How to create a competitive Bucket Racing FXR150.

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Once we have our FXR150 we need to check over what damage it has! On this bike we have a good score, its a 2002 model which has obviously been stored in a garage and looked after well. Even the oil looks fresh and clean! GREAT.

The only damage i can see is the top faring and dash mount is pretty twisted but can be easily straigtened, quite a badly bent handle bar, missing front brake lever, dented tank where it looks like a knee has done 1 side and the bent bar has done the other side... all the rest of the bike is in pretty mint shape! Forks are straight and so is the front wheel. OK like i said, a good score so this should be easy.

So my goal with this bike is to transform it from the fxr150 comuter and obviously a top production bucket in to a full on MotoFXR.co.nz race bike! ;)

First step for me is to strip the bike and mark all frame tags, brackets etc that i wont need when i assemble the bike, i did some of this today, but ran out of dryness to continue removing parts of the frame that i wont need. so far i've guessed i've actually removed an easy 10kg, quite good really as we all should know by now that its about 3kg to every horse power, so with that 10kg i've actually gained just over 3hp! a lot more weight to come off it, i'm using a rs125 tail section which does not need all of that subframe, so some of thats gone, which helps make up the 10kg loss.

Image comment: An easy quick mod is to place the bars under the top clamp. This gives a better racing position than the std fxr riding position. Note that you will need to swap the bars from left to right when u do this so the bolt holes match up!

Image comment: Easy! Now the bars are under the top clamp and it instantly gives the bike a much better look, as well as the obvious riding position advantage!
 

Image comment: Now we have the bike stripped we need to look for any weight that can be removed from the frame! safty first remember!

Image comment: Because i've worked with the rs125 tail before i know that i dont need a big part of the fxr subframe, so after i marked out exactly what can be removed its time to get the hacksaw out! its easier to use a cutting disk on a grinder but i've run out!

Image comment: Here you can see what i removed, the section on the ground and as you can see its pretty large, its also worth noting that the fxr frame is steel so the more you can remove the better! Also it only takes a minute to run the file over any cuts you make, just to give that satisfying finish! ;)
 

Image comment: the next obvious thing to remove is the left hand side rear peg and bracket, not a good picture here but u can see i have removed the bracket but the weld is still there, so grind that weld off and give it a file up.

On my FXR150 there are tags all over the fxr that can be removed, all the fairing tags can go because i'm not running one, I even cut off the side stand mount.

Image Comment: I now have my frame pretty much how I want it, so its time to get the engine in.

In this engine i'm going to run new piston and rings, race cams, race cdi and a Honda XL250 carb. I also removed the starter motor and the starter motor gear from inside the motor. Now because i took out the starter motor it leaves a hole in to the engine, so you can plug that up with a frost plug, which you can get from pretty much any automotive shop. I also lightly ported the inlet and outlet ports.

Image comment: Time to install the Race CDI, this gives us a better power curve and removes the rev limiter, also does something fancy with the timing!

Image comment: Time to put the loom back on the bike, we can remove all the relays because i'm not running lights, also the starter relay and any battery leads can go because i dont need the battery.

Image comment: I removed my rear reservoir, all i want is whats in the tube. ok chop it off where you want and block the end up with a nice clean bolt that fits in firmly. Cable tie the hose in a good tidy location... mmm tidy!!! ;)
  

Normally i would cut down the loom on my race bike. BUT... the FXR loom is complicated! so i just left it, hehe!

Image comment: Exhaust header, in the image on the left hand side we have the standard fxr header pipe, its tiny inlet is restrictive and with our new porting we need something thats going to flow better, so Mike #88 makes up the new header pipe. Displayed on the right you can clearly see its quite a lot larger than standard, and this is exactly what we need!

For the middle section of the pipe we used the standard middle pipe as its not a bad size, we cut off that horrible restricted muffler and replaced it with an old yoshi muffler cut down to 3/4 in length. turned out real good and sounds awesome!!

Image comment: ok on goes the tank and exhaust, and anything else that needs a home!
 

Tires/Wheels: For tires i've decided to keep the original wheels and run 2x rs125 front slicks. Some people like to change the rear wheel for a wider rim so they can fit a wider tire. See the Wheels & Tyres section for more info.

Brakes: It is true that the std brakes feel good but they can be made to feel better. I fitted one of the www.motorbikeparts.co.nz light weight race master kit for an even better lever feel!! Now the bike looks awesome and stops even better! A next step would be to fit a braided line.
 

Image comment: Time to mock up how its going to look with the tail on it... ooo looks good! i've got some cutting / shaping to do on the tail around the tank so it fits better, but apart from that i'm quite happy, also the bike feels much lighter just pushing it around, so great!!

Paint time: The front fairing with its bug eyes was an aftermarket front light kit from http://www.motorbikeparts.co.nz, it was blue and of course had clear lenses, so i painted it.
  

DONE! Lets go RACING!! :)

UPDATE: December 2007
Below are some pictures from the first track outing on this bike.

This bike is FAST!!! the engine clearly had plenty more power compared to the other FXR150 racers on the track. It also went around corners very well on those slicks.

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Various top 3 finishes on this bike, but now its time for the big one, the 2008 Battle Of the Buckets! Its a 1 hour long endurance race!
  

47 started and 22 finished!!
 

We finished... 1st place, on our first www.fxr150.co.nz project bike!! woohooo! :)

Update, June 2008: This bike is now sold and has a very happy new owner!

Time to start the next FXR150 project!