1999 VFR 10000klm birthday Build/Built journal / blog thread

Hello all, this is more a Built than Build thread including my journey into owning and modding my VFR

I will apologize in advance for the long winded wall of text write-up, and will state from the outset that as I had no real intentions of creating and documenting my process as such there are a lot of pictures and information missing so this is not really a build thread more a journal blog of my journey into owning and customizing my VFR I hope no one minds.

Ok I was asked by a few people to do this during my build and part being lazy and part being I really didn’t think anyone would be interested I simply didn’t document enough. However based on some recent requests and the badgering from a couple of mates I figure I best do something so here it is.

A little history to begin,

As a kid like many of us I used to ride dirt bikes and due to a number of things such as a work injury which destroyed my right wrist, a wife, kids and generally life just getting in the way I had been off bikes or a bit over 15 years.

After much research and test riding various bikes I found the VFR800 best suited my needs with what I wanted in a bike, something that is comfortable to ride all day long, a full fairing, not the quickest out there but no slouch either, looks good and holds its ages well. So I settled on a 5th gen as the bike to find

So the quest began to find a 5th gen VFR800 that was in my small $$$ budget, (this is probably going to upset a few) I got sick of seeing red VFR’s not that there is anything wrong with Red but it was coming across as if that’s the only colour Honda made. There were a few Blue ones popping up here and there but most were out of my price range.

Then in January 2012 a yellow one shows up on a for sale site for a price that’s to good not to investigate. Although still not sure on the colour as I’m just not feeling it but it’s in my price range and once seeing it in the flesh so to speak it was confirmed yes this is the one. So knowing in advance that the 99 vfr had in fact been a repairable write off and getting the history on why it was written off and how it was repaired I was at ease that the bike was sound. With 92000 klm on the clock I was put at ease by this and other VFR forums knowing that these things are near bullet proof. I paid the $$$ and rode it home, I should also mention I jumped in at the deep end in my first road bike ride as the purchase was made 150 klm from home. (Wow coming from dirt bikes now on a road bike what have I done, my riding style simply is totally different and I’m really not sure how to maneuver this beast, however after a few k’s I settled into the saddle and just went with the flow)

So now having purchased the bike this is how she looked once home



I am lucky enough to have some of the best riding roads at my door step, so figured the only way to learn how to ride this bike was to do just that. And that I did I was riding a couple of twisty loops every weekend learning what worked and what didn’t and regardless of how the day went one thing was constant I would always arrive home in one piece and with a massive shit eating grin from ear to ear

A couple of pics from one of my favorite roads





Now by this stage, after countless hours lurking around forums looking at all the options, advice and mods the bike is now fast approaching the 100000 k and I figure it’s time for a birthday. I had planned on the usual mods, flapper, pair block off and a few others I had seen on the forums and started to accumulate parts and ideas.
Being a little bit anal when it comes to paint and detailing I was never truly happy with the finish on the bike as such started to figure out what I wanted to achieve in the look, colour and style.

Probably the biggest turning point in going from a simple paint and minor mod process to a major custom job happened when I was in the shed cleaning the bike; my daughter comes in and is looking over the bike out of nowhere she states “Dad you know this bike has a really fat ass” a little shocked by the out of blue statement I stood staring at the rear of the bike only to conclude she was right.

I should disclose at this point I don’t want the same as everyone else and like to have a little individual flair in everything I do and own. I also believe I suffer from a condition called stock-itis which means nothing I own is stock or standard and has been customized is some way or form.

So again the forum lurking begins to find out what other tail mods had been done, I was a big fan of the under tail exhaust mod and began researching what when and how to achieve it. I started thinking I would do a single can exhaust in the process of looking for parts I came across another VFR800 that was a wreck which had a number of parts I wanted for my project it also meant I could do my build without taking my bike out of service. I also came across a pair of cans that but my single can project to rest, I still don’t know what the cans are as there is nothing stamped or marked on them.

At this point I need to thank tinkerinWstuff, veefer800canuck and sa1713 for their build threads which gave me the understanding and inspiration to do my own build.

So now armed with all the parts needed for the project I started. I never really planned on doing a build thread so there are a lot of photos missing but I’m sure you get the idea.

This is what we started with



First point of call was to remove the front indicators (de-Dumbo)

I had the luxury of having a full set of spare fairings which made this whole process a lot easier.



Using some skills I had learned from a custom car audio build I did I started by filling the void, using a piece of fabric I placed it over the void and glued it into place



Glued in place

Trimmed

Using fiberglass resin the fabric becomes solid like fiberglass



Then build up the area for strength with fiberglass matt and resin





Sanded back and ready for primer and filler



To replace the now missing indicators I purchased a pair of mirrors with indicators in them, I also decided that I would like to add something else but more on that later

Now onto the fat ass

A standard 5th gen rear assembly





Spare rear tail fairing, rear cans mocked up into place





Now at this point my intention was to use the original taillight set until I realized I was not leaving a lot of clearance between the cans and the rear tyre. The only way to fix this is to raise up the cans in the sub frame which in turn meant I couldn’t use the original light set.

So incorporating a similar technique as I did for the front indicators we come to this







Using the stretch fabric allowed me to shape and form the material to the shape I wanted prior to glassing.

Sadly there are a number of steps in this process missing, however the process is much the same as the front indicator cover up.

As previously noted above the realization that the OEM light set will not fit I was on a mission to find a new light to replace it with, after many hours google image searching and in keeping it a Honda build I settled on the tail light from a CBR600RR

So after much sanding shaping sanding filling sanding, sanding Oh and sanding we finished with this



in comparison to this







As for the under tray (sorry no pics) I stole the idea from sa1713 and enlisted the help of a local sheet metal fabricator to bend up and shape a section to replace the plastic under tray and mudguard, I also incorporated a double wall in this piece to create an air gap to reduce any heat into the seat from the exhaust. The sheet metal was then riveted into the sub frame, it was at this point I relocated the ECU and mounted it on the right side of the sub frame.

Installed on the donor bike for fit







Now at this point a mate made mention that I had somehow sub consciously made the rear of my bike resemble something from my childhood.





Finally the rear was ready for paint which is a custom yellow with a variation pearl, in other words the pearl changes from green to gold depending on the light and which angle your looking at it.









And for those that haven’t picked it yet, I thought I would throw another spanner in the works by swapping out the 5th gen tank for a nice 6th gen tank. Again thanks to Tink and Veefeer800 for answering my questions and guiding me through the fitment of the 6th gen tank. The fit is fairlt simple the front head bolts match up perfect while I needed to dril and tap 2 new holes on the rear flange of the tank to line up the rear bolts on the hinge mount which are spaced wider than the 5th gen 





Now that the main paint was done it was time to put some design work into place to break up the yellow sharpen some lines and overall make it look better, with the help of a sign writer friend we came up with a variation of the Honda wing logo. All the graphics including the Honda logo on the tank are painted not decal, the main graphic is a carbon grey colour with a bold silver outline

Pin striping the layout for the graphics



Paint finally finished and mocked up on the donor bike














As I had the luxary of a donor bike to build keeping my bike ridable, it accured to me after a few rides that my suspension was basicly shot. So based on that I had the front forks rebuilt by a local suspension guru who also ordered me one of these



Needless to say it handles sooooooo much better

As some of you may have noticed in this thread or in a previous thread I have posted in, the bike seems to be missing some indicators. The front are replaced by LED indicators integrated into a set of mirrors purchased from e-bay, and being ever safety conscience I did a little extra to make my turn intentions more apparent.

[video=youtube;qnUMlRk47Qo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUMlRk47Qo[/video]

 

The rear indicators are taken care of with the rear CBR600 light which also has the indicators intergrated in the same light. (this light is in the process of being upgraded to a better quality one which displays the lights source better)

As with the front I decided for no other reason than I can to add some extra indicator and stop lights

[video=youtube_share;jPVCB81d1vE]http://www.youtube.com/embed/jPVCB81d1vE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/video]

I need to get a couple of up to date pictures, since the above pictures were taken I have now added new wheels which are painted in the same carbon gray, a ZG screen and a few extra gold Bling parts

Adding to the mod list, new suspension as mentioned, flapper valve mod, pairs pod block off and pipe work removed, K&N filter, EBC HH pads all round and a PC3.

Mods to follow, a custom seat (like a sergeant world series) Braided lines and a new faring bolt kit in gold.

Now if you happen to still be awake after reading all this I commend you and thanks for viewing

Cheers Daniel

 

Nice job!
.....

 

Thanks, great job. It's really interesting to see how you did that. Might be borrowing some techniques from you for my cb750's.

 

Very nice job, excellent work all around.

 

Well done mate. Great effort. Any audio of her running? Would love to hear those pipes. PS Where in Vic are you located?

 

Really nice job !!!

 

Thanks very much guys, I have a few more little projects I'm doing on it and will update the thread with a little more detail when I get around to doing them.

Thanks mate, no audio of her running but I'll see what I can do to record something for you.

I'm out in SE Melbourne bordering on Gippsland, we ride most weekends so if you ever looking for a ride on some awesome roads let me know.

Cheers
Daniel

 

:hss: damn.......that is one sick bike :faint2:
Love those blinker :thumbsup: well done mate

 

Nice job all around. I like the way you used the fabric as a molding base. Nice trick! Nice paint also.

 

Did you find that shock absorber used? Thats a pricey item! Niiiiice job again Toad!

 

Thanks

Thanks, its a trick I picked up when I did some stereo work in my car. It is fairly easy to do and a great way to hold and form a shape to work with.

Cheers mate, Lol no it is not used it was ordered custom built for me I also had the front forks rebuilt at the same time. Don't tell the Wife but between the front and rear there wasn't much change out of 2K. But it was worth every penny the bike handles sooooooooooo much better than before, besides I brought the bike cheep so we don't talk about how much it's cost me since

 

Dude, you are the MANNNNNNNNNNNN. What an awesome job , and I to love those turn signals and exhaust. Waiting to hear her puuuuuuur.......:boozer:-----CHEERS

 

Yeah, I tend to lose a zero or two when telling my wife about the parts I buy. LOL

 

acwelch, thats so true-----just did that with my new Leo's , but changed the first number------shhhhh

 

Cheers Duccmann, I'm very happy with how it all turned out.

As requested a sound clip, the sound quality isn't as good it sound in the flesh but you get the idea