greatwhite Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 Well, there's only one swingarm bearing set installed and the linkage is temporarily attached to the bottom of the frame with stainless gear clamps but she's taken her first few wobbly steps on her new legs: Now that the basic layout is there and I know it will work, time to blow it all apart and build the final parts. The swingarm pivot area needs final shaving a truing. The swingarm needs new bearings and bushings. The lower unit prolink needs custom "dogbones" to fit. The CB1000RR shock is on the way and will replace the CBR600RR shock. The 600 shock reservoir clears, but barely. The CBR1000RR has the same dimensions as the CBR600 shock but the reservoir points the rear instead of the side and the spring is a higher rate. The front counter-sprocket needs to be offset fabricated. The chain clears the swingarm but just barely. The problem is at the shock brace where the chain runs by. It is very close. LIke 1/8-1/16 close. A small shim under the drive hub sprocket and a matching offset counter sprocket should fix things up. The LH bearing cage needs to be further clearanced to allow move suspension travel. At rest it has enough, but at speed it will likely bottom and bind. I will also have to add to it to give it strength. I'll be welding a lip on the exterior of the box to replace the inside lip that I have to grind away. I may gusset the box as well as Kel has some good points in his previous post. The rear wheel is aligned to center and most of the spacers are there but I still need to refine it. The "guts" have to be readjusted above the shock mount (IE; battery box, fuel pump, catch cans, etc). Not much, just some slight shifting. All in all it's coming along nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 So, I spun up a "sleeve" for the RH pivot bolt to take up the difference in the 20mm CBR bearing and the 17MM VF pivot bolt. But it's just not as nice as I want because it was done on my homemade lathe project and the machinist inside has been screaming at me since the day I bolted it togther. It would work fine and no one will ever see it, but it's eating at me. I've already proved to myself I could build a "backyard lathe" and make it work good enough to turn out somethign use-able, so now I'm ready to do it right. So tomorrow I'll spin one up on the CNC lathe at work and get it just the way I like it; Perfect. Yeah, I do have access to the good bits.......aerospace industry and all that jazz. I just prefer not to do "home stuff" at work. They don't mind small bits here and there, but it just doesn't feel right to use my employers machines for my personal use.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Starting mockup for cbx750f headlight: Ooooo, I really like the look of that! Its just hanging in place with a twist of wire right now. Looks like I'll need to alter the fairing bracket a touch and remount some connectors. no big, ive got a couple spare fairing brackets lying around and I want to snip off the oem connectors for metripak replacements anyways. Then its on to form the fiberglass mold and them layup the new fairing. Ive also got a guy at work spinning out my swingarm spacer on the cnc lathe. He's waaaay better than i am with it since its in his shop and not mine... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Just for s and giggles, i threw some of the body work back on to get an idea of how it will look: Coming along nicely. However, I'm not so sure about a high mount muffler now. I mean, it looks ok but i can see lots of problems. Like moving weight higher in the chassis when i've been pursue lowering the roll center, not being able to throw a set of soft (or hard) bags over it, complicated exhaust routing, ect. Ive Also come to like the empty look between the ducktail and the tire. The exhaust can fills that right up and makes the bile look bulky all over again... Tell the truth, im kinda liking the newer under engine mufflers like on the vfr1200: even though I'm not doing a SSS. The other concern is where the exhaust exit is. I like hearing the bike, but I want the exit far enough behind me so i don't have to listen to it drone if i don't want to... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 I think I've got the exhaust that I want: Yeah I'm stealing the idea, but a good idea is a good idea. Easy routing, low in the chassis, excellent ground clearance and no issues with sadlle bags should I toss them on for any reason. It also just looks damned sexy! I have to go away for a week, but I'll start a few cardboard mockups when I get back. I'll just have to very carefully build it to keep backpressure down, internal volume up and noise/rone acceptable. Kind of like the old buell systems without looking like they were just pulle dof a 1940's JD tractor..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 So I picked up 4 10mm spherical bearing eye ends, three feet of m10 x 1.25 all thread (don't worry, grade 10 hardness stuff) and 4 10mm nuts today. With that collection of bits i can make the links to mate the unit prolink suspension to the vf chassis. I found a vf750f fairing for 50 bucks. It's cracked in places and i'll have to split in into its two halves to get it in my luggage, but it will work perfectly as the buck to make the cbx750f/VF fairing hybrid. A nice little bonus is that it has a perfectly good oem windscreen so i have a spare. I also picked up a decently priced set of jet twisters for lots of jammy lock wiring once i get to that stage. I'd never be able to find this stuff in the backwater ass-town I'm stuck in for the next 1 1/2 years. Some times business trips are beneficial for more than just the business.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Thinking more on the exhaust. Printed a picture off and started doodling with a marker. I now have a more or less idea of how it will go; Still like it! How it going to sound is a different story though. Initial idea is to leave the collector in place, dump it into a transverse muffler behind it and out the rh side. I'll be doing my best to match the volume of the stock mufflers, but there's only so much space available back there. The shape "blending" will be done with a "cover" much like on the taylor made exhaust systems. Should be interesting to say the least.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 See if you can adapt a set of rear down pipes from an 86, to get some length back in the rear pipes. Then make a compact 4-2-1 side exit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 See if you can adapt a set of rear down pipes from an 86, to get some length back in the rear pipes. Then make a compact 4-2-1 side exit. Thats a decent idea, but its basically a header at that point. I could just slap on the Hindle and have it done if that was the case. But it wouldn't be what I'm after. My plan is more if this idea: I use the collector box to provide the equal length for the rear exhaust then the collector to dump it into a secondary muffler that mellows and deepens the tone, basically a resonator. Then out a short rh exit in a "GP" style out. Well,thats the plan....we all know what they say about plans of mice and men... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedhills Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I love the vf750f and I love what you've done to yours but in my personal opinion I like the stock exhaust and I think that the one you are looking at is to modern for the 750. other than that I LOVE YOUR BIKE! keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 See if you can adapt a set of rear down pipes from an 86, to get some length back in the rear pipes. Then make a compact 4-2-1 side exit. Thats a decent idea, but its basically a header at that point. I could just slap on the Hindle and have it done if that was the case. But it wouldn't be what I'm after. My plan is more if this idea: I use the collector box to provide the equal length for the rear exhaust then the collector to dump it into a secondary muffler that mellows and deepens the tone, basically a resonator. Then out a short rh exit in a "GP" style out. Well,thats the plan....we all know what they say about plans of mice and men... I was just thinking that all those boxes along the way would be the equivalent of stuffing a pair of socks in the pipe. But it's your bike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted October 26, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted October 26, 2012 The best laid schemes o' mice and man often go astray. Robert Burns 1759 - 1796 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted October 26, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted October 26, 2012 "Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again, But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us." A J Cronin (1896-1981) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Burns Posted October 26, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted October 26, 2012 The best laid schemes o' mice and man often go astray. Robert Burns 1759 - 1796 And Bob's yer uncle. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 The best laid schemes o' mice and man often go astray. Robert Burns 1759 - 1796 And Bob's yer uncle. LOL LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 See if you can adapt a set of rear down pipes from an 86, to get some length back in the rear pipes. Then make a compact 4-2-1 side exit. Thats a decent idea, but its basically a header at that point. I could just slap on the Hindle and have it done if that was the case. But it wouldn't be what I'm after. My plan is more if this idea: I use the collector box to provide the equal length for the rear exhaust then the collector to dump it into a secondary muffler that mellows and deepens the tone, basically a resonator. Then out a short rh exit in a "GP" style out. Well,thats the plan....we all know what they say about plans of mice and men... I was just thinking that all those boxes along the way would be the equivalent of stuffing a pair of socks in the pipe. But it's your bike... Entirely possible it may be. The oem megaphones aren't so great either though. Quiet: yes. Free flowing: not so much.... But I really won't know until i get it built. All its going to cost me is my time in the shop so no worries. I'll have to build it from scratch since nobody makes anything for these old hacks. I've got lots of sheet and tube lying around so its just cutting, welding, testing, cutting, welding, testing...... Well, i'll probably pop a couple bucks for a nice rolled stainless slash cut tip just to "pretty up" what will be visible but thats the extent of the cash outlay. Its not going to just dump into a big empty box. That would sound like crap and lead to some restrictions. It will be engineered a bit for better "flow". Much like the way the stock collector isn't just a big empty chamber but a careful routing of pipes and baffling so will the chamber I'm planning. I haven't been able to find a useable 750 collector but thats proved to be an exercise in futility. The only one that seems intact around here is mine. Atlantic Canada and a 25-odd year old steel exhaust system dont exactly co exist well. I may do some light work on the collector thats already on the bike. Its all reversable with a good day on the welder anyways. I do have a good vf500 collector lying around (and no vf500 bike) that I may chop up to get some more internal bits and pieces though. The sound aspect worries me a bit. Almost all the attempts at "pipes" i've heard on a 360 degree VF don't seem to sound quite right. Kind of flat, not the nice rumble flat of oem, but more like flatulance flat.....just gutless sounding. Like; bawahhhhhhhhhhhaaaaat (shift) blahhhhhhhhhhhaaaat (shift)......not cool, not cool at all.... There'll probably be lots of trials and cutting/welding before (if) I get it right. I'm already toying with the thought of two outlets and a diverter valve choke the second outlet down at idle and open above 1/2 throttle or so. That's a whole 'nother ball o' wax though... As for modern looks and not looking good; meh, what looks "good" is a matter of personal opinion (no offense intended). If i don't like it or it sounds like crap its simply unbolt it and toss it on the pile of failed experiments out back. To be honest, I didn't think anyone was even following this thread anymore and i was just mostly posting to myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Well that turned out well considering I had to coach the wife over the phone to take the measurements, vernier the bolt diameters and all: Fine tunable for height and if I want a radical change higher or lower I've still got 2 feet ot grade 10.5 all thread left. Probably throw a cover of some sort over it just to keep it from getting covered in road grime. A few shims and spacers and we can call that part done! The CBR1000RR shock fixes up the CBR600RR side reservoir shock clearance issue. Before: After: Simple bolt on change. Fits like it was meant to be there. As a side bonus, the spring rate may even be close enough to work as is. The static sage is noticeably much less than the 600 unit, although I haven't done any measuring yet. I'll have to wait until the finished weight is on the suspension and it's rolling down the road to know for sure. Now it's on to fabbing the under engine exhaust. The one thing I hadn't accounted for though is how much space under the swingarm that unit prolink setup uses. Not a lot of real estate left down there for muffler volume. Not to mention, I don't want to roast the shock in radiated exhaust heat either..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Just ran it with the stick exhaust minus the megaphones and with a couple stainless tips. Yeah, rat bike style. Holy crap, it sounds like a pissed off Harely D on steroids or a Duc with a serious mental issue! Barking mad and belching flames on the run down after a rev. It actually rattled my ear drums in the garage to the point of discomfort! Some might like that idea, me not so much. I didn't expect it to be that nasty with nothing but the megaphones removed. Full OEM system otherwise. If it was a track bike it would sound mean as h#ll bellowing down a back straight like that, but as a street bike it's...well, It's just too much. Time to start working on ways to quiet that sucker down without jamming a big bloody can on there....time to start reading up on muffler design. Hmmm, maybe an exup type valve to make it tunable on the fly for loudness.....quiet in town and on long cruises but ripping loud on back roads. It's an interesting thought at least..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 after some measuring and cardboard mockup, it's obvious space is at a premium. So the plan is to whack the back off the stock collector, extend it back the 4 inches of available space, then build a "leg" on the RH side that will contain a small silencer section and terminate in a side exhaust back by the wheel. Hopefully that will drop me somewhere in the 90-100 db range. I'll use "SPL Meter" by studio six digital on my iPhone to get a rough idea of where it falls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Spl meter ran out of authority above 108 Db. That was using the sae method at 5000rpm, 45 degrees off the opening and 20 inches away. Tapping 99 db at idle. And so, mock up of an underslung muffler begins: I'm a bit committed at this point. I've whacked the back off the stock collector box in preparation for the fab. No worries though. Its a personal thing and may not be to everyone's taste, but i really like the way it is developing so cutting the box is no big sweat. Its unique, it's one of a kind and it's mine. It follows the exbox (aftermarket ducati) design loosely but its going to be all mine once done. Here's hoping I can quiet it down under 100 db (hopefully closer to 90) without choking the life out if it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Yay recycling! Take one long dead snowblower, a sawsall, a welder, metal forming tools and some hard work and the underslung exhaust is well under way. It's still open all over the place, but I couldn't resist firing it up. It already sounds quieter and a bit deeper than just an open collector. This weekend I'll finish closing it up, cut an access panel and start building the baffles/packing and outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 that automatically adds 10 horse right there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatwhite Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 that automatically adds 10 horse right there! Ha! I'll be happy just not to loose any HP and not have it rattle my ears off. Truthfully, it's as much about looks and anything else. I sure have dropped some weight though, I'm guessing 5-10 lbs over the stock cans..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 One reason I loved the F1R Cobra pipes on my old 700... they were light, and looked like the stock exhaust. My favorite angle of the VF is a birds eye view of the stock bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Kel Posted November 2, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted November 2, 2012 Any concerns with the arm contacting the pipe? The arm will travel down as well as up from that resting point, some negative G's over a bump and it appears it will hit. No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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