fz6 for moto gymkhana

[expatmanxman]

Started using my FZ6 S2 for Moto Gymkhana this year, anyone else thinking about having a go? I've raised the bars, geared it down and made myself a finned rear brake cooler, all not necessary but gave me something to do.
If anyone's interested there are a few of regional clubs, the East Midlands and West Midlands are the strongest, there's a North West group and a new South East group starting up. Have a look at motogymkhana.org if you want to know more

 

[iviyth0s]

Started using my FZ6 S2 for Moto Gymkhana this year, anyone else thinking about having a go? I've raised the bars, geared it down and made myself a finned rear brake cooler, all not necessary but gave me something to do.
If anyone's interested there are a few of regional clubs, the East Midlands and West Midlands are the strongest, there's a North West group and a new South East group starting up. Have a look at motogymkhana.org if you want to know more

That looks like loads of fun but probably not quite within my skill set (not to mention i don't think they have anything like that going on here over the pond, at least where I'm at)

 

[expatmanxman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKIxiGei6k

Pretty sure Alabama is in the USA, not sure if there are other groups in the US though.

As for skills, I first had a look at it towards the end of 2013, tried one of their experience days and was not very good. I decided I was going to give it a go in 2014, did some practice over the winter and things have changed. We've had two rounds of the UK championship so far this year and I've had an 8th and a 5th overall, also won a third and first place Novice award. Don't think you can't do it, think more you haven't done it yet and all you need is some practice to discover you can.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I just signed up with the US forum. I'm going to set up the GP8 course and give it a go. I will be interesting to see what my first time will be. I'm hoping to keep it under a minute LOL...

 

[expatmanxman]

USA is just starting up with MotoGymkhana, not sure where though. With US being so big you might be nowhere near, in which case get in touch with motogymkhana.org.uk and see about setting up your own group. It really is great fun, you can practice without going to a track, it's cheap and it's as much about skill as bravery which is something I really like about it.

My FZ6 has a few mods, -1/+2 front and rear sprockets so it has more punch coming out of the slow turns. Heat sink attached to rear brake caliper, more for practice sessions than competition. Braided brake pipes/racing fluid. Bar risers. PCIII. Most important change is something to increase the tickover speed, I have fitted a flexible throttle stop adjuster from a different bike (not sure which as it was on a set of loose carbs) which means I can set the tickover to 3k before riding. Part of the reason for this was the very bad off/on throttle lag my bike seems to suffer from, not letting the motor drop the revs so low has helped with this. It also means the bike is always ready to go, driving itself round the tight turns with the rear brake holding it back.

As an older guy (I'm the oldest Gymkhana competitor in Europe) and also a newcomer (my first year) I'm pretty happy with my performances on the bike this year. Never been out of the top 10 and currently in 6th place in the UK championship. Just shows what a bit of practice can do. My GP8 time is about 32 seconds but the top guys are well below that. Not sure I'm brave enough, or skilful enough to go sub 30.

 

[2old2ride]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKIxiGei6k

Pretty sure Alabama is in the USA, not sure if there are other groups in the US though.

As for skills, I first had a look at it towards the end of 2013, tried one of their experience days and was not very good. I decided I was going to give it a go in 2014, did some practice over the winter and things have changed. We've had two rounds of the UK championship so far this year and I've had an 8th and a 5th overall, also won a third and first place Novice award. Don't think you can't do it, think more you haven't done it yet and all you need is some practice to discover you can.

I'm in Tennessee and I'm not sure about Alabama. I will not argue but Alabama reminds me of Nevada in that while others think it's in America the locals are not so sure. Texas is sort of like that too.
Gymkhana is foreign to the USA. I rode a bit in '68 while living in Japan. I was riding a Kawasaki W1, which was a very forgetable motorcycle. It was too big at 600 and some cc for the world market and to small for the American market. I was 16 and kept getting waxed by old men (20's) on 125 cc Suzuki's. Like all teenagers I was perfect and knew everything so it had to be the bikes fault I couldn't keep up.
Gymkhana is big in countries that don't have a lot of room. People like racing. My theory is the wheel was invented for racing. Bureaucrats LOVE Gymkhana. Lo\w speed means less damage, less serious injuries. :cheer:

 

[expatmanxman]

The speeds might not be high but you still go as fast as you possibly can. As for people liking 'racing', in Moto Gymkhana the fastest time wins, ergo it's a race, or if you prefer, a Time Trial (which is what the TT is) and nobody says that isn't a race.

 

[DaveTheCanuck]

Very curious about the rear brake cooler you fitted, care to post some pictures?

I started doing gymkhana with my 300 before getting my FZ6, and the one issue I had was constantly boiling over the rear brake. Even using RBF660 fluid, the rear brake was toast within an hour.

Here's a video of some parking lot practice from earlier in the year. I've still got ways to go before I'm as fast as the pros, but it's damn fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ4EQh_E9EQ

(sorry for the poor angle, I just had my phone propped up against a concrete block. And as you can hear, the rear was already squealing like a pig by the time I recorded)

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I've been reading what some of the riders do to their bikes for the GP8's. They lower their tire pressures by ten or 15 psi and change gearing, and up their idle. I'm not doing anything special with my bike, I will ride the GP8 the same way as I rode in.

As far as the Alabama video, those riders were horrible. You couldn't even call it a Moto-Gymkhana. I'm curious how fast I can do it for the first time, my friend will time it. He's down to about 36 seconds, but I know those riders in Japan can do It around 27-38 seconds. I'm hoping I can do it under 40 seconds on my first ever run.

 

[expatmanxman]

Don't know if this will work but this might be a photo of my rear brake cooler.

It's a heat sink from a PC. I didn't waht to drill more than one small hole in the caliper so I machined the underside so it fits into the recess on the top inner side of the caliper. Because this locates the fin and stops it turning or sliding anywhere I only need a small bolt thru the caliper to hold it down in place. I used heat conductive paste between the two surfaces to aid conduction. Since fitting it I've never boiled the fluid. It is dot 5 racing fluid which also helps.

https://imageshack.com/i/f0ZwTCBnj

 

[expatmanxman]

vegasrider, the changes we make to the bikes aren't just for GP8s, they're for all gymkhana exercises. The lower gearing makes a big difference on peaky engines as the motor is further up the rev range coming out of turns so it pulls harder. The higher tickover on mine can be put back to normal for road riding. As for tyre pressures, I've never heard of anyone in our country dropping pressures that much, wonder if they're kidding you on a bit.

 

[expatmanxman]

Dave, that's quicker than many, nice riding.

 

[2old2ride]

The speeds might not be high but you still go as fast as you possibly can. As for people liking 'racing', in Moto Gymkhana the fastest time wins, ergo it's a race, or if you prefer, a Time Trial (which is what the TT is) and nobody says that isn't a race.

A race is a race. Just because you are not wheel to wheel (I've been told you cannot do that on tracks anymore) doesn't mean it's not a race. Back in '06 (or maybe '05) I talked to some people about starting a TT for Deals Gap.
It didn't fly. The then Governor of Tenn thought that motorcycles should be illegal, not racing on the streets. I had some support, mostly from those that thought about 10,000 people spending 1,000 bucks each one weekend.Blah