The order to fit seems to be front and rear bulkhead panels first, then side panels, then bottom (floor) panel. The floor panel sticks out past the frame tubes so putting this on first makes it difficult to drill and rivet the sides. And putting the side panels on first makes it awkward to fit the front and rear. So, front/rear first, then side, then bottom.

Front panel

Use clamps to hold the panel in place, mark where the chassis tubes are, check and mark any place a rivet can't go. Remove and drill along a center line. I placed rivet holes every 60mm.

The panel needs to be flexed as you fit it between the horizontal chassis tubes.

It already has cut outs for the lower suspension mounts, but you will need to make two cut outs for the side chassis tubes. As well as that you will need to drill a hole for the steering column. It needs to be oval shape so start with a 20mm hole saw and open up with a small grind wheel.

We have a bearing for the steering column. It is sandwiched between two brackets. Fit this to the chassis bracket behind the front panel with two 6mm bolts supplied - no washers though so find your own.

With the front panel clamped into place you can then see where to cut the hole in the panel for the column. To get the steering unit to fit, release the black clamp and compress the spring as the unit adjusts for steering wheel height. And if necessary knock the column shaft in from the splined end or it will seem as if it is too long. Test fit using clamps to hold it in place.

I'm using a cordless drill rivet gun for this. Also required is a right angled drill chuck to get at the awkward rivets.

Drill the holes in the panel, clamp the panel back in place, drill through into the chassis tubes.

Remove the panel yet again, run a bead of adhesive round the chassis tubes, back on with the panel, locate it with a few rivets, then clamp it in place. Insert and fit all rivets.

Now go round it and clean up the mess left when the adhesive oozed out. I used grey Sikaflex 221. You'll probably use black so it looks better on the black chassis.

Before we crack on with the panelling, I want to fit the seat, steering and pedals to make sure they all work and line up as I want them.

ARL have helpfully supplied a rivet hole template bar. Clamp it to the panel and drill holes in the panel either 75mm or 50mm apart. Much easier than measuring and marking each hole.

Rear bulkhead panel

A small cut out is required at the bottom centre so it fits down over the central chassis tube.

I made a cut out at the top right. This is for the top engine mount. It turns out this isn't necessary as the bolt goes in to the threaded collar from the engine bay side.

Finally cut a 80mm x 80mm hole for the dipstick (assuming a CBR1000RR engine).

The hole has a center 280mm from the bottom, and 70mm in from the center line of the panel.

That does mean the edge of the hole is 30mm in from the centre line - just in case you get an attack of brain fade. You may also want to cut a hole where the brake cable(s) will pass through into the cockpit before fitting the rear bulkhead.

Engine bay panels

These need a bit of panel beating as well as cutting to get them to match up to the chassis bars.

Clamp in place along the top edge. I used a rubber mallet to beat the panel into a curved shape. Make sure this is done before marking the edges for cutting.

Then mark all chassis members for the rivet lines.

Cut, trim, drill and reattach so as to drill through to the chassis tubes. Sikaflex and rivet in place.

I have only fitted the offside panel. It seems the engine side panel is best left to see how the exhaust pipes and other bits are going to fit. But still shape and cut the panel, just don't fit it yet.

Floor Pan

Flip the chassis over. The floor panel is fitted to be central on the chassis.

It should have sufficient length to half overlap the front cross member and the rear cross member.

Reason is that we have two more small floor panels to go on at the front and back and we need half of the width of the cross members to locate them.

I lifted the chassis at the front, slid the panel under the chassis and made sure it was in the correct position. Then lowered the chassis onto the floor panel. Now with a felt tip pen mark all the chassis members so we know where the rivets will go.

Remove the chassis and drill all the holes, just under two hundred of them on my count.

Back on the chassis, clamp in place and drill through all holes into the chassis. Remove again, de burr holes and clean up ready for the Sikaflex.

When we put the panel back, it needs to go into place exactly without having to slide it around or we'll have a big Sikaflex mess to clean up. It's really a two person job to hold the panel at one end while it is located at the other.

My solution, seeing as I like to do things in the most difficult way possible, is to suspend the panel over the chassis, apply the Sikaflex, then lower and locate with a handful of rivets one end while the rest of the panel is held clear. Then lower the panel in stages making sure rivet holes line up until the whole panel is laid down and pegged in place with rivets.

Now go mad with the rivet gun

And finally cut out the front wheel sections as per ARL instructions.

Dimensions from ARL for the front wheel cutouts in the floor panel. See photo above.

You will also need similar but much smaller cutouts around the front of the rear tyres. This is not documented in the current version of the manual. The approx cut out will be 140mm x 40mm. Ideally instead of cutting the metal away, just make a cut line and turn the metal up through 90 degrees. This will give a surface to rivet or bolt some panels on later.

There is another job to cut a hole in the engine bay area to access the sump plug and to facilitate oil changes. The manual lays this out with respect to the upper side of the panel so it is not easy to mark out while the chassis is upside down. I'll leave that until I get a better idea of how the engine looks when it is installed.

Note: we need a further cut out at the rear around where the rear wheels/tyres will be.

The manual shows this as the edges of the floor pan turned up through 90 degrees. That can be done before the floor panel is fitted.

See the end section of '05 Rear Suspension' post.

Side extensions

The side plates that extend the floor panel out to the edge of the bodywork are in two pieces.

Since the floor panel curves up at the rear starting where the cockpit joins the engine bay, the side panels will not easily follow the shape of the floor panel. So we have a long side plate at the front, and a short plate at the rear to the side of the engine bay.

The side plates need to be set a specified distance apart across the car.

So clamp them roughly in place, put a tape measure under the car and set them to the width as specified by ARL for your chassis.

As we have two panels that need to be exactly aligned, clamp them together with a known straight edge.

The long side plate is riveted withe the rivets staggered to give some better stability to the panel. Once this is in place you are going to be doing a lot of bending over to reach anything in the car.

With that in mind, the rear panel I have secured with 5mm screws and locknuts. We have a lot of work to do in the engine bay and it is going to save my back if I can remove the rear extension panel alongside the engine bay.

This also shows two of the straps in place that support the side panels.