Finally after getting done messing around with the Magna and feeling a time crunch to get things done, I took the rear fairing and fender down to Ed's Premier Auto Body here in town and dropped everything off to get matched and sprayed. My hopes of getting the sub frames powder coated has also fallen through and I've fallen back to the old reliable rattle can to get things done. Ed's did a fantastic job of matching the color to Honda's OEM red and even glued the broken tabs back on for me. Very Nice!
Here is a close up of the finished sleeved coolant bottle. Looks alright, a little rough but so does everything else on the bike.
Also put the spray can to use on the front shroud. Cleaned it up...a little bit.
After riding the VFR for the first time in a while I'm reminded about why I like the bike so much. Center of gravity so so much lower making the bike feel at least a hundred pounds lighter then the Magna (they both weight just over 500). The extra 30 HP is also noticeable not to mention the dual front discs as opposed to the small single disc on the Magna.
Not much else to this post. As projects go, there is always something more to do. But for the time being, this one is done.
Just wanted to share a new blog I stumbled across the other day off of a Facebook ad of all things.
Pipeburn is a blog dedicated to featuring primarily cafe racers, which as we all know is the grand-daddy of the streetfighter genre. Almost every day they have a new cafe racer to show from all corners of the world and from all matters of makes and models. Harley Davidson's? You bet. Old British and Japanese bikes? Of course. But a Goldwing cafe racer? They've got one of those as well.
If you browse back enough, I'm sure theres a bike on there for atleast everybody out there. Theres an aweful lot of diversity featured in one blog about one type of motorcycle.
I purchased this bike exactly a week ago today. Happened across it on craigslist the night before, put some book time into researching it, then rode it, haggled for it and had it signed over that night.
To be honest, I've never really wanted a cruiser style bike. I've looked at a Yamaha V-Max or two, but the hype surrounding these 'Power Cruisers' is astounding, enough so to inflate the prices to a comfortable level for those looking to sell, and uncomfortably so to those looking to buy. I still love the V-Max, but after a test ride I didn't get very comfortable with it or the ergonomics, mainly footpegs and their tendency to catch my pant legs. The power delivery wasn't as breathtaking as reputation exclaims and I never liked its pitiful fuel economy or range of around 115 miles. Still wouldn't mind having one...
Being a Honda fan, I looked to see what they had in store. I had heard some great things about the old Magna's and Sabre motorcycles. Magna was the name for their cruiser style and Sabre was the standard. The motor from these bikes were pulled almost directly from the Honda VF and VFR sportbikes which was, at the time, near the top of the heap.
As the story goes, Honda was the originator of the Power Cruiser genre with its original '82-'84 Magna (V45 and the 10 second 1/4 mile V65 Magna). Nothing could keep up with it until Yamaha answered with their V-Max in 1985. Then there were no others even close. But Honda remade the Magna anyway in '87 and '88. 1987 saw the Magna with a 700cc motor, due to import bans, and in '88 it was back to 750cc. There were over 10,000 '87 Magna's but '88 saw even less at just over 3,000 accounted for. This is unsure because Honda never released their production numbers. There were so few Magnas in '88 because the market didn't have a desire for it.
After production stopped in '88, popularity soared for this bike and it was then that the name "Super Magna" was given to the '87 and '88. Honda brought back the Magna from '94 to '03 but it was tame in comparison to its predecessors. in 2004, Honda dropped the V4 Magna once again due to the demand for a V Twin cruiser.
The '88:
The Magna weighs in at around 530 pounds 748cc V4 motor puts out around 79 hp, redline is about 11,000 rpm. Thats sport bike territory Has a 6-speed transmission and shaft drive, with a single disk up front and drum in the rear (not up to par, IMHO) Fuel capacity is at around 3.5 gallons, good for 150 mile range.
Out on my test ride, I fell in love with the bike. It was so easy to ride at freeway speeds and comfortable. Plenty of passing grunt, and pretty darn agile in the corners for a cruiser. I'm very happy with it.
So far, I've gone over the bike giving it a tune-up. KDR Powersports handled the brakes and clutch fluid. I replaced some nasty corroded spark plugs, dumped the oil and filter, put an air filter on order and thats it, save for a little shine up on the wheels and painted parts.
The bike came with a wind screen and rear seat plus a sissy-bar. Rear seat needs some reupholstering but the rest looks alright. The windscreen I toyed with taking off to give it more of a knarley look, but I think it looks more aggressive with the screen on and slightly raked back.
So far, I'm sold on this bike. Looking forward to a few rides on this while the VFR is still under the knife and many more after its done.
My current project on the VFR is to set it up with a stout pair of Motovation Frame Sliders (link). This was also the last project I had in mind BEFORE my accident...
I had a pair of cheapo sliders on my SV650 and they did a remarkable job. Motovation is a better brand and I can already tell the quality in their material. They are constructed out of a proprietary high molecular density form of nylon, the same stuff your grandma wears. Although this formula is 75% more resilient then delrin, another popular choice for frame sliders. This means, according to some, after a 45 mph lowside your back on your bike riding home and thinking that the 90 bucks you sent to Motovation was a hell of a bargain.
They are not only made well, but look pretty darn good too. They look a little long on the VFR, but thats because they are supposed to poke throught the fairings. One modification I had to make was to cut a hole through the coolant bottle. I got a little consultation right off their websight, found here. Pretty straight forward, although daunting.
It's out curing with a layer of silicone over a harder epoxy as I type this. I'm hopeing to give it a coat of paint tomorrow and mount it up soon.
In the works: I've found a place where I can powdercoat my two subframes and a shop that can take my rear fairings in to repair the tabs and paint to match the OEM Honda red. I want to do something to the front aluminum cowl, but not sure yet. But that is pretty much it. Three small things and the project will be at a close. Maybe, anyway...we'll see.
Oh yea, and my clutch and brake fluid problem was solved by KDR Powersports in town here. Nuff said about that.
Well, folks (all 199 of you that have at one point or another been on this blog) it's time I tell you the news about the project...its dead.
At least in name. If you haven't read my first post, I got the name from 1: remedial, my amateur attempt to fix my crashed up VFR and 2: murder, as in murdered-out meaning my goal to finish the bike with a killer matte black paint job.
The remedial rebuild (rebuild being an overkill of the word in this case) is still underway and making progress. I would have had some more updates but my phone is no longer taking pictures at the moment...or able to do anything at all.
But the murder will not be. I decided not to finish the bike in murdered-out fashion for several reasons to be told in another post. But I do have a few updates coming up. If you are reading, please stay tuned!
If you have even the smallest pulse in the automotive life, you've already seen the Ken Block Gymkhana video and wont need an introduction to this.
But, here is a brief look into how a rising automotive legend goes about sharpening his skills while simultaneously enthralling enthusiasts. I hope videos like this leave the cockiest drivers out there with a lap full of modesty.
Bonus: There's a blast from the past who makes an appearance mid way through and shouldn't need any introduction (though there is inside). Probably the main reason I'm posting this
Here's a project from one of the other guys in my welding class. He bought this little unit for his grandson and set about fixing it up. He lengthened the brake pedal, fixed the center stand and fabricated a chain guard. I offered to make a sissy bar and he was all for it.
Used some leftover galvanized tube from the electrical department of the college. Stuff isn't easy to weld
After that he gave it a nice Nascar paint job with Tony Steward's color and number
It has an old lawnmower motor, not sure how many HP, but with a single large sprocket was pretty quick. What a lucky kid!
Since I'm already way past due for an update, I'm sorry I don't have a better one then this. But since I don't have many people who follow this...
The rear subframe has long since been "complete". But the bike has a ways to go. Below I have a few pictures of how it currently stands with the rear fairings on the new subframe. I think it looks pretty great, but could benefit from some paint.
Also, notice the mess underneath the front seat. There is a lot exposed that I need to hide. Taking all that was under the original rear fairing and trying to hide it in a sport bike fairing that's 1/3 the size is not easy.
Currently the state of the bike is: Immobile. I went about doing some minor maintenance and ended up putting the bike out of commission. After draining the bike of all fluid in the clutch and brake lines, I find that I am too inept to figure out why I cant bleed the air out of the lines. Whether its because I'm not smart enough to use my Mityvac, or the hoses are worn/cracked. Just another setback to get over.
Until a handful of years ago, BMW Motorrad was mainly known for their touring passion and bikes to suit. There were a few boxer cup race bikes but nothing too exotic.
Then the K1200S was announced and often with a statement such as "Hayabusa killer" in conjunction. And as the Hayabusa was the worlds fastest production bike at the time, a very bold statement. As things turned out, this killer was just stiff competition but made its mark by putting BMW's name up with the other sport bikes at the top of the game.
K1200s
But then there's the K1200 R model which takes that fully faired sport bike and strips it down to streetfighter manners. Hosting the same 1157cc liquid cooled inline 4, you get the same 167hp thrills and shrills but in a slightly more upright manner. A beefy 522 pound bust (wet) keeps the R from being truely agile around town. But, sometimes its not all about agility as it is pure acceleration which some reporters have remarked is easier on this bike due to forward weight. 0-60 times come in at around 2.9 seconds.
Other noticable features are the single sided swingarm and shaft drive. Arguable a neccessity on a bike like this. The ease in maintenacne will allow for more tire changes and so forth. Another featuere is the unique front suspension. The duolever suspension is based off of the Hossack design, and so involves an attempt at isolating steering from suspension movement giving the rider better stability and control while cornering and braking. Diving is for swimmers. And it is a BMW, so it has plenty of creature comforts such as electronic aids and the what not.
Picture from Two Bros Exhaust. comparing the R and S models
The K1200R has already enjoyed some racing treatment in the Power Cup. Seen here is a K1200R Cup Racer
These two bikes seemed to serve as a gateway for BMW to enter into an all new market segment, far departed from its usual lineup. A few years ago they launched the first of their HP2 lineup, an enduro bike with a 'High Performance' boxer engine (over 100hp). Now there is a supermoto and supersport HP2 bringing all kinds of new life to the famous BMW boxer. There is another bike in the works which is said to shatter all that's come before in BMW's history. The K1000RR is set to take on the very best in the Superbike world with its 1000cc straight 4. And be rest assured there will be a street version to follow
Progress was coming along but is now at a full stand still. You see, before I had a schedule worked out to where I would cut parts at home, make measurements, tack them together in the fab shop at school the next day, recheck the fit at home that night, then weld it up the next day if all was good. It took me three days to do a couple hour job but at least I was moving. Not any more.
TIG welding stands for Tungsten Inert Gas. You use a tungsten to focus the heat of the arc and an inert gas to help purify the weld zone. Everything has to be clean for the weld to happen. If your base metal is unclean, you contaminate your weld zone, if you touch your tungsten with your filler rod, its contaminated, if you dip the tungsten in the molten puddle, you got it, contaminated.
So my story now is that my tungsten keeps becoming contaminated by some means and burning a hole right through my frame. Very frustrating. And even more so because Ive checked and rechecked all possible causes and cant come up with anything so now I have to tug on the coat tails of my instructor and ask him kindly to take time out of his day to help with my personal project.
Thats the state of things to date. I still have a lot to do and not a lot of time left before the quarter is over. Always comes down to time
For those who are following, just wanted to send out a post saying things are still going. Haven't had a whole lot of time to work on the VFR and things are rather inefficient when I do have time.
I will try to get a new post out sometime soon...when I actually have something to show.
After a long while, my bike is finally finished up at the Hardrock Motorsport's shop. It was well worth the wait. Take a look and listen:
Video was shot with a Canon SD870, so the mic. isn't nearly up to par. Short story, it doesn't do the real pipe justice.
Hardrock is a local business started around 30 years ago. Jason, the manager, is a hell of a nice guy and was always cool with letting me stop by to look in on the bike. He took my bike in on a prototype fitment so I knew going in it wasn't going to be an overnight job. And while it did take longer then expected, it was a price well paid. The Hardrock Riot series pipe is just so different I couldn't pass it up.
The HR1 Riot pipe is a recent addition to their original lineup; at least since the last time I visited Hardrock just before my lowside. The pipe I have is 9 inches opposed to the stock VFR's length of 20 inches. Even better is the weight savings. No joke, about 1/6 the weight of stock. While my bike is no performance machine, those that are can benefit from their adjustable baffle that gives slight tuneability from low to top end torque via the adjustment on the end of the pipe. And lets not forget the sound. If nothing else gained but the new V4 grumble, it would still be worth it. Jason told me before leaving that if I wanted to quiet it down, I could bring it in for a longer/quieter can. Thanks but no-thanks, this pipe is staying.
As it's my goal to make my bike unique, choosing the HR1 Riot pipe was just the way to go over the myriads of Micron, D&D, and Two Bros. that you see on every other bike on the road. Not to knock on those others, but the HR pipe fits my project to a T.
Wanted to make a quick rundown post on the gear that I have and use.
From the top, I have an HJC AC-12 Carbon. Motorcyclist or Cycle World did a write up a few years ago testing helmets as low as $100 bucks and up to $999. In conclusion they stated that the AC-12 held up as well as any other and at 1/3 of the cost. And I threw in another 100 bucks to get the slick carbon fiber shell. It's really not that much lighter, but it looks pretty amazing. Helmet is comfy and I usually ride with earplugs so no complaints on windnoise...
The visor I just added is a HJC silver mirror lense. Haven't ridden with it yet but the tint is just enough to cut down any sharp glare but doesn't look like it would hinder too much if you get caught out in the dark
Just got this one in today. NJK Leather's Americana Jacket. Has 1.4-1.6mm leather, CE armor in all the right places, including a back pad. I was told 1.6mm is overkill for a street jacket but what the hell, more the merrier. Fits great out of the box but could benefit from some break in. Also has a long tail in the back to keep draft out of your back side. Has a classic Knievel design too.
Gloves are Joe Rocket something-somethings. I bought these so long ago I can't recall the model but they are thoroughly broken in and fit like a second skin. Been with me through two crashes and haven't had any problems with them yet. Nice and small too.
Boots are made by JAG. Bought them becuase they are waterproof and I was tired of getting caught out in the weather and having to endure sopping wet shoes and socks. They are nice boots so far. Only qualms with them are a scratchy seam up top that agitates the legs unless you have some tall socks. They're not broken in yet and so they're super stiff and shifting takes some more concentration.
Still need to get some pants, some that fit over other pants and have some decent hip and knee pads.
Got some more in the mail today. And I guess this would amount to my April fools day joke...on me. Seats are in and to be honest, I have no clue how I'm going to attach these things. I seriously thought I would be able to hook these things in and bolt 'em to the new sub-frame but its going to take some serious engineering.
I was able to get some of the other repairs done to the fairings. Last night I put the upper and lower parts together and super glued the tabs in place. Unfortunately, I re-broke one of the tabs removing the two pieces after they dried. So I fixed the remaining one.
I roughed up the area and cleaned with acetone again and cut out some fiberglass to fit.
Then used ample JB Weld to cover the tab and used the leftover to fill in the rash
I'll get the last tab fixed tomorrow and hopefully get fabricating soon
Next big step in the VFR project arrived in the mail today. I have a transplant in mind from a Yamaha YZF R6. You see, the stock rear end on the 5th generation VFRs don't look quite right without the company of the other fairings. It's just plain fat and ugly.
These are the tail fairings off of an '06/'07 R6. I guess I chose this particular make/model because its simple in design compared to some of the others out there, there's a selection of parts available on ebay, and predominatly I love the looks of it.
Thing I like best is its slim profile
Was able to get the fairings, both seats and the tail light for around $160 which is a pretty screamin' deal.
But there are a few drawbacks in the form of damages....
First, in the upper tail fairing, there are a few tabs broken off and some rash. But, it looks like and easy fix with some more JB Weld and some paint. Not pictured are the seats, which haven't arrived yet. The rear seat has a few tears in it, but I have a vinyl repair kit laying around here so that will be put to good use once those seats arrive.
So it's great to finally have something to do again. After those minor repairs, I'll set out measuring out dimensions and lenghts for the new rear subframe I will be fabricating.
For those who are following, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been playing the waiting game for a long while now and honestly just felt the need to make a post for the sake of posting.
I've spent a decent sum of money through the channels of Ebay gathering the parts and pieces I need for my next project/addition to the VFR. Stay tuned for that, I'll let you know what I have in mind as soon as the mail arrives.
I wish that the lack of updates was because I have been out riding, but sadly I haven't even had the bike these past two weeks. I'll give a sneak peek why:
Things will get going again soon and once there I can start making some regular posts on the VFR.
Ducati has introduced a motorcycle for the '09 year that they believe epitomizes everything there is in streetfighter, so much so, that they have given it the name of the entire genre.
The bike certainly looks the part. It leaves little to hide, in its minimalist appearance, and shows plenty of aggression. I love how Ducati can always pull off the twin-can look so well.
Ducati Streetfighter walk around
And just like Chevy's OHC small-blocks and Porsche's unbalanced rear engine platform, Ducati sticks with their V-twin sport bikes despite the advantages of the inline 4 that all of its competitors use. Why? Because, they can pull it off so damn well. And because of their devotion they've been able to keep up with the rest of the competition.
In this case, the Streetfighter is a welterweight fighting with heavyweight muscle. That's 360 lbs and 155 hp with ample V-twin torque at 88 ft/lbs. My VFR is a hefty 500 lbs, has a healthy 100 hp and can still scoot without haste. These new sport bikes are bordering on madness, not that there's anything wrong with that.
I guess I should clarify that the Streetfighter is not considered a V-twin, but an L-twin. Just the next in V-twin evolution as its angle has progressed to 90 degrees taking on an L shape.
After talking to others, and looking over the Streetfighter, I've decided my project is missing something critical to its genre. It needs more style and soul. Something to give observers that kick. So I've started planning and organizing for a new modification I think will change the aire of the VFR and get things on the right track
Just came across the website for A and A performance and, as opposed to my earlier post, the Torocharger is alive! Though only by contents as the name has been adapted to fit the company moniker.
The supercharger kits contents look a bit refined for production with some new parts including a water-to-oil cooler with core built by Laminova. The quick benefit of this is a Better and Smaller unit, essential when space is tight and temperatures are high. Both of which go hand in hand with a forced induction motor.
This A&A kit still boasts an amazing 50% to 60% power gain over stock with dyno charts showing a stupid-fast ~160hp run. That's with stock engine internals, basically a bolt and play kit. Hard to beat.
A&A's ingenuity doesn't stop there as they have plans to put into gear a supercharger kit for the 6th generation VFRs. And for the hardcore sport bikers, look out for kits to really put you at the top of the game for your Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki ZX-10R.
