Hello from Cambodia.

Hello, new owner/rider from Cambodia. I’m actually originally from London, England and have lived out here for just over a decade. I rode out here from England on a BMW G650x, which I still own and also have a Honda Shadow 750 which I kind of inherited from a friend. But my first passion has always been sports-bikes and building Streetfighters.

Bikes are relatively hard to find out here but I’ve come across a Honda VTR750 (1997) for a good price. It’s not in running but is in excellent condition. This is a common issues out here, the ridiculous heat tends to turn the fuel in the carbs into glue and gums up the jets so I’m hoping that’s the problem. In any case, it’s cheap enough that I’m happy to take a chance on it.

I’m picking it up next weekend and will ship it from the coast back to the city.

My plan is to strip it down and build it into a pretty radical streetfighter.

So hello everyone and if anyone could give me any pointers about what to look for, I would appreciate it.

 

Welcome!

 

Sounds like a plan, welcome to the club

 

Hey, a fellow Brit, from Bath. I went to Bath once but don't really remember it. I bet you hear that a lot. I was originally from Bexleyheath, right on the border of London and Kent. I've been away over a decade, I shudder to think what it looks like now.
Hopefully picking her up this weekend.

She needs a name...

 

Hi Jack - and welcome to the Madhouse from a Middlesex expat now resident in the alps.

Reading between the lines it sounds like you are taking on a project bike - as the main reason for street fighter conversions is the bike has already taken a tumble.

In which case my main suggestion is that before buying any parts, please carefully examine the frame and rest of the bike for any damage which might make the bike unsafe and then prepare a full list of what parts you will require, just in case it is not financially worth repairing.

In the meantime I hope your purchase proves a result - don't forget to post up some photos - it is easy - click on the "upload a file link" and follow the prompts then select how you want the image displayed using the "More options"

Take care


SkiMad

 

a little history of the cambodian genocide thanks to nixon and henry kissinger

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/5/24/intercept_kissinger_cambodia_killing_fields

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over the years i worked on carbs from two vtr one-thousands, not at all easy work, but nowhere near as tough as those from a v-max

 

Hello, Sir! I rode through the Pyrenees and crossed in an out of the Alps. Spectacularly beautiful place but my burning need to go further left me stuck in Asia. Actually the bike looks near-mint. From what I can tell the bike belonged to a guy who has left the country and his girlfriend is now selling it for him. I already checked, she's got all the legal paperwork. It's just been left here until the battery died and the fuel clogged up the carbs (I hope). I've seen pics and a video and it looks like there's not a mark on the fairing anywhere.
The reason I want a streetfighter is I want to make a specific bike and this machine is the perfect platform. I've built a few bikes before and I'm confident I'm ready to do this.
Long story but I'm an author and wrote a book series that is a nostalgic re-imagining of the 80s action shows and there's a motorcycle in there that I want to build and have in my garage.
But, I'll definitely check the bike out carefully first for drop damage. I'm going to ride her for a few months before I mess with anything.

 

This place does have a very dark history, and a complicated one. America was invited to bomb the supply lines from Vietnam by the Cambodian king. They agreed and if they hadn't, the communists here would have perpetrated a massacre of unprecedented proportions. The 'killing-fields' has a tree where babies had their heads smashed in against the trunk and when it rains, fragments of bones and teeth still come up from the ground. If they had been fully armed, you can only imagine what they might have done.

Never worked on a V4, nor even owned one. Just working on the carbs of a 750 Honda Shadow, which is a needlessly over complicated single carb setup. It wasn't too bad but I haven't put it back on yet. I'm not looking forward to working on the carb bank on this thing.

 

Hi, welcome. Wasn't the VTR a 1000cc V2?

 

Likely just a typo. He refers to the V4 engine and came to "VFRWorld", not "VTRWorld"

 

Doh, I keep doing that. I'm a big fan of V-twins, my last bike was a Varadero and had an Suzuki SV before that. I nearly bought a VTR250 for commuting before deciding on a much manlier bike. I was actually looking around for a Firestorm (I think the American market called it the Hawk). But yeah, I meant the VFR. Never had a V4 before so pretty excited about this. I've owned hundreds of bikes so far (I also had a scooter rental business) so not having a V4 is actually saying something...

 

You should be a detective!

 

P.S. if anyone is interested, I'm going to vlog it. Last run I did to Kampot (the town where I'm picking up the bike) I did on my manly commuter bike. It's a Honda (ahem) 50cc Ruckus. The girls (my wife, mum-in-law and baby) all went on the train and my son and me went on the Ruck. We raced them and actually beat Google maps prediction by about 15 minutes. We beat the train by over an hour. Long life the Ruckus! She's a great scooter, I've had her modded with taller off-road suspension and she rocks.
So, I'll make a video about rescuing the VFR and getting her back to PP.

 

This sounds intriguing...

"I want to make a specific bike and this machine is the perfect platform. I've built a few bikes before and I'm confident I'm ready to do this."

Bring on the photos - I guess that I will have to order in some pop-corn.

SkiMad

 

I hope it will be fun. I will take a while to get it started, I'm going to ride the bike for a few months first. There's a lot to figure out like the rear-mounted flame-throwers and the nose-cannon, rockets and trip-mines. Luckily, they're all pretty much legal here - as far as I know.

 

That sounds manly enough . Looking forward to some pictures.

 

Of my Honda Ruckus? If you want to see her story, check the link below. We had a good time on it, my son loved it. The bike took it pretty well. You can't go wrong with a Honda!!!

http://edgeverse.org/?p=6138

 

Well I got it. It was a struggle but she's mine. I had to take it to a local mechanic (who understood big bikes) and that nearly killed me. As well as low pressure on the front tyre, the rear brakes were locked almost all the way on. Pushing it a mile nearly gave me a heart attack. The carbs have been cleaned, the clutch was seized and is now working perfectly and I have to source a battery. The old one is being conditioned but I don't think it's going to recover. I've still got to sort the rear brake but I can manage that myself.
It should be delivered to my house today...

 

check the rear brake slider pin for rust and seizure

 

I got it delivered and they've actually fixed the brake. It was a nightmare though. They were meant to deliver at 10 but it hadn't arrived by 12 and I had heard nothing. The guy wouldn't deal with me but gave me the number of his 'uncle'. He wouldn't deliver it either, he said he wanted to fix it. After a fight I got it delivered at about 1.30. He also asked for extra money which I refused. This morning, the supposedly charged battery is doing nothing whatsoever. I'm suspicious they've messed with the bike, although there is no sign that they have. There's a good chance the battery is just shot.
We'll see...

UPDATE

The battery is shot. It wouldn't even light an LED headlight to full power. I swapped it out for the Shadow battery I have lying around, which is also shot and it lit the dash fine. It died when I pressed start but it does show there's nothing major wrong. I just need a battery now and I can move on to dealing with the next issues.