Member Contributer Popular Post apexandy Posted July 2, 2013 Member Contributer Popular Post Share Posted July 2, 2013 It is finally time to reveal my project, show the process, and hopefully give back to this great community I have learned so much from! I have been riding on the street since I was 16 (I'm now 30) and have owned a few different bikes: 92 ex500, 97 CBR 600 F3, 2000 DRZ400, 1997 GSXR 750, 2002 VFR 800 and now a 95 VFR 750. Please bear with me as I give a little explanation of how this project came to be... there will be lots of pictures to come! Over my time riding I have always liked the idea of owning a naked style bike like a triumph speed triple. Smooth windscreen-less air, fun sit up riding position, a tourqey engine, fairly comfortable, great on a tight backroad, cool looks... etc. And now that I live in a place with a lot of great backroads I decided it was a good time to pursue that idea. I really liked my VFR 800, it was smooth, refined and great for trips with my dad. However the idea of tearing it down for a streetfighter project didn't really make sense... too much complication and lots of things to hide. I thought about buying a naked bike but riding a brand new triumph speed triple showed me dreaming about a bike doesn't mean I'm going to love riding it. Besides... I was really on a tight budget with my wife finishing nursing school. So I sold the VFR 800 to a friend and decided to look for a bike to convert to a naked/streetfighter. I had enough money to buy a CBR1000RR or other similar bikes... but I wasn't sure I wanted that much power at my disposal and really loved the refinement and character the V4 VFR's provide. Really nothing I've ridden compares... The speed triple had character but lacked some of the refinement of the VFR. To me it was a no-brainer picking a 4th gen VFR. They have a good looking frame, a radiator in front, and are less complicated than 5th and 6th gen bikes. So I found a 95 VFR with 34000km in quite good condition to start the transformation. I know many of you will not like that I tore into a VFR in quite good shape, but let me give you a bit of my reasoning. Anyone who has tackled a project bike will probably attest to the fact that starting with a good base will avoid a lot of extra head-aches down the road diagnosing issues, wondering about frame straightness, fixing and repairing all sorts of components along the way... etc. And a bike in good shape allowed me to sell parts along the way to raise money for the build. Besides, I know the look of the VFR is a huge part of it's identity, but really that's just a plastic shell and in the end and the V4 engine is the heart of the machine. Anyway, my goal here was to have a bike that road like brand new in the end. To have a bike that I wish honda would build (though I probably wouldn't be able to afford it anyway...). OEM+ was the idea. I would give a lot of thought along the way to making a bike that functioned, looked and rode for the most part like an OEM product or better. I rode this bike for a few months until my regulator/rectifier went up in smoke... suprise! Oh well... winter was around the corner so it was a good time to start tearing it down! Along the way I had to source A LOT of parts and components (I'll make a bit of a list at the end). A big one at this point was the CBR929/954 front end swap. The forks and brakes were actually purchased from Bailyrock! And let me tell you... I think these forks are brand new :) I did some photoshop work and decided I wanted to try and adapt a speed triple seat. It looked like it would fit around the tank and it would allow my wife to ride on the back. Then I set about mocking up the subframe in wood. Then I recovered the speed triple seat with a luimoto cover Got my wheels powder coated Bought a Two brothers muffler used for a speed triple and had the V.A.L.E flange welded to a delkevic mid-pipe for the 4th gen bikes Put the wheels on so I could keep building After I was happy with the subframe mockup (test fitting the placement of the passenger pegs for my wife was kind of interesting with a wood frame...) I set about using my carpentry tools to cut up some aluminum. My dad gave me the tip of making a jig for the welder to hopefully keep his labor costs down... While the subframe was away for welding I cut off my front fairing subframe mounting tabs, fitted my front headlight (with mounts machined by a custom fighters.com member), and made a 929 shock adapter. It's starting to come together! The subframe back from the welder! I'm very pleased with the result... My ballistic battery and koso gauge came in. Made a gauge mount for the RC51 triple and let the bike out for a little air Now it was on to bodywork making time... This was a HUGE part of the project and I learned a lot along the way. I used 1" LDF glued together to shape the plugs for the parts. I'll let the pictures do the talking... And here are the plugs ready for fiberglass... a lot of things didn't go as planned at this stage and my moulds needed a lot of work to make even rough parts. But in the end I was able to come up with one off fiberglass bodywork. I knew this would be a lot of work... but it ended up being even more. And then I still had to figure out all the mounting tabs... I thought it would never end. Eventually I was finally ready to tear the bike down for thorough cleaning and powder coating. I had everything done in a fine texture black and the exhaust ceramic coated in a kind of matte aluminum color. It was like christmas unwrapping all the parts :) Then it was reassembly time. My dad came and helped me out for a few days. It was great to have his help and skill for this part of the process. I love that we have a common interest in bikes! Had a good weekend and got the bike into a rolling chassis. I'm sure my Dad has had enough of repacking bearings for a while... Then it was back to figuring out how to mount the bodywork and getting the parts ready for paint Found a nice spot to mount my ignition and made some aluminum bezels The CBR1000 front fender has some broken mounting tabs Made a battery/electronics box out of aluminum and covered it in 3m CF vinyl Found a local painter who let me help with the prep work to keep costs lower (he would spray the high build primer and I would do the wet sanding/spot filling) After a few rounds of primer and sanding the parts were all ready for paint. The plan all along was to match the stock pearl red on my tank and the painter didn't think this would be a problem with his ppg system... until he actually tried to enter the info into his computer. Apparently ppg doesn't have this color in their system. So... because the tank was getting painted anyway, I could choose whatever color I wanted! I knew red would look good... but I wanted something unique and fun, without being ridiculous. So I chose something else completely... While I was waiting on paint, I tacked the electrics, fuel pump and wiring harness... which is a TON of work and something I would like to do a better job of eventually. All the connections are soldiered and heat shrinked, and I used good connectors where needed, but to really do a good job of routing the wiring and taking out excess will take more time. And then the parts came back from paint! Its called Azzuro Meditterano (or something like that) and it's a ducati monster color. I know not everyone will like it, but I love blue and am very happy with the color! PS the seat cowl is a Carbon Fiber speed triple part I got off ebay. I haven't started making carbon fiber parts yet... maybe someday. I did however modify the sides of the seat cowl with fiberglass to help it blend in with the tail section better. And now its time to reassemble the bike completely! My dad rode his brand new Multistrada 1200 over from alberta to help out. Final assembly was a lot of work and I would prob still be working on it if it wasn't for my dad coming to help. Anyone who modifies motorcycles knows that every change affects so many other things... needless to say there were many things to figure out, and some that will be a work in progress. It took me over 9 months, and there are still some things to complete or change, but here is the mostly final product!!!! So far I have put about 1300km on the bike and am loving it!!! It has turned out to be pretty much everything I wanted it to be. I will give a more detailed ride report later but for now I need to take a break from the computer :) I hope everyone enjoys seeing the process. There are so many details I didn't cover but I will list the mods later and answer any questions people have as best I can. I need to thank this forum a million time for all for all of the things I learned from those who have done these kinds of mods before. You are a great bunch and I appreciate all of the help. Also my Dad deserves a huge high five for all of his help, My Uncle for all of the last minute tech support and above all a gigantic thank you to my wonderful wife for putting up with me as I built my dream bike! 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 2, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2013 Thanks for all the encouragement guys! One thing I'm also very pleased about it how comfortable it is... I did a 900km trip last weekend (2 days) and it wasn't tiring at all to ride. Im 6'3 so the higher seat height (about 32.75") leaves lots of legroom and the handlebars are still low enough to have a balanced riding position on the highway at 110-120km/h. The seat is also quite good... though maybe a little soft actually. And you all know how smooth the v4 motor is... even without bar end weights. The ducati streetfighter mirrors are actually quite functional and the koso gauge gives me two trip meters, an ambient temp gauge, a volt meter, a fuel gauge, a bunch of fancy performance testing options (that I'll prob never use) and is very readable (the tach not as much... though there are shift lights). My charging system with a 8 cell ballistic LiFe battery, a mosfet regulator (from a kawasaki zx10r), and new eastern beaver connections direct to battery (with a metripack connector to the stator wires) is giving me about 14.2v at idle and 14.5v around 5000rpm. Also forgot to mention, measured with standard bathroom scales it weighs 450lbs full of fluids. That translates to 415lbs without gas (dry weight as manufacturers do it might even put it under 400lbs dry). Not sure how much I can trust the bathroom scales but that is a weight savings of 71lbs from stock. It is a blast to ride! With all the geometry changes I was unsure how it would be to ride. The 929 front end with a flat rc51 upper triple (the 929 upper is a gullwing design) lowers the front over an inch I believe but has a shorter offset, the rear ride height is maxed (haven't flipped the eccentric, and i don't think I will) and I ended up with a 24.5 degree steering rake angle. It handles quick (the lighter weight and the wide handlebar helping here) without being twitchy. Sportier tires would make it perfect I think. The rear seems a little soft and underdamped when the engine heats up and the air temp goes up (it was 35 degrees celcius today) but that's expected from a $20 ebay shock that's apprently made for 120lb riders. More things to tinker with down the road :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 2, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2013 I was going to make a list of the things I changed but I think most of you know or can tell what the major changes are. A few that are a little less obvious that people might want to know about: -ZX14 nissin radial master cylinders for front brakes and clutch. The brake master cylinder is working very well with the 929/954 front brakes (I think they are actually 954 calipers). And the radial clutch master cylinder is working well with the stock vfr clutch and slave cylinder. This one was a bit of a gamble but it is working very smoothly. -520 sprocket kit with +2 on the rear and DID ERV3... though I can't really do a good comparison to stock 530 chain and gearing because the bike is so different. -Tried the GSXR COP mod... rode good for 900km but starting acting up after that so I switched back to stock coils and found a place for them. I posted more about it on the COP mod thread. Could have been bad coils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 27, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 27, 2013 Here are a few iphone shots of the plate bracket and light. I decided I wanted to spend less time making things in the garage and more time riding so I ordered a CNC bracket off ebay made for an MV agusta and modified it slightly to fit. Just over 2000km on the bike since the rebuild and am really enjoying riding it. I feel like I should have more to put into the thread... but the bike is working so well there is little to report. One thing I do want to figure out is how to block some of the heat from making its way under the seat if possible. As soon as the engine temps reach 83*C (181F) the seat starts to get warm. Riding on the twisty backroads around here I'm having fun practicing smooth downshifting/throttle blipping and hard braking into tight corners. The front brakes are the strongest I've had on a bike which is awesome... but makes it a little harder to prevent the front end from moving up and down a touch during downshifts. Stiffer front springs would probably help, maybe this winter. But this is something I love about riding... there is always room to improve and become a smoother rider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 27, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 27, 2013 There is a pretty direct channel from from under the tank into the battery box area on my subframe... I think if I block this off it will help. I've removed quite a few heat /weather shields so that probably doesn't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 The rear side extractors on the 4th Gen were designed to soppsedly pull out the heated air from around the rear cylinder/ upper manifold area that's buried under the rear of the tank. Although Honda did a good job with the rubber and plastoc air barriers and baffles routing the heated air towards the rear extractors, they did not seal sound the extractor openings and the rear frndet pan and subframe, thus some of that heated air gets trapped in the tail section, heating up the seat and other goodies in there..... .....like the RR...... I put some foam around the right side extractor openings under my tail fairing to seal it up a bit, and according to the temp sensor I have near the RR, it lowered the temps in there. I suspect that there's still some hot air that leaks over the battery (Especially if the big rubber flap on top of the battery is removed or missing) and under the seat and that's what might still be getting the seat hot on this SF naked bike..... Beck 95 VFR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 28, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 Digging the license plate holder. And yeah, those 330mm rotors are like tossing a piano out of your pocket, right? Good description! I'm loving them. I have been practicing "emergency stops" to get my brain used to the amount of braking power available. I don't want to grab too much... which would be easy with these brakes. How are the badges doing????? Oh they're just fine... still backwards however. I've been avoiding fixing them out of fear of damaging my new paint and possibly cracking the badges :( Riding is more fun anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zoomzoom Posted July 28, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 Thanks zoomzoom :) You are definitely quite close... I like to do the occasional west side road ride to go and check out the bikes at Bently Motorrad. Maybe it would work to meet up sometime. Hey Apex I would love to meet up sometime and have the chance to both see your bike and most of all just the chance to shake your hand. You have completed a project that is both stunning and deserving of awards. I'm not sure even the design guys at Ducati could have come up with a bike that looks as good as yours. Absolutely every part of your design flows into the next. Not sure what exactly you do for a living, but perhaps you have missed your calling. My 6 year old son Liam was looking at the computer with me as I was reading through your write up and he was practically drooling on the kitchen table. To see him that enthralled about something (anything in general) was amazing to see. He asked after we looked at the build and he asked "Daddy, can we go see that bike??" I told him that there are not a large number of people on the site that are from Canada as opposed to the US so the owner who built the bike is probably too far away to drive. It wasn't until I happened to look at where your avatar that I discovered you were so close. I take my son for the odd ride with me, but alas Armstrong is a bit far for him (he would fall asleep for sure on a ride to Armstrong), so if we do get the chance to meet up I will have to bring him with me. When it comes to the badge issue on your bike, I have seen a badge like the one you have on your bike and as I recall the badge has a type of 3M adhesive rubberized two sided tape much like the stuff they use to install body side mouldings on cars. The difference being that I think your badge has the tape across the entire back side of the emblem. I do PDR for a living and I have had the odd customer ask me about removing badging from their car. I tried to remove the badge off an older BMW once and it had two sided adhesive that covered the whole bottom surface (I checked with the BMW dealer to make sure there were no positioning pins) and it was hard as heck to get off. I had success finally by (I think someone else mentioned this already) using a hair dryer to heat the emblem the whole time I was trying to remove it as it takes a while to get the adhesive warm and pliable in the middle. The other thing I did so as not wreck the emblem was to use fishing line to saw through the adhesive tape while one of the guys that works with me dribbled 98% Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) on the fishing line. This helped to release some of the glue and it won't harm the paint, though it will remove any wax. One thing you may find upon removing the emblem is that the adhesive on the emblem may have stained the paint a bit where it is attached, depending on how long it was between when you painted the tank and when the emblem was applied. As long as the paint was well cured before you applied the emblem it should be fine. Once you get the emblem off I have used a product called Goo-Gone to remove any excess tape adhesive, and you can get it at most hardware stores. If you want to get the rubbing alcohol you need to ask for it at the pharmacy counter. Wal Mart carries the stuff and it is about $7 for a 1 litre bottle. Hope you get the emblem figured out if you haven't already. And again, WOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 28, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 28, 2013 These stupid badges... Thanks for the tips zoomzoom, do you think I will have any luck removing the remaining adhesive on the badges and using 3m moulding tape to put them back on? That is if I don't crack the badges during removal. And thanks again for all the kind words about the bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted July 30, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 30, 2013 I finally got around to adjusting the sag on the suspension with the help of my dad who is visiting for a few days :) Completely confirmed my suspicions that the spring rates are quite soft. With front and rear preload maxed out I could only get 40mm sag. I will probably look into suspension upgrade options this winter. I'm thinking revalving and re-springing front forks and maybe an aftermarket shock... but we'll see. Also vacuum bled the front brake again to get rid of a bit of mushiness in the lever... firmed it up quite nicely... now the brakes feel even more powerful :) My dad took it for a ride today... it's cool to see and hear it drive away when I'm not on it. Gave me goosebumps. And to top it off he even washed it for me while I got some other things done... what a dad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted August 10, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 10, 2013 (edited) Did a little engine heat blocking under the tank/subframe/battery box area with the rubber heat guards I had from the stock bike. I think I have improved the issue but I'm not sure I can make it any better. Because there is much less in the way of fairings and plastic blocking and redirecting heat behind the engine and above the headers the hot air will get to my seat/legs anyway. Its not uncomfortable really... I guess I've just never had a bike that really does this. On Italian bikes they call things like this "character" Other than that... just riding! Oh, and my new tankbag came in: SW Motech Engage. A nice bit of kit! Amazing, sturdy quality, easy to get on and off, and doesn't touch the paint. Not cheap... but my last tank bag lasted 15 years! Edited December 21, 2014 by apexandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted September 17, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) Made up a little video for fun. I know there isn't a lot of "off bike" footage... I guess I need to hire a cameraman. Edited September 17, 2013 by apexandy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted October 4, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 4, 2013 Thanks guys :) I wish I had more cool modification to post in here but have just been enjoying riding it! It honestly works so well. It's the most comfortable bike I've owned, (even better than my 6th gen), has completely smooth air on the highway (I've alway preferred smooth air over turbulent air from a windscreen), is refined and smooth but still agile, responsive and full of character. And I can't help turning to look at it a few times as I walk away from parking it... every time. This weekend looks like some decent fall weather (been pretty cool and wet for enjoyable riding already up here) so I hope to get some good riding in. This winter I have plans to work on some things so I will definitely keep this thread updated. Again, I appreciate all the comments and if this build has inspired you then I hope you have fun taking on your own project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zoomzoom Posted October 13, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) A few photos of Apex's machine sitting in the driveway at my house a couple weeks back. There has been some photographic trickery employed, but I can not say enhancement, for Apex's bike needs no real enhancement. PS. Sorry Apex, I just could not help myself. Hope you understand. LOL Edited October 13, 2013 by zoomzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted October 14, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 14, 2013 Im so angry you posted pictures of my bike on my build!!!!! It looked less clean after the rainstorm on the way home however... My friends idea to throw our bikes in his truck and head down to California this winter is looking better and better all the time :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 13, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 13, 2013 The oil cooler was bypassed. I cut off the stock metal pipes, flared them slightly and looped the rubber hose from the inlet to the outlet (the oil pump needs the cirucuit to be maintained... you can't just block off the ports). A number of people I found online had bypassed the oil cooler with no apparent significant downsides. The stock cooler is quite small and without the fairings the bike gets a lot more cooling air anyway. In 5000km the engine heat hasn't been an issue at all, with temps normally in the 75-85*C range. That being said... it doesn't normally get above 30-35* here in the summer and I don't spend a lot of time in sitting in traffic. Also, I know it's not the best solution to remove the oil cooler as it does more than just try to keep overall engine temps down, and I do have plans to fit either a "filter cooler" from another honda if I can figure out one that fits, or I might find a better fitting cooler to fit in a chin spoiler. But for now, the bike seems to be just fine without it. Here is a short rundown on parts from other bikes: -Speed triple seat/solo cowl (modified) -GSX-R passenger pegs -ZX14 clutch and front brake radial master cylinders -complete front end and brakes from CBR929/954 -RC51 upper triple clamp -CR low bend dirtbike handlebars -Ducati streetfighter mirrors -CB1000r master cylinder mirror mount brackets -CBR929 rear shock -Yamaha MT-03 headlight -Tail tidy made for MV agusta F4 (modified) -Front brake lines for made for CB1000R (not the best fit, but they work) -Two bros muffler and link pipe from speed triple (cut and welded to a VFR delkevic link pipe) -ST1100 throttle cables (strangely enough, wrong free length... needed to modify the carb attachment for the cables) -CBR900 choke cable and lever -CBR1000 Front fender -CBR1000 Tank badges (backwards) -ZX10 Mosfet regulator/rectifier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 14, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2013 Are you running with a fan on the radiator or does opening up the engine do away with need for one? Where did you relocate the coils and fuel pump too? Sorry for all the questions, the more I look at it the more work I see. What part of the build gave you the most grief? Cheers, Brett. I am running a fan. It only comes on when the temps go above 102... which is very handy sitting at a stoplight on a hot day. I relocated the rear coils to the battery box and the front under the left side rad shroud. The fuel pump is also in the battery box. What part gave me the most grief? The bodywork... In other news... I threw together a few video clips of just the beautiful V4 music and a bit of a walk around of the bike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 15, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2013 And since it's winter and I can't be out riding... I'm going to post some more VFR-SF related pics :) My dad bought a cycle hill tire changer used and the guy delivered it to my house, so before sending it off to my dad I changed out my PR2's for dunlop Q3's This gives an idea of the different profiles of the two tire types. You can't completely trust this pic as the dunlop hasn't even been mounted yet, but the PR2 off the rim here. And all mounted up. Road a few hundred km on them before putting the bike into hibernation mode. They handle quick yet still nuetral and predictable and have loads of grip! I wasn't really lacking for grip with the PR2's in cornering (although I could tell the rear was starting to slip a touch at the end of it's life) but I will say I find the front tire has a lot more grip under very hard braking. Instead of the front tire chirping a touch (even after nicely warmed up) on the PR2, the Q3 just lifts the rear tire. And they look boss... I know, a great reason to buy a tire. This is where the whole build was done My dad lives 650km away, but we got to do a little riding together this summer :) And here is the photoshop concept I put together of the build before I even had the bike tore down from it's stock form. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted December 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted December 17, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 17, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 17, 2013 The LED light bar acts as the run/brake in red and turn signals in amber. Though I might add turn signals this year just to make sure they are nice and visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 20, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 20, 2013 Some have been asking about wiring up the Koso gauge. Here is some information I put together that might help. The only 2 things that don't function properly on my gauge are: fuel reserve light, and Tach is slightly jumpy from about 6500rpm-9000rpm. But I have attached the tach wire directly to the factory wire, not the coils. I might try the coils this winter. Not sure you have the wires labelled yet your factory loom. But these are what the wires correspond to and where you will run them on your gauge. I left the speedometer wires out of the equation as you are using the magnets, but you could splice into the wires in the factory loom if you were running your koso pickup off the rear wheel. Also, the fuel level wire wasn't labelled on my Koso wiring diagram... it's the wire paired with the tach wire connector (black I think). Red: Any wires that will go directly to the gauge (Run a dedicated ground) Pink: Wires that would go to the left side of the indicator panel with one ground wire (switched positive) Green: Wires that would go to the right side of the indicator panel with one switched power wire (switched negative) From the Left on the VFR wiring diagram: Green Connector- (Not in order of wires in actual connector block) Bl/Br Clock Switched Power O Left Turn Signal G/Bl Speedometer 1 R/G Clock Constant power Bl/Br 12v Switched Power G Ground (Run a dedicated ground to the actual gauge) Y/G Tachometer (Unless you decide to wire directly to coils) Bu/Bl High Beam Light P Speedometer Signal 2 Y/Bl Side Stand Light Blue Connector Bu/R Oil Pressure Light Lb Right Turn Signal Gr/Bl Fuel Gauge Bl/Br Switched Power Lg/R Neutral Light Br/Bl Checklight G/Bl Ground Br/W Meter Lights Switched Power Br/Bl Fuel Reserve Light (Needs correct resistance to operate... could try a 150ohm 5W resistor) G/Bu Coolant Temperature (I ran the koso wire with the attached temperature sensor directly from the thermostat housing to the gauge) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted December 21, 2013 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 21, 2013 About the fuel reserve light I think that it's not working properly because of the "indicator light check unit" that is on the original tach. I think that it's an hysteresis device to avoid the blinking of the light when the fuel is moving in the tank. For the RPM i'll check with mine if I have the same problem with the original wire. I'll start the work on the harness tomorrow ! The fuel reserve light is connected to a "thermistor" in the tank. The fuel acts as a coolant, but when the fuel level drops below that of the thermistor sensor, the sensor will heat up and the low fuel indicator will light. The 5 watt bulb in the stock gauge provides the correct resistance in the circuit for the thermistor to function properly. It's possible the "indicator light check unit" has something to do with this as well. With an LED the light will always be on. I saw someone that used a 150ohm 5w resistor fix the issue, but haven't tried it myself. I just use the fuel level gauge as the reserve warning. I find it to be consisted, but not very accurate to the actual percentage marks. a 70% reading is half a tank, and I have my reserve light set to come on at 30% because after that the gauge drops quickly. As for the tach glitches... this thread might help: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/76055-koso-rx2-gauge-on-4th-gen/ I haven't tried it yet, but intend to. Hope that helps :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted March 26, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 26, 2014 I might've missed it if someone else asked, but what handlebars/conversion setup did you use? I recently crashed my 4th gen and am using your bike as a launching pad of sorts for the rebuild, so you might be hearing from me quite often :) I am using driven brand bar risers mounted to an RC51 top triple clamp which I reinforced with aluminum plates and JB weld on the underside of the triple. Then a low bend dirt bike bar. I'm happy to answer questions and help out! Also don't forget the search function. A lot of what I did was already researched and done by others here and other places on the web. Post up a build thread to get feedback and to show others how you've accomplished different mods. We like looking at pictures :) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer apexandy Posted April 26, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 26, 2014 Here's a little taste of what occupied most of my winter modding time: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zefarton44 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I've some quesitons about the koso tach !What are your settings for the RPM and for the fuel gauge ? For the moment I have no indications of both, I'm gonna have to check the wires, but I must admit that I have no idea what settings I have to put into lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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