Clutch Window Promo Special -Vfrd Only

[SEBSPEED]

All, I am starting another run of parts. A big one.

I will make a $5 VFRD site donation for each of the first 15 buyers to take advantage. ***DONE***

Thank you to the first 15! Hope you enjoy your covers and post pics soon!

This offer covers all generations of VFR. If you are a VFR owner, the window can be made to fit your bike.

What I require to perform the mod is:

1. Your clutch cover, or a spare cover, shipped to me.
2. A total payment of $250 + return shipping charge (not applicable in this case), via PayPal.

What you will need to do to complete the mod:
1. Ship your donor cover, or drop ship a donor cover via ebay/etc.
2. Make down payment
3. Make final payment when mod is complete
4. Paint or powdercoat the cover
5. Install with new gasket

As showcased in other threads, you may also paint or powdercoat your pressure plate to display the color of your choice.

Currently, I do not offer paint or powdercoat services, but I can help with some recommendations if needed. I am working on setting up media blast capability, which as a later option would aid a buyer in a DIY paint finish. More on that, at a later date.

At this time, I am making this reduced price offer only to active VFR owners, but I will have more than 15 covers available soon at the normal pricing.

Feel free to send me a PM, but please make sure you post in this thread if interested, as I will use this thread for tracking purposes.

A number of pictures and additional info can be found here:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/68201-clear-clutch-window/

Thanks for looking!

[MaxSwell]

While I was in California this summer, at least twice people stopped to say something to the effect " That is not stock; where'd that come from." I'd say we have this talented guy on VFRD who makes these custom for just $250. "Wow!" is heard everytime.

And I'd constantly attacked by MotoGP umbrella ladies wherever I'm seen with that bike.

[zoomzoom]

Sooooooo, many days and nights have transpired since I first learned of the magical window modification perfected by our own Sebspeed. The first time my seven year old son saw the spinning internal workings on veefer800canucks bike he commented, "Gee Daddy, that window mod would look REALLY cool on your bike." Not being one to disagree with my sons assessment of the visual appearance of the coveted family Viffer, I naturally agreed.

Now that I am in possession of one of these "Magical Windows to the very SOUL of the VFR" I am left with another choice. Many of you that have installed the windowed cover have painted / powder coated the clutch pressure plate and my curiosity was peaked. Hmmmm, what color should I consider, should I go with coloured washer and counter sunk bolts (Like Dutchy modification - very cool by the way) crankcase cover bolts, etc, etc etc. SO many decisions, and considering the Canadian winter provides me with some time to make said decisions the question comes to mind, what to do.

My question for the many members who have performed this mod would be this. Has anyone ever thought of POLISHING the pressure plate to make it really shiny, and then add some coloured washers?? I do have considerable experience polishing aluminum since my brother and I used to own a business that did tractor/trailer detailing and one of our prime services was polishing the wheels and fuel tanks, etc to make them bright and shiny. It never ceased to amaze us the sheer amount of money some of the truckers would spend making things on their trucks SHINY.

Any thoughts??

[Veefer800Canuck]

This thread has too many words, and not enough of them fancy new color pictures.

[zoomzoom]

This thread has too many words, and not enough of them fancy new color pictures.

AND, without further adeiu, words and other fluff. How about these.

Here is a photo of the COVER OF THE GODS (aka Sebspeed) once it had returned from the adventure in powder coat. I had thought of numerous color options for the cover itself but since I had a theme of sorts going on the bike I chose to go with semi-gloss black. There were a few other parts such as the exhaust heat shield that looked like crap when I purchased the bike originally and seeing as how that particular piece is very close I didn't want there to be a huge difference between the two parts. I'm also sort of partial to keeping the number of colors and textures to a minimum. I know there are those of you who may find this boring but I think the cover came out really good. There were a few imperfections that came through the powder coat process, but they are behind the lower cowl near the front edge of the cover so they are not visible once everything has been put back together. Thanks very much to Sebspeed and his masterful creation and for removing the sight glass prior to returning the cover to me as it was very helpful. When I got the cover back from powder coat the gasket mating surface was covered with a bit of powder coat so a bit of time was required to razor scrape the mating surface to remove the powder coat. An annoyance to be sure, but since the coating was done by a friend, I won't get too upset.

Since my son and I had decided to go down the clear clutch window path, and I thought about the pressure plate situation this morning, I asked my son Liam what to do about the pressure plate. I gave him the option of painting, colors and polishing. Partly because the polishing idea could be done immediately, let's face it, when you're 7 it's better when you can do something with stuff on hand, we chose to make the part SHINY. If we decide that the painting option, like Veefer800Canuck's red pressure plate is more to our liking, then that option is still available. Since the paint that V8C used is partly transparent, the extra shiny nature of the pressure plate might enhance the look of the painted part as well. WIN WIN, I say.

First a photo of the pressure plate as it came out of the bike. Not overly shiny and a little rough as far as texture was concerned. I tried hand polishing a small spot with Autosol paste metal polish and it turned out fairly well, but made it apparent that the surface, though it looked relatively smooth, was not perfectly smooth and a little pitted. First step was to find a little bit of free child labor. OK, it was really his idea and my son was BIG into helping so a father/son project began. We headed for the kitchen and since my wife and daughter had headed off to do some shopping, my son and I had free reign to make a mess in the kitched sink. LOL

I gave my son the scrub brush and we soaked the pressure plate in a hot soapy bath and cleaned her up. My son then sat at the kitchen table with a small sheet of 600 grit wet/dry sand paper and he sanded a bit until he commented that his fingers were sore and he passed the part to me. So much for free labor, but he did offer to go make a cup of coffee and procure some cookies. LOL. Kids always have the best ideas. After a bit of sanding with 600, then 800 then some 2000 girt we had the part sanded smooth enough for polishing.

Off to the garage we went to use the power tools. I have a Baldor buffer that I purchased a couple years ago when I polished up the foot rests on my wife's 96 VFR750 and I set about making things shiny. After about 2 hours of sanding and polishing the following pressure plate was transformed to, well, SHINY.

Now a glistening pressure plate resides beneath the window to the soul of my beloved Viffer and is sure to make the bike go at least a few nanoseconds faster. OK, speed will not result from this modification but it sure looks cool. Currently the pressure plate and cover are not yet installed on the bike, but I hope to get that accomplished at some point this weekend, OR next. Depending on whether or not we decide to paint the pressure plate. I'm also trying to decide on whether to go with the colored washers and counter sunk bolts but that is a discussion for yet another time................

[vfrcapn]

Nice little project for you and zz jr and the result looks great. I think it would look good as is with some colored bolts/washers!

[bswiles]

Forgive me Seb if you have already addressed this but have you ever done one for a 1st gen?

[SEBSPEED]

No problem. I did make one up recently for a VF750F. The new owner hasn't posted any pictures yet, but I trust he will at some point.

I can actually window both the clutch and stator covers for the 700/750.

Thank you for asking!

The polish looks good ZZ, the colored washers will really set that off too.

[Dutchy]

That is really purdy and unique.

For 2 hours (experienced) hands is a lot of effort.

Would it require a layer of cleatcoat to prevent oxidation?

[zoomzoom]

That is really purdy and unique.

For 2 hours (experienced) hands is a lot of effort.

Would it require a layer of cleatcoat to prevent oxidation?

When I polished the foot rest brackets on my wife's 96 VFR and on my old 97 VFR I applied a layer of aluminum sealer to the parts and they stayed shiny for a long time. I haven't applied anything other than some Autosol Metal Polish as of yet but I may apply some sealer later today. The sealer I used on my 97 VFR was called Zoop Seal (they don't appear to make it any more) and I still have some left so I may apply a coat before I reinstall the pressure plate. The Zoop seal prevented the polished aluminum on my 97 VFR from oxidizing during the 5 years between when I polished the parts and when I sold the bike.

It will be a couple months yet before I can get the bike back on the road (once winter ends) so I will be able to see if it starts to oxidize before then. If it does then I may still paint the pressure plate. The fact that the part is bathed in oil most of the time may also prevent the part from tarnishing as well.

[SEBSPEED]

I would leave it bare and let the motor oil do its thing.

[zoomzoom]

Even though I have some experience in aluminum polishing, and a bench mounted rotary buffer (definitely made the job easier with the right tool) I think just about anyone else could achieve the same or similar results in nearly the same time frame. Most of the work was involved in wet sanding the aluminum to smooth out the imperfections in the surface of the piece. Once that was done, you could also do the polishing with a sewn cotton buff attached to a corded drill (cordless drill would likely require a few battery changes) and using some red jewellers rouge.

I like the way the part turned out and I think I may order some red countersunk washers and new bolts for the clutch springs though to get some extra visual interest.

[SEBSPEED]

I always used black emery to finish my aluminum. Found that it gave it a nice dark coloring.

Polish the heads of your new stainless bolts too, to finish it off.

[dcompson]

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here you go. Today's install time. 1983 vf750f.

[SEBSPEED]

Will you be adding color or leaving the media blasted finish?

[SEBSPEED]

This was a cover that suffered a large dent and crack in a drop. The crack extended into the sight glass area.

Most of the damage was cut away and the crack was welded. The weld over the crack was smoothed after the pic was taken and the cover now shows no evidence of the crash damage.

[Rush2112]

@ ZZ

Love the polished look and I think the colored washers and/or bolts will really complement it. I'm going to follow your lead on this one and do something similar...

[zoomzoom]

I always used black emery to finish my aluminum. Found that it gave it a nice dark coloring.

Polish the heads of your new stainless bolts too, to finish it off.

Hey Seb

The black emery you mention, is this black emery cloth you are talking about about the bar of black compound that is used with a cotton buff?? (ie comes in a brick of sorts and you press the brick against the spinning buff and then use the buff to polish the aluminum) Just curious if we are talking about the same product.

@ ZZ

Love the polished look and I think the colored washers and/or bolts will really complement it. I'm going to follow your lead on this one and do something similar...

Thanks for the compliments Rush. As the polishing idea was spearheaded by my son I'll be sure to tell him that you liked the idea. I'm sure he will grin from ear to ear. LOL. The only comment I can make with the rouge is that is does make a bit of a mess so be sure to wear some eye protection and some disposable rubber gloves as well. I did notice a few small areas where there were some imperfections in the pressure plate that show through the high sheen of the polish but they are more noticable when you look straight at the part in bright light. The imperfections barely show at all now that the cover and pressure plate have been attached to the bike. Cover is just fit on for now and lightly secured but I still have to remove it to install the other bits. I just wanted to get rid of the ugly plastic cover that has been residing in its place for the last couple months.

Here is a photo with just about everything in place. With the exception of the oil filler cap. Oh NUTS, it appears to have gone missing..........DAMN!! Guess, i may have to add one of the billet aluminum caps that I think Veefer800 showed a link to in the original thread.

[SEBSPEED]

That looks pretty gosh darn spiffy

[dcompson]

Leaving it raw. Love the look. I'm still working on the install. Broke a couple of boots. They were over torqued in a previous life. I'll post another when I'm completely done.

[zoomzoom]

That's cool. Looks almost like it was installed directly from the factory.

[dcompson]

And a few more as the install continues.

Thanks Seb. Do you like it raw? Or maybe black?

[SEBSPEED]

I love how the raw part just looks fast and screams factory race part!

I probably would have done black to match the motor paint, but I'm boring like that lol

Looks good!!

[duccmann]

Like the raw look...excellent

[RC51Nick]

Sebspeed. Do you still need any more for the original 15? I think I might have a slightly rashed cover lined up.

Thanks,

Nick

[SEBSPEED]

I have plenty of parts left. Shoot me a PM and we'll get you sorted out.

Thanks Seb. Do you like it raw? Or maybe black?

I have to say, I am surprised that Dutchy hasn't jumped on this one yet.