used to race a Ducati 996 but took a 5 year break. Just took the 675 to the track for the first time and oh baby it's ON. I want to keep the budget as low as possible. I have questions about geometry, suspension options, head mods/compression changes, etc. Thanks in advance for your help!

So far I have changed the battery, air filter, spark plugs, oil, fork seals, brake pads, and some other small stuff. I have a set of billet rearsets (only $123 so hoping they are solid) and Yoyodyne slipper on it's way. I wanted to find a used slipper but haven't seen any so I dropped the $830 on it, OUCH. But worth it in the end. The local track is pretty tight with a 35 mph hairpin and mostly right hand turns. The surface is on the rough side. I started in intermediate last weekend and after 3 sessions they bumped me up to expert as I learned the track. So my pace is pretty decent but I'm not fast again yet. I was never really that fast before anyway but here's a second chance to start winning races!

1. SUSPENSION: For a bit of a bumpy track, the stock suspension worked quite well (I'm 200 lbs geared). Fork settings C=13, R=2, P=6th line flush; Shock settings C=16, R=2, P=4 threads showing. As I pick up pace I might need to address the valving soon, my question is: are there resources for track shim stacks with stock pistons? Are results better with RT gold valves (they give you shim stack recommendations but they are not cheap)? Do you guys upgrade to newer model year internals, and do the newer shocks have better components (not Ohlins) and do they fit the 06? The Ohlins look to be about 500 bucks so not cheap. The 06 shock came with a progressive spring, right, at 12.6 kg/mm? Will valving accommodate a linear spring and does this seem to be the direction to go? Spring rate recommendations? 10.7 kg/mm is an option?

2. GEOMETRY: I set the forks to show about 1 mm of fork tube above the top triple (the gold outer tube not including the cap). I could see dropping the front a little but I also just rotated the clip ons out so the front should be more weighted now. I am 6'2 and have not felt like I am fitting the bike that well, hopefully with the clip on move and moving the pegs back 5 mm or so it will help. The tank just seems very narrow and you slide very far forward under hard braking. Can you raise/lower the rear or is that not adjustable? The swingarm does look adjustable, what settings do you run?

2. GEARING: Stock is 16/47 but have heard 15/49 is the hot setup for tighter tracks. I have a 15t coming so might try that with the 47, or is that not enough? Thoughts? Looking forward to harder drive out of the corners.

3. FAIRINGS: Been looking for fairings on ebay and such, would rather not go new but the used ones available are still kind of expensive or need repairs. Any cheap options out there? Was also considering bondo or similar to close up the headlight holes and sheet plastic to close off passanger seat hole, not sure how janky that would look. Also the tail has a gap for the tail light so not sure how to deal with that.

4. Increasing the compression by decking the head seems like a go to for 675 tuning. The 3 closest tracks are all above 4,300 ft with the most often one I'll go to being 5,300 ft. so I have room before detonation happens. How much are you guys taking off, I have read 0.004-0.006" or so? Head gasket thickness? Would it be necessary to retune when you deck the head or could you run stock tune for a while without it being dangerous? I have a dyno tuner a few hours away, what tuning hardware are you guys having luck with? PowerCommander, Bazazz is good, but there are cheaper option like tuneECU but not sure its limitations for custom tuning.

Thanks for any help!!

 

[woodsracer]

Is this in the wrong forum?

 

[mpusch]

Is this in the wrong forum?

I wouldn't think so! In my opinion it would have been fine in "general" as well.

Glad you started this! Curious to hear how things progress for you. I race a first-gen as well, but it's a bit more casual and I don't claim to be anything special (regarding building a bike or riding, haha).

I also had a comfort issue with the stock tank. Set of Techspecs made a WORLD of difference with confidence under braking.

Not sure if you mentioned the actual track you'll be frequenting, but it's hard to determine gearing in a vacuum. I run 15/48, which is mostly at Pittrace. Top speed matters, but your shift points and everything also should determine where your gearing should be. I'm no where near topping out 6th.

 

[Cheyenne Bodie]

Yea man that's a sweet deal, nice bike. I'm a total noob when it comes to teching a 675 for competitive performance, but I can detail pretty well so I got that going for me. I'm paying attention to any advice you might get for my own benefit. I second the Techspecs suggestion, but I don't know how they compare to the Stompgrips. You can do a 1050 throttle tube swap for a cheap quick turn upgrade. TuneECU will help you configure and remap it, but it's not great for custom tuning. Bazzaz or Rapid Bike will give you the control you need to get everything dialled in.

 

[tottenham12712]

What race org and what class do you plan on racing? Cant really help without knowing that first Cheap and race doesnt really go together unless you want to run a 250/300 or an SV. Building and running a 600+ will never be cheap.

That being said... go get the suspension serviced, its probably never been touched in the 20k miles its been used. Leave the swing arm, leave the forks where you have it and ride the bike. You will not benefit from changing things because you have nothing to go off of yet. The most important thing is to set all your controls to be in a comfortable position, adding tank pads is also important for this bike as the tank is a little odd. Next trackday find the suspension tech at the track and have them give you a baseline.

$123 dollar rearsets are probably shit. Call TJ at riders discount and get a set of attack performance rearsets. They crash well and are easily fixed after a crash.

I run 16/48 for gearing at NJMP and Summit, might as well do a 520 conversion if you are re gearing.

I use sharkskinz, they also crashed well.

You said cheap then you started talking about head work.... you will need a full tune regardless as I assume you are not running a stock exhaust/header. With head work you will absolutely need a tune. If you can find someone that can use tuneECU do that, piggy back units are a pita, but I run powercommander without issues. Chances are the head work will be illegal for any stock class.

 

[woodsracer]

Thanks for your input fellas. I'll mainly be running with SMRI at Sandia Speedway (Albuquerque, NM), but also ASMA at Arroyo Seco (Deming, NM) and will get up to High Plains Raceway near Denver a few times a year as well. SMRI only has one stock class and if you break a certain time in any official event you can no longer run the class. I broke that on my first track day there, which was not official, but my point is I won't be running the stock class anyway.

Regarding comments on "cheap": this is a budget build to get me out there racing again. I do all my own work, yes including head work, and with reasonable part costs I can keep it on the budget. The only hit so far has been the clutch, and that is because I had been looking for a used one for a while and guess I got impatient and went new. The rearsets are Exotic Motorsports (https://www.ebay.com/itm/281483793967). They arrived yesterday and I can tell you they are well machined and bearings are nice and tight. They are 6061 T6 which is what my Woodcraft rearsets have been and there's not much variance in the strength of that alloy. I would say that tottenham's assumption of them being "shit" based on price alone is misguided. My only gripe is that the only adjustments for the pegs is up and towards the front, was hoping to go back a little, weird design.

Bike updates:

- Received my Yoyodyne today, will have it installed in next few days.
- Purchased K-Tech fork and shock revalve kits which should improve damping at speed considerably and price was reasonable for what you get: K-Tech 20SSK-INT-KYB-1A (forks) and 211-300-000 (shock). Total came out to $415. Cartridges were not in the price range but the fork kit should get the most out of the stock cartridges I hope! I went with the SSK's not the SSRK's which are racing focused because reviews say the damping is VERY stiff and my local track is pretty rough. As far as I can tell they charge more for them but there are only differences in the stacks, not any of the components, so if I need more support I will start adding shims.
- Made the decision on slicks, will go with Dunlop KR in soft front, medium rear even though they are a pain in the ass to change with the hard sidewalls compared to the Pirelli's. I can get them shipped to my house for cheaper than the local price for a total of about $418.
- Will have rearsets installed in the next few days to evaluate them.
- I got a 15t front and will adjust the rear gearing with some time on the track. It is pretty tight and highest speeds are around 120 mph, so going up in the rear a few like you guys is making sense. Bike came with 520 setup.

For the shock rebuild, because the compression adjuster seems to be at the same level as the bladder reservoir, what position do you get it in to bleed? Is there any special technique to bleed these?

 

[woodsracer]

Getting Bike Dialed

Here is an update on the bike setup, it's definitely getting there and I'm picking up speed quick. Since the last update I have spent 6 more days at the track dialing it in, including one race day at each track (Arroyo Seco Raceway and Sandia Speedway). Bike is feeling pretty stable and consistent. I'm 200 lbs geared up, here is where I've ended up:

- Fork cap flush with top of upper triple
- 1.0 kg springs, 15mm or so preload including internal spacer
- K-Tech 20mm piston kit, 115mm air gap, 1.5mm away from bottoming at end of straight
- Dropped fork offset ~6mm (hard to measure but got triple clamps off a 2015 675 and believe they went from 38mm to 32mm in 2013)
- Swingarm pivot raised approx. 2.5mm by machining some Street Triple parts to fit frame
- Rear ride height ~1.5mm higher than stock position due to shock adjustment limitation but I basically used pivots to only increase swingarm angle a bit
- Penske 8983 dual adjust shock w/ remote reservoir
- 11.8 kg shock spring, ended up dialing a lot of preload out and I'm at ~6mm right now (free sag is right around 10mm and is absolutely crucial)
- Rear axle is about at the middle of adjustment
- Gearing one down in front, stock rear (15/47)
- Running Dunlop slicks, soft front (2662) at 35 psi, medium 180/60 rear (0455) at 22 psi

Some notes:

I had the bike standing up on me when adjusting line mid corner with front brake, tried some geometry changes and it ended up being the front tire. Going up from 32 to 35 psi cured it. I started the 11.8 spring with 12mm preload and had to tune compression all the way out, I dropped preload and ended up with pretty low numbers but allowed me to run compression at 12/20 clicks out and it's feeling good. Bike is pretty stable but does not steer quickly/sharply and my plan is to drop the front a few mm. My only concern in doing this is that lack of trail makes me a uneasy, mainly coming in hot while trail braking, I wonder if the steering quickness is worth losing some trail braking stability. My corner exits are feeling good and that's where I'm passing 600s (the triple is really a sweet motor), but I need to make improvements in braking. They are probably the weakest link at this point.

The braking system is old and has 20k miles on it, so needs refresh (yet I put new fluid in), but the EBC HH's are I think what are making them feel wooden. I have a set of C59s on the way. I have been looking into replacing master cylinder, I would prefer 18mm piston over 19 I think for a hydraulic ratio of 25.6:1 instead of 22.9:1, but the only masters I know with 18 is the hypermotard and can't find one. If I'm going to do RCS 19 I should go ahead and upgrade calipers and lines, been looking at the Nissin monoblocks off the newer Daytonas as an easy fit, but first I'm just going to clean up my stockers and try the new pads out. I can't believe the caliper rebuild kits with pistons are almost $200, might as well buy new calipers! I have a line on a brand new set of 2016 monoblock nissins for $180, wondering if this would be worth it. How much would this improve alone? Anyway it's less than buying a rebuild kit! Does anyone know if the newer monoblocks have different piston sizes? Stock early models had 4 pistons at 33.96mm/30.23mm.

I have a set of snakeskin tank pads coming and looking forward to them. Oh I also put on a set of woodcraft std shift rearsets on, the quality of the cheap ones I got were ok but they used the stator bolt mounts in the front and I hate the way those type shift (I believe they were copies of Satos). Just feel like the shifter doesn't move natural with your foot, it only moves straight up where the ones that hinge by the footpeg rotate forward too which is way better and follows your ankle movement. I have a set of hot bodies bodywork on right now, got them for $300 shipped on ebay used. They are ok but definitely not high quality.

That's about all I got right now for ya.

Edit:
I ordered a 1050 throttle tube. My plan is to dremel the cam OD to be progressive up to WOT, so less abrupt with low throttle input but quickly ramp up from 1/2 to full throttle. Has anyone done this, like tried to match the shape of the motion pro cams? Might take some finesse to make it nice and smooth but def possible!

 

[Plasmablaster]

I have been looking into replacing master cylinder, I would prefer 18mm piston over 19 I think for a hydraulic ratio of 25.6:1 instead of 22.9:1, but the only masters I know with 18 is the hypermotard and can't find one. If I'm going to do RCS 19

... you might want to consider getting the latest "Corsa Corta" version because it features adjustable leverage ratio and it might offer that stronger&more progressive feel that you are seeking with the 18mm diameter master.

I also went through the rest of the thread and although I wouldn't be able to give any input about track settings etc, since your 675 is a racebike I'd like to mention some reliability issues regarding certain parts of the bike:

- The heat exchanger: next to the oil filter is the heat exchanger. Under prolonged use at high RPMs they tend to fail with possibly severe consequences (oil spilled on the tarmac en masse). There are certain ways to deal with this, search the forum there are some excellent threads and how-tos.

- your '06 has the early generation spring-only cam chain tensioner. They tend to fail as well, with obviously catastrophic consequences. You need a manual cam chain tensioner to ensure better reliability. APE manufacturing makes them. You can search around as well for this mod.

- For early bikes such as yours Triumph issued a recall to replace the R/R. Check that yours has had the recall and resulting swap done. You can easily check this visually: The old R/R had wires coming directly off of it whereas the newer one has connectors attached to it.

I honestly don't know what the probabilities of the heat exchanger & cam chain tensioner to fail are - for normal street users I recon it's pretty low to outright negligible but for track bikes I've seen lots of talk regarding the issues around here.

 

[woodsracer]

Thanks for the tips PB. All are changed except the heat exchanger, I have only seen posts about replacing with aftermarket but can you mod the stock unit? What about the detent/arm there have been problems with, was the 06 a problem and do you replace with 06 stock part or newer model part? I searched thread titles for "detent" and found no results!


I will likely be changing the valve springs and retainers as I have read of valves being thrown on these. That and increasing compression a a reasonable amount combined with straight piping the exhaust valve/cat section and getting a dyno tune. Keeping this budget I will not be doing full engine refresh of course, just hoping the bottom end stays put for the season!


To increase compression I wanted to just throw in one of the 0.50 mm gaskets (A9618115) but they appear to be discontinued and I can't find one! Also I've found no reference telling me the later model gasket (09) will fit the 06 but I assume it would. So is my only option to deck the head? Take off enough to set the squish clearance to 0.65mm? How far off with the cam timing be if this is done, is degreeing the cams a must? What do you degree them to?


Thanks!

 

[mpusch]

Edit:
I ordered a 1050 throttle tube. My plan is to dremel the cam OD to be progressive up to WOT, so less abrupt with low throttle input but quickly ramp up from 1/2 to full throttle. Has anyone done this, like tried to match the shape of the motion pro cams? Might take some finesse to make it nice and smooth but def possible!

FWIW, I had a 1050 throttle tube and then I actually used a portion of a zip tie to make the radius even *larger*. Took a little bit of work to make everything fit just right. Might be more professional ways to make that work though Really like the quicker action, I think I'm around a 1/6 turn now. Didn't really feel that I needed a progressive throttle, though I've never used one before.

 

[Bruiseki]

This is awesome, thanks for posting. Just bought an 07 myself and am trying to make it into a track weapon while still street legal. We're the same height and weight too :laugh:. This terminology about suspension is waaaay over my head though. Wonder how you guys get to that level of knowledge... keep up the good work!

 

[TTRIgnitionSystems]

This terminology about suspension is waaaay over my head though. Wonder how you guys get to that level of knowledge... keep up the good work!

It's like any other knowledge set - read, ask questions, practice. The usual sport bike mags publish generic 'how to dial in your bike' articles every now and then. Your owner's manual should have a basic starting point.

The first rule about tuning a suspension is - Take Notes. Take lots of notes. If you get lost and confused, you can revert to a previous setting.

The second rule of tuning a suspension is - Change ONE Thing at a Time. If you grab a handful of adjusters and wring them back and forth ... which change affected what part of the ride? If you change the fork rebound damping 3 clicks in, go for a ride, and decide - just like at the eye doctor - "Better, or worse?"

 

[woodsracer]

FWIW, I had a 1050 throttle tube and then I actually used a portion of a zip tie to make the radius even *larger*. Took a little bit of work to make everything fit just right. Might be more professional ways to make that work though Really like the quicker action, I think I'm around a 1/6 turn now. Didn't really feel that I needed a progressive throttle, though I've never used one before.

I'll give the stock 1050 tube a shot and go from there. Do you not feel like it's twitchy mid turn when you are getting back on the throttle? That has a lot to do with your engine tune too but the shorter throw would make it worse - I'm already getting some lurching with stock tube with stock tune. I should really get it dyno tuned either way. there's a shop 3 hrs from here that works with a lot of Daytonas and tunes for $300.

I owe more in taxes than I thought this year so not sure if I'll do any work to the motor, just going to test my luck I guess. May want to do the heat exchanger though, sounds like a nasty failure.

I have a machinist I work with that said he'd modify a set of my triple clamps similar to how Apex used to do it by milling out the stem area and pressing in an eccentric. A LOT cheaper than Attack clamps at $175. Looking into offsets, people seem to rave about the 28mm setting (I'm currently at 32mm w/ 2014 clamps). That might be a big jump though so considering asking for 30 or 29mm but haven't decided.

 

[woodsracer]

Trying to order an oil cooler and steering stops (my frame tab is broken and I also don't have stop tabs on my triples). The only ones I could find were in the UK from UKRS, the total with shipping is almost $250! Shipping alone is almost $60. What are the alternatives in the US because I can't seem to find any? Here are the parts at UKRS:

https://www.ukracesupport.com/produ...2006-12-ses-lock-stop-set?variant=31339772940

https://www.ukracesupport.com/produ...12-ukrs-billet-oil-cooler?variant=31436273292

 

[Ingwe]

I would be super keen on hearing some alternatives as well. Shipping from UKRS to my country is over £100 And I'm hard pressed to spend so much on shipping alone.

 

[mpusch]

I'll give the stock 1050 tube a shot and go from there. Do you not feel like it's twitchy mid turn when you are getting back on the throttle? That has a lot to do with your engine tune too but the shorter throw would make it worse - I'm already getting some lurching with stock tube with stock tune. I should really get it dyno tuned either way. there's a shop 3 hrs from here that works with a lot of Daytonas and tunes for $300.

I owe more in taxes than I thought this year so not sure if I'll do any work to the motor, just going to test my luck I guess. May want to do the heat exchanger though, sounds like a nasty failure.

I have a machinist I work with that said he'd modify a set of my triple clamps similar to how Apex used to do it by milling out the stem area and pressing in an eccentric. A LOT cheaper than Attack clamps at $175. Looking into offsets, people seem to rave about the 28mm setting (I'm currently at 32mm w/ 2014 clamps). That might be a big jump though so considering asking for 30 or 29mm but haven't decided.

I (and as I understand, quite a few other people) have always had that bit of a jolt when getting on the gas. Haven't really had any more issues when I made that adjustment, you just compensate with being a bit more exact with your throttle inputs. I agree with your plan of doing the 1050 and going from there.

 

[munch]

I might have some left

I would be super keen on hearing some alternatives as well. Shipping from UKRS to my country is over £100 And I'm hard pressed to spend so much on shipping alone.

 

[woodsracer]

Update and race footage

Hey guys, just an update for the season with small changes I've made to the bike.

From the detailed post on my setup a while back, the only changes I've made have been dropping the triples down so it exposes 3mm of fork (cap included), a Hyperpro RSC damper, dropped my clip ons 10mm and put 5mm spacers under front tank mounts (so I can grip the bike at full lean with arms better), Motion Pro Rev2 throttle setup, and went to 15/49 gearing. Also running 180 soft dunlop in rear instead of medium. I also found out that the exhaust was already gutted with cat and exup removed, and when I pulled the map off the ECU it already had the standard 20417 map.

We just had round 2 of AMSA racing in Deming, NM last weekend. Placed 3rd in amateur classes all over again! Round 1 and 2 I finished 3rd in middleweight superstock, middleweight superbike, and the formula amateur class which is the money race. All behind the same 2 guys. This past round I was getting real close to them though compared to the first round where I couldn't even see them by the 4th lap or so on. So I'm getting there for sure, just need a little more time on the track to learn it and I think I'll get right up there with em.

Current problems are that I have the damper all the way out but steering effort is pretty significant through the esses. When I get tired I'm at fault for being kind of jerky to get through them but still it's a fair amount of effort. I still have some headshake coming onto the straights so I need to up the damper setting but don't want the added resistance. Thinking about dropping the triples more but worried about losing trail (trail numbers probably just in my head?). So it's a bumpy track and coming onto the straights the rear end is moving a lot. I would not say wallowing but moving around for sure, so not sure if I can tune that out with rebound or if that's just how it's gonna be. Will play with rebound. Thinking about raising tank and/or dropping clip ons more to feel more connected to bike, is this abnormal to do to these bikes? My outside arm has trouble connecting still mid turn.

Oh, also the oil is coming out glimmering with metal dust. Not shavings but dust. I ordered a Blackstone kit to send a sample in but with 20k street miles and now wringing it's neck on the track, I am trying to prepare myself for a quick end to the season, randomly. I can't afford a rebuild right now, my plan is to probably buy a used low mile motor on ebay when that happens for half of what it would cost to rebuild and then have spare parts.

Round 2 Formula Amateur race:

 

[csbeeb2]

Trying to order an oil cooler and steering stops (my frame tab is broken and I also don't have stop tabs on my triples). The only ones I could find were in the UK from UKRS, the total with shipping is almost $250! Shipping alone is almost $60. What are the alternatives in the US because I can't seem to find any? Here are the parts at UKRS:

https://www.ukracesupport.com/produ...2006-12-ses-lock-stop-set?variant=31339772940

https://www.ukracesupport.com/produ...12-ukrs-billet-oil-cooler?variant=31436273292

I ordered my steering lock stop directly from SES to california and I want to say it was like $80 total. I just sent them an email directly.

 

[Triple_Sins]

Hey man, can we get an update for this post. I’ve read it over and over and am playing with my geometry and suspension this winter. I’m curious how you wound up this year and what your current settings wound up being.