I had spent the majority of 22 on track with my new gixxer, hardly ever went out on the road on my 999S or 19 RSV4. I struggled to find the time and when I did find the time and venture out, I just didn’t enjoy it. Track riding was all I wanted to do so the road bikes had to go. I had spent a lot of money on the gixxer, it was a weapon, but it didn’t give me a boner like I thought it would! With it being a gixxer I was attracting all the wrong sorts of attention! I found myself being seduced by the Italians when on track and after my last trackday at Jerez in Nov 22 I decided it was time to change. I’m no mechanic, I’m not shit at it, I just don’t have the confidence and experience to complete a major track bike build. A 10 minute job can sometimes take me 3 hours! I do, however, have a Dave in my life, everyone needs a Dave, they are so useful! I am referring to Dave Hewson of Obsession Engineering. I’ve used Dave for a few years now and we have bonded well. Dave really knows his stuff and he is a master at what he does. Before I took the plunge and purchased a new bike Dave and I deliberated on what my plans were, and to be honest it didn’t take much to convince him that my idea was the right idea! He too has a soft spot for everything Italian! It was on, no time to spare as it was early December 22 and the bike needed to be completed by mid March 23. You may think this is ample time but it aint! Mid December I bought a brand new Aprilia RSV4 1100 RR. I chose the base model because I was going to change everything on it, and it was much cheaper than the factory model.
First job was to remove as much OEM stuff as possible. This was the easiest job out of the lot, Aprilia fairing is very well built and very easy to remove. As this was mid-winter I still had to run in the engine. There was no way I was riding on the road, so I took it to Peter Hickman Racing (PHR) for Pete Clifford to complete the run in on the dyno. Pete does all the run ins on PH’s race bikes. They don’t work on miles but load on the engine at set revs in set gears for set durations. Very technical but what it means is the bike is fully run in after approximately 350 miles. Next job was to chase down every parts retailer for all the parts we needed for the build. We started this before Christmas 22 and it took until the end of January 23 to source everything we needed and place orders. First job was the fairing. I chose Hifibre fairing as they were supplying the In-Competition Aprilia BSB Superstock team. I’d heard that Dave (see another Dave!) from Hifibre made quality kit, so it was decision made. Fitted the fairing and it went on first time with zero issues.
The new exhaust system, a full titanium Akrapovic race system, arrived along with Gabro Racing velocity stacks and UpMap T800+. I fitted the exhaust as Dave was abroad earning some decent coin ready for this years race season. I also wanted to see how the belly pan fitted against the new exhaust in case any of it needed trimming before painting. Fitting the exhaust was going really well until I got to the rear left header. Everything fell apart for approximately 4 hours, I had a severe sense of humor failure and learnt some new swear words which I’m sure haven’t been invented yet! My persistence prevailed and the exhaust was fitted. Fairing back on and marked up for trimming.
The fairing was removed and sent off to be painted. I opted for a black gloss finish as the plan was to wrap the fairing. This was early Feb. Only half of the parts had turned up! The build was at a standstill again! The original plan was to build the bike first, paint and wrap. We had to quickly change this around as parts were taking ages to arrive. Dave was having similar issues with the Superstock bike he was building for the Marvel Race Team. The stress levels were increasing! Collected the fairing and I was off to Bolton to see @evoboy for the wrap. 2 weeks later I was back in Bolton collecting the bike only for it to be sat at home for a further few weeks whilst I waited for Dave to return from Spain testing with his Superstock team. Stress levels increasing further! We’re now in Mid March, T minus 2 weeks before the bike is being dropped off at Donington ready to be shipped out to Jerez. All the parts had arrived, well almost all, and Dave was ready to make a start. First job for Dave was to measure up the brake lines and get them ordered from HEL only to be informed by HEL that they had run out of specific bits for my bike!!! Another delay and the build stopped again whilst Dave spent the weekend at Anglesey practicing. T minus 1 week! Stress levels were at an all time high! Brake lines had arrived, and Dave was on it, for 28 hours! We removed all the emissions crap and ABS lines; ABS pump remained and was blanked off. All the other race parts fitted with some minor mods to the fairing and air intake tubes for clearance and voila, bike finished. This was Thursday night at 6pm, T minus 1 day before drop off!!!! The bike had not turned a wheel since the dyno run, nor had it been on the road. With all the electronics on these things and all the changes we had made I was nervous about any electrical gremlins that could be present. I took her for a little spin up the road and all was fine. Did a final bolt check and spruced her up and she was ready for her maiden voyage! Next stop Jerez!!!! I think she turned out well, see what you think.
I recall watching his channel, my mate was looking to send him some engineering work if he could fulfill the criteria.
Is that a sticky-uppy clutch lever and then rear brake on the LH bar where the clutch would have been?
I’ve always loved the look (and sound) of these. But they look tiny. How’s the ergonomics? It’ll be a right weapon! Enjoy Jerez!!
Aced it Tim. Congratulations and looking forward to seeing it in the flesh sometime this year. Enjoy!
