Honda CBR600RR road/track bike build thread (RR8)

Went out for a quick spin this morning. Nowhere to open it up but at low speeds the throttle response is absolutely fine, totally manageable and if I'm honest I noticed little change from before at up to 30/40mph.

I'm now interested to feel what's it like when I am able to give it some beans.

I do hope you've got some crash bungs on ;)

You are obsessed with coming off mate ;)

But yeah I have the aero style bungs along with the bar ends.

Ha! I'm not obsessed with it so much, I'm just aware of how incredibly easy it is on a bike, and how expensive it can be to fix. That's why I bought a load of cheap eBay fairings to put on the bike on trackdays. When I came off mine, I just fixed up the fairings with a bit of gaffa tape and a sharpie; if I'd have had the factory fairings on I'd have smashed the lights and scratched up the sides, would have cost hundreds to sort. 

You've got a very pretty bike there, just trying to save you from ruining it ;)

Took delivery of new chain and sprockets today. Fitment tomorrow, excited about the outcome already.

Yeah fine that's pretty smart I guess

So last night I fitted my new sprockets and chain. On the whole a straightforward job and not as daunting as I'd initially anticipated. 

Didn't have a chance to ride it far as it was late and raining, but I've got a two hour journey to make shortly so will be able to test it out thoroughly. 

Looks sweet too, will take some pics.

Pichars!

This was last night, almost finished at this point.

Nifty! I have a replacement chain and sprocket set waiting for mine, anything to look out for, or is it all pretty obvious?

I found some really useful guides on the RR forum, plus I have a Haynes manual which had clear instructions, so I followed those pretty closely (and did it with a friend in case I came unstuck!). 

Having now done it, I'd say it's a pretty straightforward one man job. Obviously you'll need a decent chain breaker/rivet tool (don't get a cheap one... ;)) and the usual sockets and torque wrenches. I found the most challenging was getting my rear wheel back on, which I did unaided. The spacers kept falling out and typically I was working on a surface covered in small stones and grit, so had to regrease them every time.

Eventually I managed to line everything up and lift the wheel back into place slotting the disc back in between the caliper/pads. Then it was simply a case of realigning the wheel, adjusting the chain tension and it was done.

I think you're pretty handy with the spanners so I can't imagine you'll have any issues. What kit have you gone with?

Done about 60 miles so far, in wind and rain. Not really been pushing it but the new gearing ratio seems spot on. Whereas previously it felt like it was taking an age (relatively speaking) to get the power on, now it feels a lot stronger in the mid-range and just wants to keep giving. Pretty pleased, but need some dry conditions to really give it a proper outing.

I bought a chain breaker tool (~£50 I think so not terrible, but not something I plan on doing too much) when I bought the chain. It's just standard Suzuki parts, just because my chain is tighter in some places than others, so I'm just replacing it like-for-like for now. Tbh I'm not sure I'm really going to get a chance to track it much this year, so I'm unlikely to start doing any kind of real mods to it. I've had wheels on and off all over the place though, so that should be fine if a little fiddly. Plus my new workshop's nearly done, so maybe it'll be a good job to do in there. 

So was it just for greater accelleration you changed the sprockets? Not interested in the top end speed?

Well from stock, the sprocket changes increase torque by 10% at the expense of top speed, around the same %. It'll mean the bike's top speed now will be around 150-155mph instead of 165mph, plenty fast enough I suspect.

Yeah not sure I've ever really seen much more than 130 on track and even then it was probably only to see how high I could get it; I have no interest in top speed really. 

Have you had any issues with rear wheel grip since upgrading the sprocket and throttle? My fear would be that the back would just spin when you open the throttle.