mrmatt

No worries, that's the kind of discussion I want to keep going. Thanks for posting this up, another great project, don't forget to show some final pics with that 916 body and some steps along the way if you can. I'm very interested in the rear wheel conversion, and the ducati subframe if you have some more details on those, things like spacing and alignment on the wheel and modifications you had to make to the subframe. Update on my project, all of my RC45 bodywork has come in now so I can finally start the grinding/sanding/cutting... (not as much fun as the suspension). I found some 5 3/4 inch headlights from Aztec8, rather expensive but I'm keeping them in mind if I can't get the CBR headlights to work.

I just ordered the stock VFR top and bottom bearings online (hdlparts.com) and they are the same size that will fit on the 954 triple. Sorry I don't know the exact sizes, but if you look up on allballs I think they have the equivalent tapered roller bearing part numbers that will fit as well if you want roller instead of ball. I am not sure what you're asking on the second part about the yokes, for the height of the forks above the top triple I set them just below the blue cap and made sure that they were even by sliding the axle through. Also with the stock body there are at least three issues that I am aware of: dashboard clearance, oil radiator interference, and inner shroud/wind deflector clearance. The brake and clutch reservoirs/master cylinders will not fit with the 954 clipons and would hit the dash since the clipons have to go below the top triple, this could be probably fixed with some tall helibars. The front forks and lower triple will also hit the oil radiator and oil lines, this can be temporarily fixed by moving the radiator to the lowest hole in the upper stay, or a better/more permanent solution is to put a slight bend in it and curve it away from the forks. I just discovered the last problem this weekend, the inner U shaped shroud will need some cutting away at the top which shouldn't be very hard at all, and won't effect any of the tie in points. Hope this helps, have any more questions post them up

4 miles to the gallon? Couple of days with the new gauges and hate to say that the speedometer didn't convert correctly, reads somewhere around 10x slower. All indicators work, and the tach feels close so it wasn't a total failure . Right now it looks like I'll be investing in a speedohealer. I ordered a CBR900 temp sensor so when I put that in hopefully it will fix the temperature reading. Also have a 2 wire voltmeter from Datel digital meters and a fuel gauge from Cyberdyne that I can put in somewhere next week. Front fender is in but mounting hardware is not (forgot to order it before), should be able to use the same screws when I get the RC45 fender so it won't be a waste.

Well, in the interest of riding my 750 until all the rest of the bodywork comes in and my ambition builds up again, I've put it all back together and ordered a 954 front fender. Tonight I was working on the dashboard and was finally successful. DSC01745.JPG To mount the CBR900 gauges I needed an L bracket that would tie in to the fairing stay. I found a thin piece of aluminum at home depot that would work nicely. I first cut it down to about 6"x6" and bent a 1.5" L in the bottom that would hold the dash. Then 3 holes in the upright to match the fairing stay, 2 holes in the L to hold the dash, and a final one for the solitary screw that keeps the dash from falling off. DSC01740.JPG I had to reroute the wiring harness to go beneath the dash since I didn't make the wires long enough from my gauges. The oil radiator I had moved lower for clearance for the forks so there was plenty of room anyway. DSC01747.JPG DSC01748.JPG At full lock the brake and clutch masters pass overtop of the gauges nicely, though it is a close fit. Also it barely fits under the windscreen (I think it's just touching), something I didn't measure for and just happened to work out. To do it again, I would move the dash about 1/2 to 1 inch lower for good clearance with the windscreen and gauge wiring, but I think this will work.

Thanks Seb, I might take you up on that but we'll see. I've sort of not been thinking about the radiator with trying to get the rear wheel aligned. On the right side just the bottom corner of the rad needs to have an angle on it instead of being square, but on the left there is the hose to the water pump so it might have to be moved higher which would require a bit more work. If I can find one on fleabay that's the right size/price I'll probably go for it, but I haven't really looked yet. I just saw vfroem's work on his VFR837 and he's really changed up his cooling system. I probably won't go for all of it but maybe some ideas will come.

DSC01726.JPG I had to take the exhaust off to slip the wheel on, but will look great when I get this finished. DSC01730.JPG The sprocket lines up very well with the chain, also it is the same size as the VFR (42T) so no chain conversion will be necessary. DSC01736.JPG I took a straight edge and marked the relative offset on the swingarm of each wheel and sprocket. The hub is actually about 1mm off and the wheel may be about 5mm. This was with the tires on the wheels and not from measuring the rim. The Dunlop on the VFR rim actually slopes out from the rim edge so the width of each with their respective tires is very close. I think the Ducati is around 2mm wider, so the offset I have to account for would be 4mm (not finalized yet, I'll post up exact numbers when I know) I probably am making things harder than should/could be, but I started going this way for a couple of reasons. The bearing hub that fits in the swingarm is the exact same size as the VFR, so now I don't have to worry about matching the inner/outer diameter on the bearings since the complete assembly is from the same model. Also, the sprocket is the same size so no chain/sprocket/gearing conversion, I might look into this later but right now I didn't want to mess with that. Again, since the assembly is from the same model the rear brake caliper will fit on the disc inside the wheel and I only have to think about the torque arm to fit to the swingarm. Initially I was trying for a way to not have to machine anything and be a bolt on, but the axle is just too long. I don't know how close the VFR400 axle swap would be, but this seemed to be viable and I haven't seen anyone else try it so I thought I would. Then at least we'll know what works and how much work is needed. Going the Ducati route is very interesting, be sure to post up and let us know the result (might try it myself if I can't conquer the Speed Triple)

Ah, he's found a way to reduce the size of the frame by 1/100, taking another 120lbs off the bike

Alright, have had some time to look things over and got a better grasp of this one DSC01719.JPG Rear wheel from 07 Ducati Multistrada DSC01720.JPG Rear hub from 06/07 Speed Triple DSC01725.JPG I got the hub from a member here that was trying a similar conversion on his 5th gen but it didn't quite fit for him, wheel from ebay. Two issues that I know of right now, alignment and axle length. It looks like the axle can lose around an inch, so I'll need to find a good machinist to cut and rethread it for me. Alignment looks very close, I haven't actually put it on yet, but from sighting the hub I might be 4-5mm to the left (max). Any ideas on these two? Hopefully tomorrow I can actually get it mounted up and check the alignment for real. No update on the radiator situation yet, still thinking about this one. The VFR radiator is 17in wide and 7in tall. If I were a welder a couple of cuts to the corners is all I need, however (sadly) no welder am I, so off to take some measurements, maybe all I need is one from a 400 (good idea), we'll see

DSC01717.JPG I've taken the front apart again, all the way back to the frame now, so I'm committed and probably won't be riding it until the new body is done (but at least I'll still be riding thanks to MBD ) The fairing stays that hang the radiator were in the way of sliding the RC45 upper on, the Dremel took care of this. Now they still hang the radiator and front ignition coils, but not the fairing, so coming from a bit of an upward angle I can slide my new fairing into place, approximately. But with moving it around to where I think it should go, I've run into my first problem. The RC45 is apparently pretty narrow, so now some oil lines on the right and both bottom sides of my radiator are hitting the body. I think I can work with the oil lines, but not so much on the radiator. My first thought is to look for some other radiators that I can swap out and would have a more narrow profile, it would not have to be by much. I found a CBR F4 looks like it might angle inward at the very bottom, also the CBR 1000 is very much like a 'V'. So now I need some help on a couple questions, what are the dimentions of the F4 and 1000 radiators, and are either the right size? If I get one too small I'm sure to have overheating problems, too big and I might run too cold. If those of you with CBR's can measure your radiators for me I'd be really grateful and give me a better idea of what space I have

Looking good Nice work on the under seat exhaust, how did you work it in with the rear fender/mudguard? Add any heat shielding? Glad you got your camera back