cheetah racing bodywork

[cbrwrx]

I see that they are one of cornerspeed's sponsors. I've dealt with fiberglass before and know there is always prep work involved but how is the overall fit, especially between the upper and lower and the thickness of the glass. Thanks for the help.

[David LaRiviere]

i am currently on my second set of Cheetah (two different bikes) and I can say for the money its very good stuff. Great fit on both bikes ('02 RC51 and '03 GSXR) and it crashes well too. Prep from the factory is minor...limited to a good wet sand (if you're worried about a slick finish, if not, scuff and spray), plenty flexible and relatively lightweight. Replacement panels are available for a resonable price if you choose not to repair it. I give it 2 thumbs up!

[Aaron Stevenson]

Cheetah:
Good bodywork for the money. It's lightweight and flexible.
Even with sanding before painting, you will still see the weave through finished paint because ALL brands of race bodywork have a very thin gel coat to keep the panels flexible and lightweight. Gel coat makes bodywork heavy and brittle.

Fit and repair: Keep in mind that all race bodywork requires some fiddling. I've used many brands and ALL of them have little quirks in mounting. This includes the highly rated Sharkskinz so don't think it's perfect. And Sharkskinz is very expensive. It doesn't crash any better than Cheetah. (Yep, I've crashed 'em both). The Black Pearl (color) Ducati bodywork (Cheetah) that I had last year had been repaired previously and even after the massive crash it sustained is still very repairable. This was the crash where I avoided hitting a falling student only to watch the 998 flip end over end about 4 times.

Finish: Check out my current bodywork on the 998 Ducati (Candy red). It has Cheetah bodywork. Most everyone will tell you that it's pretty choice looking.

Brand to avoid at all costs:
I've never liked AirTech. I have no idea why AirTech is still in business. It is the worst: doesn't fit well, heavy and explodes upon impact so forget repairs. Avoid AirTech.

I have not used Hot Bodies but to this date I have never heard anyone say anything positive about that brand other than it's cheap. So you get what you pay for I guess.

[Nightoul]

God Fathers body work is another one of the sorry brands. Doesn't fit even close, major adjustments just to get it close and it spider cracks at the rush of wind.
Aaron, does Cheeta offer us grads a discount?

[SINJIN]

As far as Hot Bodies goes Jninja used this product on his bike and he absolutely hates the stuff. The fit and overall construction was horrible and he unserstood that all bodywork had to be adjusted but this stuff was way Way Way off. The belly pan came no where near to matching up to the upper part and even after trying to sand and modify the product it still does not fit. He was having problems with putting on a stock windscreen and he even contacted Hot Bodies and they stated that a stock windscreen should fit perfectly with no problems. WRONG I personally helped Jninja put on his windscreen and when you put it up to where it should go it looked like it was the wrong windscreen for the bike. We had to heat up the windscreen with a heat gun to be able to bend it enough to be able to match up as closely as we could. And even still it did not fit very good. There was a lot of this and even this until we got to this We got it on and it looks o-kay but Jninja nor I would reccomend this stuff. I'm glad someone posted up about Godfather products becasue I have heard nothing about the product and on their website they are selling complete kits for people with a race license for $450 and it was a possibility until now. As far as how well Hotbodies products hold up during a crash, luckily Jninja has not tested it and hopefully he will never will.

[Aaron Stevenson]

Yes, Cheetah offers discounts to Cornerspeed grads. Call them direct as prices change and the discount will vary depending on the product(s).

[WANABE RACER]

has anyone tried catalyst racing composites??

[Jninja]

If you guys check roadracing world.com, they did an article 2 years ago where they tested 9 different bodywork manufacturers. Wannabe racer to answer your question, I belive catalyst racing composites was one of the worst ones in the comparison. Sharkskins, cheetah, and I believe one of the more expensive Armor bodies sets were the best. I paid almost $800 for full hotbodies for my bike, and I figured out why they were like $300 cheaper than sharkskins for the set, because they are s#!t!!!! Lets face it, in most cases you get what you pay for, if I had to do it over again, I would spend the extra money for quality. If you find race bodywork for cheap, face it, it is gonna be cheap, it took me almost a week to finally get the hotbodies on and thats after I argued with their rep everyday for a week. Maybe if I had a gsxr it might have been different seeing they probably produce more for that bike, but as far as a ninja, hotbodies was way off. If saving a couple of hundred bucks is worth a week of fighting cussing and still not being happy, more power to you, my suggestion is to spend the extra money and save yourself the hassel. Trust me its worth it, and I cant wait for the first race that there is a hotbodies rep at, by the time I get my point accross, they are probably not going to be too happy with me!

[WANABE RACER]

ill be sure to look that article up. i would consider sharkskinz but i would have to get a aftermarket exhaust because shrkskinz doesnt fit around the stock cat converter. i realy dont want to spend the extra money for a exhaust that i dont want. ill probaly go with either hotbodies or cheetah.ive heard hotbodies has gotten alot better last couple of years.

also i think a couple of people are going to michaels sunday if you and sinjin are interested.or anyone elese from hear would like to go.

[SINJIN]

What time Sunday and where do yall meet? Do you meet in burl or just at Michales? I think that Jninja has to work Sun but if Jninja and myself don't go riding Sat I might be game. Are you interested in riding Sat around Noon? Unforunally if I go both days my wife might kill me bec my work schedule dosen't allow me to be off a lot of weekends.

[WANABE RACER]

PM SENT

[WANABE RACER]

PM SENT

[Jninja]

Wanabe racer beware, don't know who told you hotbodies has gotten better in the last few years but I purchased my set about 7 months ago. The upper and lower didn't fit together correctly, the speedscreen had to be heated and bent to form to the nosecone, the LP dark smoke wasn't even close, the tailsection cracked trying to slide it over the subframe, the lower had to be grinded on the right side for the exhaust, so basically the only part from hotbodies that fit correctly was the fender. Worth $800 of my hard earned money, not in my opinion, go with cheetah you will probably be happier.

[WANABE RACER]

THANKS FOR THE INFO.I THOUGHT YOU HAD THAT BODYWORK FOR AWHILE. IVE HEARD A COUPLE SAY ON THE GIXXER WEBSITE THAT THEY DIDNT HAVE MUCH TROUBLE. I GOT A PRICE FROM NED ON THE HOTBODY STUFF AT LUNCH TODAY.I DONT THINK HE CAN GET CHEETAH. IM GOING TO DO SOME CALLING IN A FEW.
OFF SUBJECT ARE YOU GOING TO RACE THE WERA RACE MARCH 10 AND 11TH?.

[SINJIN]

THANKS FOR THE INFO.I THOUGHT YOU HAD THAT BODYWORK FOR AWHILE. IVE HEARD A COUPLE SAY ON THE GIXXER WEBSITE THAT THEY DIDNT HAVE MUCH TROUBLE. I GOT A PRICE FROM NED ON THE HOTBODY STUFF AT LUNCH TODAY.I DONT THINK HE CAN GET CHEETAH. IM GOING TO DO SOME CALLING IN A FEW.
OFF SUBJECT ARE YOU GOING TO RACE THE WERA RACE MARCH 10 AND 11TH?.

Check on Ebay for cheetah. I don't know about for your bike but I have seen an ebay store sell a full set of cheetah race bodywork for around 650-750 for other bikes. Compared to Hotbodies prices that is only about 100 to 150 more and I bet that it's worth paying that to have less of a hassel then we did.