SEBSPEED

I got the bike, so . . . What have you got to trade for? I need: left muffler - the plastic above the ignition - windshield- right passenger foot peg - gasket kit-timing chain - seat - decal kit So far that's it. How 'bout a new Lockhart Philips smoke windscreen? Plastic around the ignition - you mean the piece that goes on the upper triple(fuse cover)? I have one of those too(won't need it on mine). Invest in Vaseline. All that fugly gray plastic can be black again. I have some pics from today, will add them tomorrow. I went through 3(yes 3!) full cans of degreaser/brake cleaner today cleaning every single part of the forks. Also got the lower bearing race and dust seal off the lower triple. Wire wheeled a bunch of bolts as well as the damping rods(if you can call them that). I'm going to smooth/port/polish the holes and grooves in those tomorrow for nice oil flow. Also need to drill and tap the lone steering stop on the lower triple to accept two small bolts, to make the stop bigger. It hits the frame before the stop on the frame. More tomorrow!

When a bike rolls in with an itty bitty seat and a big horn in your face.... ROFL You get stunned! :lol:

The heat is on! (and back on!) Family is out at a b-day party today, so I have a whole afternoon of garage time!! Yay! More pics to come, the fender is done, got the front wheel cleaned up, it's ready for rotors, which I need to paint black first. Been tapping out some of the holes in the frame, also got the excess PC cleaned off the swingarm. Hopefully will have lots to report back with this evening! In the meantime, here's proof of mileage: B)

I like big horns and I cannot lie You other riders can't deny...

Won't they get filled up with bugs and rain and such? :beer:

Honestly, I wanted to go lighter w/ the springs, but the lightest Rich had was 1.0. I'm around 210 w/ gear, and like to push it(riding wise). The instructions set you up with 1/2" of preload, I'm thinking harder about doing what Jamie did, and drilling/tapping the fork caps and fitting a bolt and washer so I can adjust the setup later, its bad enough that there are no other adjustments... I really like the ride on my VTEC w/ the .90 springs(w/ Honda 10wt), and it's not too much lighter than the 750 when the bags are on. Then again, the shock I got from you was meant to be used with the 1.0 springs, so, I'll see how it goes. Emulators will help. I'll keep at it till it's ironed out and ridin like a cream puff. :salesman:

Here's the other promised pics: The 2 together: The one I didn't like: The one I like better, and didn't get to finish today: Here's the license plate bracket I made: It'll mount with a few rivets on the underside of the chopped tray: Plastic needs finishing trim: Angle was precisely calculated for coolest looks, most mud protection, and best angle for receiving light from the taillight. And the reason I didn't get much done - it was colder than shown, it bottoms out at 30, was closer to 20! Not that I'm a wussy, I'm outside in the blowing wind on colder days lugging firewood to and into my house, along with splitting, stacking, etc, it's just easier to be creative and productive when it's NOT 20 degrees! :joystick:

Less progress today than I had hoped for. My heat went out in the garage(again!), and while I bundled up anyway, my air line kept freezing up! :pissed: Didn't get the second fender chop done, but the nozzle for the furnace is clean and should be warm again tomorrow afternoon after work. <_< Here's a pic of how petroleum jelly brings faded black plastic back to life, you can see the part was pretty ugly, almost white! I rubbed on a thick layer of P.J. and let it sit overnight, just to take a pic for you guys. That's the fender I'm chopping right now, pics of the plate mount and rough cut are coming...

Little update for today, I finally got to finish a set of spacers for the rear wheel today at work! Jamie Daugherty is setting me up with the milling and turning of the speedo drive and hub, and the parts should be back by the end of this coming week. All the bearings are here, dust seals are here. Swingarm still needs some sanding of powdercoat in a few spots. Emulators should be in on Tuesday. I need to get a semi-large tub to soak & scrub the fork parts in, I wanted to use acetone but I'm thinking dish detergent & hot water first. Also need to do some touch-up grinding/surface refining on the lowers, then turn up the heat in the garage and give them a few coats of black paint. Another nice piece of news, my seat is in Ohio at the moment getting a custom cover made by Wells Upholstery & Canvas, which is where theoxmole's(Dale) Mom works her sewing machine magic! I sent them the seat, a spare tail cowl and this pic: We're working out the covering materials now, already set on the foam type & shape. Can't wait to see the finished product! Gotta clear a spot in the garage probably tomorrow and set up my 2nd grinder with a wire wheel and a buff, to start cleaning hardware. Also on the list is to re-do the fender chop, and treat the faded plastic with some petroleum jelly. I might even install the license plate bracket I made... Stay tuned for pics tomorrow!

Those 5th gen ones look pretty craptacular.... they look like they'll provide the perfect pivot point for jamming the clip-ons, fork tops, and radiators into the ground... :joystick:

The Buell sprocket (3rd photo) seems to come real close to the swingarm!! So I'm not sure if you've placed the custom-made one to check, but with 4 more teeth it must be getting close to touching... unless the photo is deceiving... Hopefully Larry is trying to obtain his required measurement with the axle & hub oriented as far forward as possible... in the case that the belt doesn't stretch, he'll have the shortest wheelbase possible. That'll allow him to gain a couple mm by moving the eccentric...

Larry, I gotta say, where there is a will, there's a relative... err, uh, there's a way. :thumbsup:

Guys, look at the pics. Belt might not clear the swingarm under tension.

I can't see the pic, but it sounds like a double banjo Speed Bleeder. I have one on my F4i, they're very handy! :thumbsup:

Steve! It's done! :goofy: :beer: Steve (KeystoneVFR) recently contacted me about doing some custom work on his fender, and here's the end result, I think it turned out really well! He sent me some pics of what he wanted, which translated to something very close to this: Then along came Dutchy with his motorcycle show picture-post, including this shot of the new '08 CBR1000RR, and Steve and I both thought that a translation of this fender's design onto the VFR fender would look best: So, I moved some of my striping tape around, and cut the first side to look like this: (note, the first cuts were made to a 1/8" masking line only) I made the fender symmetrical by creating a stencil with masking tape on the first side, as shown above, then moved the stencil to the other side like so: To get this end result: It's in a box now, and will be on it's way back to Pennsylvania tomorrow evening, and Steve's assured me that installed-on-bike pics will be posted shortly after its arrival! I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed cutting it up Steve! :beer: ps - I used a selection airtools including a high-speed cutoff wheel, a fist(angle) grinder with a 60 grit disc and a fine 3M scotch-brite Roloc disc, and a sanding drum mounted in a straight die grinder to clean up the two large curves on the forward end of the fender. Also used my benchtop belt sander to straighten up the long flat edges. Total time invested, start to finish, about 3hrs. :thumbsup:

Not at all. I'm not really keeping a running tally at the moment, although I do have a bunch of receipts and numbers scattered about. If I wasn't getting performance cams and rockers, I could keep it under $3000, including the bike. If it sounds low, that's because I'm doing all the work myself, outside of the powdercoating and machining the rear hub(which I could do, but it happens to be more convenient to let someone else do it). Keep in mind, I've been working on this bike for going on 6 years now, so I've had plenty of time to shop around. The big ticket items are the shock($500), G.V. Emulators($160), Accel ignition($130), Stage 2 cams and rockers($900), Vance & Hines full exhaust($200), set of F2 wheels with rotors, speedo drive, and hub($90 shipped, yes, smokin deal!!), Powdercoating frame, wheels, swingarm, and upper triple($200), VF1000R forks($100), and the gas tank with assorted bits and pieces like a full lock set that I got from Chev($150), NOS Maier dark smoke screen($35). The bike itself cost me $300, every other item I've bought has been under $35, most under $20. Ebay is my friend! I'm having fun dreaming of what the cockpit will look like when done, I've got a CBR1100XX Blackbird clutch master cylinder and 1998 VFR800 controls(w/choke) on the left, and a 2004 Yamaha R1 radial brake m/c with '06 CBR1000RR start/stop switch and 1993 CBR900RR throttle control on the right, all mounted on billet CBR600F3 racing clip-ons. Another big item will be buying the bulk stainless steel lines and red & blue anodized fittings to make up the clutch and brake lines and the oil mod. I already have a K&N air filter that was in my 700. I also bought a CBR600F4i wiring harness, complete with reg/rectifier for $15 to rape relays and other plugs from(as well as the r/r). Clear headlight was $12. Probably going to do Shock racing LED signals and an LED bulb in the taillight. Also want to do bar end mirrors. I'm going to be doing the body and paintwork myself, including integrating the VF1000F side panels. I have special plans for the exhaust(I'm not leaving ANYTHING alone!! lol!). I'll give you a hint, think of Rossi's GP bike. Lots more that I'm sure I've forgotten, on top of everything being cleaner than new... Lots of work to do!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, tires! Avon Storms will run about $230-250, in 120/70-17 F, 160/70-17 rear. That reminds me, I have a new, gold 520 RK chain for it and will be going +1 on the rear sprocket, coupled w/ the new tire size will = +4(or thereabouts). Let me hit "Submit" before I let too many more cats out of the bag... :joystick: :goofy:

Better turn-in, w/ no compromise in comfort?

Just wanted to add quickly, that there are quite a few members here who have had input or helped me in some way with this project. I'm not naming names yet, because I want you all to have the credit you deserve when this is all done. For now though, THANK YOU!! :beer: :beer:

Here's some shots of the motor. It's going to get a scrubbing and a nice new coat of gloss black paint. I'm also going to be polishing the valve covers, stator cover, and the bare circle on the clutch cover. Not the parts that are on there now, I have spares that are close to perfect. It's quite possible that this is only the second oil filter ever installed... Only 2,997 miles on this lump, and it shows! Nice clean cams, only showing a teensy bit of wear: I decided to install VF1000R forks on the bike, and a member here hooked me up! I have them all torn down at the moment also, they need a very thorough cleaning! They are getting RaceTech gold valve emulators, which requires removal of the TRAC anti-dive system, and Sonic springs. I'll also be welding shut the holes that line up with the air crossover under the upper triple. This will let me toss the crossover part and allow me to play with the height of the tubes in the forks. Lots of grease and grime removal, then a coat of black paint! I can't really call this fluid, but this is the oily/goopy/grungy/yuck stuff that came out of the forks... :beer: Another neat item on the mod list - I was inspired by this pic I found on the web to go on a hunt for a clear automotive head light to use(some of you may remember the post), well, I found out it's the same unit used in early '90s Chevy S-10s, H60something or other. I bought a pair, and member Chickenofthesea(Matt) and I split the cost. We might upgrade to HID together later this year! Enjoy. More posting when I can.

Yes, but - now it's back together. :D It's my Dad's bike, he received it as a gift, and I was put in charge of cleaning it up. I touched up the frame, cleaned the outside of the motor, cleaned the carbs, put a new Dyna ignition on it, sandblasted and repainted the seat pan and battery tray, re-covered the seat(what a pain!), installed new left and right switch controls(what a pain!), new grips, new battery, new aftermarket OEM-style exhausts, and new Metzler tires. Also lubed all the cables and restored some assorted sun-toasted plastic. I have two more small trim pieces to add to the seat, then it can be bolted back on. Right now it's just sitting on the battery tender, hiding from the snow. I'll do a little buffing on the paint come spring, but it will probably be getting a coat of black paint next winter. Pops hasn't been on a bike in almost 30 years, I'm very excited to think that in a few months we'll be going out on our first ride together! :beer: He's been watching me have all the fun for the last 12 or so...

:beer:

And it will have a twin, too, if I can ever get a new upper fairing to install the Buster on! (I have the silver screen on mine too!) Travis(RIVCYKO!) is da man! :thumbsup:

New post with more of the story on this bike HERE

***I apologize, some of the pics are really big, please give it a minute to load entirely!*** Well, I couldn't hold back from posting any longer once I had the powdercoated parts in my hand. Now I can't help but let you guys in on the rest of the story! So here it is, from the very beginning(yes, it's a saga!) :P This poor old bike that currently sits (mostly) in boxes was bought new in 1983 in New Hampshire, and was ridden on the street and then on one track day at NHIS(Loudon). The owner went down because of a visor tear-off that was thrown on the track, and after that, the guy put 'her' in a corner of a barn. That was in 1984, after accumulating only 2,997 miles. Many years later(about 15!), said original owner sold the bike(to avoid giving it up during a divorce), to his neighbor, who is an ex-co-worker of mine. About 2 years after that, I bought my 700, and when I rode it to work for the first time, this guy started going nuts over how nice it was, and told me the story I just told you. Except he added that he was not sure if he wanted to keep it, because of the expense of a new clutch master cylinder... Sooo... it became mine for the lovely sum of $300. I had all kinds of ideas at the time, but no garage, tools, or mechanical/working knowledge to speak of back then, so it sat around for a couple years, and I started disassembling it when I got my garage. Along the way, I came down with a terrible case of MBD(multiple bike disorder) and the bike took a back seat to "more important things" like my F4i and VTEC vfr, and since then have decided to restore it. Here are the Polaroids that I saw before picking the bike up: The tank was pretty banged up, so I got a better one from Chev, and the frame was a little tweaked at the rear, which I've fixed. There were also two spots on the frame where water had gotten in(the guy I bought it from kept it outside for one winter), when the water froze, it expanded the tubes. I heated them up and hammered them flat, then ground them to make them nice. The motor ran 5 years ago from a beer bottle full of gas, and when I drained the fluids to pull the motor a while back, everything was clean. Finally getting back into the project, I got the bike stripped down completely. Riding other bikes and life in general kept me away from it again until early this year, when I started fitting bodywork to it (going to adapt VF1000F side panels), and I noticed something was wrong here. Rough idea of the 1kF panels: I knew the rear section had been repaired, but didn't realize it was this far off until I actually tried to bolt the tail on. It was pretty twisted! I took measurements on this frame and my good one, and determined that the damage was isolated at the very end of the frame, so, I decided it was time to "say hello to my little friend"! :salesman: A little zip here, and a little zag there - and viola! No more damage!(depending on how you look at it) I also took the liberty of chopping off the square-shaped rear rail mounts while I was at it, I thought that would be a nice touch to clean up the bike, and being they only hold the helmet lock and huge stock signals anyway(2 things I will NOT be using), in the trash they went! Thanks you Mr. Portable Bandsaw, hehe. And yes, I cut up a good frame for the sake of having a numbers-matching bike that wasn't a true restoration anyway... :joystick: Call me crazy or keep reading! Next up: weld it back together! Hiho, off to work I go, on a cold Saturday morning. Still saving up for my own TIG welder... with the bike habit, it's not going so well. After some creative grinding: Which leads us to... powdercoat! Frame, swingarm, and VF1000R upper triple were done in Satin Black: I'm upgrading to CBR F2 wheels, and had them coated in mirror white. I have another clean rear wheel that's black and had the lips polished, I'll throw that on later and see how it looks in there. Much more to come!!

I wish! Just taking a break from typing up a new post... stay tuned. Doug, just wanted to add, that even though all the holes were plugged, I am still tapping all the threaded holes as I go, if they weren't dirty before, they still got glass bead blasted before coating! Gotta clean a spot to set up my other bench grinder w/ a wire wheel, so I can hit the fasteners as I use them. Wire wheel on one side, buffing wheel on the other! :beer: