JamieDaugherty

That total really doesn't look too bad. The CNC parts are the biggest chunk, which I can respect. What impresses me the most is the dedication of time that it takes to think out, try, revise, try again, etc. a project like this.

I don't think you lack 'talent' I've been looking at the yokes and stuff on your website! :wheel: :blush:

Thanks man, I really appreciate that!

Back on topic: any idea of how much money you will have invested in this project? I'm sure there is a lot of time too, but sometimes that's more difficult to determine. I think trying to quanitfy some numbers would help others gain a better appreciation for exactly what you are doing here.

Sorry to continue the O/T, but, do you at least have someone knowledgeable that you can reference? Little things like gas flow, electrode size/shape/type, filler rod type per material, ac/dc setting, frequency start, etc, all play a huge role in how the weld turns out - nevermind the amp setting.

I had a expert looking over my shoulder when I ran the test bead. He said "There, you got it" and walked away. That when I started having problems. No worries, I lack this little thing called 'talent' anyway. Another reason I'm so impressed with what Redmarque can do!

Never heard of Thermal Arc. I can't believe that you can get Lincoln TIG machines at Wally World.

Tried my hand at TIG welding today. Just walked up to the one in the Maintenace area and started blasting away. Put a really nice bead on a practice piece, then tried it on the real thing that I was working on. It turned out horrible. Oh well, I hoping that I could be lazy and not have to practice but it appears to not be the case.

Man, I really need to learn how to TIG weld (aluminum). I was looking over a guy's shoulder last week and it didn't look hard. People who are good at stuff often make it look easy, I'm sure that I would screw it up.

Redmarque - do you do your own welding? I'd say you'd have to be awful confident in your ability to make a motorcycle frame. That first ride is a leap of faith!

Both are hard to weld properly. Make sure the proper welding rod is used as well as a proper pre-heat and post weld heat.

I knew there was something about you I liked!

What are you going to make the main frame members out of? 4130 or 4140? And seeing as how I'm a civil engineer and we build things out of concrete, asphalt paving, and lots of dirt, what exactly is the difference between 4130 & 4140?

Are you having a hard time finding the correct metal? I've been ordering a lot from an outfit called "On Line Metals" (I think). They have just about every metal in any size there is. Best thing is they will sell in quantities as small as 12" long. There is nothing I hate worse than only needing 6" of a certain size tube for one of my projects and some place like MSC only has it in 6 ft quantities.

Sometimes it boils down to what grade is commonly available in the size/shape you need. In this case, 4130 is nomally what you can get in thin-walled tubing. 4140 is supplied in bar stock for machining use. Because of the lower carbon carbon the 4130 is not as strong but is also more ductile (less brittle) than 4140.

Try checking for a Metal Supermarkets in your area. I love that place!

Any concerns about debris getting kicked up with that radiator being so low?

Hey Redmarque, it's been a whole day and no updates? You aren't being a slacker are you?

SolidWorks is head and shoulders above the rest. I think it's funny how people claim "it's a lot like SolidWorks" when SW will blow it away. Catia is in the same category as ProE - they are dinosaurs*. The only system comparible to SW is SolidEdge. There are some things like I better about each, but overall they are equivalent. Systems like Catia, ProE, etc have some neat functionality but considering how much of a pain they are to use they just don't stack up. What takes me 10min on ProE would take me about 2min on SW or SE... literally. Add that up over a day and you can see my frustration.

Redmarque - don't forget to keep those updates coming!

* ProE is what I use at work now and it's horrible.

That is oh, so sweet!

It looks like you have a bunch of individual sections. Have you thought about making some a continuous piece? I'm particularly talking about the longest horizontal bar. It looks like it's not straight, but it would seem to be easier to bend that part and use it as the base to weld everything else from.

Keep us up to date on your progress!

What about DOT and legal ramifications?? Keep in mind that when it comes to indicators, especially the color of the lights, you cannot just do whatever you want. There are laws that spell out what the lights are supposed to do and when, be prepared for a "conversation" between yourself and your local law enforcement officer if there is any question about how your bike is acting!

You'll want to use 5wt fluid with a viscosity of 15cSt with the Ohlins valves. I use Honda Pro Oils 5wt but there are several others that work as well. Let me know what you are planning to use and I can double check it for you.

Hey Jamie, I used Motul Factory Line 7.5wt last time. The bike shop nearby also has 5wt, but no mention of the cST rating? Any ideas?

[edit] just found this very useful chart on the Motul site:

Oil viscosity chart

Thanks for the link. My chart lists dozens of oils but only shows the Motul 2.5w and 5w grades. One of the nice things about the Motul fluid is the small change between grades, as you can see.

Can anyonne reccomend a Shim stack configuration using Oem valves and 10wt oil and 1.0 Kg front springs ?

Trying to reshim using the stock valves is not advisable. The stock valve pistons have too much high speed damping because of their restrictive flow characteristics. The stock rebound valves can be used with an adjustment to the stack, but you really need to replace the compression valves for best performance.

Shoot me a PM with your weight and I can make some suggestions for you.

As a data point:

I've been using 7.5wt fork oil in my sp2 forks, 120mm air gap, springs are 1kg.

Just about to fit my Ohlins valves to them...

You'll want to use 5wt fluid with a viscosity of 15cSt with the Ohlins valves. I use Honda Pro Oils 5wt but there are several others that work as well. Let me know what you are planning to use and I can double check it for you.

Maxima ten weight is very very thin compared to ss8 , and both are supposed to be ten weights. Your right the weights seem to mean nothing from brand to brand.

My experience, every time you switch oil brands, you create a completely different platform of fork action

Maxima 165/150 fork oil is 32cSt. It's pretty similar to the SS08 actually, especially when you consider they both are way too heavy. I don't ever run anything nearly this heavy in forks, only certain rear shock applications use fluid with this high of a viscosity.

I guess the point that we are all trying to make is that fluid weight can make a big impact in the fork operation. Most valving applications have been designed around a certain fluid weight. Deviating from that puts you out on your own and you would have to work out the trial-and-error process for yourself!

Stock oil per OEM manual for my fully adjustable F4i is Honda SS8 10w.

Interesting. Does it specify SS08 or does it just say "10wt"? Forks normally run fluid in the 15-16cSt range, the SS08 is 37cSt. That's boucous heavy. The stock F4i forks that I've used didn't seem to have that heavy of fluid in them. It would be interesting to know if that's really what comes in them new.

I wonder if that's what is in my stock 1098 forks. That thing has way too much compression damping, something that I'm trying to sort out right now.

The local Ohlins guru put some very slippery (and low viscosity) oil in, and told me that there is a huge difference between some of the oils being sold, and that as they don't necessarily follow the official standards, the numbers don't mean much.

He's absolutely correct, the term "5wt" doesn't really mean much. For example, Silkolene 5wt is almost the same viscosity as Maxima 10wt. There is a measurement called centistokes (cSt) that suspension tuners use that allows us to compare fluids on equal ground.

Jamie D....

I think the key to your experience in your post is that your revalving the forks (I assume Racetech valves) Which from the many posts I have seen on revalve setups with racetech valves take much lower wt oils by design..

I install Ohlins and RaceTech valving and both use 5wt (15-16cSt) fluid, for whatever that is worth.

FYI - The stock VFR fluid is 5w and you should stick with it.

There really isn't a lot of difference between the F4/i internals and the stock VFR800 parts. The biggest difference is the external rebound adjustments (fork caps). You would have/want to keep the VFR compression assembly as the CBR's is setup for an external compression adjustment which you won't get on the VFR. Because of this, there are some tricks to getting it setup properly.

The swap really consists of changing the damping rods only. You should keep the VFR cartridge tube and compression valve assembly. Replace the VFR damping rods, rebound valves and fork caps with the CBR parts. Be careful to check the spring preload as the spacer length needed is usually different than stock VFR length. If you are bothering to go through this much work, you should also replace the springs with ones matched to your weight also.

Yeps thats what I said , Did, and posted above aside from the fork oil..

Every thing I have found leads to stock oil being 10wt. Are you sure it is 5wt ? Also several in this thread mentioned that 7 and 5wt oil was to light when they completed this mod.

A very well seasoned Local mechanic sugested I try 15wt after taking a test ride with the current 10wt oil i put in there..

I upgraded the springs last year, Front and rear.. 1.0 fronts and 18kg rear..

I've never seen Showa (they make the forks) use anything except 5wt fluid. Every set of forks that I revalve uses 5wt fluid - there is no reason to run anything higher. If the valving isn't correct, a heavier weight fluid will only add harshness and not really fix the problem. Getting the correct valving setup is most important

15wt is WAY too heavy, do not use that.

FYI - The stock VFR fluid is 5w and you should stick with it.

There really isn't a lot of difference between the F4/i internals and the stock VFR800 parts. The biggest difference is the external rebound adjustments (fork caps). You would have/want to keep the VFR compression assembly as the CBR's is setup for an external compression adjustment which you won't get on the VFR. Because of this, there are some tricks to getting it setup properly.

The swap really consists of changing the damping rods only. You should keep the VFR cartridge tube and compression valve assembly. Replace the VFR damping rods, rebound valves and fork caps with the CBR parts. Be careful to check the spring preload as the spacer length needed is usually different than stock VFR length. If you are bothering to go through this much work, you should also replace the springs with ones matched to your weight also.

Hey Jamie, is that my shock? I didn't realize I was the first. I just picked it up yesterday from the office (where it was delivered...i was on holiday). The extension you made looks really top notch. Can't wait to install it and go for a ride (likely will do it this week). I'll post up my thoughts after I do it.

It's one of the first, so I'm hoping that you'll e-mail me some feedback once you get it installed. Several others have installed CBR954 shocks so it's sort of a proven thing. The conversion that I did is pretty much the same as the other shocks I've been doing for a few years now.

How much does a setup like this run?

Total for the conversion and new spring is $240. You can normally pick up a donor shock on eBay for $25-30 including shipping.

Go with the 0.95's, that's going to be better than the 0.90's I think. That's what I recommend for riders that are your weight and have not had any complaints. Just make sure to set your sag properly and you would be all set.

Been waitin for this...excellent work Jamie.

With the proper spring on this 954 set up will it be a big improvement over stock or my BB swap?

Yeah, it's a big improvement over stock. Not only is the performance better but the ride quality is improved as well. It's an all around better shock in every way, especially with the revalve.

Nice work Jamie! :wheel:

Has anyone fitted a 954 shock to a vtec? Thought the 929 shock was the best fit or is that just for 5th gens? :blush:

Yeah, there have been a couple of guys who have fitted the 954 shock to the VTECs. The 929 is a better choice for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gens.