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Austin Racing Carbon Fiber Belly Pan Review

21K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  mikef4uk 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey Guys,

I haven't been too active on here yet, but I thought I'd share my experience with one of my "Unique" and "more expensive" modifications to my '11 S1000RR.

Since this is also my introduction, I'll share the current parts list:

Full Long Carbon Akrapovic (Stainless)
PCV - Dan Kyle's Map
Yoshimura Frame Sliders and Fender Eliminator
DDM HID, LED Running Lights
Austin Racing Full Carbon Belly Pan
Snake Skinz
OEM BMW Cowel









Customer Service
Rich was awesome. Answered all of my questions (over about 6 emails) and shipped the pan out within a few days of placing the order. Took a little over 3 weeks to my door from England

Product
The fitment is definitely acceptable. For you guys who have experience with non-OEM custom made carbon parts, fitment is always a concern. The pan fits on the bike now, but I'm going to pull it today to do a little trimming where it touches the stator cover. Also, there is some gap on the right side where it meets the (blue) fairing.

I'm not complaining as I've experienced much worse over the years. These things aren't easy to make. The piece is unbelievably light, the postal worker asked if I ordered and empty box.

Overall, I give the piece a solid 9/10. It needs very slight trimming, and I'm going to have to add a hole or two to the bottom in order to let water empty the pan (Not an issue on a race bike).

Hope you enjoy my very mediocre pictures. Thanks to everyone for making this the best "Motorcycle" Forum I've been apart of so far, as I can't stand the R6 and other sportbike forums.
 
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#2 ·
Not sure what kind of fasteners you are using to attach the belly pan to the upper and frame, but drilling holes to let the water out seems to be a little drastic. Have you considered one of the Dzus fasteners? They make all kinds of neat, easy to take off ones and if you install those, it's very easy to take off the belly pan when it's time to wash the bike or to let the water out.
 
#15 ·
Had the pleasure of seeing this product at your US distrbutor at New Haven Powersports in New Haven , Connecticut today. Wow , what a piece of art. That also goes for the Exhaust as well.Thye build quality is amazing and the light weight is incredible.Nice products.
 
#17 ·
Just wanted to add to this review if I could. Everything about the bellypan is top notch except for the fit. It's close to fitting correctly right out of the box, but as I noticed on some other bikes, it just doesn't want to sit flush with the stock fairing (where it comes to a V).

Not only was mine not flush, but I could see some daylight coming through! :eek: If the holes on the bellypan were drilled just a little further from the upper edge, that would allow it to sit much closer to the stock fairing (hope a certain manufacturer is reading this).

I came up with a little fix for this that ended up working great. Before I even put on the bellypan, I cut out a small rectangular rain drain on the bottom side. That little carbon fiber piece that was left over came in real handy when it came to fabricating some brackets to make the bellypan fit correctly later on.

I think the pictures pretty much explain the rest. After screwing in the little piece of CF, I drilled holes in the tabs that extend down from the stock fairing. I made those holes higher than the stock ones, which brought up the whole bellypan and made it fit like it should have to begin with :cool:

I've seen a little extra space on multiple aftermarket bellypans. Not sure what the deal is, but hopefully this helps someone else who has a less-than-ideal fitting bellypan.
 

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#22 · (Edited)
Before I even put on the bellypan, I cut out a small rectangular rain drain on the bottom side. That little carbon fiber piece that was left over came in real handy when it came to fabricating some brackets to make the bellypan fit correctly later on.
If you are going to cut a little hole in the bottom why not go all the way like I did so you can do an oil change as well without removing it? I copied all of the cut outs underneath the original

I had no problem with the side mounts, the only issue I had there was the thickness (or lack of) of the carbon fibre causes a step

I also didn't like the way it fits directly behind the wheel ( it looks too 'aftermarket to me' so I modded the original plastic 'V' piece and spent a fair few hours cutting the Ilmberger belly pan to resemble the original complete with the two plastic air deflectors and the two screws underneath, plus I also have original type screw mounts down either side of the 'V'
 

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#20 ·
I spent all weekend fidgeting with this, and I would say elongating the holes isn't going to fix it. The top two holes just need to be placed slightly lower on the bellypan; then this thing will be 100% perfect.

And just to clarify, Austin Racing is the best company to work with ever. My personal review/experience isn't a slight on them at all. I couldn't be happier with their V2 Black exhaust and overall customer service.
 
#21 ·
Thanks, good to hear.
We fitted 1 today and found it to fit as well as the standard bellypan panels, we found even the originals leave a slight gap at the fitting point with the upper fairings. We will try what you suggest on the next batch to see if we can improve on things.
I'm glad you have it fitted and are satisfied with it.
 
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