MotoMatic

Pulled the wiring harness last night. This is gonna be a project all in itself! 

29 minutes ago, 007 said:

PRB Fall Ride:

 

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/forum/121-prbs-fall-ride/

 

There is always TMAC in Franklin, NC some time around Memorial day.  It won't be called TMAC anymore, but it will go on in some form or another.  Usually a few more folks attend.

 

 

 

Thanks ??

7 hours ago, 007 said:

I'm satisfied with the Penske shock put together by Traxxion for my 6th gen.  I went with Cogent Dynamics for my CB and Rick put together a custom shock that includes Ohlins parts, which may be your best bet considering the age.  Cogent is more expensive than Daugherty, but that is to be expected when the parts say Ohlins.  I wanted remote adjusters but the parts wouldn't fit on the CB.  It wouldn't hurt to give Cogent a call before the busy season starts.  Looks like you already have the front end done right - do you know the last time it was serviced and is it sprung for your weight? 

 

PRBs Fall Ride is calling...  Do you think it will be done by then so we can all drool in person?  We may be moving the base camp to Marion, VA for 2017 in case you need extra motivation to get the project done!

 

Very nice, thanks for the info. I have gone back and forth on what I want to do with the rear - CBR swap, ZX-14 or aftermarket. Cogent sounds nice, but might be a bit more $$$ than I'm looking to do. I have a buddy who works at a local shop and could do some work on it so may try to scoop the Ohlins unit @artpongs mentioned. In regards to the front end, they are going to be sent off to be re-worked soon to the buddy I mentioned - they def need some tweaking. 

 

 

I hope to have her ready by the PRBs Fall RIde, but who knows with all thats going on...I'm gonna be trying my best! What is that event? Never heard of it. Love your bike btw!!! 

 

1 hour ago, artpongs said:

We were actually planning to head out that direction tomorrow but the rain pattern is coming in from the NW.  We are heading down toward Richmond for the day for mid 70's temps before coming back up in the evening when it stops.

 

Art

 

Nice, yeah I heard its supposed to real nice tomorrow...makes me wish I had a machine in rideable condition! 

43 minutes ago, artpongs said:

And you should definitely scoop this up for the build from the other forum:

 

http://vfrworld.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=6807&title=90-93-ohlins-shock-3-springs&cat=4

 

I have been keeping an eye out for a 5th gen Ohlins but it seems no one is ever letting them go.

 

Damn thats nice, I wonder how much it would cost to get a spring and rebuild.

1 hour ago, artpongs said:

Where in Va do you live? I am in D.C.

 

art

Ahh nice! I'm west of you out in the Bristow/Gainesville area. I work in Alexandria. 

 

You ever make it out to Skyline Drive or out west to ride?

8 hours ago, WackenSS said:

 

I always start with engine mods, but that's me, engine mechanics is my passion, not so much the looks other than small aesthetics.

Keeping weight down, dynojet kit, air filter and exhaust I would leave the rest as of now, If I where not me

This is going to be awesome man

 

Haha yeah, those mods sound about right on par with what I would want to do for stage 1. Of course, that only lasts so long before looking at what else can be done! ???

9 hours ago, WackenSS said:

This is going to be real nice reading. Any time frame?
Engine mods?
If you get close to your initial Photoshop, you got yourself the best looking SF project IV seen ?

 

Thanks! I am hoping to achieve rhose results by the end of this journey. ??

 

In regards to timeframe, it's pretty much up in the air since my schedule is so erratic these days with the kiddos, but I would like to be close to roadworthy in the next 3-4 months. 

 

To be honest I havent even thought about engine mods at all because Im so wrapped up in other aspects of the build. What do you think would be some simple mods worthy of taking on?  I know nown is the best time to do them since the bike is apart, but I'm trying to balance funds with the "absolutely necessary " vs "nice to have", but cheap/easy mods would be something to consider.

I decided it was time to share my work in progress, a '92 VFR build - codename: "Vianca". This is my first foray into modifying/building a motorcycle and it has been quite the learning experience thus far. Without the help of communities like this one, DIY'ers like myself would surely be lost.

 

Background

I bought the bike from a guy off Craigslist for $1000 along with another project bike - a Honda Magna VF500c (my next project after this one). Two running bikes for under $2k - I was pumped!!! 

 

The VFR was done up as a streetfigher with some CBR parts (subframe, 929rr front-end) and overall ran pretty well, but needed some work. It was involved in slow low-side and it was suffering from the results of that lay down. It would have some trouble starting every now and then (starter clutch) and had a really loud knocking sound (heres a Youtube video of the sound), so those would have to be addressed. In addition to that, I wasn't a huge of the styling, color choice and especially the exhaust sound - way too ratty for my taste. After viewing some Youtube videos of what these bikes can really sound like, I knew immediately I wanted a deeper tone, but more on that later. 

 

Here is how she sat when I bought her:

 

Planning & Inspiration

Before setting off into the build I wanted to have some semblance of plan so I wouldn't spend a fortune trying to decide on a design direction. My overall goal for the bike was to simply swap out a few things here and there to have a roadworthy machine that looked decent and was reliable for the next season. That plan lasted maybe a whole two days - thanks internet. After seeing what some of you guys have done here on these forums and finding inspiration builds like @SEBSPEED  and @apexandy I knew I wasn't going to be happy with a little tweaking - I needed...the full monty...within reason, of course. 

 

Ultimately, I found myself gravitating towards the speed triple and ducati monster look, so I decided that my best bet was to mock something up in Photoshop. I am familiar with the application (web designer by trade) so it was going to be the easiest way to see what I really liked. About 20 minutes later I had a rough idea thrown together:

 

 

 

 

I am 100% sure this will change as the project evolves and if I can achieve even 50% of what is pictured above I will be beyond happy for my first build. Juggling work and a young family eats up the majority of my time, so the build gets my attention only after the kiddos are down and obligations are met.

 

With a basic idea and mock up it was time to begin tearing her down.

 

The Teardown (WARNING: Lots of Pics) 

With a Honda manual in one hand and wrench in the other, the teardown began!

 

Seat off and checking things out

 

Bye bye CBR subframe

 

Poor frame was hacked up to bits  

 

Feeling naked now!

 

Mmmmm...Carbs

 

Carbs removed

 

The source of that sound we all love!

 

Crankcase cover removed...hmmm whats that?

 

Upon closer inspection, you can see the cracks on the outer rim of the starter clutch. Additionally, those gold bolts were so loose when I took the cover off that they were about ready to fall out. Glad I caught this before something really bad happened.

 

Houston we have a problem. Remember that "clackity-clack-clack" noise? Yeah, I found it. Blowing out lighters all day long. Also, check out that other bolt...WTF!? Hahaha 

 

Front cylinder head removed. Gonna need a bigger bench!

 

Score! Picked up a Harbor Freight lift for super cheap and threw on a beefier wheel chock. Much easier to work on the bike this way.

 

Removing the shock and Two Bros left-exit exhaust system.  

 

These pipes have seen better days.

 

Trying to clean them up a bit. Its no sand or vapor blaster, but its helping.

 

Hey, not too bad!

 

Nice to have some helpers around the shop!

 

Scored a Ducati Monster 696 seat on the cheap. Thanks Ebay!

 

Was so excited I had to mock it up real quick. 

 

I like the way this is looking.

 

Time to tackle the swingarm

 

Current State

That pretty much brings us up to speed on where the project is at this point. I am waiting the specialized tool to remove the castellated swingarm nut (another Ebay special), but I may get tired of waiting and just fab one up from an old socket and use the special tool tighten everything up properly. After that its on to cleaning things up and addressing the front end. Lots to do!

 

I will try to update this thread as often as I can for those that may be interested, but feel free to follow along on via my Instagram account here - its easier to post quick updates with my phone then to rummage back through photos.

 

Happy building!