y2kvfr

Whats the weight difference between the two?

You know what they say about a stiff swingarm.

I was going to ask that as well. As there are some minor differences (untrained eye here), so I imagine that there must be a significant weight difference, other wise, why bother, no?

I'll be doing the same mod when I install the opener on my second bay. The truck is too big to fit (by less than a foot!), so the VFR and lawn tractor get the second bay.

I just have to get my buddy's S2k out of the way to install the opener (at least its a honda...)

I didn't get a chance to get real time in the mancave last night, but I did steal away a bit of time to find my caliper and measure the height of the dog bone. I'll get more pix when I have 'real time' in the cave.

The measure width of the dogbone is 36 mm. I'm going to run to the orange box after work today and pick up a new bolt and a couple of washers.

The picture below shows what the CFO got me for xmas and where I cut the dogbone to make the spacer.

929 dogbone cut.

Tonight, for sure, I'll build my redneck bike table and strip plastics off (shock is only 1 item on long maintenance list).

My wife got me an ebay 929 shock with triangles and dog bone for xmas.

I finally have my workshop such that I can nearly walk into it without tripping on boxes and bins and what not.

Seb suggested I use one end of the dogbone for the spacer, so I took out my trusty sawzall and went to it.

The first blade I attempted to use was a carbide/diamond blade for cutting hard metal. After 20 minutes of sawing I ended up with a clogged blade and barely cut into the dog bone. So I pulled a new 'demolition' blade out and chucked it into the saw. 30 seconds later I had both sides of the dogbone cut. I'll use a grinding bit in my drill press to smooth everything over.

I still can't find my calipers, but my metric tape measure says that the DB is ~34mm. According to previous posts it looks like I'll need 2 washers to make up the 38 to 43 mm to get the correct geometry.

I'll be building my redneck bike table tomorrow and hope to get setup to finally pull the viffer shock. Can grade 8 bolts be had at the orange box store?

If this works out, I'll be offering up the other dogbone end pay-it-forward style...

Oh, and I'll have pix when I work it all out.

All you guys are driving up the fleabay shocks on me!

I should have rebid on one that went for $10.50, but the CFO is watching me :biggrin:

I am actually interested in learning how to mold stuff in plastic....whats the best way to learn?

I might mention i am also interested in learning to TIG weld, build a helicopter, tile my kitchen and many other things I don't usually get around to actually doing....

T-Wad:

<HIJACK>

I can help with the plastic casting. It is really quite easy. I used a product by Smooth-On. Their website is quite informative. (smooth-on.com).

Much like doing fiberglass, you first make a part or use an existing part to make a mold (the 'plug'). For the mirror extenders I built, I used some wood

Here's my how to page.

You then cast rubber around the plug. Separate the plug from the mold. Apply release agent to the mold, mix the two part plastic and pour into the mold. Depending on the type of plastic you have from 15 minutes to overnight for a setup time. Pop the part out of the mold and do any post processing you may need. (For the extenders I built a jig to use in my drill press to bore the holes for the mounting screws).

As for (any type of) welding... I'm looking to get schooled myself!

-travis

When I used to make extensions I used liquid plastic, cast in a rubber mold. Sold a bunch. I would certainly ping lobster as he makes them for 5th & 6th gen, and they look top notch. I no longer make any as the mold got old and I wasn't producing top quality stuff anymore.

Certainly look into lobster's extenders. I wouldn't put the washer stacks on my bike. But then again, to each his own.

(BTW- you guys and your perfectly clean chains make me sick!)

Clean chain? I don't think my swingarm has EVER been that clean. Even when I bought my '00 new off the showroom floor!

I like my mistress a little dirty tho :biggrin:

My first thought was that it looked like a two-stroker's expansion chamber. Really fugly w/o the bags.

With the bags, not too bad.

I wouldn't classify it as 'epic fail', as it may look 'nicer' if painted.

As mentioned, without the bags, "that boy just ain't right!"

-t

Item #1 up for bid: Visor Wiper. Cheapie 1/8" cutting board, some hot glue and velcro wire ties. Latest change: add velcro to clutch MC and cut the velcro band down, instead of strapping to the back of my left hand.

Wiper blade

Item #2 up for bid: Cup holder. 1/8" aluminum bar stock (from a 19" network/telco rack filler plate). Cut to bolt down to the gas cap ring faux mounting bolts. This gas cap ring has two mounting bolts on a tab so I can switch between a homebrew camera mount or my cup holder. As seen at WDGAH:

-t

Hmmm.... What about 3/8" plexiglass with a translucent paint. Then top mount the LEDs so the plexi lights up? That way you won't have pinpoints of light from the LEDs but the whole cut out will be lit.

This post, and a co-worker installing a Stebel Nautilus compact on his BMW F650 pushed me to putting one on my 5th gen.

I mounted mine in about the same place as the O.P., but instead used a hose clamp and a zip tie through the inner shroud.

Man that thing is loud!

Stebel Install Separated Stebel Nautilus Compact on my 5th Gen.

I used liquid electrical tape on the provided relay, and bolted that to the lower headlight screw (left hand side).

The horn is industrial strength Velcro'ed to the inner shroud also. I took the round plastic bezels off of the horn to gain some clearance.

Used 5/16" nylon hose connector on the horn with 5/16" hose.

Thanx for the show and tell!

Where was your wife when this happened? My wife would have had me committed!

Congrats!

So here's the stuff I use:

RainX

I've used it for cars like the MG with notoriously poor wipers and had great success. It simply causes the rain to bead much like it does on a waxed surface, and the combination of the dispersed water droplets and increased run off improves visibility dramatically.

Perhaps the best solution would be a combination of RainX and a simple improvised backhand wiper.

I've used RainX before. In the mist the beading compounds the issue, in the rain it works excellently.

Hmmm...

The wiper I bought had a plastic base. Stiffness was built in from the factory! :fing02:

My idea is for you to buy another wiper... but, then you're in over the cost of the commercial squeegee, and you will have to sell some of them off to recoup your investment... or give them to friends. :biggrin:

Yes, the insert I used was a toyota factory (Anco), with the metal stiffeners. I get the heeby-jeebies with any metal near my face shield (at $40 a pop, I allow myself 1 per season max).

I have to run to home desperate today to get some gutter extensions (see aforementioned torrential rains), so I'll swing by wally world and see what they have.

As for give aways... you'll have to swing by my house sometime Seb, heck we're 'only' about 1.5 hours away from each other...

Nice. I'm curious to how it will come together, also,......

Here's a clip of my non functional junk.

http://media.putfile.com/wiper

I watched that with my two boys. That's some funny stuff!

It worked!!!!

Not in the torrential downpour stuff, but once I broke free, the light rain and mist (kicked up by cages) were wiped away gloriously.

Now I have to work on version 0.2: make it so a monkey can reproduce it, and use more common materials.

Seb: I like your idea. However, I question the 'stiffness' of the wiper without a backing material.

So, here are my thoughts for v0.2:

Strap the wiper blade by cutting slits in the H of the wiper (ala Seb). Strap to a backing material (# of straps depends on length of wiper).

Epoxy/glue the palm strap to the underside of the backing material.

Now, the backing material: I'd prefer something thinner than the 1/8" plastic I used. I may hit the hobby shop. I had previously purchased some really thin plastic to build a model of my house (the model was 1.5" x 1.5" to fit in a snow globe). It would be too thin for this application as it would deform. I need something thin, but thick enough not to deform, and deflect the blade.

Ideas?

Very creative reapplication of products manufactured for other purposes! I too believe myself to be a cheep bastage (as evidenced by the build yer own exhaust), but you do know that most wet weather gloves have a squeegee built into the back of the thumbs? Kills two birds with one stone dry hands AND a clear visor.

Dave:

I'm just that cheap. I don't have wet weather gloves. I don't have cold weather gloves either (but heated grips help).

There is a Green Light product that wraps around your thumb, and only $8, but again, the frugality comes in.

I generally go into work between 5am and 6.30 am. I live in a hilly region that is often enveloped in fog.

Dense peanut butter fog. Wiping my visor with the back of my glove works, to a point.

So, last night, on the kitchen table, I went to cutting a $1 cutting board. I picked up this cutting board in the bargain bin at Target (complete with throw away knife) for a family camping trip.

It's about 1/8" thick, harder plastic than your conventional cutting board material (the stuff you mod your harbor freight tire changer with).

So, the premise is this: I need a way to wipe away the mist. Not quite enough to just turn my head and let the wind blow the beads off, but misted enough to obscure vision.

I used industrial strength Velcro (yes, real Velcro, not just ordinary hook & loop fastener). I cut a length long enough to fit around the palm of my hand (turns out, not long enough to fit around said hand with glove on it).

In the hook portion I cut a slit to accept a 3" length of windshield wiper insert. I cut the top of the T of the wiper so there is only one cross piece left. The wiper insert normally looks like this:

H->

Now: |->

This industrial sticky back stuff is strong!

I slipped the wiper into the slit, and attached it to the cutting board cut off. On the flipped side I put the loop side of the velcro. This essentially makes a Velcro cable tie (the cable being my hand).

I'm expecting torrential downpours on the way home tonight from work and will post up my results to version 0.1 of the mist buster.

Wiper blade I fabbed up a wiper blade to strap to my left hand.

My wife will probably have me committed soon. :unsure:

She suggested I _*BUY*_ a small squeegee. I guess after 15 years of being together she still doesn't realize I'm a cheap bastage.

John:

Any indication that the plastic is deforming or becoming pliable with the fan pushing? At this point I think that would be the only thing keeping me from doing the mod!

For what it's worth:

Service Honda lists the part for $22.78 (USD)

Ron Ayers lists the part for $27.20 (USD)

Simple search with P/N provided (19020-MBB-003).

I think _*MY biggest issue is the stop and go, moving behind a behemoth (slowly), where the fan is on for a long time and the temps don't seem to go down.

If JES_VFR has good results, this mod may be something I pony up the big cash for (I'm a frugal/cheap bastid).

I was, we hit 85 here this week and the VFR started getting mighty toasty in stop and go traffic. I have bitched before about the stupidity of Honda's puller fan design on the left side rad....

DSCN1192.jpg

...IMO, this is how Honda should have done it all along.

Excellent post Jes. I'm going to have to have to perform this swap myself. :fing02:

I've found that the VFR's cooling system works very well when you're stopped. But, if you're riding around between 10-20 mph, the radiator fan loses all of its efficiency since it has to push against the wind. But, once you get up to highway speeds, the wind easily overpowers the fan and the bike cools down.

Although I've never had my '00 puke all over the place, I do think the design is flawed. I see the same results as Darth for speeds below 30mph. The temp keeps rising unless I either STOP or wick it up to 45+.

John --- definitely keep us posted. I think it may be a winner of a swap!

-t

So I've got a nice little MiniDV camera (Sony DCR-HC30) and some RAM mount stuff and I've made a few videos, but they typically look like I'm only doing about 30 MPH , when in fact I'm doing the speed limit or maybe a little more. I'm looking for some pointers to make better videos so when I view them this winter I can immerse myself in their realism instead of the kiddie rides they look like now.

You know... I posted a WDGAH X vid taken with my JVC miniDV. The comments I got back were:

Man, you were really going slow.

When, we were much over (did I type that) the posted speed limit. The video did no justice.

I fab'ed a camera mount that attaches to the fuel tank cap (using the cosmetic cap head screws), so the cam peers through

the windscreen. You can see the tach, but not the speedo.

Clicky for 46MB wmv of wdgah_x

The above (still) has not been edited.

I'll try the techniques described above...

Nice!

Something to think about for my next house.

Awesome!

As funny as this seems, I've actually seen this for real. I was walking into a store and right in front was a Harley parked in a handicap spot. I thought, "You've got to be kidding me taking up a handicap spot." As I got closer I realized it had a handicap LICENSE PLATE on it. Apparently Ohio WILL issue handicap motorcycle plates! Of course it could apply directly to the bike since it's a Harley. :wub:

I saw a harley trike at Wal*Mart yesterday in the HP spot. I walked up, and yeap, handicap MC plates.

Kewl!

-travis

You may want to check out the TV show "House." In the show, the Hugh Laurie character (Dr. House) uses a cane and rides a Repsol Honda -- modified to carry his cane. :thumbsup:

more fun facts:

"House" role, is supressing his very heavy British accent.

He also played as the father in the "Stuart Little" movie. (Sorry, I have 3 kids under the age of 4

Will: Congrats on the new ride, and heal up quickly (You may still want to fab up a cane holder tho!)

-travis

Tired with people tailgating me, and having to fan the brake lever to warn them I was slowing down, I looked at the available brake-light modulators available. I really liked Signal Dynamics one 

"We've" been coming up with one at work, but with a led array. Using the fairchild ACE.

Neat little micro, and REALLY cheap.

I'll dig up the schematics I did and the code...

-travis

(Yeah, I guess I am a geek:

My Hobby crap)