Vfr8 Streetfighter

Hi Guys,

first post after lurking on here for a while, and some admin help to get my account up and running.

I've been riding for about 18 years, and love streetfighters.My last one was an 88 model GSXR 711. In 2009, i broke it and myself quite spectacularly. After as few bikes in between, i ended up with a drz 400 SM top commute on, and a 2000 VFR8 as a project. It was bought from a dealer as a complete and fully running bike. I'll let teh pics do the talking for a bit.

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So far the bike as it stands has:

04 gsxr forks and yokes and calipers, with ducati 848 front wheel, 01 GSXR 1000 rotors, and a ninja 250 front guard

Ducati 1098s forged rear wheel, basically vfr arm, ducati hub/eccentric/caliper/brake rotor/sprocket, just a shim and a spacer to centre the wheel

ninja 250 seat and subframe

driven supercross bars, acewell dash, acerbis headlight

I ran it like this for the last year or so.

And recently

sp1 oil cooler and TL100R top rad as a front mount. The oil cooler is perfect, the front mount rad is almost perfect, just a few minor leak that thread locker and new crush washers should fix.

I do have a question though, does the air bleed hose that usually connects to the right hand rad need to be plumbed into teh system? or can i use it to bleed the air, and then block it up with a bolt and worm clip?

Looking forward to being a part of teh forum, and passing on what i have learnt about vfrs along the way.

Looks like a fun project. Definitely keep posting your progress, this looks like it will be quite nice once it's all done.

Looks pretty cool! :fing02: Keep posting up pictures!

Welcome Keef! Great work, you've mixed some very interesting parts there.

On the cooling system bleed question - I reckon that the plumbed link was necessary on the dual rad set-up but is probably redundant on the single rad. Someone who knows more about 800 cooling systems than me should know the answer for sure.

If it needs to stay i could drill and tap one of the in line hose adapters i have. I have 2 in the right hand hose, one for a koso temp gauge (the acewell dash didn't have a temp one) and one for the temp sensor for the rad fan.

I could drill and tap a nipple on the bottom of the adapter, so any air that comes out flows up to the rad cap, or is forced out the overflow into the expansion bottle.

Once all this external work is done, i will pinch all the info on vfrd for new cams and big bores.

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Looks nice, but my god what happened to that oil cooler!?! Also, what exhaust is that? Custom mid pipe?

Welcome to the forum, and great streetfighter project, hopefully you come on an OzVFR group ride so we can see it in the flesh.

You going on the Snowy Ride ?

This post kicks azz! I LIKE IT!

MadScientist

Looks nice, but my god what happened to that oil cooler!?! Also, what exhaust is that? Custom mid pipe?

I watered it and it grew, so i filled it with coolant.

it's a scorpion can from a gladius 650 that i saw at the wreckers, and yep, custom mid pipe. Its the best sounding bike I've ever had. Also the first bike that had the mechanic have a word to me about how loud it was at rego time.

AB-Oz

Welcome to the forum, and great streetfighter project, hopefully you come on an OzVFR group ride so we can see it in the flesh.

You going on the Snowy Ride ?

I'll have to have a look at Ozvfr. Don't get much time for fun rides anymore (this has been pulled apart for about 3 months, now). Never done the snowies ride, but do go down there the weekend after with guys from the Aussie Streetfighters forum. Hoping i get to take it for a small shakedown run first though.

I filled it up and ran it yesterday for the first time yesterday, sounds good, coolant flowing where it should, and unfortunately also where it shouldn't. A few leaks from around some threads/joints, but shouldn't be a big issue.

Once i get it all water tight, i'll post up a few pics of what goes where for the front mount. It was a lot easier than i thought. And after the ASF run in November I'll be able to tell you all if the slightly smaller (but front facing, so more efficient) TL1000R rad is up to the task. At the moment i have only wired in one TLR rad fan because it was easier, if temps rise a bit, i may wire in the second one.

Running it naked with the 2 side mounts the fan was always on, never overheated, but no matter whether it was stop and start, freeway or trackday, the fan always ran. Hoping the front mount cures that.

My wife's civic had a fan that always ran as well, I started to think it was a Honda thing, haha.

Nice work! The Duc rear wheel is something I think about doing to my fighter sometimes. But only if I did the whole spindle, rotor, caliper etc, like you did to actually save weight. I also like the look of that muffler.

Have you checked that the new rad allows room for the front wheel to fully compress? I might have used a 5th gen for my fighter had I already seen a front mount rad setup that was relatively simple and readily available.

Keep up the good work man!

There should be enough room, the rad sits above the height of the standard oil cooler. I had almost given up on doing a front mount, I had seen a lot of almost complete conversions, and a few that had no room at all for the front wheel.

At the moment, it's still in the "almost finished " category, but I'm hopeful.

Good luck with mounting, post up pics when you have it ready!

apexandy

Nice work! The Duc rear wheel is something I think about doing to my fighter sometimes. But only if I did the whole spindle, rotor, caliper etc, like you did to actually save weight. I also like the look of that muffler.

Have you checked that the new rad allows room for the front wheel to fully compress? I might have used a 5th gen for my fighter had I already seen a front mount rad setup that was relatively simple and readily available.

Keep up the good work man!

Pardon me asking Apex, but should you do this swap, perhaps could I ask of you DIBBS on the eight spoke rear wheel?? Glad to contribute to your project fund............... Hope that doesn't sound too opportunistic.

keef

04 gsxr forks and yokes and calipers, with ducati 848 front wheel, 01 GSXR 1000 rotors, and a ninja 250 front guard

How did you mount this thick gsxr steering stem in the vfr frame?

What bearings did you use? Most mods use thinner 00-01 RC51 stem to fit?

Did the Ninja front guard need to be modified?

ninja 250 seat and subframe

Any mods to mount the subframe to the 5th gen VFR?

Does the battery mount in the subframe?

driven supercross bars, acewell dash, acerbis headlight

How does the Acewell dash attach? and what about the stock instrument panel with it's ECM connectors?

Great job, very impressive, the best I've seen.

zoomzoomPardon me asking Apex, but should you do this swap, perhaps could I ask of you DIBBS on the eight spoke rear wheel?? Glad to contribute to your project fund............... Hope that doesn't sound too opportunistic.

Lol... you can have dibs. I don't think it'll happen though. Too many other things to spend time and money on. Besides, I do like the classic 8 spoker :)

lancando

keef

04 gsxr forks and yokes and calipers, with ducati 848 front wheel, 01 GSXR 1000 rotors, and a ninja 250 front guard

How did you mount this thick gsxr steering stem in the vfr frame?

What bearings did you use? Most mods use thinner 00-01 RC51 stem to fit?

Did the Ninja front guard need to be modified?

ninja 250 seat and subframe

Any mods to mount the subframe to the 5th gen VFR?

Does the battery mount in the subframe?

driven supercross bars, acewell dash, acerbis headlight

How does the Acewell dash attach? and what about the stock instrument panel with it's ECM connectors?

Great job, very impressive, the best I've seen.

Most of what i had read on line was that you had to use cbr yokes and stem. When a gsxr front end came up cheap i bought it, and took it to RB racing to get the mechanic there to get it to fit - he'd done some bits and pieces for me before including building my 1200cc big bore gsxr motor. Plus he can weld, and has a press. RB racing sponsors the 400cc race class here, and harley is a great mechanic, not a 3 hours $300 service monkey, but a proper mechanic. I thought it may need the stem machined, or built up with weld etc.

Turns out the gsxr stem fits with a top bearing from a yamaha srx 400, the OD is perfect, the ID was 1mm to too small, a quick file, in the freezer to shrink it a bit and pop it on.The bottom bearing for the gixxer fit, no changes there.

I cut down the front guard a bit to look a bit better, and so it fit the forks properly. I made new brackets from some ally flatbar to make the guard fit the gixxer forks.

The seat and subframe, again, harley at RB because he can weld. Remove vfr subframe, cut off tabs. weld tabs onto the ninja subframe, and away we go.

We slid the seat down the vfr tank until the curves matched up. It's about 50mm higher than stock, which is perfect, i'm 6 foot 3. The top mount lines up great, the bottom mount had a 50mm vertical piece added. the width of ninja subframe lines up perfectly with the vfr mainframe.

The seat is also about 150mm shorter than the VFR seat unit. It still has full size rider and pillion seats, but a lot shorter as it's off a much smaller bike. Adds to the short and stumpy fighter look, while still being practical. I have done 800km days in the saddle, no probs.

I have the ninja battery box in there as well, i bought a motobatt battery that fit the ninja battery box dimensions, but with the highest CCA i could get. Starts first time every time, even if i haven't started it in 3 months.

The Acewell came in a package deal with the forks. It was pretty easy with the VFR wiring diagram, cut off the OEM dash connectors, and solder the acewell connections onto the correct wires. Not exactly plug and play, but pretty easy. Unless you are colour blind. Then you're a bit screwed.

If i was doing it again, id get a dash that has an in built temp guage, i just wired up a separate koso temp guage yesterday.

So i rode the bike in to work today, commuting at freeway (and walking) speeds.

This morning air temp was maybe 15 deg celsius, so not hot weather, but the bike coolant temp was at about 78 deg, then went up to 86 deg going through a tunnel (warmer air in there), then back down to around 78.

Only about a 20 -25 minute easy ride.

The koso temp sensor is in the hose just as it exits the motor on the right hand side of the bike.

Going home will be mush hotter air temps, and slower traffic. I'll post again after i get home.

I'm also going for a ride with the ASF streetfighter guys this weekend, if it doesn't overheat after a weekend of thrashing it, i think it's a winner. Last year (same place, same roads, same time of year) with the side mounts, the fan was always running. Curious to see if the temps stay under 105.

The worst heat I've seen comes from slow moving traffic in direct sunlight and 30C+ air temp, where it can climb to 109C. I believe the slow moving air counters the electric fans which makes the slow traffic worst for temps, as sitting stationary in the same heat it will drop back below 105.

I'm curious to see how it goes with a front mount

So, back today after a weekend away riding on very twisty roads.

The front mount radiator is bloody brilliant. At normal ambient air temps, coolant temps stayed at about 80 or 85 Celsius. Plenty of airflow through the rad, the fan was almost always spinning, not because it was on, but because of the amount of air pushing through the rad.

On the loop we ride, there are quite a few long (10 to 20 ks long ) steep downhill sections, so a lot of weight on the forks. No issues with clearance, even with the shorter Gixxer forks.

Last year with the side mounts, the fan was always on, this year, as I said, a nice 85 degrees, didn't need the fan at all. One of the other guys on the ride has a fightered vtr 1000 firestorm/super hawk with a front mount rad, he doesn't run a fan at all. In the pics you'll also see the nomex honeycomb I used as a rad and oil cooler guard. Comes in a 19 x 26 inch sheet, can cut it with a razor, can squish it side to side or curve it, but is incredibly stiff from front on, worked a treat.

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Keef,

Looks AWESOME man! But I'm curious, why the heavy duty hand guards?

PR

Every streetfighter needs knuckles, right?

After commuting and lane splitting on motards (and now the Versys) with handguards for the last few years, they come in really handy. I felt a bit exposed without them on the VFR, so went out and put a set of barkbusters on. I won't be using the big plastic guards, just the alloy, and maybe some supermoto style sliders. I'll probably powder coat them black at some stage.

Well they definitely look good!

I just remember them on my old WR450F and having them regularly save my hands and levers, wasn't sure if you were planning on riding through the woods anytime soon, but I guess lane splitting is a real good reason to have them too!

Keef, how's the rad holding up? I'm almost swayed that I need a front mount. Would also be nice to get rid of the extra weight and bulk.

Wonder if I could even run a smaller unit?? Doesn't get as hot consistently here as it does down under.

Also, how is the handling with the gsxr front setup with the offset and trail changes? I've been reading up a lot on suspension dynamics on bikes and curious for a firsthand account.

I assume the gsxr steering stem is the same length as the vfr one? 28mm? Or did you press the vfr stem into the gsxr lower?

Also having a hard time finding the top bearing from the Yamaha, there was no US release of that model bike. Was jus thinking about getting a 30x48x15 tapered bearing and machining off 1mm from the OD unless I can find this srx400 bearing.

Keep up the awesome work man! Still Interested to see if the rear wheel I'm building will be as light as your marchesini ducati unit.

Cheers breh

The rad is brilliant. The run i did a couple of weekends ago was through the snowy mountains, there was still snow on the higher peaks, so it wasn't that hot, the temp was about 15 degrees C (i think), no idea in Fahrenheit. The temp sensor said coolant was about 85 the whole time. On the ride back on Sunday, it was 6 degrees C and raining, and the coolant temp was 70 - 73. I haven't run it in hot weather yet, but i wouldn't want it any smaller. Its 450mm across, and 140mm high. It's a bit smaller than the combined size of the 2 side mounts.

Handling wise, seems pretty good to me. I had stiffened the front right up to hide the fact the springs are too soft. This gave me a bit of chatter on the brakes when going downhill, so i backed the compression damping off, and made it a lot better. If anything, it is too stable, i may drop the forks a bit to sharpen it up, but before i do that I need to get it resprung by trooper lu's here in Sydney.

They did my KTM motard a while ago, and the change was amazing. Speed humps/gutters/median strips all felt like flat ground, it turned my KTM 640SM from a good commuter to a fugging amazing one. I just need to save the cash for the suspension work. I also have a 929 rear shock in it.

I used the GSXR stem and triples. I just typed yamaha srx400 steering head bearings into google, and this is the first ebay link. Mods, delete the link if its against the rules.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pyramid-Parts-Steering-head-bearings-seals-fits-Yamaha-SRX400-All-Years-/390558313469

keefI used the GSXR stem and triples. I just typed yamaha srx400 steering head bearings into google, and this is the first ebay link. Mods, delete the link if its against the rules.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pyramid-Parts-Steering-head-bearings-seals-fits-Yamaha-SRX400-All-Years-/390558313469

What dimensions is this bearing kit? I have an 07 GSXR front end and believe it uses the same lower bearing as the Honda, but could not source an upper bearing that was Honda O.D. & GSXR I.D.(don't remember the numbers off the top of my head). What year/model are these forks?

PS nice mods! :cheerleader:

BR

keef

The rad is brilliant. The run i did a couple of weekends ago was through the snowy mountains, there was still snow on the higher peaks, so it wasn't that hot, the temp was about 15 degrees C (i think), no idea in Fahrenheit. The temp sensor said coolant was about 85 the whole time. On the ride back on Sunday, it was 6 degrees C and raining, and the coolant temp was 70 - 73. I haven't run it in hot weather yet, but i wouldn't want it any smaller. Its 450mm across, and 140mm high. It's a bit smaller than the combined size of the 2 side mounts.

Handling wise, seems pretty good to me. I had stiffened the front right up to hide the fact the springs are too soft. This gave me a bit of chatter on the brakes when going downhill, so i backed the compression damping off, and made it a lot better. If anything, it is too stable, i may drop the forks a bit to sharpen it up, but before i do that I need to get it resprung by trooper lu's here in Sydney.

They did my KTM motard a while ago, and the change was amazing. Speed humps/gutters/median strips all felt like flat ground, it turned my KTM 640SM from a good commuter to a fugging amazing one. I just need to save the cash for the suspension work. I also have a 929 rear shock in it.

I used the GSXR stem and triples. I just typed yamaha srx400 steering head bearings into google, and this is the first ebay link. Mods, delete the link if its against the rules.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pyramid-Parts-Steering-head-bearings-seals-fits-Yamaha-SRX400-All-Years-/390558313469

Thanks for the update. Again I appreciate you laying the groundwork and letting me take advantage of your experimentation. I'm going to like the preload adjustability of the gsxr front end. Also the 06 07 are 900lb rate instead of the 850 of the 04 05 so maybe it will help a small bit.

I was wondering about a smaller surface area radiator for the climate around here. I don't know a ton about radiator design but I do know of some trick units out there in the car world with superior design and cooling capacity than many stock retrofits. Don't know if the same is true In the bike scene. Regardless the tl rad is brilliant and easily found/replaced.

Any pics of your 929 shock mount mod? I've got one here in my garage too and was thinking about getting out a dremel and some aluminium square stock to fab an adapter for it. Seen steel thick walled pipe welded to the stock bracket as well ala VeeferCanuck on here I believe.

Thanks BR,

I can't remember the dimensions anymore, the front end went on at least 2 years ago, now. It's an 04/05 gsxr 600 front end, and the bottom bearing was the same as the VFR, so knowing Suzuki, the 07 gsxr probably has the same bottom bearing.

Everything I saw online said it wouldn't fit, so I took it to a mechanic who I knew could make it happen. He cross referenced the bearings, and the yam is one was almost perfect, from memory he took a mm off the ID on the top bearing, in the freezer, and popped it on.

If you can find a bearing that is close, you can make it work.

reed, no problem. Hopefully it will mean more vfr8 fighters.

I took me a while to find something that wasn't that tall, but still big enough to cool a big that runs notoriously hot. Although with the front mount, it runs fairly cool now. Apparently side mounts aren't that efficient. Who would've thought? You get get one custom made that is twice as thick but not as wide, just depends on how much you wanted to spend. The VTR fighter that was on the ride with me has a custom made, double thick rad that works well, he doesn't run a fan, and his has been running fine for years.

No pics of the 929 shock, but I just followed a how to from here, I think. I grabbed a spare mount from a local wrecker, made the spacer, had the mechanic weld it, and chucked it in.

Love to know what that upper bearing was. That Gixxer front forks are abundant ...

Hey Keef. Wondering what the dimensions are like on the TL radiator. Which neck did you have to relocate again? Any shots of the swingarm side of the bike?

Im looking at Sv650 radiators and wonder how they compare.

ex:

http://www.madhornets.com/radiator-suzuki-sv650-2003-2004/?gclid=COv_xtHkgLsCFU8V7AodRncAow

it's 450mm wide in a straight line, but the rad is curved, (so there is a bit more surface area) and 140mm high. I used it because is wasn't very tall, so would leave enough room for the front wheel (it sits just above the cutout in the front cylinders).

Most of the other rads that i looked at were too tall. If the TLR top rad was a bit narrower it would look better, but the width will be hidden behind the hypermotard shrouds I'm going to use. I just have to find the time to bend some brackets.

I relocated the inlet on the TLR rad, from top left to top right, and blocked off an outlet on the bottom right - the tlr has top and bottom rads.

It now runs in at the top right, and out at the bottom left, so it matches up with the vfr hoses.

I have mounted one TLR rad fan on the left hand side of the rad. The TLR uses 2, but so far the temp hasn't gotten high enough to need one fan, let alone 2, so I'll add it if i need to later.

No pics of the swingarm side, but i can take some. What do you want to see?

And how high is the SV rad? If you are going to do a front mount like mine, you need to relocate the oil cooler, the rad mounts under the headstock (where the OEM oil cooler mounts), so i moved the oil cooler down low, between the motor and the headers. Would love to mount a water cooled oil cooler like Toro was using for his supercharger kits one day.

Hi keef, just joined this forum site and realised you must live somewhere near me possibly as I go to Harley at R&B racing since they are near me. I'm interested in what was needed to fit the ducati rear wheel to my 2001 vfr800. Cheers

Had the guy who I bought the gsxr stuff from measure his SV rad. Apprently its dimentions are as follows.

~ 159mm tall

~ 400mm wide (its flat)

~ 38mm thick on the sides and about 23mm thick on the cooling fins

Definitely narrower but is a little bit taller. They're abundant on bikes here I think I'll pick one up to mock. Also the only other benefit to it in particular is the inlet and outlet pipes already being where they should. Just thread and throw a bung plug into the bottom neck.

Mikesmini080877

Hi keef, just joined this forum site and realised you must live somewhere near me possibly as I go to Harley at R&B racing since they are near me. I'm interested in what was needed to fit the ducati rear wheel to my 2001 vfr800. Cheers

I live on the other side of Sydney to RB, but it's worth riding to Harley, brilliant mechanic.

Some pics for the rear wheel conversion, basically, Vfr arm, but ducati everything else, hub, eccentric, axle, caliper holder, caliper, etc.

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Interesting with the eccentric. Doing the same with a triumph eccentric and axle for a 4th gen. Do you have a measurement on the difference between the ducati eccentric and the 5th gen?

Not a proper one, but the duke is 3mm smaller, made up by the 1.5mm shim, and the 3 mm spacer to centre the wheel.

Sorry mate, but a slightly smart arse answer is the best I've got, the wheel was done 3 years ago.

Thanks keef, nice job. Something to consider if I keep the bike long enough. Cheers

keef

After commuting and lane splitting on motards (and now the Versys) with handguards for the last few years, they come in really handy. I felt a bit exposed without them on the VFR, so went out and put a set of barkbusters on.

Our US (and everywhere else) brethren may not understand what Barkbusters are - although I'm sure they have their own local market versions. Barkbusters are a dirtbike add-on that saves your knuckles from being destroyed by the branches of Australian hardwood trees, and anything else the Barkbusters come up against.

Top work Keef! She's a beast. I love the Duc rear end, I'm fiddling with a Triumph hub and Duc wheel, getting there slowly.

Just a quick update on the rad fan....

I took it for a quick spin to the shops, and the coolant had reached 80 degrees C, so I thought I'd let it idle until the fan came on.

It came on at 98 degrees, a lot lower than I thought it would. I didn't keep it running until it shut off.

I wonder if all the concerns about vfrs running hot has anything to do with the location of the temp sensor for the dash being so far away from the sensor for the fan switch.

I have the temp sensor from my Koso temp gauge right next to the OEM fan sensor; both are mounted in the right hand pipe as the coolant comes out of the engine.

It doesn't really matter, just an interesting observation.

Keef,

I was thinking about using my OEM left rad unit, with fan, and installing that at the center of the bike. The size/surface area of that single rad is within about 10% of the size of the 4th Gen OEM rad. It is such a good quality unit and the fit is just about perfect from what I can tell. My logic is that side mount fans need more surface area because they are not getting direct "New" air. A front mount does get direct "New" air. This would be an experiment but it may be within reason to consider.

Air needs to flow through a rad to make it work, not just around it. Honda tried to use engineering to beat the laws of physics, and I don't think it worked out. They needed to design fairings that would direct air in directions it didn't want to flow. May have worked in a wind tunnel or in a computer program, but in the real world, not so much. Especially once you strip away those fairings.

The OEM left rad could work, the TLR rad is a bit smaller than the 2 side mounts combined, and works really, really well. almost too well, but i haven't ridden in full summer yet, so i'll have to wait and see. If you use the OEM left rad, its probably woirth going to a bigger oil cooler as well. Not necessarily an SP1 oil cooler, just any 4 row cooler that fits, and that has generic fittings - getting oil lines made was a pain in the arse, and would have been easier to crimp the VFR engine fittings on to generic cooler side fittings.

A couple issues you'll have to figure out..

the TLR rad is 140mm high, the VFR is about 150mm. You'll have a bit less clearance to the wheel than i do, so you'll have to see if that works. Although i also have shorter GSXR forks.

The TLR Rad is curved, the VFR is flat, that may cause clearance issues to the forks.

The TLR rad fans mount on the ends of the rad, the vfr fan mounts in the center. The TLR rad is mounted pretty close to the engine for clearance, the vfr rad and fan would have to be pushed forward a bit to make room for the fan.

Although, the temp has only gone high enough for the fan once, going through the tunnel under sydney harbour in peak hour - warm air and slow moving traffic,it got to 110C, but as soon as i was out of the tunnel, it dropped down to 85 The fan wasn't actually connected at the time.

Some dodgy phone pics for you. And if you are wondering what the orange stuff is, it's nomex honeycomb, a cheap rad guard, comes in a massive sheet, it cuts with a razor, flexible, except from front to back, then its pretty indestructible. They use it to protect the rads in speedway cars, apparently. I may paint it black one day.

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The 5/6th gen cooling works fine, if you reverse the left fan & use a lower temp fan switch. I did mine couple of years ago & added a very high flow 120mm fan to the front of the right rad too. We had 32c temps here last summer, this is unheard of & my Viffer was running at 75C same as always. My fan kicks in at 95 & out at 75, which is perfect. As soon as the temps start to rise, the extra cooling kicks in. Even in 32C ambient temps, the bike cooled from 95 to 75 when stationary.

With fans blowing out on both rads, the only place for air to come from is in front, so no cross contamination with hot air from the other rad or engine. Perfect :)

I would suggest ceramic coating and or wrapping your headers to keep as much exhaust heat as you can from cooking your oil cooler and radiator at low speeds.

Agreed, stock cooling works great. Great at speed, and with fairings. Stop and go is where it doesn't work as well, and the idea of the fan pulling cool air from outside is valid at a stop.

I've done track days on a RC51 at 100° abient and the water temp was in the normal range.

Without fairings, nothing draws air through the cooling matrix, so it doesn't work. Must have front rad in that case.

Devils advocate on my own statement; race versions of the RC51 have a front rad.

I think the mistake was in using a numerical readout on the display. Too much opportunity to scrutinize instead of just seeing a "normal" reading. My ST1300 is warmed up fully at 3 bars. Fan comes on with 3 bars showing, and still on 3 bars when it shuts off.

Sorry to digress, nice work!

Mohawk, it might work fine if you have fairings to make air flow through the rads, but when you take them off, it flows over the rads, not through them. I only rode the bike a couple of times before stripping it.

Once you take the fairings off, there is nothing to force the air through the rads. I changed to a vtr fan before going front mount. Without bodywork, the fan was always on.

Short trip to the shops? On.

Track day, high rpm but nice clean, cool air flow? On.

Low rpm commute down a freeway, but not stop and start. On.

Heavy stop and start traffic with no free flowing air? Very definitely On.

It tells me that the vtr fan makes a massive difference, and was the only thing making air flow through the rads. Probably why your bike, especially with the extra fan, always runs cool.

Before I figured out the TLR Rad, I had bought a second fan for the right rad and was trying to figure out how to make it work.

Since I put the TLR rad on, the fan come on in heavy stop start traffic only, and turns off once I start moving. It's now using the laws of physics to make air flow through the rad like most bikes, instead of over engineered, wind tunnel tested fairings to make air flow sideways.

The tLR rad is far more efficient that the twin side mounts, and on a fightered Vfr, looks a hell of a lot better, too. It's a win win for form and function.

And candy red, I hear ya. You can't tell from the pics, but it been ceramic coated in black, and then covered in dirt for extra insulation. Ahem.

They are SS delkevic headers, and the first thing I did was get them coated. I may wrap them later as well for looks when I get round to removing the centre stand.

And kev and I were typing similar things at the same time, I'm just a bit slower.

The koso temp gauge is pretty good, and is attached with Velcro on to the top yoke. I watched it closely for the first ride, but saw it was all good, so don't really pay attention now.

That is made easier because the gauge is pretty much flat, so is hard to read in the sun. It's there if I need to look, but not distracting when I ride.

And before the front mount, I had no temp gauge at all, the ace well dash doesn't have a temp guage. For the couple of years before the front rad, I just use the fan kicking on and off to tell the temp. Fan on, hot. Fan off, cool. It never spewed coolant ever, so it never got to the third temp setting of very hot.

ITs been a while, so time for a quick update.

I hot an MT09 as a work bike, so thought I'd take the VRF off the road for a bit.

I have an er6n headlight unit mounted on dodgy homemade brackets because I hated the 35/35 acerbis headlight. Well, liked the look, hated the lighting. The er6n is 2 H7 globes, so should be good when it's done.

While getting it ready for a streetfighters run, I noticed some random leaks in my made in China rad, so I had a custom one made as a Christmas present. 350mm wide, 42mm core, Tlr rad fan, nipple for the self bleeding hose, threaded boss for the fan switch. Picked it up from the post office a couple of days ago.

Unfortunately, I crashed the mt09 on 10/12, so I only have one hand at the moment. Fitting it will have to wait 4-6 weeks for my surgically enhanced radius and ulna to heal.

Also have a pair of zx14 master cylinders and shorty levers to go on, too. New parts and no way to fit them sucks, but I'm glad to be showing the veefer some love.

And almost forgot, I have a coil on plug setup ready to go on as well- front 2 cylinders are done, haven't touched the back ones yet.

Even bought some mother board stand offs if I need them.

dude! happy to hear of an update.

very sorry to hear about the mt-09 though. those are incredible looking bikes. I bet they ride like a beast. Is it totalled or a new candidate for modification?

can't wait to see the pics man. welcome back

btw. I hope you've seen this.

this advert alone made me want one.

so dope.

Reed!

New for old insurance policy on the MT, so should have one in my garage waiting for my cast to come off. I caught a bus to work today and felt dirty.

And my arm works again, I can start tinkering on the Vfr.

If you get one, extreme creations make a turbo kit for them.

Where's the update? I wanna hear more about this new radiator...

man that looks awesome!!!!!!! love it!!!

still no updates - my arm is pretty effed.

had a full cast from knuckles to elbow for 6 weeks. Cast is off now, but been to physio for the last few weeks. I have a splint that i need to keep on for another 3 weeks. Surgeons want me to take it slow because if it doesnt heal properly there isnt much bone left to work with. it popped into 5 pieces, not really a clean break in any sense.

Not a "woe is me" tale, just the reason why i haven't gotten around to fitting the rad.

New MT09 has had suspension tweeked and getting ready to be delivered. Then I'll have 2 bikes in the garage that I can't ride.

Jealous of the progress on yours, Reed. And Thanks, Hogan.

Dude! Didn't know the injury was so damn bad. Rough go brotha. I'll be subcribed in the meantime. Best wishes on the recovery.

I ran across this build on the australian streetfighter forum and it looked like you tried a few different radiator shroud ideas. I couldn't see anything more than a thumbnail though as the site said I didn't have permission to open images even after registering. Do you mind sharing them here?

are you keeping the side mounts?

the only ones ive used with the side mounts were the er6n ones, once i had the TLR rad, i didnt use any - nothing looked quite right.

which one do you want to see?

It looked like you tried DRZ and hypermotard panels after you switched the the TLR radiator. How did those turn out?

never actually fitted either of them. Any pics i have are the shrouds taped into place - the er6n shrouds are the only ones i ever mounted.

the drz ones looked great from the side, not so good from the front.

the hyper shrouds weren't quite right either. Which sucked, because i was so sure they were right i bought a set in carbon.

My new rad is only 350mm wide (TLR was 450) so once it's mounted I'll start again.

HI, keef.

I would like to know the reason of the two shields on rads (n°1 and n°3). Are not a too big protection limiting the air flow?

The hose (n°2) are closed or if is connected to cooling circuit?

Ciao, Luigi

[image: gallery_8326_4351_56731.jpg]

the two guards were just to protect from stones, it is a nomex honeycomb, very light, flexible, can cut it with a razor, but very strong, front to back. It didn't block any air.

like this.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Honeycomb-Radiator-Protector-19-x-26-Inch,3545.html

The oil cooler guard is zip tied on, the rad guard has some bolts through it into the fan mounting points on the rad. You can paint it, too.

and number 3, that hose is blocked off. The TLR rad system has an upper and lower rad, I was only using the top rad, so i blocked the second outlet.

Standard TLR-

filler cap right side.

25mm inlet top left

19mm outlet bottom left and bottom right.

Modified to suit the vfr-

filler cap right side (same)

moved 25mm inlet from top left to top right.

plugged bottom right outlet

used outlet bottom left.

Great!

I tought that the coolers protection was made with something like the paper used for air filter, not a specific protection.

This is the first time that i see something of this kind, it can be useful for every-day use on many motorcycles.

Thanks for the info.

Ciao, Luigi.

It's great stuff

Very strong front to back, you can't crush the ends of the tubes together.

Flexible side to side, you can squeeze the sides of the tubes. It also makes more air flow through the rad.

Once the air hits the honeycomb tubes, it HAS to go through the rad- it can't go around or over it.

Without it, air can slide above or below it, rather than through.

Been doing a few things lately to get it ready for a track day with my brother.

New custom front mount rad is on.

ER6N headlight is on.

ZX14 radial clutch MC

gsxr radial brake MC (which i was told was zx14, part of a pair), but the zx14 shorty levers i bought only fit the clutch. Until i filed it to shape. Lucky i already had a gsxr MC and lever to use as a template!

new rear brake reservoir.

new clutch slave cylinder.

new front indicators (just small, bright strips on the handguards

And plastidipped the tank matte black.

Definitely need new tyres before the track day. 3 year old pirelli rosso 2's wont cut it.

Took this pic after i rolled it outside to dry in the sun - its about 35 celsius here, and its only spring.

[image: post-28591-0-26832500-1444098526.jpg]

[image: post-28591-0-76665800-1444098558.jpg][image: post-28591-0-23893800-1444098571.jpg]

awesome bike. i need that subframe, front mount radiator and rear wheel in my life!

Slow clapping in my chair at work right now.

Now where are my pics of that custom rad?!

Brackets. Top one made by a mate who can bend thicker stainless than me, tweaked and painted by me. Bottom ones are ally offcuts from work filed into shape and painted by me.

[image: post-28591-0-90624900-1444198092.jpg][image: post-28591-0-16373200-1444198110.jpg]

a few of the rad. i painted all the mounting points black so they would dissappear into shadow, all you could see easily would be the shiny rectangular rad, no brackets. Its a 42mm core, small, but 2.5 times thicker than OEM

[image: post-28591-0-38947900-1444198124.jpg][image: post-28591-0-20615200-1444198131.jpg][image: post-28591-0-37294400-1444198139.jpg]

and the top view, no wider than the frame.

[image: post-28591-0-45555500-1444198149.jpg]

I'll need to take one from front on.

Candy, the 1098S rear wheel weighs almost nothing, and first eh 5th gen arm ridiculously easy. Seat and subframe are pretty easy, too - widths are pretty much the same.

Reed, pics of the rad OK?

I had it made to suit the TLR hose set up i already had (inlet/outlet sizes) but had an nipple for the VFR self bleeding air hose added. Its also thread for a temp sensor, but i'm not running a fan, so i just have a bung screwed in to that.

After seb posted pics of his 4th gen, its made it a little bit more embarrassing to post up my rough and ready pics, you know?

Rough and ready is slow but surely.

Sebs bike is sweet but it's a gen 4. And there are just so fewer gen 5 fighters that I think your set up is special.

Definitely think the custom sizing on that front mount is the way to go. Nice and tidy. And I don't think you'll need a fan. I have yet to break 102 degrees C without one on my front sv650 set up. I run engine ice and that thing only gets that high when I'm really letting it sit in traffic at high temps. Just love the clean custom job tho.

I'll be watching as always. Pics of the track day will be required. Thank you.

I have the Idea of the rear wheel down, all 1098 parts, 1.5mm shim and 3mm spacer correct?

Any details on how you did the subframe?

Yep correct, pics on one of the earlier pages.

And subframe was pretty easy too, width is pretty much the same.

Cut mounting tabs off old Subbie.

Weld them to new Subbie.

Top rail is unchanged, I think the bottom rail has an extra 50 mm added to it. I'll take some pics tonight.

The ninja 250 subframe is steel, from memory.. I had a mate wrecking one, he cut the subframe off, and I took the lot - seats, subbie, plastics, lights, battery tray, the lot.

top mount, extended down about 40mm or so.

[image: post-28591-0-28932200-1444701450.jpg]

and the bottom rail

[image: post-28591-0-70586900-1444701458.jpg]

good stuff Keef, thanks!

No probs, it's nice seeing things that I've done (sometimes in a half arsed way) redone and improved upon by others.

We basically just slid the seat down the tank until the concave curve in the seat matched the convex curve of the tank.

Matched up really well, and made the seat 40mm higher or so- I'm tall, so it worked well for me.

I was thinking about quite a few smaller cc tails, but the little ninja came up cheap.

Without shortening the actual tail, it's about 150mm shorter than the 5th gen tail, but still has full size rider and pillion seats.

Do it.

Oh, I also got the battery box, etc.

using a motobatt battery that fits in the ninja 250 battery box, and no probs at all.

When this battery dies, I'll go lithium for more weight savings.

Hey Keef

Neat fighter and great details on the Ducati wheel conversion.

Wish I'd found it before I embarked on my RC45 conversion.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Phil

From someone with your talent, that's a massive compliment.

Cheers.

If I were keeping my streetfighter, I would consider switching over to Duc rear wheel.

If my fighter was as good as yours, Seb, I'd be keeping it.

Although I'd feel guilty about bolting a top box to it like mine (I have a mounting plate bolted to a spare pillion seat so I can use a top box for weekend trips.)

The 6" rear wheel with a 190 and a seat from a 250cc bike make the rear look like its a 300 section tyre.

I love it.

Thanks for the qudos Keef but I still feel that anyone who embarks on a project like yours deserves all the praise they can get.

As I said earlier, keep up the good work.

Cheers

Phil

My brother wanted to book a trackday, and asked if i wanted to come. I said i couldn't afford it. He said he'd pay.

The free trackday has cost me some money, since i had to actually get stuff done.

I mounted my new rad, it was touching the front guard under hard braking, so i need to get some proper mounts made to raise it up about 40mm, basically, as high as i could.

Also, the brackets made by me/my mates meant the rad was angled a little bit, so air slid off it, instead of going through it. I needed to be going about 110kph before it actually cooled anything.

So, off to DMVC in Botany. New mounts (and modding the tabs on the alloy rad) only took a day. Matt took it for a decent ride to test it all out, and freeway speeds it was running at 84 celsius - much better now its angled right. Top mount up under the frame near the oil cooler mounts, but he made new threaded holes, and the bottom mounts are now the rocker cover bolts.

all ready for the trackday Monday with my brother.[image: post-28591-0-17708300-1446251414.jpg][image: post-28591-0-47607500-1446251429.jpg][image: post-28591-0-13992500-1446251439.jpg][image: post-28591-0-29671500-1446251454.jpg]

Hnnngg... Gonna need track day pics as well..

That fender is the clearance problem with the rad brother. That thing looks to stick way off of the profile of the tire. Seems like I have a bit more clearance than you do.

So awesome

It was never an issue with the TLR rad.

The front guard is only a few mm off the front of the tyre, but it's mayvpbe 10-15 of the back of the tyre.

It's because it's a 42mm core instead of OEM16mm, it's a hell of a lot thicker.

It was touching the front guard when I had 35mm or so of travel left in the forks, even if I gained 15mm from the front guard that would leave 20mm of Crunching. I definately had to raise the rad.

brilliant day yesterday, but only did 3 sessions - just as i was gearing up for the 4th session, i noticed that i had lost the bolt from my exhaust. I decided to call it a day, and just use cable ties to get me home.

the new rad ran at 93 celsius for the first 2 sessions, and the third one was at about 104 - but it was 30-35 celsius, and humid. That kind of hot and humid you get before a thunderstorm.

No clearance issues with it either.

I am definitely too heavy for the springs, but it handled pretty well, knees, toes and peg on the deck on the left, and toes and peg on the right. After my broken right leg, body position needs some work.

and the pics..

tyres right to the edge.

[image: post-28591-0-86222300-1446514316.jpg][image: post-28591-0-34669300-1446514326.jpg]

the horsepower trying to burst forth from the tank. Or my legs rubbed through the plastidip

[image: post-28591-0-05072600-1446514405.jpg]

and my load bearing cable ties

[image: post-28591-0-08254400-1446514428.jpg]

and some borrowed watermarked pics including one of my brother on his black and white tuono.

[image: post-28591-0-25407600-1446614610.jpg][image: post-28591-0-54663100-1446614621.jpg][image: post-28591-0-57467500-1446614633.jpg][image: post-28591-0-40699200-1446614650.jpg]

Great stuff Keef, keep it coming. :beer:

This work is very similar to my idea to transform my road use VFR in a Streetfighther (one of my million projects).

Unfortunately the subject of this idea goes away, and now run in the motorcycle' paradise where goes all bikes that closes their life in an accident.

[image: gallery_8326_7732_2223740.jpg]

Run your bike for my Black Widowmaker too, Keef.

Ciao, Luigi.

That's the start of a streetfighter, Luigi.

Hope you're ok, mate.

Thank you Keef.

Yes, i'm fine. I was lucky.

The bike is destroyed but this is the price that i payed to have let the brain at home before riding.

Congrats again for your work.

Ciao. Luigi.

keef[image: post-28591-0-17708300-1446251414.jpg]

The bike looks terrific Keef! Glad to hear the track day went off ok with no real dramas.

Glad you're ok Luigi, and sorry for the loss of the bike. How's your custom 5th Gen coming along?

Hard hit and glad your ok Luigi !

My brother posted a vid of our trackday to YouTube. He follows me for a lap or 2 as we get through traffic, then smashes past me down the straight. The tuono is a bit faster than my Vfr.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=50jYudo0Vkc

luigi

This work is very similar to my idea to transform my road use VFR in a Streetfighther (one of my million projects).

Unfortunately the subject of this idea goes away, and now run in the motorcycle' paradise where goes all bikes that closes their life in an accident.

[image: gallery_8326_7732_2223740.jpg]

Run your bike for my Black Widowmaker too, Keef.

Ciao, Luigi.

Curva Parabolica? :goofy:

Or on the street?

Glad you are ok,

one door closes, another one opens!

Switchblade

Hard hit and glad your ok Luigi !

Thanks.

Yes. Very hard. I see the positive side: now i have another VFR engine for my track bike... :D :D :D

Ciao.

The Phantom

Glad you're ok Luigi, and sorry for the loss of the bike. How's your custom 5th Gen coming along?

Hallo Phantom

I can't say in details.

I have the another two bike for Vintage race to prepare too, and until the end of January i don't think to have all two arms able to work.

In 2016, even in the final months of the next year, completing it at least in their first version would be a good result.

Have many ideas for improvement, from the forced air intake in the front of fairing, until the seconday injectors to install in the air box; but are work that require much time.

In the next year, the fuel tank (modified to host the CBR600RR), the exhaust system and a rear tail with saddle are the three target to catch to be able to say: I finished!

Ciao.Luigi.

keef

My brother posted a vid of our trackday to YouTube...

Well Keef!!!

If you think about the years of development existing between your VFR and your brother's Tuono, i think that you can be very satisfied about your bike track behaviour.

I don't know if your brother is faster than you on track, but seeing the video it seems that other riders have work hard to keep you back.

Hope that my Perfect Thunder (the nickname that invented for my track version VFR) will work like your bike, once it will be on track!

Luigi.

Dutchy

Curva Parabolica? :goofy:

Or on the street?

Glad you are ok,

one door closes, another one opens!

No Dutchy, on the street.

I was crashed in Parabolica maybe the bike will suffered minor damages...

About Parabolica just two words that i know out of topic (hope administator forgive me):

In July i made two set of free practice session in Monza... MAGICAL!!! Both in Parabolica and in Curvone di Biassono i felt the thrill to have the knee almost slidin' on track and in the same time shifting up gears until the sixth with gas fully open!

Never before i proved to remain at least 5/6 seconds in sixth gear with fully open gas in the two main straight GREAT!!!

Ciao a tutti, Luigi.

luigi

keef

My brother posted a vid of our trackday to YouTube...

Well Keef!!!

If you think about the years of development existing between your VFR and your brother's Tuono, i think that you can be very satisfied about your bike track behaviour.

I don't know if your brother is faster than you on track, but seeing the video it seems that other riders have work hard to keep you back.

Hope that my Perfect Thunder (the nickname that invented for my track version VFR) will work like your bike, once it will be on track!

Luigi.

I'm faster than my brother (in general) but the Vfr is about 60hp less than the tuono. With no electronic aides. Really fun overtaking people on the track on a gentleman's touring bike.

And 2 v fours sounded epic in the pit garage.

I need to get the suspension done, if I can't have top speed, I'll take corner speed. Once you get perfect thunder up and running, you'll see what I mean.

keef

I need to get the suspension done, if I can't have top speed, I'll take corner speed. Once you get perfect thunder up and running, you'll see what I mean.

I perfecly know what you mean keef and i agree.

To be faster than the others in corners can compensate the frustration to be passed on straight, but necessarily you need a bike with a perfect suspension and cyclstic setting.

I don't know if is the same for you, but i find that the work on set-up is funny as riding, i like so much try new solutions, feel the bike reaction and behaviour following the set-up changes, for me is a part of a funny track-day.

About the search of perfect settings i remerber the words of an italian racer that i meet many years ago, a fast driver, but without much money to have a fast bike: "on the straight they pass me away, but in the corner are in the middle of track just to give me noise" :D :D :D

Ciao.

Since the scorpion can came loose at the track day, I fitted the Jardine slash cut pipe i had lying around.

Ridiculously loud, and incredibly evil sounding. Even with a baffle in the tip.It will stay on until i get the carbon akra MT09 can fitted. I need to get another link pipe made.

If anyone wants a scorpion can for a 5th gen, let me know.

I also fitted 2x 80mm computer fans to the front mount rad. rated as IP55, so should do the job since i don't ride the vfr in the rain much.

And while i was letting the bike get hot to make sure the fans kicked in when they should (they did), i noticed a coolant leak in the V of the engine somewhere.

What a pain in the arse.

keef

...i noticed a coolant leak in the V of the engine...

Stay up keef, a leakage in that engine zone can be just an O-ring or a hose damaged. I don't think something of worst.

I know, checking that parts is a very noising job (removing the air box and throttle body... :sad: ) but making a special it means have this problems too.

Ciao, Luigi.

I know, 2 steps forward, one step back.

Better to notice it in the garage than on the road, though.

I have a small, uv/black light torch (was a kids toy in a party bag). It doesn't light up the space, but it makes the coolant glow in the dark. Great for following the trail of coolant.

Looking forward to removing the air box lower and throttle bodies for the first time.

I agree. Better in the garage...

Removing air- box and throttle bodies are not difficult.

You just need three things

• the right screwdriver for the four air funnel cross-head screws
• a very long screwdriver to loose the clips locking the throttle bodies (there's two clips for each plastic insulator, the upper is easier to work on)
• an hairdryer (yes, an hairdryer or somethin' of this kind) to heat the insulators and make the throttle bodies removal easier.

Keep attention to:

• dont over-loose the insulators clips to dont lose tha screw square nut.
• find the right place where to apply the removing force to avoid some crack in the body.
• remember, if you disconnect the tank with fuel inside from the bodies, that the return hose have no stopping fuel valve so the fuel flows out freely once disconnected, lock it with a plastic strip or something of this kind.

Ciao.

So, throttle bodies are off, thermostat is out, and I'll order OEM hoses and thermo from Honda on Tuesday after the long weekend.

And I just ordered a replacement reg rec kit from roadster cycle.

I'm going to move the reg rec to the L side of the frame where the coil pack used to be. Or maybe where the OEM rad overflow tank used to be.

After my brother crashed at the track, he wants to do the level 2 superbike school with me (my birthday is coming up). I need to get it track ready, other wise I'll have to take my company owned MT 09. It'd be fun, but I'm not sure what my boss would say taking the company vehicle to the track.

Thermostat changed, new hoses back on, and throttles bodies back on. Still waiting for the reg rec.

So I weighed the bike as I'm looking into getting suspension sorted.

Bathroom scales under each wheel.

100kgs on the back, and 85kgs on the front.

Maybe 1/3 of a tank of fuel, and no coolant.

Pretty pleased at a vfr800 at (allowing for coolant and a full tank of fuel) probably a bit under 200kgs.

Front to rear needs a bit f work, but the fuel and coolant would add weight to the front, so looking pretty good.

Good stuff mate. You're in the same power to weight ratio ballpark as the first 916.

Looking at it like that - its like my old 996. That is listed as 198 DRY, and 112HP. That felt like a rocket ship back then.

Mine is 200 WET, and what? 105 standard?

Yeah 105hp is around the mark for an 800.

Sooo..

Got the new reg rec wired up, including mounting it on the left side of the frame by the headstock - mounted off one of the mounts for the original coil packs.

i plastidipped the frame a gunmetal grey.

Painted my acewell dash matte black.

made some brackets to mount the headlight off the yokes, not the forks. Just modified some bunnings "make your own brackets" you know, the mostly pre made gal steel things.

tidied up the wiring harness, lengthened some things, shortened some others so that it was a bit neater running under the headstock instead of above.

got the airbox back on with 2 6th gen short stacks. I bought an airbox from the wreckers, so i have a spare lid to work on a big airbox mod down the track. Thanks Mohawk.

Have some more short stacks on order from honda - gonna try and make some dual stacks out of them. Or just give myself 4 short stacks instead of 2.

installed a blaster x integrated tail light in the ninja 250 seat unit, as well as some strip LEDs as extra indicators (integrated indicators aren't legal here)

Just need to get the front indicators and barkbusters back on, then i can fill up the coolant again and see if she starts after a while on stands.

Then i can get on to the next stage, getting the forks and rear shock re done, wheels painted, and forks anodized.

I think this will be a hilarious track fighter.

Wow thats a sub 400lb dry weight, very impressive!!!

Do you think you can drop the front and raise the rear any more, to try and improve that weight distribution some?

Definately. 

I have a new spring to go on the rear. And there is room to shim the bolt 10mm or so. 

And I have new springs for the front, so I'll be able to drop the front end a little too once it has a proper spring rate. I'm getting new springs and valves for front and rear done. 

And it still has the centre stand, so has at least 20kgs of steel still to take off once this round of mods is done. Maybe a CBR side stand while I'm at it . 

When the battery dies, I will go lithium, so still some easy ways to lose weight left. 

And you still have a few more tricks up your sleeve, Awesome!

I had the Carbon akra and a modified loop the loop link pipe fitted the other day. And it sounds effing awesome. And the centre stand is off. The welder took this pic for me. The loop should give a bit more top end like a long pipe. Shouldn't be and issue with ground clearance, but it can be angled in a little. With a bit more cutting/welding.

[image: VFR09 exhaust.JPG]

Wow, definitely unique! Brings to mind the HRC under tail on the GP bikes. 

AWESOME!!!

Thanks guys. 

The pipe is off my first MT09 that gotten written off 18months ago. On the MT, the loop the loop takes up the space originally used by the cat converter. I wanted to use it if possible, and my exhaust guy REALLY wanted to make the loop work. 

You can hear the GDC whine, and it gives a nice, deep note that's a little raspy up top. 

Saw it on ASF this morning, looks tits mate :cheerleader:

Almost looks like a turbo

I'm dropping it off tomorrow to Trooper Lu's for suspension work, new diablo rosso 3's, and, since the forks and wheels are off, some paint and anodising.

[image: citric acid wheels.JPG]

Had to drop in just to say.... hnnnng... loving it man!

More pics, stat!

Also, what color did you shoot the main engine frame? I like it. 

It was a plasti dip matte grey. Just in case it was horrible I could peel it off.

but I kinda like it. 

[image: IMG_1675.JPG]

Having a few recurring problems that have been getting me down a little. Made a little air dam to stop air from getting in behind the rad to help force air through the rad, fitted the MT03 scoop, and wired up the extra fan. Was gonna take it for a test ride, but I (hopefully, just) blew a fuse that powered the temp gauge. Also noticed one hose is leaking, so i'll have to drain coolant again. The fuel gauge stopped working, so had to take the air box out again. Just a loose connection,and also had a loose connection with the tacho. Just little niggly problems that i think i have sorted, then they pop up. which sucks.
So i did something easy - fitted the driven keyless fuel cap. Original one was 464g, i forgot to weigh the driven one before i put it on, but using my uncalibrated ex-chef scales (my hands) it's gotta be somewhere around 150g. Taking 300g off the highest point in the bike has gotta be good.
And its pretty.

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I've had a cbr side stand ready to put on for a while now, and wished i put it on earlier. The bike tipped off the (now too short because of the taller suspension) side stand a few days ago, and punched 2 speed holes in the bottom corner of the fuel tank when it fell.

So, i have a 6th gen tank to put on, and i had Ben from extreme creations help me with the al block/spacer to mount the CBR side stand (thanks Mohawk). I will need to do some hand filing to get the angles right, but Ben's CNC made the spacer in about 20 minutes. It would have taken me 6 hours with hand tools cause i'm a bit slow.

That's crap. A mate's VFR fell over years ago and the footpeg on his XR400 punched clean through the VFRs tank too.

It'll look grouse with a 6th Gen tank though :fing02:

What did you do with all the extra cables and stuff? Shove them in the airbox? Stuff them under the tank? 

2 hours ago, loosenoose

What did you do with all the extra cables and stuff? Shove them in the airbox? Stuff them under the tank? 

The proper thing to do, would be to shorten all the wires appropriately... stuffing and shoving is for amateurs...

that's why I stuff and shove. 

I had to lengthen some, shorten some, and reroute some others.  I would love to pay someone to make me a nice, clean, custom harness.

Lol I'd love to be able to afford someone to cleanly chop up my harness. I did that once, on a 92 vfrI had...

I took it to a nice shop I know, and it wound up costing $800 to mount a dual sport style headlight and wrap some wires up in a big way of electrical tape. :/

If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself

Lol says the guy who makes custom parts for people :D

47 minutes ago, loosenoose

Lol says the guy who makes custom parts for people :D

I wasn't born knowing how to do that

I could never afford to pay anyone to finish anything to my level of expectation, that's how I ended up learning to do so many things on my own. Give it a shot and learn, was my point 

Yeah, I'm just messing with you, Seb. Your work is top notch, btw. 

Lol I'm not sure my budget will ever allow for nice custom made parts from you, but I'll sure drool over the pics. 

I just got the bike running again. It was the dang bank angle sensor. There's one less concern in my world! Whew!

keef, 10/20/2013 at 5:09 PM

Hi Guys,

first post after lurking on here for a while, and some admin help to get my account up and running.

I've been riding for about 18 years, and love streetfighters.My last one was an 88 model GSXR 711. In 2009, i broke it and myself quite spectacularly. After as few bikes in between, i ended up with a drz 400 SM top commute on, and a 2000 VFR8 as a project. It was bought from a dealer as a complete and fully running bike. I'll let teh pics do the talking for a bit.

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So far the bike as it stands has:

04 gsxr forks and yokes and calipers, with ducati 848 front wheel, 01 GSXR 1000 rotors, and a ninja 250 front guard

Ducati 1098s forged rear wheel, basically vfr arm, ducati hub/eccentric/caliper/brake rotor/sprocket, just a shim and a spacer to centre the wheel

ninja 250 seat and subframe

driven supercross bars, acewell dash, acerbis headlight

I ran it like this for the last year or so.

And recently

sp1 oil cooler and TL100R top rad as a front mount. The oil cooler is perfect, the front mount rad is almost perfect, just a few minor leak that thread locker and new crush washers should fix.

I do have a question though, does the air bleed hose that usually connects to the right hand rad need to be plumbed into teh system? or can i use it to bleed the air, and then block it up with a bolt and worm clip?

Looking forward to being a part of teh forum, and passing on what i have learnt about vfrs along the way.

What headlight assembly is that and how do you have it mounted? What did you do with all the connections that color into the dashboard?

Whatdid you use for an instrument cluster?

driven supercross bars, acewell dash, acerbis headlight

not sure what model off the top of my head. a round dash.

The light is an acerbic LED vision (I think). crap light though, but legal. Just strapped to the forks like a dirtbike. Light output would probably be OK with a modern H4 LED globe, but they weren't common when I had it.

For the dash, I just cut and soldered as per wiring diagrams. 

Ive been doing a fair bit of work recently.

Changed the  coolant water joint orings under the TBs, the long hose from the T Stat, a few other hoses, trimmed off another few feet of wiring, then filled it up with coolant and oil, but It wouldnt quite turn over, had air, had fuel, but the plugs were only giving the tiniest of orange sparks. The back 2 plugs are easy. The front 2 meant drain coolant, remove front rad, change plugs, and reinstall.

But now she is up and running again.

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Had some downtime at work, just finished up with your thread,
VERY IMPRESSIVE.
Thanks for the read


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Went for a ride with my brother the other day, me on the VFR, and him on his tuono.

He took the VFR for a spin. Great feedback an how it felt, considering the tuono is a benchmark. His first comment was it sounds ANGRY. Not bad for a gentleman's sports tourer.

Now,

I'm 85kgs, and hang off the bike.

He's 20kgs heavier, doesn't hang off, just leans the bike. A lot.

He dragged the loop, so I had a new link pipe made up yesterday. Bye Bye, loop the loop, hello ground clearance.

And since I have a rapid bike, it'll just remap itself if it needs to. I'm enjoying this bike more and more - good to 6Krpm, fun to 8K, and really quick from 8K.

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I did a trackday on thursday, then a weekend ride with some of the ASF guys through the mountains. No  clearance issues with my new rearsets, but i did scrape my sidestand a couple of times at the track.

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I like the newer link pipe! Loop was neat but I like the cleaner look. And better clearance.

Awesome project!

22 hours ago, keef

I did a trackday on thursday, then a weekend ride with some of the ASF guys through the mountains. No  clearance issues with my new rearsets, but i did scrape my sidestand a couple of times at the track.

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Damn man, you must be leaning pretty hard to scrape a side stand - big respect! 

I don’t have the guts to lean like that...

Stray

And believe it or not, this pic was taken yesterday in the same area- sudden coldsnap 1 week from summer

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So, still chipping away on upgrades.

Finished my mohawk big airbox to go with the supershort velocity stacks.

Added some m4 rivnuts to the airbox lower since the OEM threads were pulling out of the plastic

Changed to all singing, all dancing apex manufacturing clip ons, so changed my extended throttle cables to ones from a cb500r. And to make 110hp feel like 150, new grips with a 1/4 turn throttle.

I may even put my barkbusters back on the clipons.

Definately more a trackfighter than a streetfighter, now.

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Very, very cool! 

Why super-short stacks and not dual-stacks a la Mohawk? 

Does your airbox have a lid or are you running it open? 

12 minutes ago, Stray

Very, very cool! 

Why super-short stacks and not dual-stacks a la Mohawk? 

Does your airbox have a lid or are you running it open? 

The big airbox takes the filter and puts it into the airbox lid instead of inbetween the base and lid. The lid is what you can see.

No dual stacks because i havent got round to it yet. I have the extra stacks, just haven't done it yet. I am running with 2 x short 6th gen stacks, and 2 x super short aluminium stacks.

keef, 7/2/2019 at 9:30 AM

The big airbox takes the filter and puts it into the airbox lid instead of inbetween the base and lid. The lid is what you can see.

No dual stacks because i havent got round to it yet. I have the extra stacks, just haven't done it yet. I am running with 2 x short 6th gen stacks, and 2 x super short aluminium stacks.

Very impressive! 

I think Mohawk built some sort of air dam to recreate a ram air effect. Trick is to seal the rear of the fuel tank to the airbox, trapping air in the pocket. 

I’ve been thinking about cutting up the airbox lid and making it bigger than stock so more air space inside. There’s a bit more room for a taller lid under the fuel tank, but it’s a tricky shape. 

Good thing about your design is you’re no longer going to be sucking super hot air from the oil cooler. You’ll be getting marginally colder air from behind the frame instead. 

Really cool work! 

Ive also got a front mount rad, so air that has been through the oil cooler or rad wont really make a difference. Its the volume inside the airbox that makes the difference.

I manged to get my old polisport hanguards  on, and commuted on it today.

The angle of the clipons makes it really  comfortable for such an aggressive setup- high seat, high pegs and low bars.

And big thankyou to mohawk and candy red. The big airbox mod and  rapidbike (and quick  action throttle)  make my trackfighter  vfr pretty quick.

Beautiful winter's  day today. Rode the old pacific highway, with no cops which was nice.

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Can't say it's my kind of bike, but that doesn't stop me appreciating the skill and effort that has gone into it. Well done m8.  :beer:

We're coming to Sydney next March.....I'll keep an eye (and ear) out for you!  :wheel: