SEBSPEED Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 No minute like the last minute... I could have sworn I had a brand new right side panel in my shop attic... apparently I used that one already... so mad dash to get my old one scrubbed down and sprayed just in the nick of time! And then another little disaster... extremely inaccurate packaging... what a piece of garbage. It took almost 5 months, but I did end up getting my money back from ZG. I ended up going with my oem 06+ screen for the trip. Mileage correction recorded... Hey @Rivcyko ... remember these? lmao So, here is why a 180 on a 6" wheel is a bad idea... Check our front "chicken strip"... looks like it hasn't really done much more than a lap of a showroom floor... But! What do we have here? Nothing! Beyond margin for error! This was the first ride, not pushing anything in any way as I was just doing brake checks, cooling system checks, etc. I was out of time to order a new tire to my house, so had the proper 190 I needed shipped ahead to Maryville, TN where we'd be staying for a few days prior to the spring ride in NC. Left side buttoned up... Yummy... Right side almost there... One more thing I felt needed doing, was some protection for the lower radiator. I got some metal mesh from amazon and worked up a screen: And then modified the 6g "V" inner fairing to delete the middle section. I trimmed it out and left myself some extra on the bottom edge to roll over for an oem look. Final assembly: I got a new filter sock for the intake as the old one was torn and dirty And then a nice little wax job And a quickie camera mount for my son's gopro I had just enough time for a few more short test hops before packing up for the big ride 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bren Posted February 22, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 22, 2023 Brilliant, just brilliant. Eye for detail and everything thought out. Brilliant. What's with the torching of the bolts? I plan to dip mine in boiling hot engine oil and light them up to blacken them and give them corrosion protection. What's this then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 Ah, yes... I love my mountains at home but these are so much more exciting! After arriving at the infamous Chateau Noir, the 190 was quickly mounted and axle covers installed... I have yet to fine tune all that fancy suspension, but I have to say, this is by far the most composed, best handling, best braking, best shifting, most comfortable and outright fastest VFR I have ever ridden. And I rode an HRC-built lightweight Ohlins equipped RC30 just prior to boot. This lowly VTEC knocks its socks off in every department except static weight. The new tire wear says more than I can, after a lap on that road everyone loves... And especially after a few laps of my favorite section of road, the top of 28 before the old closed Texaco, aka the shitty gas station 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 6 minutes ago, Bren said: Brilliant, just brilliant. Eye for detail and everything thought out. Brilliant. What's with the torching of the bolts? I plan to dip mine in boiling hot engine oil and light them up to blacken them and give them corrosion protection. What's this then? The bolts I colored are stainless, no need for corrosion protection. I just colored them because I could. And to be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Tirso Posted February 22, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 22, 2023 That is one bad ass ride! Congratulations on your built and excellet work!! Thanks for taking the time to document. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gig Posted February 22, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 22, 2023 Seb, Thanks for the detailed post. Beautiful! Great job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rush2112 Posted February 23, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 23, 2023 Gorgeous bike Seb! I've been off-line for awhile living life and took a job out in the middle of the Pacific... I got bored at work today and logged onto to see what's up. Thanks for the bike porn Seb!!! And I see Gig is still on here too... bonus! Hopefully, I won't get in trouble for spending the last couple of hours devouring every detail of your post, zooming in and examining all the goodies! Well done Seb!!! Can't wait to hear it roar in the mountains one day... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dangeruss Posted February 23, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 23, 2023 Wow, just phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I hope the first ride goes as well as the build did. Your tribute burnout is a wonderful idea, don't forget to record it to share. Thanks for the Oberon clutch slave idea, I wasn't aware of those. I'd be interested in hearing if it was worth the cost, or just a nice add-on as I'm about to rebuild my OEM one. Thank you for sharing this in such great detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer adkfinn Posted February 23, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 23, 2023 Seb - amazing work. You managed to stuff 10lbs of shit into a 5lb bag for sure... sweet sweet install. Any chance you'd make a run of the carbon fiber right footrest heat shields? One of those would look great on my 5th gen, I like that way more than the factory piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 12 hours ago, Dangeruss said: Wow, just phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I hope the first ride goes as well as the build did. Your tribute burnout is a wonderful idea, don't forget to record it to share. Thanks for the Oberon clutch slave idea, I wasn't aware of those. I'd be interested in hearing if it was worth the cost, or just a nice add-on as I'm about to rebuild my OEM one. Thank you for sharing this in such great detail. Thanks. It's hard to assign a value to individual parts when so much has been changed at once. I went from full stock clutch to the RCS + ss line + slave + 99lb clutch springs, so it's all quite different. The system does work very, very well and I'm sure the slave helps with that. I went with the larger size piston to make the pull easier. Even with the stiffer clutch springs, the pull is lighter than stock with a much better feel. I can easily modulate the clutch and brakes with 1 finger if I choose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 1 hour ago, adkfinn said: Seb - amazing work. You managed to stuff 10lbs of shit into a 5lb bag for sure... sweet sweet install. Any chance you'd make a run of the carbon fiber right footrest heat shields? One of those would look great on my 5th gen, I like that way more than the factory piece. I've thought about it, but havent yet. I do have a carbon 5th gen heat shield that was made by someone else. If you pm me your email or phone # I'll send a pic and price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Just amazing work, Seb, and an amazing story and photographic documentation of your whole project. Congrats on a wonderful build, and I'm so glad I got to see it in person! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted February 24, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 24, 2023 They've all said it, unbelievably skilled and determined work. Thank you for sharing. Just a random thought; how much of the original bike is still there? %? edit: and a 2nd thought....HOW FAST? We're talking 0-60 and 0-100 I guess, plus standing 1/4. Can you get the power down without spinning the rear? Can't imagine 200+hp in a bike so small, that's as many horses as there are in my baby Merc. I was lucky enough years ago to have a quick ride on a blown 5th Gen in a car park at Silverstone. Wheelying on the throttle at 120 in 3rd was impressive......and not a little scary! 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bren Posted February 24, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/22/2023 at 10:47 PM, SEBSPEED said: The bolts I colored are stainless, no need for corrosion protection. I just colored them because I could. And to be different. Fair enough. Do you mind explaining how you did it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 9 hours ago, Bren said: Fair enough. Do you mind explaining how you did it? Grab a bolt with pliers, heat it with a torch until it changes colors. Practice on a handful till you get a feel for too little/too much heat, and what colors you want. If you polish the bolts first, the colors will be brighter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gig Posted February 24, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/22/2023 at 9:41 PM, Rush2112 said: Gorgeous bike Seb! I've been off-line for awhile living life and took a job out in the middle of the Pacific... I got bored at work today and logged onto to see what's up. Thanks for the bike porn Seb!!! And I see Gig is still on here too... bonus! Hopefully, I won't get in trouble for spending the last couple of hours devouring every detail of your post, zooming in and examining all the goodies! Well done Seb!!! Can't wait to hear it roar in the mountains one day... Hey Rush, Ive been off line for the last 12 months also "Life". Seb's amazing work sucked us all right back in. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 25, 2023 Author Share Posted February 25, 2023 Who wants videos? https://youtu.be/LIMFTeyRGUY 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bmart Posted February 25, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 25, 2023 Cool! That looks...complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 25, 2023 Author Share Posted February 25, 2023 11 minutes ago, bmart said: Cool! That looks...complicated. You're not wrong... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted February 26, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 26, 2023 Just beautifully done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 On 2/25/2023 at 9:38 PM, Yokel said: Just beautifully done. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 On 2/24/2023 at 2:33 AM, Skids said: They've all said it, unbelievably skilled and determined work. Thank you for sharing. Just a random thought; how much of the original bike is still there? %? edit: and a 2nd thought....HOW FAST? We're talking 0-60 and 0-100 I guess, plus standing 1/4. Can you get the power down without spinning the rear? Can't imagine 200+hp in a bike so small, that's as many horses as there are in my baby Merc. I was lucky enough years ago to have a quick ride on a blown 5th Gen in a car park at Silverstone. Wheelying on the throttle at 120 in 3rd was impressive......and not a little scary! 😆 Original, untouched and unmodified parts? Not much... motor, swingarm, taillight... some brackets and hardware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted February 27, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 27, 2023 2 hours ago, SEBSPEED said: Original, untouched and unmodified parts? Not much... motor, swingarm, taillight... some brackets and hardware? Wasnt suggesting it was a bad thing, just interested. We all love these bikes yet remove and replace so many things that I sometimes wonder what is left of that thing that we wanted so much in the first place. I've done the same, though nowhere near such a professional job, on my 01, and I'm still waiting for the headers and a new end can. You may not understand the reference but it sometimes seems a little bit like Trigger's broom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 15 minutes ago, Skids said: Wasnt suggesting it was a bad thing, just interested. We all love these bikes yet remove and replace so many things that I sometimes wonder what is left of that thing that we wanted so much in the first place. I've done the same, though nowhere near such a professional job, on my 01, and I'm still waiting for the headers and a new end can. You may not understand the reference but it sometimes seems a little bit like Trigger's broom. I didn't take it as a bad thing... is Trigger's broom akin to grandpa's axe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted February 28, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted February 28, 2023 7 hours ago, SEBSPEED said: I didn't take it as a bad thing... is Trigger's broom akin to grandpa's axe? Probably. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.