Jump to content

San Diego 98 vfr800 restoration


Recommended Posts

Quote

Wolf Exhausts - wolf-exhausts.com are or were a US company Exotic Sportbike who without permission from Wolf Racing UK told everyone they were sole distributor of Wolf products and ripped off and upset a lot of people. We have been warning people here about them for years and they are nothing to do with Wolf UK. 

I stopped dealing with them a couple of years ago when I took over and their dealings came to light - and now without my permission I notice they have trident products on their website which is just a joke because we've never given anyone permission to sell our stuff.

Trident is me, my company and I make and run everything - as you will see if you do a few searches on this forum pretty much everyone has nothing but good to say about us - sure we make the odd cock up like everyone else but we always put it right as you will also see

If you do decide to buy some pipes from us they get shipped DHL which takes 2-3 days and is fully insured - we almost never have damaged goods but if it does happen we ship replacements immediately and DHL insurance covers all our costs - the customer is never out of pocket. 

If you take a glance at the Sprint forum (which is very active with Trident sales right now) and read the comments there you should have bags of confidence...

http://www.triumphrat.net/daytona-deliberations/102613-are-trident-exhausts-wolf-exhausts.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 139
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Member Contributer

Ah.  The usual "rogue foreign distributor" thing.  There wasn't really a "Wolf USA", it was Wolf's US distributor that went rogue on 'em, screwing up their sterling(cough) reputation in the process.  Not that it matters much anymore, but Peter Sorrell (of Wolf UK fame) had his own set of "baggage" back in the days of Wolf UK.  I don't remember all of the details anymore, but I know I wasn't in a hurry to buy an underseat exhaust (before they stopped making them)...

 

Ciao,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think lock tight on the exhaust stud nuts is a good idea. That sounds like the first ingredient in a pulling exhaust studs out of the head recipe. I think anti seize on the nuts and lock tight on the stud/head side's threads (if and when the studs back out of the head) is a much better idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/17/2017 at 6:57 AM, CandyRedRC46 said:

I don't think lock tight on the exhaust stud nuts is a good idea. That sounds like the first ingredient in a pulling exhaust studs out of the head recipe. I think anti seize on the nuts and lock tight on the stud/head side's threads (if and when the studs back out of the head) is a much better idea.

 

Thanks for the heads up brother! 
 

On 1/16/2017 at 11:52 AM, JZH said:

Ah.  The usual "rogue foreign distributor" thing.  There wasn't really a "Wolf USA", it was Wolf's US distributor that went rogue on 'em, screwing up their sterling(cough) reputation in the process.  Not that it matters much anymore, but Peter Sorrell (of Wolf UK fame) had his own set of "baggage" back in the days of Wolf UK.  I don't remember all of the details anymore, but I know I wasn't in a hurry to buy an underseat exhaust (before they stopped making them)...

 

Ciao,


A bit interested now. What was their own "baggage"? 

Still need to find a sand blaster for my headers and battery tray. Unfortunately, work has come to a halt since I've been working 10 hour days and it's been raining! 3" of rain, in SAN DIEGO, in the next 3 days! Came up with some ideas about taking off the front while this is all still out in the parking lot lol. With work and the rain, I'll only be able to work one job at a time with slow progress. Figured the first thing to do is make a stable perch out of some 2x8's for the oil pan to help out that 'center' stand. First job will be to work on the front forks. Thinking about using wooden rods to emulate the removed forks in order to still be able to use the front wheel stand and keep the little extra stability. Once the oil is drained, forks are dismantled and taken off to the powder coater, my next job will be the removal of the upper and lower trees.  Will try to expand upon the 2x8 oil pan base to make a front stand that rests on the frame. 

Will provide pictures of the upcoming progress and will post up pictures of the fairings and all the powder coated goodness that should be coming in the next day or two! Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Sorry, don't recall the details.  Must have been customer service issues shared on the Big List at the time.  I just remember his name.

 

Ciao,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep it up - I look forward to seeing more photos of your handiwork - don't forget to keep the inner race from the old lower bearing - it's the perfect tool for driving on the new bearing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the encouragement mate. Rain continues to be a 100% hindrance. Smaller item updates will continue. My painter said he's STILL working on the fairings, but whatever insures a good job. Pretty cool thing he did, without tell me, was putting rhino liner like stuff on the under side of the fairings to strengthen them a little bit. If you can find fault in that, well too late! 

Here is a little something though :) 
2prwem9.jpg

Question:
11vjlw5.jpg
Are such exhaust gaskets supposed to be semi brittle? Bought this as part of a pack that came from across the pond. Might just have to go to Napa and buy the material in order to make a custom gasket. 


Now I have some very seriously faded chain guard/dash/speedo. Been looking up what to do and what's more "permanent". Looks like a little SEM prep, promoter, (either) colorcoat or bumper paint along with sealer should do the trick. Going to call their tech support tomorrow. we're talking about $15 a can for a one time use for all these things :( Might as well start buying new plastics at that point... but where's the fun in that? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are the same ones as on my RC51.  They suck!!!!  I didn't have any fall apart like that but if you are too rough with them the will disintegrate.

 

The Wheels look fantastic!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
On 1/24/2017 at 5:56 PM, dozyproductions said:

Thanks for the encouragement mate. Rain continues to be a 100% hindrance. Smaller item updates will continue. My painter said he's STILL working on the fairings, but whatever insures a good job. Pretty cool thing he did, without tell me, was putting rhino liner like stuff on the under side of the fairings to strengthen them a little bit. If you can find fault in that, well too late! 

Here is a little something though :) 
2prwem9.jpg

Question:
11vjlw5.jpg
Are such exhaust gaskets supposed to be semi brittle? Bought this as part of a pack that came from across the pond. Might just have to go to Napa and buy the material in order to make a custom gasket. 


Now I have some very seriously faded chain guard/dash/speedo. Been looking up what to do and what's more "permanent". Looks like a little SEM prep, promoter, (either) colorcoat or bumper paint along with sealer should do the trick. Going to call their tech support tomorrow. we're talking about $15 a can for a one time use for all these things :( Might as well start buying new plastics at that point... but where's the fun in that? 

I have buffed up sun-faded black plastic with the same cut and polish compound that I used on the paint. It worked really well especially on the chain guard. 

 

For sun-faded switch pods on the handlebar, Vaseline does a surprisingly good job at bringing back some shiny black. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little update. The rain finally stopped and work has finally given me some time off. 

So the wheels turned out great. Satin gold which we can work with for the moment. All the other bits that I wanted coated silver/aluminum came out awful. I told him as close to OEM as possible but, of course he doesn't have anything close to it and powder coats on something that barely resembles mud gray. Would look good, if the frame and top tree didn't look SHINY in comparison. My "guy" is a good guy but this was too anti climatic after the long wait to pick up the parts. I'm starting to lose faith in him, since he still hasn't finished my fairings yet. It's been almost two months now. 

QUESTION: With the frame and rear swing arm still "silver", do you think that powder coating the rear and side pegs and handle bars black would be worth it? It's already going to try to refinish these pieces.  At this point, the front forks can be either silver or black. The top triple could look good in black as well. A lot of black bits with some silver/SS accents might work. Plus gold wheels and gold chain? hmmmmm


PROGRESS FOR TODAY: LOL 

21j3xp2.jpg
I swear it holds. Took 4 1/4 pieces from home depot and glued all the pieces together. It's close to 39-41mm. 

k3ng60.jpg
Hate that general look and feel of 'crustyness'. Took off a couple of more parts (that hold hoses) I'm going scruff up and beautify. The lower tree and front frame are rusted. What a pita those two will be to take out, resurface and put back in... not to mention to replace the bearings. 

k0r5zo.jpg
A tab and a half are broken off for the dash. This bike was laid down before. I tried plastic welding this before but I didn't mix the ingredients properly. Will do it better this time and will document. 
 

Quote

I have buffed up sun-faded black plastic with the same cut and polish compound that I used on the paint. It worked really well especially on the chain guard. 

 

For sun-faded switch pods on the handlebar, Vaseline does a surprisingly good job at bringing back some shiny black.


Vaseline eh? (add that to the mental note book) Some other options I have listed are Rustoleum paint for plastic, wd40 and polishing them with Flitz metal/plastic/fiberglass polish. We'll see. 


PLANS: Well this next week I'll be brooding on getting those (ALREADY) finished parts refinished and getting the exhaust sand blasted. Most likely will resort to bringing cardboard and spraying the Slip Plate onto the exhaust immediately after picking it up. Might just go behind a tree.

Next is using some of this Rustoleum along side some SATIN clear coat for the dash shroud and dash. Can use my old high school math compass to create some circles to cover the gauges. The satin clear coat should help keep the sun out of the eyes. To keep it uniform, will paint the chain guard as well. 
xdigwy.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
1 hour ago, dozyproductions said:


Hate that general look and feel of 'crustyness'. Took off a couple of more parts (that hold hoses) I'm going scruff up and beautify. The lower tree and front frame are rusted. What a pita those two will be to take out, resurface and put back in... not to mention to replace the bearings. 

 

 

I agree that getting the triples and bearings out is a pain. I can recommend the use of  a dremel and cutoff wheel to cut through the lower bearing inner race, makes removal a much less painful exercise. An 18" pry bar and hammer will also make removal of the outer races fairly easy.

 

If you keep the old races and put a saw cut through them, they can be used to protect the new bearing races while you are pounding them home (if like me you don't have the right tools).

 

For grungy looking fairing stays, I have just scrubbed them down and then brush-painted them in satin black enamel. This looks absolutely fine unless you are really fussy about such things, and saves on a lot of disassembly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Terry. Just barely have a dremel and maybe just barely have the tools so will definitely use the tips. So essentially you'd use the old bearings to apply even down pressure for the new bearings? That sounds like the job of a $100+ tool ;) 

Unfortunately my old BMW days won't allow me to be at peace if I scuffed and brushed while the stay was on the bike. Satin would be a nice touch in that type of area though. Thanks for the input and the help mate. Got a link to some pictures of your bike by any chance? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone tell Rustoleum that plastic doesn't rust. :tongue:

 

Is it me or are there a lot of 5th gen projects lately?

Good luck Dozy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
21 hours ago, dozyproductions said:

Thanks Terry. Just barely have a dremel and maybe just barely have the tools so will definitely use the tips. So essentially you'd use the old bearings to apply even down pressure for the new bearings? That sounds like the job of a $100+ tool ;) 

Unfortunately my old BMW days won't allow me to be at peace if I scuffed and brushed while the stay was on the bike. Satin would be a nice touch in that type of area though. Thanks for the input and the help mate. Got a link to some pictures of your bike by any chance? 

Always happy to help Dozy. Here's a link to my gallery:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/gallery/album/6595-terry39s-v4s/

 

I've had my 99 5th gen since 2014, and it is now up to 97000km. As bought it was in bone stock and unmolested condition, and replaced a 1995 Suzuki RF900 that I had owned from new. I have messed around a lot with the suspension and brakes and now have a CBR600F4i fork and brakes up front, and a DMR CBR929 shock in back. Apart from that the bike is basically stock, I occasionally add a Delkevic muffler for some naughty sound, and I have changed all the major lights to LED, and fitted 00 mirrors in place of the condoms.

 

My VFR also shares my garage with a 1997 VTR1000F and 1990 ST1100. Both of these needed a lot of cleaning and some parts re-painting (forks, head covers) and I have re-covered the seats on both, and upgraded the suspension and brakes as well. It is a luxury and comfort to have three bikes, and it takes away any hesitation over pulling something apart that might take some time to reassemble. Best of all, my entire 3 bike fleet cost me about 40% of the price of a new VFR800!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone tell Rustoleum that plastic doesn't rust. :tongue:

 

Is it me or are there a lot of 5th gen projects lately?

Good luck Dozy.

lol and Thanks! People might be finally realizing that 5th gens gets you the ladies! I'v

 

4 hours ago, Terry said:

Always happy to help Dozy. Here's a link to my gallery:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/gallery/album/6595-terry39s-v4s/

 

I've had my 99 5th gen since 2014, and it is now up to 97000km. As bought it was in bone stock and unmolested condition, and replaced a 1995 Suzuki RF900 that I had owned from new. I have messed around a lot with the suspension and brakes and now have a CBR600F4i fork and brakes up front, and a DMR CBR929 shock in back. Apart from that the bike is basically stock, I occasionally add a Delkevic muffler for some naughty sound, and I have changed all the major lights to LED, and fitted 00 mirrors in place of the condoms.

 

My VFR also shares my garage with a 1997 VTR1000F and 1990 ST1100. Both of these needed a lot of cleaning and some parts re-painting (forks, head covers) and I have re-covered the seats on both, and upgraded the suspension and brakes as well. It is a luxury and comfort to have three bikes, and it takes away any hesitation over pulling something apart that might take some time to reassemble. Best of all, my entire 3 bike fleet cost me about 40% of the price of a new VFR800!


Looks like some good looking bikes and good looking memories! Either you got all your bikes at a steal or Honda is stealing from us now. Have to ask, are you using LED head lights? Saw these LEDS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WVJR0D8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2KV5LJQOJAPBG&coliid=IWCGEZ04QBSE7&psc=1 .  Plug n Play @ 45w for way more light output. Interesting. 



63zyb6.jpg
TODAY: Got the front stay off. PARTIAL RUST FOR ONCE. Almost got the triple trees off. Was defeated by not having torq wrenches of all things. 


Seeing as my powder coated parts came back UGLY, have been rethinking the color scheme.  Bouncing some ideas. Of all the powder coated parts: Black forks, black handle bars, black top yoke and black rear pegs. Then will get the OEM silver for the side step. The picture below isn't my bike but, with the color of it's wheels, is the closest I could get to what it will be like. Now is it going to be gloss black or satin black. The choices. 

 

vfr black 2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Terry said:

Always happy to help Dozy. Here's a link to my gallery:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/gallery/album/6595-terry39s-v4s/

 

I've had my 99 5th gen since 2014, and it is now up to 97000km. As bought it was in bone stock and unmolested condition, and replaced a 1995 Suzuki RF900 that I had owned from new. I have messed around a lot with the suspension and brakes and now have a CBR600F4i fork and brakes up front, and a DMR CBR929 shock in back. Apart from that the bike is basically stock, I occasionally add a Delkevic muffler for some naughty sound, and I have changed all the major lights to LED, and fitted 00 mirrors in place of the condoms.

 

My VFR also shares my garage with a 1997 VTR1000F and 1990 ST1100. Both of these needed a lot of cleaning and some parts re-painting (forks, head covers) and I have re-covered the seats on both, and upgraded the suspension and brakes as well. It is a luxury and comfort to have three bikes, and it takes away any hesitation over pulling something apart that might take some time to reassemble. Best of all, my entire 3 bike fleet cost me about 40% of the price of a new VFR800!

 

On a 98/99 you dont need much to make it a great bike. You already have the great fueling of a non-emissions bike and your suspension/brake work is the icing on the cake. Just beef up the charging system and enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
2 hours ago, CandyRedRC46 said:

 

On a 98/99 you dont need much to make it a great bike. You already have the great fueling of a non-emissions bike and your suspension/brake work is the icing on the cake. Just beef up the charging system and enjoy.

You are quite right CR. The VFR has a non-standard RR (parts code suggests from a Ducati) fitted by the PO, and I have hard soldered the RR-stator connector, plus fitted a voltmeter, and paid lots of attention to ground connectors. The bike now sits at a rock steady 14.2V all day every day. I also have a voltmeter on my ST1100, and a voltage indicating LED light on the VTR for the same reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, dozyproductions said:

Bearings? Loving the 'garage'. ;) 

Fork rebuild, new rear shock, brakes all around, and some beautification.  My garage doubles as a dinning room :).  No wonder I'm not married hahahaaha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
11 hours ago, dozyproductions said:


Looks like some good looking bikes and good looking memories! Either you got all your bikes at a steal or Honda is stealing from us now. Have to ask, are you using LED head lights? Saw these LEDS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WVJR0D8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2KV5LJQOJAPBG&coliid=IWCGEZ04QBSE7&psc=1 .  Plug n Play @ 45w for way more light output. Interesting. 
 

No I don't think Honda is stealing from us, more that used bikes drop far more in dollars than in their true value. I was certainly guilty of thinking that once a bike had more than 30,000km, it was past it's best. I now believe that if you are prepared (as I see you are) to put some effort into "bringing back the new" with a bit of paint, suspension, chassis and brake work, there nothing wrong with a cheap, higher mileage bike provided it hasn't been terminally mistreated. It is extremely satisfying to ride and enjoy my 3 bikes knowing that they are running and riding as good as they can be. I only paid US$900 for my ST1100, and US$2000 for the VTR!

 

Regarding the headlights, yes I have LEDs in all 3, a Cyclops 3800 Lumen in the VTR, and unbranded but identical bulbs in the ST. These both use a separate driver module which I have attached to the headlight shell with double-sided tape, and have a cooling fan in the back of the "bulb", but are otherwise plug and play.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7200LM-Cree-LED-Headlight-Kit-H4-9003-HB2-Hi-Low-Beams-6000K-Bulbs-one-Pair-80W-/291520220335?hash=item43dff58caf

 

The bulbs in the VFR are a little different with finned heat-sinks and no fan, and built-in driver.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-HB3-9003-PHILIPS-CSP-CHIP-LED-Headlight-HI-Lo-Beam-Bulbs-180W-18000LM-6500K-/232209830953?hash=item3610c8d429

 

The bulbs behave slightly differently, the fan-cooled units run both low and high emitters on high beam, the finned unit operates the emitters separately.

 

The light output of an LED is 3-4 times that of a halogen bulb, for slightly lower power consumption. The later LED's have small shrouds in front of and above the front low beam emitter which mimics the shroud in a halogen H4, some of the older LED's don't have that (my older Cyclops for example, and the bulbs that you linked to) and so upward light spill is worse. In any case with 3-4 times more light output, you definitely get noticed a lot more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steal on that VTR! As always with older bikes, and cars, I wish the parts availability would be there for VFR's, or even older CB's. Would pay a monthly subscription just to know that the parts will be there in the future. I remember working on a 72' bmw 2002 in which they had a special, specific screw for the rear body panel. We needed 4 of them, for 2 cars, and the shop had 5 of them. My butter fingers lost 2 of them when one of the shop cats got hungry and all of a sudden 'NLA' got serious... tiny body panel screws that every 2002 freaking needed but NLA... why?!?! haha. 

Searching on ebay/amazon for those bulbs (with shrouds) and they're all so bloody cheap. Might as well pull the trigger and start the slow process of attaining a solid 14.2V like you have. VFR lights are just so atrocious and useless against San Diego's ever deepening potholes. How are you liking the 'soft' white?

 

10 hours ago, Epyon007 said:

Fork rebuild, new rear shock, brakes all around, and some beautification.  My garage doubles as a dinning room :).  No wonder I'm not married hahahaaha.

 
Good luck! She's going to feel like new! Definitely cheaper than ! ;D 


Will trickle updates. Next week it should really start vamping up. What you all think on the color scheme? If I'd go black, satin or gloss? Definitely not back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The wheels look superb - good choice!

 

The exhaust gasket is semi-flexible and can break easily if something moderately weighty is placed upon it, which it looks like yours has. Is it the rear downpipe gasket that you need? I've got a spare that I could mail over to you, although your dealer should be able to supply one as well.

 

I'd say the pegs and heelsets etc will look good powdercoated, even if it's not the OEM finish. I've had my yoke coated in a satin black - there's a couple of photos in my thread on the 6th gen page if you want to see what it looks like. There's a good RWB thread in the 6th gen section too that shows what a crackled black finish looks like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

if you want to see what a wrinkle/ sandpaper like texture looks like on a RWB. not sure if this is the thread loftust was talking about.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/84826-my-07rwb-projectbuild/

was going to link to my 02 that I did a couple of years ago for some red on mirror gloss black action too but pictures are gone from that thread. see 02 refresh. if you interested in seeing what that looks like let me know I will post some pictures here when I get home and have my computer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
On 1/31/2017 at 7:48 PM, dozyproductions said:

How are you liking the 'soft' white?

Once you've used LED's, the standard halogen lights look very orange and feeble. I love LED. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.