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VFR to RC45 "ish" replica budget build


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Thanks, the tail is from Tyga performance. That was the initial fitting and has moved up and forward quite a bit along with the tank. Also, I'm in the process of making some cosmetic changes to fit the rc45 spirit. (mocked up in the pics)

 

I see you've done quite a nice job on fabricating the rads, exhaust, and subframe on yours. Did you do the work yourself? Wish I had the means to weld.

 

Anyway, here's latest pics:

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9 hours ago, luigi said:

Hi Monstar.

Interesting work.

I 'm working on a similar project based on RC46 (VFR800).

All information that you will share are appreciated.

 

This is actual situation. My idea is swap swingarm with another one from a CBR for weight reasons.

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Sorry, I was looking over your build, VERY impressive! What forks are you running? They look similar to my suzuki forks. The yolks or triple clamps are nice and would love to get some if they fit. Where'd you get them if you don't mind me asking.

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Hi Monstar.

Yes, forks are from a Suzuki GSXR 750 (i don't remember M.Y.).

Yoke are in Anticorodal alloy (i don't know if have same name in U.S.) designed by me on CAD, then machined on CNC, but it needs a new project with different dimensions.

Radiators are actually in unsolved situation, i decided to move them from stock position to front and to be sure to have a well cooling in track use (VFR 800 are always near to overheating in road use) more, i swapped stock oil cooler, with a water/oil cooler from a CBR 900, so the cooling needing for water in circuit are increased. I looking for a right solution using all room available in the front.

Full exhaust are made by me using inox steel tubes (bought already curved, on in straight pieces), then spot welded to correct position and finally TIG welded by a specialist.

Rear subframe needs modify to look better.

All work are made by me for ideas or design parts, for manufacturing i have some reference (welding, CNC... ) i prefer so 'cause i have not lathe of other machine tools, so i choose to let the work to someone who can assure me high precision and tight tolerances.

Recently i've bought a non-professional TIG welder why i want learn some basic, but with the Covid lockdown have no buy yet the required Argon gas...

 

ciao, Luigi.

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Very nice fabrication, Luigi! 

 

I, too, am a noob TIG welder.  Learning to TIG weld is a lot of fun (and a bit frustrating!), but hopefully will be worth the investment one day soon.  But you do need Argon...

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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Hi JZH.

 

Argon is sold in a near town of mine, find it is not a problem. 

Now i'm finishing a work on a GSXF 750 Suzuki frame using the usual MMA welding, then i will "launch" myself in TIG welding world...

 

Ciao.

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Hi Monstar, i really like what you are doing. I have a 4th gen too and i always wanted to make an rc30 replica. I was wondering what front end are you using for on your bike? I read you are using some gsxr 750 s. Did you also use a suzuki triple tree?

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5 hours ago, davideb23 said:

Hi Monstar, i really like what you are doing. I have a 4th gen too and i always wanted to make an rc30 replica. I was wondering what front end are you using for on your bike? I read you are using some gsxr 750 s. Did you also use a suzuki triple tree?

Thanks. I believe its a 04-05 gsxr 750/1000 front end, however I can't be 100% certain since the guy I bought it from supposedly did the conversion and I have no paperwork. I'm sure there are others on this forum who have used a similar front end. I'm currently looking to replace top triple to get rid of that key switch hole. Hoping other year gsxr top will fit. Sorry that probably wasn't much help. Good luck and share your findings.

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Thank you! I saw many cbr600rr front end swaps on the 4th gen and i was thinking about going that way. They say is almost "bolt on", the treeple trees should fit without any modifications, they also share the same bearings. I know i am going to reduce drastically the length of the forks but since i am going for a more "sporty" bike and riding position, i think with the right clearences where needed. Correct me if i am wrong. These are only informations i gathered on line. I know that a "bolt on" swap doesn't exhist, i am trying, knowing what i am looking for. to find a swap that requires minor modifications.

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Just an update:

Cleaned and rejetted the carbs. Cleaned the block, replaced the small water hoses to the heads and put the heatshield and carbs back on. Not as difficult as I've heard.  Start it up and idles fine like before. Give it throttle and won't rev easily (like before, when I thought my carbs were the problem) and when I can get the rpms up I'm getting a backfire. So, I figure it's not the fueling but my experiment with wiring the COPs went wrong (paired coils wired in series). So just to make sure I decided to make a new wiring harness for the stock coils and find a new place to mount them. Wouldn't you know it runs perfect! Oh well, the failure didn't hurt as much once everything was running again.

 

Now, I'm waiting for more parts and seem to think my fairings are sitting too low. Just doesn't look right and the TBR headers are touching the belly pan in a couple spots. I'm going to buy some stock headers and give them a try. They look like the hug the underside tighter. So, I may possibly be selling the TBR exhaust...

 

Also thinking I may run the stock fuel tank if I can find someone to cut and weld intake runners through it to the airbox. probably be cheaper than a custom fuel cell, have more fuel capacity, and hopefully less of a headache which I seem to cause myself.

 

 

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Hi Monstar.

Be careful to make many changement all in one. If something going wrong work to fix it became hard...

 

Ciao, Luigi.

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On 5/31/2020 at 1:34 AM, luigi said:

Hi Monstar.

Be careful to make many changement all in one. If something going wrong work to fix it became hard...

 

Ciao, Luigi.

Thanks Luigi,

Yeah I've run into that problem a few times and I don't seem to learn my lesson. This time it was more about the long stretches of time between the changes I made. I remember it was running rough because I reused the fuel filter but put it on backwards and debris went into the carbs. Then I did the coil conversion. Then I worked on the carbs. All that and other stuff was over 4+ months.

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That's impressive. I look forward to read any progress 😉

 

I would be interested to hear a little bit the more the details about the Coil over plugs. I read several info on this forum and I thought the output was it did not work on 3rd and 4th gen for obscure reasons. I understood it works fine when idling then start making some weird thing (so unreliable) when hot. @monstar could you please elaborate a little bit more?

 

Thanks a lot in advance.

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12 hours ago, bdouvill said:

That's impressive. I look forward to read any progress 😉

 

I would be interested to hear a little bit the more the details about the Coil over plugs. I read several info on this forum and I thought the output was it did not work on 3rd and 4th gen for obscure reasons. I understood it works fine when idling then start making some weird thing (so unreliable) when hot. @monstar could you please elaborate a little bit more?

 

Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks. Let me start by saying I'm not an electrician or skilled in electronics. So, that being said, I came across a forum for v4 400 bikes. One individual used zx10r coils and ran two in series to supposedly "double" the resistance seen by the ignition controller. I don't have my notes with me but I wired coils 1&2 together and 3&4 together. Each pair, wired in series, measured close to one factory coil per honda spec. So, this was just the primary coil resistance measurement and I have no idea what the secondary is supposed to be or even have the means to measure it. The bike started and idled fine but refused to rev past 2000 rpm or so with occasional popping or backfire. So my guess is the firing of two plugs at once is too much for the coils or the ecm to handle. I have no idea. My wiring was what I intended but it was a failed experiment. I don't know the specs on the 400 coils but there are only two coils on those bikes each firing two cylinders so this setup probably works fine on them. I gave up chasing COP's and went back to trusty factory coils 🙂

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I received a stock header. Weighs a ton compared to the TBR system. 13.8 vs 7.8 lbs.!  Main goal is to get more underside clearance for better fitment of body, second is weight. Well, bad news the body fowls a different area with the stock exhaust. Good news is I will be using the lighter TBR header and probably make it into a 4-2 like some of the endurance bikes... By the way I already have a set of legit round carbon cans on the way.                     

 

Anyway, rerouted the rear wiring and moved components around. So I decided to run the battery shutoff and hidden key switch and will probably put in a hidden fuel pump kill switch. Finally got all pod filters, fabed up some latching for the battery/component box and the tail. The tail seat is finally supported and stock tank line up for the most part and fuel pump is relocated and plumbed up.

 

 

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On 5/14/2020 at 1:15 AM, monstar said:

SORRY. My bad... I meant sprocket center! I'll give sprocket specialist a try, website looks like they do quality stuff.

Just saw that they have the 520 steel sprockets back in stock at drive system usa and Sprocket Center. Not sure how long they've been in stock, but it sure seems like I had to remind them to ship my order.

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15 hours ago, YoshiHNS said:

Just saw that they have the 520 steel sprockets back in stock at drive system usa and Sprocket Center. Not sure how long they've been in stock, but it sure seems like I had to remind them to ship my order.

I got my aluminum sprocket already and looks nice. May reorder a backup steely though. Thanks for the update!

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I realized that I'm probably better off modifying the stock header rather than the TBR. Plus if I screw up the stock header I still have a good TBR for backup. Basically I'm going to remove the center merge area which is where all the weight is and hopefully plumb in the new sections for the left and right exits. Seems simple enough... yeah right.

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Quick update:

Bored and finding things to do. Wired in a few things. Oil warning light, fan light, fuel low light all to dashboard.  Fan switch moved to handlebar light switch, hidden ignition switch moved, wired the battery cut and reorganized the battery tray. Wired the tailight to the quick release tail mechanism.

 

Got a plan, cut the stock header, and ordered tubing to do my own exhaust. Hurry and wait.

 

Have to remake fairing brackets and coil brackets to raise the bodywork up to where it's supposed to be. Third time is the charm hopefully.

 

Also ordered a little led volt meter with two usb ports from ebay that should be useful on the dash as well.

 

Anyway random pics with bad lighting...

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Battery and electrical stuff position looks very nice.

 

Ciao, Luigi.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/24/2020 at 1:36 PM, luigi said:

Battery and electrical stuff position looks very nice.

 

Ciao, Luigi.

Thanks Luigi.

 

Received exhaust tubes and I made some miscalculations so I'm waiting for the correct size and lengths to get here. Good news is that I think the system will be fairly simple and I have found a good shop willing to help weld it together. They actually manufacture exhausts for harleys and porsches amoung other things. Just have to get a quote once I get it mocked up.

 

If it works, I may be able to offer these as somewhat "slip on" full exhaust. NOTE: you need a stock header and you will have to cut off the rear pipes where they merge. Also, the centerstand mounts on the frame will need to be cut off as well. Mufflers (2" inlet) and hangers will most likely be up to you since I don't have a relationship with where I'm getting mine but who knows.

 

This will be a true dual setup 4-2... pretty much a replica of the factory endurance setup. Who knows how it will sound or run!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Decided to use the stock front header tubes, the rear TBR header tubes and make the system slip together in case I wanted to run the TBR or stock system in the future. Made the left side first and it's been pretty difficult to get the right side to exit at the same angle as the left until I came up with this pvc jig idea. Well, it's getting closer.

 

Funny because I just came across this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Akrapovic-EVOLUTION-Honda-RVF750-RC45-4-2-exhaust-Stainless-Carbon/352839941260

 

My mid pipes will be symetrical if that means anything to anyone but me and won't cost me $3k

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This is a cool project 👍

 

Can I make a suggestion - plumb your clutch cover breather up and into the airbox, you're going to end up with an oily mess where it is.

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3 hours ago, The Phantom said:

This is a cool project 👍

 

Can I make a suggestion - plumb your clutch cover breather up and into the airbox, you're going to end up with an oily mess where it is.

Thanks. Yeah, I have forgot to put the breather on when I started it and oil definitely won't stay in with the breather that close. I really don't want it to go into the airbox because it will be pressurized in the future (when I attempt to add the ram air ducts through the stock tank).

So my solution is to press fit an aluminum fitting in the cover and run a hose up to pretty much the top of the radiator to get some height so the oil won't soak the breather material. I did the same on my rc51 and had no oil mess issues.

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