SEBSPEED

While I'd normally agree with you, in this application it's called for and the sealed grip ends will help keep the bar clean. Grease is called for in the FSM for this one and with regular maintenance will not be an issue. Maybe if the bar were refinished in the future to remove the rust and create a new smooth surface, we could skip the grease.

Thanks! Shameless plug... If anyone wants this type of service for their bike... I'm available 😄

I got lucky with that, had a long period of rain and 1 partly cloudy day in the mid 30s before it dropped back down below freezing. So all the road salt was temporarily washed away and I got out long enough to find that it runs well, there is a headlight issue, and to take these pics: The headlight was cutting in and out, no relay on this bike, so basically a check of the wiring with the first stop being the switch gear. Wiring diagram leads us to the right switch assembly as the first possible culprit, and heres's what I found... Contacts were quite dirty, and an ear missing off the start button itself led to the button sticking between the contacts, meaning it would feel almost normal as the button was depressed to engage the starter, and it would spring back enough to disengage the starter, but it was not returning fully to the first set of contacts to re-engage the headlights. I fixed this by cleaning the switch and replacing the button with a spare. That's fixed that issue perfectly and after applying grease to the handlebar, we're good to go again.

Close to the finish line, some of the fuel lines were in need of replacement as they were splitting at the ends. I grabbed a couple length of 5/16" and 1/4" low pressure hose from Napa and planned to buy fittings there too. I needed a 1/4 to 1/4 splice, a 1/4 to 1/4 barbed elbow, and a 5/16 to 1/4 adapter. All they had was the splice, so, I ordered the elbows from Amazon and made the step down adapter from brass stock I keep on hand for turning pilots for other tools. 1/4 side done The new piece is now a lifetime item, unlike the OEM plastic which disentigrated when I pulled the hose off The sharp eye will pick up on something odd in this pic, hint, not hose related... Here's the new 5/16" hose which runs between the carb rack and the pump, along with a fresh length of fiberglass braided sleeve insulation, looks a little nicer, eh And tied in to the pump line with the special adapter I added the elbow later; the bike ran without it, but I didn't want to chance the hose collapsing on itself at the bend in warmer temperatures. With that done, I pumped the old gas out of the tank and then stuck it on the bike along with most of the body I filled the crankcase with Rotella T6 and the cooling system with Prestone 50/50, then popped the front fairing on. Ready for test ride!

Deposits for 2 sets sent, sorry for the delay.

Thanks, got it. And no - the headers I have requested are for my own projects. Our (CC & me) orders will be separate but there is potential for crossover with shipping. I'll explain in PM.

Just saying, I resemble that comment lol

Are you calling me out? LOL

I didn't see details in the OP... how do I "get it in"?

Agreed, the weight loss makes it feel a lot better! Lots of little stuff that could add up, led lighting gets cheaper every day... wheels don't, but swapping the right OEM parts is a good compromise. I have an OEM R1 front wheel that weighs the same as a Ducati Marchesini. Thin wall headers are in the works. The possibilities really stretch out for a track build where a diligent builder can strip a lot of normally overlooked items like excess harness wiring, frame tabs, super light subframe, etc. I have a few more VFR builds in the pipeline, and at least one of them will be an exercise in weight loss. The goal put forward was a sub 425lb curb weight (although the only curb it's likely to be near will be the red and white colored variety). I'm pretty confident I can beat that goal based on what I've seen accomplished so far.

185kg = 408lb 193kg = 425lb So ~417lb with 1/3 tank... 5.5/3=1.83, *6.3=11.5lb 417-11.5= 405.5, +6.3= ~412lb corrected to 1 gallon in tank. Not too shabby!

Unfortunately, my experience was on the processing end, so I'm of no help with pricing references. All I can really add is that it will likely be more cost efficient to process a batch of headers at a chem processing facility vs doing one or two.

Right. It's only needed if one wants to treat the back side/inside as well.

Nitric/HF dip (full immersion) would be the best option for "ultimate" corrosion resistance with a bare/bright metal finish on this unsealed tubular construction. Whether it is the best option for this run of headers remains to be seen. It could add a lot of cost if the parts have to be shipped in bulk to a chem processing facility and back again for distribution. In reality it may not be overly important, as Honda themselves don't even do this - you can see the weld joints are the first place our headers usually start to rot. I was really just curious if there was a finishing process planned for them, and I went and complicated things from there. lol

Seems I glazed over the carb installation up there ^^... word of advice, do it opposite of the book. Leave all the boot clamps very loose but properly oriented, set the boots on the intakes so their tops are close to horizontal, then install the carb rack by pushing the rears in first (book says fronts first). Pushing the rears in first allows you to very easily wrap the frame cross bar with a rag and push the fronts into place by levering a pry bar between the frame cross and the plenum. Don't be a gorilla - if you meet resistance, check the position of the boots and clamps. The carbs will pop right on if you have the boots just right. I like to put a little smear of grease on the insides of the boots to help too. All that's left now is a clean up of the bodywork, making up new fuel lines, and tuning the carbs. Bodywork first... there is some light damage here which makes the bike a "10-15 footer", but a little buffing compound goes a long way sometimes. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before pic of the tail... so here it is halfway done. You can see how the top part is clean and the rest... isn't. A better look at the grime, years of dust and oxidation Right side panel before buffing, against the tail after buffing Right side (left in pic) before, Left side after After Tank before, then after: Is it perfect? Nope. Is it better than it was? Oh yeah. A coat of wax will help even more. Last but not least, a quick polish of the button screws and then installed the chin spoiler.