Forum- meet my new Penske 3 way adjustable shock. Being able to get my swingarm angle just right is going to do wonders for my cornering confidence.

Cool. I'd be interested to know if raising the tail higher than a 200/55 tire does is even better. You can get links to raise the rear too. I've been told Brock will make them to raise instead of lower.

While I’m not at the point of needing it yet. I suspect as my corner speeds increase; the somewhat flat swingarm angle of the stock ZX 14 will need tweaking. The 200/55 rear does change over all bike geometry by putting a bit less trail on the forks. Which should quicken the steering a touch. I am of the thinking that raising/ lowering the forks is the best path to turn in / corner entry adjustment and swingarm angle is the path to corner exit grip. The power of our motors calls for extra care during corner exit throttle twists.
Tire size will not help adjust this swingarm geometry. I have a target range To try as a starting point.
Wish the track was closer, so much to do...

Drop the front 0.5 from stock height, more than that is up to you at a small bit at a time. I like the path you are going to raise the back

I am of the thinking that raising/ lowering the forks is the best path to turn in / corner entry adjustment and swingarm angle is the path to corner exit grip.

You can lower the front instead of raising the rear but lowering the front also reduces cornering clearance. Some owners have scraped the lower fairing in a tight corner and if it's lower to the ground, it will scrape even easier. Pegs would be soon to follow.

I've never heard about swing arm angle affecting corner stability. It seems to me the closer to parallel with the ground the swing arm axis is, the less it would flex. Swing arm flexion was something an old member was considering trying to remedy. The 14's swing arm is thin and flexes more than the high sided liter bike swing arms you see. It seemed impractical to try to fit a liter bike swing arm to the 14. You might be the first.

You can reduce your wheel base. Get a dremmel and grind the slot forward a quarter inch or maybe even a half inch. Shorten the chain.

Turning the 14 into a road racing bike has been tried. You can bring it a long way but at the end of it all, you can't top a bike that was designed for that environment. That's no reason to not go as far as you can but I thik you are going to end up buying yourself a used 600 you are not so worried about wrecking if you really get into the track days.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/23/2018 @ 3:30 PM *

CRUDE OL’ BOY!!!
Yessir I did in fact try your suspension settings with great success! My forks are raised 5mm currently. All seems well on the stability and turn in is as fast as I need right now.
ROOKY!!!
Yessir I will not loose sight of the fact that 600 and litre bikes are purpose built for track glory. With that being said- I absolutely aim to get this big pig around as well as I can. Track days for me are all about lap times now and getting to ride with the faster intermediate group feels like a very attainable goal. The overall balance of qualities the smaller bikes possess make owning the track record not a reachable goal, (my age as well) I do however believe the brute strength of our motors makes up lost seconds here and there. I was as fast or faster than every novice on track that day. Many with awesome purpose built bikes. The swingarm design thought you touched on has been on my mind for some time now. A taller triangulated more rigid design would be the berries no doubt. Adapting a superior swingarm is on my dream mod list.
I will have the swingarm angle discussion with you another time. Suffice to say, flat is not better and I will have a few angled settings vetted when the discourse resumes. Gotta do some laps and take some notes first.

"My forks are raised 5mm currently"...aren't you heading the other direction with this?Unless I read this wrong.You mean you lowered the frame,right?

GREEN!!!!!
Yes, I raised my fork tubes. 5mm of the blk tubes is now showing out of the top of the top triple tree. Which is essentially the same as lowering the frame/ trees, yes. Now as heading in the wrong direction goes; if I have to increase the swingarm angle to achieve the degree I am looking to start with, then yes, that will further steepen the front end lessening the trail even more. So I am anticipating moving the fork tubes back down. Up to and including getting fork extenders. HEY!!! Anybody here know where a fella can score a pair for a gen2?

I was as fast or faster than every novice on track that day. Many with awesome purpose built bikes.

There is a company making offset fork clamps for the 14. That will steepen your rake. You might be able to custom order them to lengthen your rake too if needed.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=32FD677E-1B78-59F6-0209B0185D2C8606&page=1&searchTerm=fork%20clamps%20offset#5

Iron, I think you went the wrong way on the forks. Believe the fork stock height is ~.8 and at the track I run ~1.3 in. The top of the tube to the top clamp s/b about 1.3 (if I am remembering correctly)

When I lowered my front,I made a light mark with a sharpie 1/2 inch down the tube(from the lower clamp).Then let the frame come down to that mark.More than 5mm for sure.People were saying lower it 1/2 inch,so I did.Turn in wasn't dramatic tell ya that.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 5/23/2018 @ 10:36 PM *

Iron, I have always stayed in the slow group even thought my lap time would put me in the about the middle of the 2nd group. But, those guy crash the most because they all think they are fast but not really. I also enjoy blasting past most of the 1 group riders on the BBW

CRUDE!!!! GREEN!!!!!
Yessir. The 1.3” was the track height in the specs.The stock setup is top of tubes flush w top of clamp. Not the cap of course, but the tube. The 5mm is a starting point for my charting of the suspension dial in. My next step would’ve been 5mm further but the Penske joining the team means I am going to get the rear end set and responding well then revisit the front settings. Man I love that staying in the Novice group mindset and clearly I am staying there as well unless forced out. Hahaha!

ROOKERY!!!!
You said it man! Immediate goal achieved. What a cool fun day. Am considering running back up on wed 5-30 for their first official open track day of 2018. There is a sale on that day, already poised in my shopping cart....HAH
MAN, the offset fork trees, or better yet; ADJUSTABLE trees would be amazing, but ahead of those in the budget is a set of track plastics.

Am considering running back up on wed 5-30 for their first official open track day of 2018. There is a sale on that day, already poised in my shopping cart

Normally I'd say don't bother but temps have been so warm that it will likely be great conditions. I would not expect to have less traffic on the track just because it's the first day. It was packed as ever when I was there on the first day. Pretty cool temps throughout the day too.

BOOKED WEDNESDAY MAY 30! BFR TRACK DAY! Very amped for this. Have some good goals, tons of notes to record. Will be way better than a day at work...HAHAHA this little gem being dialed in is one such goal.

Sweet Lighter and more streamlined than the Ohlins setup but there's no way I'm giving up my gold reservoir and Rook Racing brackets!

I'd like to see a clamp reaching back from inside the frame hold that reservoir. I still don't know if going without tail subframe causes the tail fairings to crack. Mine did but the LH one started before the subframe removal.

A clever bracket is in the offing... I’ll admit, my most active itch is to create a race tail all sanitary and waspy. Seeing all those sexy bikes lined up on the grid w no tail lights, radiused bottoms, and a hard backstop at rear of the seat area makes my fab juices flow. How hard can it be? A little blk closed cell minimal foam for a thin ass pad and BAM.

I don't think we'll get a convex undertail on the 14 without dog bones a couple inches longer but I do like that look too. Your undertail comes close. I have been dreaming about a reshaped seat cowl that would have a butt bumper on it like the H2 has. I got the extra seat cowl and OEM seat laying around. I would go with a piece of techSpec for the pad. The cowl might need to be made completely from fiberglass. The riders seat would need to be cut lower. I'd also like the seat cowl to open on a hinge like a trunk to reveal the nitrous system below.

Yes!!! Completely custom from fiberglass is the version I have been kicking around. The hinge and hidden nitrous Would be EPIC! Having seen your work, I know you could do it. I am seeing a skeletal start with steel washers at mounting points and very thin ( 1/8”?) rod used as the framework to support the cardboard or aluminum initial form to wrap w fiberglass...

I was looking at side views of my bike and it looks like the whole mudflap could be redone to increase rear wheel clearance. The ECU area dips down. I've seen flat, sheet metal undertails on race ZX-14s. I would hate to use sheet metal but flattening or even raising that area would help. Then what to do about the side tail pieces? They sort of are a defining characteristic of the 14 but they are doing pretty much the opposite of what you hope to achieve. You'd probably need to make reshaped tail fairings too. I guess flat topped and steeper sides that don't have the downward curl at the point.

LOL I would try chicken wire and paper mache for a mockup.