First impression after frontend swap

[DrErgal]

Hi All,

 

here's a brief report of the first ride after the mods on my VFR.
Mods here:

Well, as well as reported in the post, I didn't do extravagant or exotic modifications; it's something that most of you have already experienced.
Thus, forgive the repetition.

 

Well, I come out for the first ride of the year, yesterday.
Nothing special; I was just curios to see the impact of the work.
Of course,, winter conditions (low temperatures, slightly over zero, dirty roads) and worn tires are not the best preconditions for pushing hard, so I've been extremely cautious and prudent. However, despite of it, the differences were more than evident: Brakes are ready, robust, and finally I can manage them as it's supposed to be.
I was afraid of some chattering, to be honest: I confess that I was afraid that the washers to shim the calipers should have made system vibrate, but it's not the case; everything is smooth and linear.
The new frontend works fine; the forkbrace makes it stiffer, and you can see it in entering the corner, while you get in your hands a good and "faithful" reading of the road ahead

 

The engine also runs very well; I didn't get big variations from the new coils; the sensation was just like when I was young, running a 2 stroke engine with a leaner carburetion. It's slighty rapid in revving and "cleaner" to the throttle response. Nothing huge or striking: it's just a pleasant sensation of improved readiness

In conclusion, very happy of the work.
It's not a revolution, but the bike is now closer to my idea of a VFR. No useless and fancy stuff aboard (no PAIR, flaps, D-CBS), no ugly and old coils bolted on the frame below my hands.
Just a sublime engine into a good chassis.

A VFR as it's meant to be

[interceptor69]

Nice work.  Not sure I've ever heard of anyone replacing the "coils".  Why would one replace them?  Do they wear out over time? 

[DrErgal]

It's a well know modification in there.
If you search "coil conversion" you'll find a plethora of exhaustive posts (mine also)

In short, you replace the old big coils (and high voltage cables) with a new dedicated low voltage cable to be connected to some suitable coilsticks coming from other bikes (in my case, Triumph Speed Triple 1050)
Pls take a look to my post linked at the beginning of this post, and you may get an idea about it. The improvement is not huge, but it's always good to keep the bike leaner by removing stuff aboard the bike (my personal opinion)

[Ughandi]

On 2/17/2025 at 4:56 AM, DrErgal said:

Brakes are ready, robust, and finally I can manage them as it's supposed to be.

My VTR forks are still in a box in the garage... I really need to kick my own butt and get in there to make the swap....
 

On 2/17/2025 at 4:56 AM, DrErgal said:

the forkbrace makes it stiffer, and you can see it in entering the corner, while you get in your hands a good and "faithful" reading of the road ahead

I have not heard of a forkbrace before, and you appear to be an excellent machinist judging by the photos of it. Is this a common custom bit on other motos?
 

On 2/17/2025 at 4:56 AM, DrErgal said:

Nothing huge or striking: it's just a pleasant sensation of improved readiness

Agreed with the coil mod. IIRC I used GSXR 1000 coils instead. Improvement was subtle, but the main victory was cleaning up all the wiring under the tank.


Excellent build! Go Ride!

[DrErgal]

14 minutes ago, Ughandi said:

Agreed with the coil mod. IIRC (cut). Improvement was subtle, but the main victory was cleaning up all the wiring under the tank.

[DrErgal]

25 minutes ago, Ughandi said:

I have not heard of a forkbrace before, and you appear to be an excellent machinist judging by the photos of it. Is this a common custom bit on other motos?

It's a common trick used in the past, more or less until late 80's, when the forks were not as rigid as today.
A typical example is early BMW GS: you may see the black steel connection between the fork lowers, preventing them from torsion:


Now, with the quality of the forks nowadays, is no longer necessary, but it's an old trick still worthy.
I made exactly the same with my previous CBR100XX, swapped with a Fireblade fork:


I designed several protypes before this: the right balance between stiffness and flexibility is a fine alchemy 

[Ughandi]

@DrErgal Thanks for the details & visual aides!

Chassis stiffness is something I valued a lot in my automotive days... I had thought that was a concept completely missed by the production motorcycle world!

Now I know that this had existed in years past! Thanks! and now I want a set 😆

[DrErgal]

2 hours ago, Ughandi said:

I had thought that was a concept completely missed by the production motorcycle world!

Now I know that this had existed in years past! Thanks! and now I want a set 😆

Oh, there's A LOT a "man in the street" can do on a bike, with a bit of fantasy 😁
I.e., here's my beloved (and heavily modified) CBR1100XX. Believe it or not, I cut out half a hundredweight from its shoulders, stiffening it at the same time.



and there's even more under the cover...

 

Further to the forkbrace, we live too far, unfortunately; but let me dig into my old HD; I could find the drawings and send'em to you (pld give me your email), so that you may manufacture'em by yourself 

 

[Ughandi]

@DrErgalThe longer I look, the more I'm impressed! That is a machine to be proud of right there. I strive for my Viffer to be of similar refinement one day....

Happily!! Check your inbox!