Guest St3mpy Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 (edited) Ok, so this mod is about taking a 2002 subframe and stock underseat exhaust and putting it on my 1996 VFR750F. I would like to take this time to thank Doug (Fotomoto) and anyone I bought parts from for inspiring me, helping me, and making this possible. :biggrin: First, a look at how it is at the moment (it's still not done). (scroll urther through the thread to find a link to the Picasa album) So, I know what your asking. Why do this? Why take a 4th gen and try and make it something it isn't? Well, let me tell you why. First of all, last time I check MY name was on the title. But I can check again if it makes you feel better. Anyways, I've never really liked the idea of having an exhaust can covering up the main feature of a VFR: the SSS. So, one day when I was bored, I started toying around with the idea of getting rid of the thing because it's and eyesore, and I need a new can anyway because I can't stand the noise of the D&D. My first thought was a high mount. It get's it out of the line of sight for the rear wheel, and it don't look half bad in it self. The only draw back I could think of was that it might cook any passengers leg. That was before I saw the price of these things. Over $600! "Screw that, there has to be a cheaper way" I tell myself. At this point, I decide underseat is the way to go, and the best way to do it is to use 6th gen parts. So, lets get started: I decided to use the stock tank mount to mount the center "backbone" of the subframe, based on FSM diagrams, advice from Doug (who said mount it as close as I could to the tank mount), and me not wanting to make brackets. BTW, I don't think I was done grinding here, but this will give you an idea of what I had to do. I had to cut off the "tube" that sticks out the sides of the backbone. Don't worry, the welds *should* have penetrated deeper than I grindded off. If not, we all need to have a talk with Honda... Test Fit... That'll do pig, that'll do... After some cutting and hole drilling, I managed to get the lower arms connected to the stock lower arm mounts. Basicly this was copying Doug's method. I wanted to bend the tube, but that's risky (for every good bend I make, I usually screw one up), and as Doug pointed out, this would mess with the undertray fitment (something I didn't even think about :blush: Now we're getting somewhere. I like this picture because it shows that I am atleast pretty close to the right subframe height because the exhaust actually mounts where it should. However, this KINDA has me worried: obviously, the midpipes are different on the 4th and 6th gen. After cutting off what I had to, there's not much "bite" where the exhaust slips on. The tops of the slits are acutally open, which makes it sound pretty good . I don't think it'll be a problem though. After a couple of jumps off the local rail road ramp things, it hasn't moved. If I see that it does, then I'll weld more tubing on when I weld the gas tank (more on the later) Here's what i had to cut off to make this work: Funny story. After I cut off the exhaust part, I was wondering "I wonder where the centerstand is going to rest now?" Well, about 15 min later while I was lining up the exhaust cans to bolt to the sumbframe, i found out. I pushed forward too much, and BAM! The center stand folds up. I had the side stand down, but, OH NO! It's falling the wrong way! The is well on it's way down, but I manage to grab the subframe and yank as hard as I could, pulling the bike up and over safely onto the sidestand. Lesson learned: Always chock the front wheel. And we have a bike! Atleat for the most part... I had a problem. The rear fairing I ordered was mistakenly shipped to Auburn, the place where I was riding the place to. But I have to be legal, right? I solved the problem by zip tieing the old light to the back. Hey, it works. I put the license plate on my backpack for those that are wondering. So how does it sound? Great! How does it ride? GREAT! Well, except for the Sargent seat. Apparently the one I bought is the "older" one. It has the Griptex, not the CarbonFX. This crap should be called sliptex. It's fine on smooth roads. Unfortunately, Auburn dosn't have smooth roads. With every bump, my balls ram into the gas tank. It sucks, i'm going to have to fix this at some point. Speaking of the gas tank, how did I mount it? Well, the subframe didn't come with the gastank bracket, and I couldn't find one. But, I HAD to have this thing on the road, so how did I do it? Zip ties. The back of tank is zip tied MANY times to the gastank mounting hole/tube. When the bracket get in (no one had it in stock), I'm going to cut the mounting tube off the tank and weld the tap to the seem (if you are familiar with the tank, you know what I'm talking about). Once I do this, I *should* be able to mount the tank the stock 6th gen bracket. Along with this, I'm still waiting on the side covers to come in, and I also have to mount the license plate (it's just zip tied too). After that, I should be done Anyways, when i got to Auburn, my part was waiting on me. So, i got to work. To my surprise, the 4th gen bulbs plug into the 6th gen lights just fine. No rewireing required Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! Like I said, it's not finished yet. Edited September 28, 2008 by St3mpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Pretty cool and amazing the 4th gen frame has a similar upper mount set-up that's very close to the 6th gen! :biggrin: Looks good and nice work so far, biggest issue for me as the 6th gen sub frame weights around 300 lbs(pig), too bad you have to add that much weight with the mod. Keep it coming! :blush: btw FotoMoto did this on his 4th gen already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Pretty cool and amazing the 4th gen frame has a similar upper mount set-up that's very close to the 6th gen! :biggrin: Looks good and nice work so far, biggest issue for me as the 6th gen sub frame weights around 300 lbs(pig), too bad you have to add that much weight with the mod. Keep it coming! :blush: btw FotoMoto did this on his 4th gen already! Yeah, I know Fotomoto did, but I thought I'd show how the bike looks with the stock front placstic. This mod definitely isn't a weight shaving mod, but the added weight wasn't noticeable at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Yeah, I know Fotomoto did, but I thought I'd show how the bike looks with the stock front placstic. This mod definitely isn't a weight shaving mod, but the added weight wasn't noticeable at all. For sure it's a good looking mod for sure and no one else has done it, congrats. I just wish the 6th gen subframe wasn't such a pig on my bike! :biggrin: I've looked at making a lighter weight one, but if you plan on using the factory bags I guess it needs to be beefier. :unsure: Nice project! :fing02: BTW "I've never really liked the idea of having an exhaust can covering up the main feature of a VFR: the SSS." I agree completely!!!!!!!!!!! :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gswanson Posted August 25, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 25, 2008 When you go to welding on the gas tank, make dang sure you have fully purged the tank with argon and have a continuous purge while welding. Don't ask how I added an extra half gallon to my "last" tank :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 (edited) When you go to welding on the gas tank, make dang sure you have fully purged the tank with argon and have a continuous purge while welding. Don't ask how I added an extra half gallon to my "last" tank :biggrin: Lol, yeah, i've looked into the different methods. The "old timey" method is to just run a pipe from a running car into the empty tank. Then there's the Argon method, and there's also the method of filling the tank up with water. And thanks BaileyRock! Edited August 25, 2008 by St3mpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tuck Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Great thinking! I'm on board with the sss show, it was one of the reasons I liked the vfr, the other was the underseat exhaust. Unfortunately the fifth gen doesn't have the right combo. I don't like the front fairing or engine of the sixth gen so that's why I don't just buy one of them. Has anyone done this mod on a fifth gen? If you did this on a fifth gen would the factory bags mount up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I'm not familiar with the 5th gen's frame, so I couldn't tell you either way. If you did do this, the factory bags would work, since they hook up to the subframe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magellan Posted August 25, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 25, 2008 Great thinking! I'm on board with the sss show, it was one of the reasons I liked the vfr, the other was the underseat exhaust. Unfortunately the fifth gen doesn't have the right combo. I don't like the front fairing or engine of the sixth gen so that's why I don't just buy one of them. Has anyone done this mod on a fifth gen? If you did this on a fifth gen would the factory bags mount up? Oh, really? :biggrin: Baggage.jpg I thought quite a bit about putting a 6th gen tail on my 5th gen, but decided it would be easier to do an underseat exhaust and mod the 6th gen luggage frames. Now I wonder if I made a mistake... if the 6th gen tail can fit a 4th gen, it ought to fit a 5th gen too, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 if the 6th gen tail can fit a 4th gen, it ought to fit a 5th gen too, right? Actually, the 5th gen frame set-up is completely different from the 4th or 6th, but it can be done. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unkjj Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Very nice job! Hey you are not too far away. COOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rivcyko Posted August 26, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2008 TITS! How's-'bout a shot, from the back, all finished-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FotoMoto Posted August 26, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2008 Hey Matt, GREAT job! :unsure: :fing02: We need a side profile shot to see how the styling lines of the two Gens "line" up. What are your considerations for side covers? I'm currently working on version 2.0 for mine plus a few other cool mods. Ahh, it just never seems to stop. :blush: For sure it's a good looking mod for sure and no one else has done it, congrats. I just wish the 6th gen subframe wasn't such a pig on my bike! :biggrin: One word for ya' Kevin: aluminum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 (edited) Thanks guys! More pics to come soon. Right now Fay has been dumping rain nonstop for the past few days, and before then I've been tied up with school and such, hence the parking lot shot. Once the rain lets up I'll take some more pics. As for side covers, I'm not too sure yet. I've ordered the stock covers to cover the "big" hole. In addition, I'm going to see how it looks after running the wires and pluming behind the frame. If it looks alright, I may just leave it like that. If not, I may have to get on Solid Edge and make something. Rapid Prototype perhaps? I have no idea how much that would cost though. We use it at Auburn's Formula SAE team, but we have sponsors do it so cost isn't too much of a concern. Edited August 26, 2008 by St3mpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Very nice job! Hey you are not too far away. COOL! I'm actually closer than you think! Kinda. Even though I'm in Auburn right now, and I co-op in Fort Walton, my home town is Daphne! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Blue Viffer Posted August 26, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2008 Great thinking! I'm on board with the sss show, it was one of the reasons I liked the vfr, the other was the underseat exhaust. Unfortunately the fifth gen doesn't have the right combo. I don't like the front fairing or engine of the sixth gen so that's why I don't just buy one of them. Has anyone done this mod on a fifth gen? If you did this on a fifth gen would the factory bags mount up? I Don't quite understand the above comment. What doesn't the 5th gen have. vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest St3mpy Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 (edited) Ok, now the weather is much nicer I took some more pictures. I havn't done anything else to it yet, but as I was taking these pictures, the UPS man came with my bracket and side covers! I'm not going to post all the pictures here, but I do have a link to my Picasa Album Picasa Album I'll have a video up shortly Ok, here's the video. Unfortunately, the video compression makes it sound like the bike is underwater. Enjoy! -Matt Edited August 27, 2008 by St3mpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bikemanusa Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Great job!! :fing02: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dude Posted September 28, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 28, 2008 Had to do a double take :biggrin: Nice job :fing02: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer wrestler Posted September 28, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 28, 2008 Ok, now the weather is much nicer I took some more pictures. I havn't done anything else to it yet, but as I was taking these pictures, the UPS man came with my bracket and side covers! I'm not going to post all the pictures here, but I do have a link to my Picasa Album Picasa Album I'll have a video up shortly Ok, here's the video. Unfortunately, the video compression makes it sound like the bike is underwater. Enjoy! -Matt Nice job Matt. Can I bring my 5th gen over for you to tinker with?? I am only up the road in ATL. By the way, what did this mod cost you? Wrestler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer intercept this Posted September 28, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 28, 2008 Matt thats one of the best mods I've seen on VFRD in a while, nice job :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted September 28, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 28, 2008 I want to do it to mine, but I promised myself not to mess with the 4th gen now that its running :comp13: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magellan Posted September 29, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 29, 2008 Nicely done. It's amazing how well the lines flow into the 6th gen tail :fing02: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRedleg Posted September 30, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted September 30, 2008 :laugh: Agree completely. The tail of the 4th gen always looked, well, chunky to me. This mod cleans it right up. Would love to see a cost estimate/source list for the parts when you have time! Any chance you might experiment w. aftermarket 6th Gen cans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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