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.
If you remember from my post "One step forward...One step back" I mentioned the short out I had that kept blowing fuses and leaving me without turn signals, brake lights, and a horn. Well, I had a buddy of mine up and put some time into trouble shooting the problem.
When I blew the fuse the first time it was while checking the rear brake pedal. So I assumed that the short was somewhere along the rear brake line. It wasn't until I blew another fuse trying the front brake that I remembered the VFR has linked brakes, meaning both front and rear brake pistons are actuated whether the front or rear brake lever is pressed. So the short could be anywhere along any of the brake wires.
LUCKILY, I had my ear open when I blew the fuse the last time and heard a pop coming from up front. Following the brake wire up to the handle I saw that where it connects to the lever assembly the connection had gotten crimped during the lowside and the vibration wore through what was left in the wire insulation and was therefore shorting against the clip-ons everytime. Crimped area in red.
So I wrapped the area in some electric tape and swiveled the assembly back to a better position and voila. Good to go.
Long write up for a simple problem, but thanks for reading.
A common modification a lot guys do with their bikes is a fender eliminator. This takes the "mud-flap" part of the fender and reduces it to a smaller, cleaner and all around prettier piece. So common that there a lot of manufacturers that make kits for some of the more main stream bikes.
There is one company that makes one for the VFR, Link, but I find it hard to pay 130 bucks for 5 bucks worth of hardware and some plastic. Or I'm just cheap.
Here's the stock fender for comparison
Quick layout of what I intend to remove; everything below the silver lines. Those two inner lines match the centers of the other existing holes. Tool of choice is a jig saw with a plastic fine tooth saw blade.
And, well, things don't always go as intended. Cut was going pretty good until I got to that tab when the blade jumped out and made a gnarly crack half way through the tab. So I cut the would-be tab out and decided to improvise with what I had.
Quick clean up with a disc sander and razor blade.
This is what I came up with as the new bracket. Not the sturdiest, but it works.
It's going to mount in between the rear reflector, so it had to be doglegged to fit.
Trimmed with shears for a cleaner look and some more holes bored out for mounting and what not.
Here's a quick fit up. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, looks A LOT better then the gaudy OE part.
But that's not the finish. Its sitting inside with a can of flat-black spray paint setting up for a coat in the morning.
I was definitely a Star Wars nerd growing up. One of my favorite scenes is the speeder bike chase in the 6th movie and I'll never forget how cool those things looked with the riders hunched over, cramming for speed.
If the movies weren't enough I even had this guy to feed that pre-pubescent need for speed
Found it in an old tote with all my other Star Wars toys today, it now has a place above my desk. I'd say its just for looks but who am I kidding, its still fun to play with.
It's snowing in Spokane again. Cumulatively, we're within a foot of matching record snowfall levels of 97.3" set back in the '68/69 season. To think, I was out for a ride one week ago.
Well, I guess I did go for a ride today. But that was just going out the garage, a doughnut, and back in the garage. Yea... I'm one of those guys.
After the low side, I had tons of body work damage, most of which I threw away but decided to fix some.
The damage to the front fender is odd to me because its just strange how it broke outwards. The only thing I can think of is that the tire picked up a rock, which punched out the top of the fender, then was thrown out the back side.
I figured the repair wouldn't be too difficult, and with additional help from my old man, was able to knock it out in a day.
First I opened up the crack with a razor blade to help it seat right then gave it some super glue to hold it in place.
Next I roughed up the back side with sand paper and cleaned with acetone to help the adhesive stick.
The adhesive of choice is JB Weld (another mechanic favorite) and I was going to use fiberglass but using a fine metal screen was suggested instead. So I traced a piece to fit the perimeter of the gash
Applied the JB Weld
And set the screen in place
Also put a small coat of JB Weld on top to sand down afterward and leave a smoother finish
Got a little trigger happy with the photos on this one, don't know if that's good or bad.
Been a while since my last update. There were some awesome days over the weekend and I think I got a bit depressed, still not able to ride, and slumped....
But come Monday I pulled my head out, rounded up a new battery, and slapped it on the trickle charger overnight.
After giving the battery a look over, I noticed some acid seepage but no matter how I tilted it couldn't get a fix on where it was or how much was leaking. So I brushed the terminals and leads on the bike installed it anyway.
Now that I have a power source again, time to finish the indicators. The new indicators are 2 wire, one for grounding and one for power (duh), but the old ones were 3 wire. The third wire turned the indicators into a running light when not in use. First order was to find out which is which and tape the running light wire out of the way.
Then diligently, and surgically, feed it through the hole previously drilled. And, of course, tape to keep the little bugger from crawling out.
Here is where my camera battery died. But I basically just crammed everything back together and did a lights test. The new indicators worked very well. The lights are bright and easily visible; perfect.
Then I tried the brake lights, heard a pop, and the blinking stopped. So, I have a short somewhere in the brake light line. And since the indicators are on the same fuse. Well, say hello to another project.
Didn't stop me from taking my first ride of the year, a quick 3 mile sprint, but it was much needed.
After the ride and a battery charge, here's a new picture of how the RemedialMurder project is currently sitting.
