Iraq Moto: Zagraniski’s F450 Blog, Part 6

By Ted Zagraniski, in Iraq

For part 5, go here.

What a month it’s been for me! If you’ve been watching your calendars, you may have noticed that I started my twelfth month of this deployment on 1 December. With that milestone comes a much increased tempo and significantly reduced internet access. Not exactly a perfect situation for blogging. However, the team at Killeen Power Sports was good enough provide me with a few new photos of the project, so I made the time to write some extended captions and describe our progress.

The first image shows the bike from a three-quarter, front-left perspective. The first thing that jumps out at me is the new windscreen. You might not be able to tell, but that’s a Puig part. Not only will the fade-to-black nose give a clearer view of my instrument panel, it will also help cut glare during sunny track days. The braided steel front brake line is not installed, but it is on hand. Basically what you’re seeing here is a motorcycle ready to head off to paint. I’m particularly impressed with the fit of the lower fairing and gas tank–I was warned back in October that the team faced many challenges with the bodywork in those areas.

Image number two is also a front three-quarter view–this one of the right side. The asymmetric nature of the crankcases forced the guys at
Killeen Power Sports to modify the lower fairing more on the right than the left. As scintillating as these two “dressed” views were, I couldn’t
help but admire the work under the carbon fiber with a certain sense of awe. Maybe you can see the tiny red dot in the seat cover. More on that
in the last image:

The final photo gives a great view of most of last month’s efforts. As you can see by comparing this image to the ones from my previous blog,

the custom bracket fabricated by Killeen Power Sports had to be moved to accommodate the airbox our team installed in November. In a creative use of what limited space was available on the bike, the team tucked the electronics in between the gas tank and the gas-tank cover. Just like with a lot of the accomplishments on this build, I’m certain the artful results belie a lot of sweat and tears from the Killeen Power Sports service department. That little red dot on the seat cover, by the way, was actually a small hole cut in the carbon fiber to allow access to the Race Tech rear-shock adjusters without removing any body panels. Pretty slick, huh?

Attaching the heat tape-wrapped exhaust to the meticulously crafted subframe took no less than three custom brackets, and evidence that this build is a labor of love can be seen again and again in these images. I have to admit the little things are what make this team’s work special. I think we’ve all learned this year that any factory or workshop can crank out an aftermarket part for a track bike, but putting all those parts together into a living, breathing motorcycle takes stuff no computer can design: dedication, determination, and a lot of creative thinking.

Dustin and Killeen Power Sports have more milestones to reach on this project during December. The paint booth can’t be far off now! As for
me, this will (hopefully) be the last blog entry I submit from Iraq. I might not make it home for Christmas, but I’m an odds-on favorite to
ring in the New Year back in Texas.

Happy Holidays, everyone!