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GK76 track bike

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:40 am
by MartinArcher
I have just invested in a track bike off ebay. Its a GK76 painted up in relentless colours. I bought it as I have a track day booked in August and it doesnt look as though my RGv will be ready in time and so this was bought as a back up. As many of the parts are interchangeable with the rgv I decided on a gsxr over any of the other 400s.
I have a stock of a few bits that should be a staright swap over. I made a few sets of adjustable yokes for the rgv and these will be used if I keep the standard front end:

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I have a gsxr 600 front end and a set of very lightweight yokes I made for them to fit to my rgv. I know the yokes will fit, but I will take a few measurments of the forks and will see if these are a viable swap:

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I bought a 3.5" bandit front wheel which I deseamed and fitted to the RGv (its a common mod to fit the wider gsxr 400 front wheel to use 120 fronts as the RGv only have a 3" front and use a 110 front trye) only to find it is a 1200 bandit which has different discs and a wider hub than blandit 600 which is the same as the gsxr 400, so I have bought an RF 600 front rim (same as gsxr400) and deseamed that and now it is being powder coated, so that can be fitted to the 400 when it comes back from coating. I deseamed the rear on my rgv as well, but I think the offset of the wheels is different, so if I get time I will deseam the gsxr rear so that it matches the front. This is the rgv rear finished:

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I have a gsxr shock already that I was going to use on my RGV, but I have a penske fitted to that now, so from what I have read this should slot straight in so that should take care of the suspenders! I recently invested in a set of ebc discs for my RGv that were ironically for a gsxr 400, so they will be swapped over to the track bike for the time being and should increase stopping power a little bit.
I will look into fitting a different rear caliper. I have a few billet ones I bought a few years back and will probably use one of them. I will have to do away with the torque arm, but think I can manage that when I make the caliper mounting bracket. Pic of the caliper I would like to use with the caliper mount and chain adjuster I made for my zxr 750:

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I also machined a few sets of chain adjusyers for the RGv and these are a straight fit on the gsxr, so although they save a little weight I think they improve the looks of the standard steel ones!

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My main aim is to drop the weight of the bike as although it isnt that heavy compared to other bikes, it is a lot heavier than the 2 strokes I am used to. Things like deseaming the wheels may only save a few hundred grams, but it doesnt cost me anything and small gains all add up to big ones in the end and can only be a good thing cant they?

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:00 am
by cookiesol
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love the idea of shaving weight off. have a stroker for track too. 30kg + diff in weight is alot!
might wanna consider lithium battery & titanium nuts, removal of pillon pegs and signals/mirrors since its a trackie.
have been searching for ages but couldn't seem to find any carbon replacement other than the front fender

pray, pls do share if u have anymore ideas for weight loss *mmm rider weight not counted!*

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:05 am
by cookiesol
btw, wouldn't it be nice to have a set of these which fits the gk76a?

http://tyga-performance.com/site/produc ... ts_id=1481
pity they dont fit... else i'll love to have a set. :drool:

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:29 am
by MartinArcher
I lost just over 20kg from the rgv and think it is possible to do the same the gsxr.The bodywork is all grp which saves quite a bit over the standard abs stuff and it is easier to repair as well! I must admit I like the lines of the standard bike, so will not be looking to go with anything else. I made an aluminium rear subframe for the rgv and that saved nearly 4kg on its own:

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I had a local fabrication shop make me a batch of headlight mounting brackets and that was over a kilo saved, its the small things that add up and if it only costs me a bit of time machining parts I dont mind doing that. I am looking to make some rearsets next week, the rgv ones saved a fair bit as the pegs were steel and the all ally ones I made were a lot lighter. They should crash better as well as the standard suzuki ones are made of cheese. Its an endless list of stuff that can be shaved down and improved.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:00 pm
by MartinArcher
I picked the bike up tonight and I am pleased with my purchase. There are a few parts I can improve and it needs a good going over to put all the correct nuts and bolts rather than the mish mash of assorted rusty fasteners. Also glad it fits in the back of my Vauxhall combo van and the doors shut! I will get some pics tomorrow and the first job will be to give it a clean.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:44 pm
by Variablevalves suck
Hi Martin,

Hope the build goes well.
Could you weigh the bandit6 from wheel by any chance as was lead to believe they were heavyer than the gsxr4 wheel.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:47 pm
by MartinArcher
It was a bandit 1200 wheel I got, if it was a 600 wheel it would have been fine. The 1200 wheel weighs 4.2kg without any bearings or discs fitted.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:23 pm
by Variablevalves suck
Cheers for that
I have a gsxr4 wheel in the garage ready for paint so will compare weights.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:29 pm
by MartinArcher
I think the gsxr 400 wheel has the same code as the bandit 6 and it is definatley the same as an rf600 (I have one fitted to my rgv)

I have made a list of things to do before the trackday in August. I will swap the rear shock for a gsxr 600 one I have, replace the top yoke with one I already have and make a bracket to take the clocks off the top yoke and mount them to the front subframe. I have drawn up a set of rearsets and will machine them next week. If I get time I will make a new caliper bracket and use a billet caliper I have laying around.
The body work is a little untidy so I may just give it a coat of black paint. I am going to be busy for the next couple of weeks, but hopefully it will be worth it when I take it on the track.

Re: GK76 track bike

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:45 am
by Armi400
Great thread.....how do you bookmark it???