posted April 06, 2004 06:30 PM
My first track day with the 10 My first track day with the ZX10 is now history. The bike is really awesome. The original D218 tires worked very well. They had good grip and were very predictable. With the Dunlops, I was a second a lap faster than my previous best time on my R1 (on Pirelli Supercorsas). After 3 sessions, I fitted a set of Dragon Supercorsa tires to the 10 and I eventually was able to knock an additional 3 seconds off of my best R1 time. I noticed that with the D218s fitted, the ZX was stable for a liter bike at Texas World Speedway. When I fitted the Pirellis, I immediately noticed that the Supercorsas had more grip. The negative side of that was that the front end was much lighter under power and it became more "nervous". TWS is a little bumpy in places and when I hammered it in the bumpy areas it would exhibit a little shake. Set up changes might be able to remove some of the twitchy feeling, but a steering damper may be in the 10's future. Even with the slight shake issue, the ZX10 gave me confidence to do things I never felt comfortable doing before. I had to adapt to how quickly it turned in, compared to the R1. As otheres have noted, the 10 is extremely agile when tossing it from side to side. In the chicane, it was vastly better than the R1 and even better than a '99 R6 Yamaha I rode before. The magazines have always raved about Yamaha brakes, but neither my R1 (Kevlar lines and EBC HH) nor the R6 (steel braided lines and EBC HH) are a match for the stock ZX10 brakes. As would be expected, the horsepower is almost unbelievable. The only negative to the whole track day experience was removal of the front turn signals. Whoever designed that junk should be fired. And then shot.
There was also new R1 and a new CBR1000RR at the track day. The R1 already had an Ohlins shock fitted and the owner said he had ordered Ohlins forks as well. Both bikes were in other groups, so I never saw them run. All of the new bikes attracted a lot of attention. There was 1 other ZX10 there, also. The other ZX10 rider was a "pro" racer. He also noted the head shake. His bike was extremely low mileage and he never had a chance to bed in the brakes properly. As a result, he felt the brakes needed work. But he was confident that they would be good. He also needed to bleed his brakes as well. His lever was much mushier than mine. He was using the latest Dunlop DOT race tires with a 190/75(?) rear. He said he didn't see any need to modify the motor at this time since it had more power in stock form than his old AMA Superbike. He was a happy camper and extremely willing to talk about his new toy.
posted April 06, 2004 07:08 PM
I think the brake mushiness feeling goes away with the pads bedding in - mine haven't felt mushy in a few hundred miles.
quote:Thanks for the report Zeta, did you play with the suspension settings
What tyre pressure were you running?
Every session. During break-in I had softened the both the front and the rear a little. It still felt good on the few corners I tried on the street. However, when I got to the track, it was way too soft. Except for the session when I changed tires, I cranked up all of the fork and shock adjusters every session. My last time out, I thought I could have gone even stiffer. I haven't gone back to figure where I wound up on the adjusters. I will record it so I can go back to that point for the next track day.
posted April 06, 2004 11:09 PM
Very nice read, thnx a lot about the tire isseu. I'm planning several track day's in the Netherlands, but i'm going to leave the 218 under before i'm going to change them for a fresh pair of super dragon's
The front turn signals can be simply pulled out. No need to remove a single screw. Just work the rubber base side to side until the lip of the base begins to pull through the fairing. The metal backplate will then fold over and allow the signal to pull out.
The wiring connector is a breeze also. Turn your bars to the opposite side to make room, reach in from above the fairing, and press on the release tab. That's it.
I'm getting mine ready for JennningsGP on April 24.
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posted April 06, 2004 06:30 PM
