Motorcycle Roadracing Garage

[ekraft84]

Our season wrapped up this past weekend, where we finished 2nd nationally in two classes. Below is a photo with some press release posted from Honda East, our dealership partner:

http://www.nextmotochampion.com/nmc...finishes-strong-at-wera-grand-national-finals

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...releases-from-the-wera-grand-national-finals/

I spent much of the 12-hour drive down to Barber planning the next garage steps. Getting a more secure garage door opener system, adding some lighting, and keeping my fingers crossed that the cabinets can one day get finished. Now that the racing's done for the year, hopefully I can get some of that accomplished.

 

[Madhatter10-6]

I love the garage setup and the in floor lift! This thread makes me miss my Duc 1098

 

[thetastelingers]

Our season wrapped up this past weekend, where we finished 2nd nationally in two classes. Below is a photo with some press release posted from Honda East, our dealership partner:

http://www.nextmotochampion.com/nmc...finishes-strong-at-wera-grand-national-finals

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...releases-from-the-wera-grand-national-finals/

I spent much of the 12-hour drive down to Barber planning the next garage steps. Getting a more secure garage door opener system, adding some lighting, and keeping my fingers crossed that the cabinets can one day get finished. Now that the racing's done for the year, hopefully I can get some of that accomplished.

Congratulations on the finish.
Barber was my favorite track back when I raced. I was there the first weekend WERA raced there. Made everyone mad when I showed up on Saturday, won and didn't stick around Sunday. Guess I figured the track out quicker than everyone else.

I love figuring out what I want to do with the garage space. Having time to achieve those thoughts, well... that's a different story.

 

[ekraft84]

Congratulations on the finish.
Barber was my favorite track back when I raced. I was there the first weekend WERA raced there. Made everyone mad when I showed up on Saturday, won and didn't stick around Sunday. Guess I figured the track out quicker than everyone else.

I love figuring out what I want to do with the garage space. Having time to achieve those thoughts, well... that's a different story.

Thank you. Barber is one of my favorites. I just wish it wasn't 12 hours away.

 

[ekraft84]

Well, further progress is starting to happen, with the far side cabinets getting underway. These will be full height to the ceiling, to maximize storage and hold the bigger/more awkward items. They won't be "cabinets" so much as containing-boxes with sliding doors and slatwall along the back - primarily so they can be configured however needed. I didn't want to limit dimensions with such a big space - who knows what might need to get stored. Something as small as parts bins, or as big as bicycles.

Below you can see the work that has happened so far, which has been about about building a level base to zero the cabinets from. The slope of the floor has posed a challenge, but this should remedy that issue.

The cabinets to the left and right of the window will have 10' tall sliding doors - 2 on each side, 4 total:

Under the window, there will be a slide-out drawer. Heavy-duty, 100lb-rated, with a butcher block top fitting under the window:

Width on the left side-cabinets have to be narrow, since the cabinets will go from floor to ceiling - and with that - will need to accommodate the garage door track. This is half the reason we are going with sliding doors. This cabinet will likely house rakes, shovels, brooms, gardening equipment and other non "shop" type items:

The second consideration for sliding doors was parking. My wife's Jeep will park in the garage (blasphemy!), so access to the cabinets if/when (primarily "if") she's parked in there is important. Also notice the added depth (30") from the window to the right, allowing for bigger things (like parts washers, bench grinders, drill press, etc.) and kids toys in the drawer:

More to come ..

 

[damienga15de]

I got excited when I read the thread title.

Roadracing is awesome, but here in Ireland that is not road racing that is short circuit racing.

This is road racing in Ireland, everyone should experience it once in thier lives.

http://youtu.be/MQW5DAOpoA4

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[80sBMX]

Dude that footage in your link rocks! I used to ride a crotch rocket but it's been ages. Not too offend but why buy a Harley when you can get a bad *** rice burner! It's just too much fun.

 

[damienga15de]

Happens every few weeks all summer here, public roads close trees and signpost get hay bales, and racing happens, my local circuit is walderstown 8 miles away from my house, the 1000 cc bikes sit on the limiter on the main straight, we sit on the grass about 2 foot away from the bikes.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Rockcam]

Great project, as are the pics of racing + bikes.

Barber and RA are both incredible tracks - at least from a spectator perspective. We are heading to Birmingham for T-giving and hope to visit the Barber museum while we're there - an incredible display of motorcycles.

I'm trying to figure out if the cabinets are painted or laminate? They look great. Please pass along more information.

Thanks.

 

[ekraft84]

I got excited when I read the thread title.

Roadracing is awesome, but here in Ireland that is not road racing that is short circuit racing.

This is road racing in Ireland, everyone should experience it once in thier lives.

http://youtu.be/MQW5DAOpoA4

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Absolutely. That stuff is insane. A fellow racer I know was just at Macau - Brandon Cretu - and has done the TT the past several years. It's a completely different mindset of racing, without a doubt. I love watching it, but that'll be the extent of it for me.

Dude that footage in your link rocks! I used to ride a crotch rocket but it's been ages. Not too offend but why buy a Harley when you can get a bad *** rice burner! It's just too much fun.

Thank you. Hope to do a better-produced time lapse this coming winter, if our plans come together as we hope.

Great project, as are the pics of racing + bikes.

Barber and RA are both incredible tracks - at least from a spectator perspective. We are heading to Birmingham for T-giving and hope to visit the Barber museum while we're there - an incredible display of motorcycles.

I'm trying to figure out if the cabinets are painted or laminate? They look great. Please pass along more information.

Thanks.

Agreed, both tracks are great. I love Road Atlanta - probably more so than Barber even. I've been to Barber several times and still haven't made it to the museum. I'd like to have a full day to spend there, which just hasn't happened yet.

Cabinets are laminate. Built from scratch with a black melamine for the desired look. The toe kicks have an added treatment to make them water-resistant. They are the best part of the garage IMO and without a "friends of the family" deal, would have likely landed me in the poor house.

 

[ekraft84]

It's been a busy week/weekend. With the latest phase of cabinets starting, new garage door openers were also installed. Thank you to everyone's input in the thread I started a couple weeks ago w/recommendations. I ended up going with two Liftmaster 8500 openers to replace the existing ones I've had. Main reason was security. The openers being much quieter and opening up the ceiling a bit are secondary benefits as well.

Before:

After:

Clean, up out of the way:

Another angle:

Wiring is all temporary. We're going to put plugs behind the openers to keep the wiring tucked out of the way. Also going to run the wiring for the push pads themselves up through the ceiling and over to the main cabinet with all the switches. This will surely be a PITA.

Security lock:

Wiring leftover from the old opener (double door):

Wiring leftover from the old opener (single door):

Instead of using the overhead wireless light that came with the new openers, we're going to wire industrial-style lights to them instead. Here's the circuit board that will need to be rewired and hidden somewhere in the new fixture. I'm hoping I can hide it up behind the drywall and still have it work properly:

Next up - hooking up lights, running wire through finished ceilings/walls with minimal cursing, some drywall patching and hopefully more cabinet work...

 

[nicobkn]

Those are nice! where did you get them from? They have some on ebay

 

[ekraft84]

Those are nice! where did you get them from? They have some on ebay

The local installer who did the doors had them available. There were some good prices for them online as well, I found.

 

[thetastelingers]

I thought of doing the same thing with the lights I received with my 8500 openers.
Thinking and doing is totally different with time available. LOL

Good additions man.

 

[Wuaname]

Congrats on your season!

Garage looks great. I like the new doors. As for the wife's jeep? Do what I did; I took possession of all the garage door openers, lol... My problem wasn't parking in my single, but everyone walking in through the garage with groceries or dirty shoes, lol

I know you race WERA, but is this new deal with Wayne Rainy / AMA going to change anything?

 

[ekraft84]

I thought of doing the same thing with the lights I received with my 8500 openers.
Thinking and doing is totally different with time available. LOL

Good additions man.

Thank you. And yes, I agree.

Congrats on your season!

Garage looks great. I like the new doors. As for the wife's jeep? Do what I did; I took possession of all the garage door openers, lol... My problem wasn't parking in my single, but everyone walking in through the garage with groceries or dirty shoes, lol

I know you race WERA, but is this new deal with Wayne Rainy / AMA going to change anything?

Good call! I hear you on dirty shoes. Don't get me started on leaves blowing in.

Yes, I believe MotoAmerica will change things for the better. Getting a group in there who has a passion for racing, along with connections to Dorna (MotoGP) - is something the series has long been lacking. The lines/differentiators between the AMA and WERA had become blurred, where there wasn't much ROI (or really, VOI). We race against pro-level competition at every event as it is - we just don't have the budget to go and chase the entire series, with a full crew, run the spec Dunlop tires (when supported by Pirelli), etc. etc. The reasons (or excuses you could deem) just never made sense the last few years to pursue it on a regular basis.

Overall, I'm excited to see what Rainey and company put together. Last time we raced at an AMA event, I had just broken my wrist and we put another rider on our bike. We finished inside the top ten in Daytona Sportbike (the 600 class), which we were quite happy with - so I'd like to think we can put a competitive bike on the grid.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

This is road racing in Ireland, everyone should experience it once in thier lives.

Thanks for the Link, That was incredible!

 

[ekraft84]

Dad came over yesterday and helped with some new electrical. Moved the new garage door control pads to where the old ones were (fortunately, didn't have to run new wires over there), along with installing plugs directly behind each Liftmaster opener, so you don't see the plugs or cords (see last photo).

Also, I took the circuit board out of the overhead wireless light and we put it up in the ceiling, connecting to two new overhead lights. The standard light wasn't ideal, and doesn't provide enough light. While there is good light now with the fluorescents, we could use a little bit more when working on bikes. I decided to pick these up and with a little messing around, dad was able to make it work off the garage door openers without much trouble at all.

I'm extremely happy with how they came out. The look is clean and simple - and the function of the lights is perfect. Having them work off the garage door opener is nice because they can be motion controlled, manually controlled, and obviously turn on when the door is opened, along with automatically turning themselves off. I had thought about just wiring the lights permanently to a switch, or just with a motion sensor - but neither of those solutions covered all the above-mentioned areas I ideally wanted.

Wireless circuit board wired into the former garage door opener. Ceiling plug is no longer needed:

Overhead lights installed. Spaced equally between the fluorescents. Height was set just above where the garage door comes when open.

Another angle:

Couple things - you can see the new two-gang box on the ceiling to house the wireless circuit board. The antenna/wire is sticking out, but that will get pushed back up once I make sure everything is working as it should. Also on the far wall, you can see the white plug behind the new garage opener. There is one for each opener, hiding all the wiring (I'll paint them to match the wall color). Also, the wiring for the motion sensors which you can see loose below the openers, will be hidden as well - that's part of this weekend's projects.

Originally, two overhead lights were ordered (one for each garage door), but in deciding to put two on each side - we need two more. Also, the far side of the garage wasn't originally intended to be a work area, so there are currently only four fluorescent lights to cover a two-bay area. Since we do work on that side of the garage now, it needs additional light. So two more fluorescent lights are going up as well. It might get a bit messy, with all the sprayed-insulation overhead, so we'll likely be pulling out a big rake to move as much out of the way as possible.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading.

 

[dubber]

Nice work. I've wanted to get those openers for a long time now. Damn you! lol..

 

[ekraft84]

Nice work. I've wanted to get those openers for a long time now. Damn you! lol..

Me too. You'll cave eventually. lol

 

[Speedy2222]

Very nice shop! One day i'll actually get around to finishing my RZ. Your wall art sure is inspiring.

 

[rpsurfr]

what sort of light bulbs are in the new lights.? I have been using big watts but now cant get them thanks to our new laws on light bulbs.
I like the idea-you have and they seem bright
thanks

 

[69bigblok]

wow wow wow! Stunning build - well done! Our family rides off road too.

Thanks for sharing all your updates and pictures it is inspiring for all.

 

[ekraft84]

Very nice shop! One day i'll actually get around to finishing my RZ. Your wall art sure is inspiring.

Thank you. Nice bike!

what sort of light bulbs are in the new lights.? I have been using big watts but now cant get them thanks to our new laws on light bulbs.
I like the idea-you have and they seem bright
thanks

In that photo, standard 75/100w bulbs. I just replaced them with 150w bulbs which brighten things up nicely.

wow wow wow! Stunning build - well done! Our family rides off road too.

Thanks for sharing all your updates and pictures it is inspiring for all.

Awesome on the riding. And thanks. I blame this place for the incredible amount of scope creep that has occurred.

 

[ekraft84]

A lesson in frivolous ventures:

I had been looking at the dull, boring, garage frame on both doors for months. Years. I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. I could paint it like Dubber and others have done, which surely looked good. But I didn't want to straight-up copy their idea - more over, I didn't want to paint it a certain color and then change my mind, or spend a ton of time getting into every little nook and cranny, without getting paint on the ceiling, wall and/or garage door.

The theme in the garage so far has been a clean/neutral/monochrome look with a small touch of an industrial feel. So with that I thought, why not leave all the frame pieces natural and just clean them up a bit? Sounds easy! Great idea! Well, not really.

A day and a half later I was done. A couple bags of steel wool, followed by metal polish, several numb fingers and quite a mess. Overall, I think it came out great. Will anyone notice? Can anyone even tell from the photos? Probably not, but once I got started, I had to go all the way. A few photos below:

Before:

Pain ..

In the ..

Well, you get the idea.

Lesson learned: Don't let the guy with OCD tackle a project like this, thinking it'll just take "an hour or two".

Overall, the garage is in the midst of a couple projects. The cabinets are still in-process, as is the garage door opener wiring.

 

[TauntDevil]

Looks good, though one side of the dotted angle iron seems to be mounted more to one side than the other... lol just messing with ya.

 

[Wuaname]

A lesson in frivolous ventures:

I had been looking at the dull, boring, garage frame on both doors for months. Years. I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. I could paint it like Dubber and others have done, which surely looked good. But I didn't want to straight-up copy their idea - more over, I didn't want to paint it a certain color and then change my mind, or spend a ton of time getting into every little nook and cranny, without getting paint on the ceiling, wall and/or garage door.

The theme in the garage so far has been a clean/neutral/monochrome look with a small touch of an industrial feel. So with that I thought, why not leave all the frame pieces natural and just clean them up a bit? Sounds easy! Great idea! Well, not really.

A day and a half later I was done. A couple bags of steel wool, followed by metal polish, several numb fingers and quite a mess. Overall, I think it came out great. Will anyone notice? Can anyone even tell from the photos? Probably not, but once I got started, I had to go all the way. A few photos below:
..........................
Lesson learned: Don't let the guy with OCD tackle a project like this, thinking it'll just take "an hour or two".

Overall, the garage is in the midst of a couple projects. The cabinets are still in-process, as is the garage door opener wiring.

That came out awesome... Thanks for the PIA warning, lol.. I want to do that to my single's garage door, but was wondering how much of a PIA it would be.

 

[G2G]

Looking good Eddie! Everytime I think mine looks good I come back to this thread an you add something else. I give up. haha

 

[OSULemon]

Wow! Great progress!

I've gotten to the point where I need a mat for my lift. Did you end up going with the vinyl or the rubber version from McMasterCarr?

 

[thetastelingers]

I was hoping you would have done something about that wiring already.

 

[Kevin509]

Wow this has been an awesome read! Awesome bikes, Awesome riding, Awesome garage man.

 

[slidewayes]

Nice

 

[ekraft84]

Looking good Eddie! Everytime I think mine looks good I come back to this thread an you add something else. I give up. haha

Thanks Steve. Haha. I need to stop. After these next couple things, I'm done. I think. Ha.

Wow! Great progress!

I've gotten to the point where I need a mat for my lift. Did you end up going with the vinyl or the rubber version from McMasterCarr?

I went with the rubber version. Extremely happy with it.

I was hoping you would have done something about that wiring already.

I did! Finally, this past weekend. I'll take some photos and post here shortly.

Wow this has been an awesome read! Awesome bikes, Awesome riding, Awesome garage man.

Thank you.

Nice

Thanks.

 

[ekraft84]

Some updates from this past week/weekend ..

Up through the attic to install two additional fluorescent lights. With this being the "larger" side of the garage, four lights weren't enough, as there was a dead spot of light in the center. Two added lights helped significantly. I should have done it in the first place.

Hole in the ceiling. This was a bit messy, cutting drywall and moving all the sprayed-insulation out of the way, but worth the effort:

Six lights shown, plus the newly added garage-controlled industrial lights hanging from the ceiling. As shown in previous photos, we pulled the wireless motherboard/card from the supplied garage light, wired it to these two lights - and stored the motherboard/card up in the attic, so now both sets of industrial-style lights are independently controlled by each garage door opener.

Another angle. You can't see (fortunately), but the ceiling needed mud/patching and paint to cover the holes from the original garage door opener. The paint-feathering technique worked well here, as I can't tell it was ever there.

Yet another angle. It's hard to see, but we left the plug in the ceiling for possible future use. I debated removing it altogether, but you never know when you'll need power from above for something (hanging, corded-reel type light perhaps).

Excuse the mess. This shelving unit will no longer be needed once the cabinets are finished.

thetastelingers, just for you. Wiring was hidden in some small sleeves I picked up at Home Depot. Ran the garage wiring through them, and used a dab of Gorilla glue, along with the self-adhesive to stick them to the wall. Then painted them to match.

The left side of the single garage door, with the wiring cleaned up. Please excuse the poor camera phone quality photos.

Thankfully the new garage door controls ran off the wiring from the previous opener. With my dad's help, he used the wiring we ran originally (from the ceiling, over to this cabinet) into the new openers. This was huge, as running wiring over to this cabinet would have been nearly impossible without doing some drywall damage.

Another small project - moving the lift-table control box inside the cabinet. It was sitting on top of the counter, but it's now sitting out of sight. Open the lower cabinet door, and simply control it from there.

Another angle:

So that completes the latest light phase of the garage. Fingers crossed the cabinets and some tile will be done in time for Christmas. Thanks for reading.

 

[vortex]

Excellent garage! Can't believe I'd missed it. So many great ideas, and the bikes are awesome too

 

[dubber]

Love how clean all those changes are, my kind of shop.

 

[thetastelingers]

Oh man. Now I REALLY want to mount some lights in the ceiling and connect them to the circuit boards for the openers. That looks so clean. I really dislike how I have mine now.

The wiring for the openers looks great! I am in no way OCD, I was just messing with you on the wiring. (I do that to my OCD friends a lot.) Mainly one of my friends,I send him pictures of my messy work bench to make him cringe.

Your place looks killer. I should hope mine turns out as clean and usable as yours. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Wuaname]

Good work on moving the lift table controls... Doesn't look easy

 

[JasonJ]

The wiring for the openers looks great! I am in no way OCD, I was just messing with you on the wiring. (I do that to my OCD friends a lot.) Mainly one of my friends,I send him pictures of my messy work bench to make him cringe.

Pet peeve but it's not OCD... it should be CDO. It's the same as OCD but the letters are rearranged to be alphabetical, like it should be.

 

[thetastelingers]

Pet peeve but it's not OCD... it should be CDO. It's the same as OCD but the letters are rearranged to be alphabetical, like it should be.