My 399 lb VFR848

My winter project was a front delink that turned into a delink and 848 rear conversion. I had help from the forum, Rush, Mohawk, Keef, Mellow, and others, Thank you!

Below is the "VFR 848" build   

I have notes of exact weights but will give it my best recollection for this. -9.5lb for front and rear delink

Removed

Replaced

CBRF4I front wheel, front calipers, master, new VTR lowers. Lowers need a bit of grinding and TI washers to center calipers

Kit from Extremecreations they did "Keef's 1098 conversion, shim and spacer worked the same for 848 eccentric 

The 848 brake hanger is open vs 1098, so milled flat for clearance and used TI domed bolts to secure. The brembo master i had to open up the VFR holes a bit and use smaller 5m TI bolt and nut to secure. Used a pressure switch which cleaned up the right peg.

Routed the 33mm long brake line through the Swing arm, enlarged the rear hole in swingarm   

The first wheel and swingarm I bought off ebay were bent which was a nightmare to return a get credit for, found a new wheel for $600. ended up sourcing all of the parts needed separately

Sprocket on a 848 is a 525, so a 520 conversion is required, got 520 vfr front, 848 rear from sprocket center, chain was almost new

[image: IMG_5019.thumb.JPG.6758f9a1073514cbb1a5a664fb0b1165.JPG]

Front brake line length if needed is 28 and 31 inch, i know because i had to reorder, i got the bend on the top and bottom the same, 20 degrees i think, comes with 90" bend for a CBR, ask me how i know that 

I think thats it. i checked offsets from a set point on swingarm was between .58mm straight wheel to 1.78mm measured with bent wheel unknowingly. Within spec of 2mm variance.  

Total cost was $500 for delink $1,500 for 848 mod.

Weight savings from stock; 

Wheel -3.2lbs The marchesini wheel. FYI Brembo/enki make the same wheel the bent one i got, it was heavier by more then 1lbs 

Sprocket w/carirer etc.. 5 lbs 

Rear Rotor 2lbs

Delink front and rear 9.5lbs

I had light weight rotor and sprocket already, so saved  -16.5 lbs, added to my already 42 lbs = 58.5 - 458 stock dry = 399.5 lbs

Yes i can feel a difference, all unsprung and rotation weight loss. If i think of anything else i will post.

Thanks again for all the help from the forum, as always !!

Gig 

sorry for the repeditive pics, i tryed to switch pics it adds them but wont let me delete

Wow!!!

Outstanding job, well done.

Envious of the skills.  :beer:

Bloody Beautiful Gig. Outstanding job.  :beer:

Looks awesome, great job, you should be proud of a job well done

Looks great, like it could've should've come from the factory!  :cool: :beer:

On a side note, what rear hugger is that?

Looks good, front wheel next? 

Nicely done Gig!

I'd like to do this with a CBR tail section. So sexy!

Very nice! Wow!  :beer:

You already had the nicest 5th gen around, now you just suck :)

Beautiful work!

12 hours ago, shaynus

On a side note, what rear hugger is that?

Thank you all very much, I could not wait to show it to you guys. I had wanted to do a 17 5.5 conversion for years, but any that had been done were large axle 6.0 wheels. Tight twisties is what i ride for, so realy wanted to do a 17 5.5 conversion, but didn't know if i would be able to do it, or get the wife's blessing to spend the $ necessary to try. I researched and found that a couple of 848 riders had done a 1098 conversion so knew it was possible, but could not get a confirmation on the offset. So, Happy, and Relieved, it worked out. 

The Hugger is Harris performance hugger that i cut up pretty well to open up the look, but even with that and not being connected on the outside of the swingarm, it is very stable. 

Beautiful bike. Cool Dog.

Sweeeeeeet good job, I like it.

Awesome bike  and she's a  good  dog.

20 hours ago, SEBSPEED

Looks good, front wheel next? 

Its an F4I front wheel, but a forged 5 spoke F4I Marchesini to match would be nice. I guess i should start stashing $ now, for next winters projects?? Thanks Seb??

1st- I guess that’ll do.  :wink:

2nd- Your workbench is too dang clean.

3rd- Hopefully we’ll get to stand around and gawk at it in about a month.

Awesome job!

Now, You Know ............................this means you are committed to showing this creation to all of us at TMAC in May.

No work excuses or other such rubbish  :smile: .

When I had spent months researching and buying parts, and then had $1,000 worth of bent ebay parts on the bike, getting to TMAC with a finished project got me through. 

I would not miss it. 

Well done, Griff!

Best looking 5th gen out there just got even better!

You'll leave me in the dust in the twisties on my porker  :blush:

:beer:

:wheel:

Very very nice. I have a very similarly modded VFR. I was thinking where is the big bore kit then realized the 848 designates the rear hub mod.

Love this bike.

Fabulous. You're quite a craftsman!

Gig, that bike is AWESOME! Credit to you, mate. Hard work and well-deserved top result. 

Stray 

Gig, +1 for all the positive comments above!

Did you get a number for the weight saved by the F4i front wheel?

Does the F4i front wheel drop right in, or need spacers/adapters?

Which headers do you have on that beautiful bike? They appear to be very well-finished stainless.

VFR Capt.Bob, 4/22/2018 at 3:57 AM

Very very nice. I have a very similarly modded VFR. I was thinking where is the big bore kit then realized the 848 designates the rear hub mod.

Love this bike.

Hey Capt Bob, you have a nice bike as well. 

What Brembos are they and where did you get an adapter. 

Even better, can you post a close up of your front brake set up both sides 

Good job and excellent narrative... you have gone quite a bit beyond the point
where most of VFRD would in modifying their ride...

A lighter motorcycle will generally perform better due to a superior
power to weight ratio and because, all else being equal, a lighter
motorcycle will generally handle better than a heavier one. In
motorcycle mods, lighter weight is associated with advanced
technology, good design, and more expensive and exotic materials,
while a motorcycle whose weight is greater than expected can be
perceived as lacking these most desirable qualities...

I hope you would be interested in doing a weight and balance with a common
bath room scale... the numbers could be a bench mark and show Honda their

VFR customers are serious about weight loss...

.

gig, 4/9/2018 at 3:40 AM

Kit from Extremecreations they did "Keef's 1098 conversion, shim and spacer worked the same for 848 eccentric 

The 848 brake hanger is open vs 1098, so milled flat for clearance and used TI domed bolts to secure. The brembo master i had to open up the VFR holes a bit and use smaller 5m TI bolt and nut to secure. Used a pressure switch which cleaned up the right peg.

Gig, I’m about ready to fit an 848 rear to my 5th gen too. Was inspired by Keef and HighsideNZ’s conversions but like you wanted to stay with 5.5 inch rear. 

Now your 848 rear is supplying further inspiration!

I wasnt expecting to mill the rear brake hanger like you did - that was a surprise. What exactly did you have to do? I can’t quite make it out in the pictures (my parts are in a shed 45 minutes away right now). Not sure I have that part you show in the first picture, just under the Loctite and bolt. The bit you bolted to the caliper carrier (I think?) with dome bolts. 

Also, what size rear sprocket did you go with? Standard 5th gen is 43 (I think?) but Ducati 848 is 39. 

I was was thinking about going up 2 teeth to 45. What did you go with and how many links were needed in the chain? Does the chain line up straight? 

Finally, I’m also going to go with an aftermarket sprocket carrier that retains the cush drives better. These are known to perish and come loose, grinding down the left face of the hub. Polyurethane Cush drives are available that offer less sloppy drivetrain. 

I’m more worried about the chain and wheel both lining up though. 

Sorry for all the questions! 

Stray

You will not have to mill the hanger if you get "TI dome head bolts" as i ended up getting from pro bolt.

The Sprockets and chain line up perfectly, 

I ordered the, front sprocket, quick change 848 sprocket, carrier and cushes from Sprocket Center. I used a stock 848 cover. I run 17/45 or 16/43 gearing, its the best gearing ratio for me.

anything else let me know

Gig, you’re a bloody superstar - thanks! 

Will try get mine done by end of summer and post up details. 

Thanks again for laying the groundwork. Big debt owed to gig, highsideNZ and Keef who kicked this all off. 

I love seeing things that I had a hand in starting to snowball and spread around the world.

With my 1098 rear wheel, I used a driven quick change sprocket carrier, and had extreme creations custom make me a 45T (I think it was 45).

Next time I need chain and sprockets I'm gonna go down to a 520 to drop some more weight.

My MT09 seems fine on a 520 and it is similar power/weight figures to my vfr fighter.

Looking at DID’s website it seems there is only about 400gr between their 520 and 525 chains. I know 400gr is a lot when rotating but is it enough to sacrifice longevity? 

Also, how many links are needed? There are offers on DID ZVM-X chains going but they are only about 106 links. If memory serves a 17-45 sprocket setup needs 110 links. Can anyone with this gearing  confirm? 

Of course this may vary between 5th and 6th gens as the latter has a longer swingarm. 

Thought: if 5th gen comes standard with 17t front sprocket and 6th gen comes standard with 16t, are the speed sensors different? Could a 6th gen speed sensor be plugged into a 5th gen with bigger rear sprocket to correct the optimistic speedo reading? 

EDIT: stock 5th gen has 108 links (does that include the soft link?) and FJRider is using this size chain with his 17/45 combo. I wonder, does this push the rear wheel forward (smaller wheelbase) or raise the swingarm a bit? 

You will have to use 520, I think that is only available size for the combination of a, front VFR and rear 848. The stock length will work for most sprocket variations. The eccentric starts at the 6 o'clock position, so it could move to 5 or 7 o'clock "depending", lowering ride height and changing wheel base slightly. In my experience you want to stay as close to 6 o'clock as possible by adding or subtracting a link if needed.

When ordering chain length, they are counting the master link.  

Stray, 6/13/2018 at 12:14 AM

EDIT: stock 5th gen has 108 links (does that include the soft link?) and FJRider is using this size chain with his 17/45 combo. I wonder, does this push the rear wheel forward (smaller wheelbase) or raise the swingarm a bit? 

I tried the stock chain length with the 17/45 on my 5G, thinking that shortening the wheel base would be better.

It wasn't, it lowers the rear height and the bike just didn't feel right. Felt like it wanted to tuck in.

Went the extra two links on my 520 17/45 conversion and it feels a lot better.

6 O'Clock is where it wants to be.

33 minutes ago, VFROZ

I tried the stock chain length with the 17/45 on my 5G, thinking that shortening the wheel base would be better.

It wasn't, it lowers the rear height and the bike just didn't feel right. Felt like it wanted to tuck in.

Went the extra two links on my 520 17/45 conversion and it feels a lot better.

6 O'Clock is where it wants to be.

VROZ,

With sprocket size other then stock i can't seem to hit 6. If you had to lean one way or the other, would you go 5 o'clock "longer" or 7 "shorter", have you tried both?  

FWIW, the service manual references the little "wear indicator" sticker on the chain guard, which is on the shorter side. This is where I set mine (or as close as I could get it w/ the new chain's length). It seems based on the offered adjustment, this is on the shorter side of things but I have appropriate slack in the chain.

I probably should / could have erred longer, (can always cut it down later) but will give this a whirl for now. In theory, one could drop the front end a bit (more forks above triple) to compensate for lowered rear ride height if experiencing any handling issues and being on the shorter side of things with the wheelbase, if you run out of swing arm angle, it can do bad things.  However, if you adjust accordingly a shorter wheelbase should turn quicker, a longer wheelbase should be a little more stable.

[image: ChainVFR.JPG]

keef, 6/12/2018 at 3:03 AM

I love seeing things that I had a hand in starting to snowball and spread around the world.

Keef, I recon you’re singlehandedly responsible for the price spike in Ducati 848/1098/1198 hubs and wheels on eBay! 

Every man and his wife want one now. Some sellers have gone stark raving mad with their prices. Took me 4 months to source a reasonably priced setup. 

Can anyone confirm if the speed sensors on the 6th gen fit on a 5th gen? That might help recalibrate the speedo. 

I have seen a complete 1098 swingarm (including hub/rotor/caliper, etc) on an aus track junkies site for $100aus.

They are still out there.

Stray, 6/19/2018 at 12:20 PM

Keef, I recon you’re singlehandedly responsible for the price spike in Ducati 848/1098/1198 hubs and wheels on eBay! 

Every man and his wife want one now. Some sellers have gone stark raving mad with their prices. Took me 4 months to source a reasonably priced setup. 

Can anyone confirm if the speed sensors on the 6th gen fit on a 5th gen? That might help recalibrate the speedo. 

Speed sensors are simple electronic clickers that send the output shaft rotation speed as pulses. This signal is used by the speedo to calculate speed. Swapping sensors won’t change the output pulses. Get a Speedo healer if you want to correct your speedo. It fits between the speed sensor and the speedo and adjusts the number of pulses to correct the speedo display.