BIKES: 2010 Honda CBR1000RR - Part Two Install

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BIKES: 2010 Honda CBR1000RR - Part Two Install

For this part we decided to remove all the street gear and make the bike ready for the track.

Neale Bayly | Posted February 16, 2011 Charlotte, NC

Nick McAllister working on the Honda CBR1000RR (Photo: Neale Bayly)

After a very successful phase one where we tested our 2010 Honda CBR1000RR on the street and track in stock trim, it was time to take it to our buddy Nick McAllister at Team Charlotte Motorsports (www.teamcharlottemotorsports.com) to prepare for phase two. For this part we decided to remove all the street gear and make the bike ready for the track. We didn’t want to add any aftermarket parts at this point, just working with what we’ve got by putting on a set of stickier tires, and tweaking the suspension before taking it back to Roebling Road in Georgia to try it out.

Putting the bike on the lift, Nick set about stripping all the street gear. First the front and rear seat came off as he went digging for the turn signal wires. These were buried and the battery had to come out to get to one of the connectors. Removing the passenger pegs was next in line and proved to be more challenging than we thought. The plastic battery tray had to be loosened, and the two-piece sub frame dismantled to get to the bolts holding the foot peg brackets in place. It turned into a fairly lengthy job even for Nick who is an award-winning technician, so budget some time for this part of the process if you are converting your bike.

Foot pegs removed, he reassembled the rear end and, we taped up the tail light with some nice black tape, which looks great with the black bodywork. Then Nick took off the front mirrors, which hold the turn signals, and taped over the headlights and mirror holes. Losing all the road gear, we then installed a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsas. As a direct replacement for the Diablo Corsa III, they are not a full race tire, but are still highly track focused and perfect for the next stage of our testing. Nick took the opportunity with the wheels off to clean and check the brakes and came back from the tire balancer very impressed. Neither the 120/70 ZR 17 front or the 190/55 ZR 17 rear required any wheel weights.

The feelers were removed from the foot pegs, and the chain lubed and adjusted, before we detailed the bike for photos. With all the fluid levels checked, we decided to jump on Nick’s laptop and download Sport Rider magazines track settings for the CBR. Having been passed on numerous occasions at track tests by senior editor Kent Kunitsugo, I have every confidence in his recommendations, so we went to work. Five minutes later we realized the settings we arrived at during our test in Pennsylvania were close, so with just a few clicks here and there, and a turn of the shock spring, the bike was ready to go. Looking mean and lean all blacked out, it’s now time to take it to the track to see how it goes. Stay tuned.

Front Suspension settings:

Pre Load: 8 turns out.
Rebound: 1.25 turns out.
Compression: 2 turns out.
Rear Suspension settings.
Pre Load: Position four.
Rebound: 1.5 turns out.
Compression: 1.5 turns out.