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My 1996 Vfr750 Streetfighter


SEBSPEED

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  • Member Contributer

Very nice Seb! I can hardly wait to see it in the metal and paint instead of SVGA comp screen...

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  • Member Contributer

Between this and ApexAndy's I have no hope for mine............ it would look like shit in comparison....... very stellar bike :)

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I love fighters, and this is absolutely beautiful.

And don't forget

http://www.flat-out.com/


i just listened to the vid. That noise is why i wanted a vfr. I'm going to the garage tonight.

Can someone post avid from Tmac so i can here a heap of vfr's together?

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Between this and ApexAndy's I have no hope for mine............ it would look like shit in comparison....... very stellar bike :)

NEVER under estimate the power of your passion, you may surprise yourself & everybody else, it is amazing what just cleaning/polishing/painting achieves, have fun with your build.

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I will try to get a Dragon video on Saturday. I will post more pics and story early next week. I'm a bit preoccupied with riding and with hanging out and drinking cold beer here in Franklin at the moment :-)

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Got some more process pics posted, hope to get the rest up later today.


I liked the 08 CBR1000RR subframe from the first moment I saw it on the new CBR. It was an inspiration from the beginning, and once I made the decision to use a factory subframe vs a scratch built one, the search began for a CBR setup.

I found a complete tail section on ebay from a guy that was parting out his bike. After a few minutes of eyeballing all looked well, so with a few cardboard templates mocked up I went ahead and cut some aluminum adapters.

The aluminum dogbones attach the subframe to the mainframe with grade 8 bolts.

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Those Grade 8 bolts were quite unsightly, so I made up some dress up caps.

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I attached them by drilling & tapping the heads of the bolts.

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Attached with stainless cap screws.

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I also modded the front sprocket cover to remove some material and offer a racier look

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After fitting the subframe, the next step to having a clean finish was to transition the bodywork from the tail to the tank, and then fit the seat to the tank.

I used the stock CBR side filler panels as a starting point, and created a cardboard template to bridge the gap between the tank and the filler.

I was fresh out of aluminum sheet, so I cut a pair of parts from a steel car fender.

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There was a bit of an evolution as I was cutting them, the creative juices were flowing and it turned out well. Cut, check fit, cut, adjust shape, cut again, etc.

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Seat angle was a touch too steep...

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Although the shape was similar, the gap to the tank was wholly unacceptable.

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I made an attempt to fill the gap with race foam, but I found the results to be less than desirable.

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Now for the seat... I'm really happy with how this turned out. I used Plio Grip and sheetrock mesh tape to create the extension. This material can be stapled into when cured, just like the stock pan.

Here is a pictorial sequence of the process:

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Wax was used to create a gap for the future seat cover to fill.

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My friend Travis Bowen of Bowen Upholstery in Wisconsin did the fantastic work on the foam and the seat cover. We worked together on the design, and he made an extra section of red welting to be used on the solo cowl later.

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The wiring needed to pass from the handlebars into the area in front of the airbox... but the lovely clean lines of the VFR tank prevent that... so I had to cut & shut the front of the tank.

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The subframe needed an undertail, the stock plastic tray would not do at all. I couldn't fit all my parts in it, and it was unsightly.

So I made a new one from aluminum sheet. I attached it with 2 DZUS fasteners, and welded it to one of the factory braces.

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Doing this caused a new issue - the bodywork on the underside of the tail no longer fit flush to the undertail.

Plio Grip to the rescue! I wish I had taken some before pics, but I was on a roll that day.

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It was really starting to come together at this point

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I found a 600RR fender with a few cracks on ebay for little money, repaired it easily and improved the look IMO

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Began mocking up the gauge mount and pod

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Made a buck to form the final configuration to

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And the part, just before being prepped for paint.

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I still can't believe that I spent an entire 8hr day making the release for the solo cover. But I did, and it works very well. The entire bike is keyless.

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License plate holder was fabbed from aluminum sheet. Light is an led strip.

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Battery tray made from aluminum angle and foam

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It attaches directly to the subframe, in one of the passenger peg mount holes. It is completly independent of the undertail.

A pc fan turns on with the ignition to cool the r/r

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Here is the completed undertail assembly.

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I took the 2 piece factory trunk sections and molded them together. I also filled in the signal and license plate holder holes, and then shot it with primer. I decided to wrap it with carbon vinyl for ease of cleaning down the road.

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The carbon vinyl was very easy to work with, I highly recommend it!

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Time for some carbon fiber fun...

All my parts were cosmetic, so a simple overlay process was all it took to score a high end look.

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Sanding and a coat of auto grade clear adds UV protection and brings out the depth that carbon is known for.

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I didn't like the heavy steel caliper torque arm the factory provided, so I made a lighter one from aluminum.

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Rear cylinders got coil-on-plugs from a GSXR (600, IIRC) to get rid of the bulky stock coils that I didn't really have room for.

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Seat lock lock hole was filled in

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Last year, I painted all the parts.

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Digital slim ballast HID hi/lo kit goes in here:

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Made my own brackets for the fluid reservoirs

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Made a coolant overflow tank

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I got the idea to make some fork sliders... ordered some blue Delrin. I was expecting it to be darker blue, but I like how it turned out.

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While my mind was on functional dress-up items, I thought up this wheel plug/hub slider combo.

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I wasn't happy with the look of the heel guards that came with the rearsets, so I made new ones from a sheet of carbon I laid up using 2 plys of fiberglass mat sandwiched between 4 plys of carbon.

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Test fit before clearcoat:

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One of my favorite parts on the build... this hugger. Believe it or not, it took longer to figure out the mount than making the mount and the hugger itself.

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Another piece of carbon sheet became a fake license plate for the photo shoot

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The chainguard... another of my most favorite parts.

Started out as a piece of aluminum sheet, bent into a channel and then cut and shaped. A bit of templating for the connector piece, welding that on, then covered in carbon.

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Another thing that had been bugging me was the footpeg position. So I made new adapter plates to replace the ones that came with the 900RR rearsets. I cut them from 1/2" thick aluminum stock, the same material the others were made from. I was able to shape them to follow the lines of the frame, so they blend in pretty well. I painted them to match the frame.

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I upgraded the rear line to a color-matched CoreMoto line.

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Another quick piece of carbon sheet contrasts nicely with the vinyl wrapped overflow cannister and holder:

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Yet another became a pair of radiator end caps.

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Choke was moved to the thermostat bracket, choke is from an RC51 iirc.

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Wheel plug was wrapped in carbon vinyl, lug nuts are black Civic parts.

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Secondary air filter was eliminated to help clear the harness on the right inside frame rail. It was replaced with a UNI crankcase breather filter. The actual crank breather hose that fed into the airbox from the rear cylinder head was also replaced with the same UNI filter.

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Snorkel was eliminated with some screen

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Headlight unit is tidy, all wiring sorted nicely.

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Most of the important wiring is gathered up in front of the airbox

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This is how I test fired the bike

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This is the fuel line. The factory fuel pump is gone, it runs on gravity only, through an oem filter.

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Foam knee pads are glued in place. Also seen here is one of the velcro mounts for the front of the side filler panels.

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Rear turn signals

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  • Member Contributer

Great workmanship! I really like your "wiring tunnel" idea in the front of the tank. I have had a tough time routing my wiring between the frame and the radiator.

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