Looks like RWB is in my future! "The Phoenix Project" sorry for the cliche

I didn't want to jinx it but I just closed a deal on a 2007 RWB ABS. It is a craigslist find that has a ton of potential IMHO. It is a one owner bike serial number 28 so it is a really early unit. It comes with a ton of extras such as a two brothers stash system as well as stock, a corbin seat, a PC V, a 929 shock, an 8 spoke rear wheel, speedo healer, and a set of R1 forks for a front end conversion.

So that is all very exciting but it has suffered from a brush with a good sized tree (species unknown) that bent the forks and basically ruined the bodywork. The title is clear and the frame has been inspected and found ok. So this is a phoenix project! If all works out as planned I will be picking it up next weekend and the fun can begin!

Now I can change my signature and the garage will be a warm happy place again.......aaahhhhhh.:biggrin:

Oh yes, I know, no pics and all this is BS. Should have some next week.

 

oooooooooooooooooooo....... Were waiting!

 

Good luck......keep us posted

 

My favorite vfr so far. Good luck with the project!

 

It is going to be a bit of an epic drive to claim the beast but what is life without a little adventure! I will use it as an excuse to take the family down south for some sunshine as it is in South Carolina. I will return with tales of road weariness and disgruntled children. But hopefully it will be worth the effort in the end.

I'm going to need a front wheel for the the bike so if anyone is sitting on one, please let me know. I have found one for a 2001 and they are supposed to be the same but it would be nice to have a sixth gen wheel. I will post it up in the classifieds as a WTB.

 

Ok well after 3600 kms of driving, I have the new project in the garage. I'm still a bit dopey from the fatigue of driving so far in such a short time that I fear I may write some nonsesensical crap so be forewarned!

The bike was owned by a fellow VFRW member "techrider" from Georgia but he is living in Hilton Head SC now so that is where I had to go to get the machine. I'm just south of Ottawa Ontario so one way it is 1800 kilometers or about 1100 miles. That is a long road trip for a bike! It wouldn't be too bad if the bike was in running condition so I could fly down and ride it home but this poor machine had an encounter with a tree early one morning and has sat in a storage unit since. The PO is a young man compared to me but he rode quite a bit and spent plenty on his baby up until the accident. Pretty much everything you can do to the VFR was done or in the works. RR mods, VFRnes, PCV with autotune, pipes, seat, scott filter, etc etc etc. He obviously loved the machine. It really is amazing that the accident didn't take his life!

So looking at the numbers I decided that this would be a great project for Jethro's garage even after the costs of recovery were factored in. I have wanted a 25th anniversary bike for a while but didn't think much about it as they were priced out of my reach for the most part but now I finally have one.

So the story starts with the preparations for the trip. It was going to be a very long haul so my trailer was a concern. The lights were semi functional, the wheel bearings hadn't seen any love in while and I had no spare tire. Having committed to the bike, I really had no choice but to make sure that my little mule would make it down and back without issue. She has served me well for many years so I owed her some attention. So new bearings, new lights, new bolts for the wheel chock and a spare tire later, oh yes some beer and a few mosquitoes were killed in the process too.




With the trailer ready I turned my attention to our trusted SUV, the venerable Acura MDX. This vehicle has served us well for the last five years and will haul the entire family with gear and the trailer and roof rack too if needed. But she has 214,000 miles on her now so I make sure that all the fluids are changed often to ensure maximum reliability. These have been known to eat transmissions much like many other modern vehicles do these days, google mini cooper cvt transmissions some day when you are bored! Anyway, I change the transmission fluid once a year on this just to be sure it keeps running smooth and so far the strategy has worked.

So all loaded up I departed at 7am Thursday morning. NY state passed without issue except to say that the weather was perfect. PA was better! The hills are so amazing with all the leaves out. Then I arrived in Washington at afternoon rush hour. ^*&^*&&^* that was no fun at all and ate up precious time, lots of it. By 10 pm I was in St Paul North Carolina and decided to pack it in for the night. The destination was only another 4 hrs away so I could do that with ease on Friday morning and then spend the afternoon exploring the Hilton Head area while I waited for the PO to get off work.

I arrived in Hilton Head at noon and proceeded to explore the area as I had never been there before. Hmmmmm, lots of golf courses and gray haired retired folks clogging the roads. Best pay attention as they do so funny things behind the wheel from time to time and some of it ain't legal or safe. Besides the danger lurking on the roads, it was a beautiful place. Everything is lush and green and clean with the exception of the bathrooms at the fast food places which to be honest literally scared the crap out of me! Lol!

Finally I met with techrider and we went to the storage unit where the crippled VFR lay waiting. It was a sad sight and due to the condition of the front forks and front wheel, quite difficult to drag / lift out of there. With some brute force and ignorance we managed to get her on my little trailer and then came the task of loading all the other stuff and there was a shite load of it. The next photo is only for members with a strong stomach! It isn't as bad as Toecutter's finger pictures but they are graphic!




So once we loaded up I had the pleasure of meeting tech's wifey and one month old son. We visited for a bit and talked german cars, bikes, philosophy etc and of course exchanged gifts to conclude the deal. Had to make sure the paperwork was right so the Canadian tax man could properly bend me over later eh!

So at 6pm Friday afternoon I turned my rolling junk yard north and attempted to lock it in at warp factor two. That didn't work as the load had increased quite a bit and the SUV would only sustain warp 1 with an acceptable fuel burn. That was ok because this wasn't about speed, it was about endurance. So I dropped the hammer so to speak and didn't stop for anything but gas till noon Saturday, when I arrived back home. Crossing the border went smooth as the paperwork all lined up and I got the "import process" started as well as paying the tax man his cut on the deal. They didn't even come out to inspect the vehicle or the bike which I found surprising.
Here we are taking a short pee break in PA.


After arriving home, I unloaded and then took a "time out" to recharge a bit. Later in the evening I too these pictures of all the parts an the bike in my garage. For those who don't know, I'm in the middle of a huge renovation on our new house and my in-laws are also moving so I have all their stuff in my garage too. It is a mess but it will only get better so there is hope. So here was the scene last night.







So that is all for the moment. I did get the front end off last night and found the front valve cover is cracked so I will be looking for one of those as well as an oil cooler so I can get the bike fired and running again.
This promises to be an interesting project and hopefully and fun ride in the not so distant future.

 

You the Man! :yo:

The last Car my Boss sent to Canada ( 69 Camaro ) was stuck at the border for a week! ( new owner & shipper didn't have paper work done prior to shipping & arrival at the border) :tsk:

Hope you enjoy the build, & get many years of pleasure out of your New girl!

 

How do you know if the frame is not bent from a front end impact liek that?

 

Jethro good luck getting it all sorted and back together again. Sounds like the PO treated his gal nicely, that's quite a few bucks in mods and upgrades there!

 

Actually that is a great question and to tell you the truth, at this point I don't know. However, frames with titles are available for not too much $$$$ so if it turns out that way, so be it.

I have the front off right now and surprisingly the triples are perfectly square and straight. I will know better when I install the new forks and axle. Then I can check the alignment and see if it is off when compared with the center line of the rear axle. I don't think it will be off though as it appears that the forks and rim absorbed the hit. The frame was inspected by some military NDI specialists and they declared it sound before I bought it so I'm cautiously optimistic!

Accident damage is a strange thing. One thing can be completely destroyed and right next to it sits a pristine, undamaged item. In this case the mirrors don't have a scratch. How is it possible??

 

I would have the chassis professionally checked and straightened, looks like it took quite a blow.