1994 RVF400R Build Project

Been a while since I visited this thread, I really enjoy builds like this.

 

Thanks for checking it out!

I haven't really posted much of what is actually going on lately. The weather and the government shutdown isn't helping get the bike delivered. First the folks working on it said it was done, so I scheduled the shipping and paid for it.......then, the day before it was supposed to ship, the owner of Moto2 Imports went down to take some pictures and a video of it running before I said, OK, ship it, and come to find out, it's not done. Oh boy, I was not a happy camper. Apparently, when they rejetted the carbs for the dyno tune, they had some fuel weepage during the dyno runs and decided to replace all the o-rings. Well the parts got to customs at JFK and just stalled there, due to lack of manpower. So the shipping of the machine was canceled. It's been kind of a joke, should have never let them touch it. Now I'm stuck with my own decision and have to live with it.

Everything on my end is going great, but I will still have to tear it completely apart once it gets here. It's a huge project. Biggest one I've done to date. I've only shown about 15% of what's happening. I figured I would just document it all when it came time for actually doing the build. It will end up being an almost completely new RVF400R...with some serious upgrades. At least, I could have been well into it by now....tis, what it tis. Still no firm pickup schedule, so I just keep building the stack of parts and wait, seething.

 

is there a reason you sent Diving Petes rads to the UK to be built?,I'd have thought that their would be heaps of places in the 'States' that would be capable of doing it, just wondering!

 

Because he doesn't yet have the bike to then be able to ship the rads to a company to then make 'overcored' versions. You are right, there are lots of companies that can do this in the US - however that also applies to the UK.

In America, there is almost nothing known about these bikes - they were never imported there so parts are really hard to come by.
In the UK there is a lot more 'still' available for customers.. even 23 years later..

 

As an example, I was chatting online with Pitbull Racing about what the correct adapter pin would be for their headstock lift stand for the RVF400, as their list had changed. The nice person told me they didn't have anything for it.......initially thought it was a Suzuki. Always best to deal with an experienced person.

 

ah ok then

 

Speaking with Darren Jeynes at Radtec, he said that quite a few of his VFR400 and RVF400 race radiator sets have been shipped across the pond to the states. From all the research I did, Radtec was #1 for knowledge, service, and quality. Cooling is equally as important as oil. I won't get into the technical reasoning behind proper operating temp ranges of ICE's. There are plenty of technical papers available on the subject. You don't do a serious build and then skimp on the important shit to save a couple duckets. May as well not even do it.

 

Are you going to keep this one? It would be hard to let a gem like this go. Bu i guess if someone puts a fistful of cash in your face.............. lol

 

This one is staying put. Wanted one for a very long time. Even made a massive lifestyle change to get myself in the right physical window for it. Went against my better judgement and bought that Ducati, lesson learned. The next on the want list is a KTM 150SX.

 

A couple more things showed up today, so I thought I would be more diligent and not get so far behind, that I just quit, LOL







I have been working on getting the pieces parts together for the rear brake light switch. The stock setup is a clunky plastic part, with a steel mount, actuated by a spring. Ghastly. The Tyga rear set comes with a steel mount for the stock switch and spring, that gets sandwiched between the rear set and the master cylinder. Not exactly a sanitary setup, and I'm not really a fan of plastic. So, I sourced a Goodridge pressure switch banjo bolt instead. These things are bulletproof. I also purchased the 90 degree boot to cover the switch...because they don't just make it part of the switch kit.

For the switch wiring, I went to McMaster Carr and purchased some silicone coated, high temp wire sheathing. This stuff is sweet, as the wiring runs close to the exhaust, without protecting the wires, they can get pretty crispy over time. This stuff is good to 390 degrees F and does a nice clean job of keeping everything protected. I also got some expandable fire resistant sheathing to go over that, just to make it look nice. I also grabbed some adhesive lined heat shrink to seal up the sheathing, to ensure that no water can enter the switch where the wires penetrate. I ordered a new OEM switch and I will cannibalize the plug off of that, so it will plug directly in to the OEM harness connector.



I received the lower triple from Tyga Performance in Thailand last week, to go with the top clamp and ignition switch mount I already had. It's really decent kit. Today the ti, DLC coated, tapered socket pinch bolts arrived, got those put where they won't get misplaced in the mass of shit I have on hand. The lower bearing race is taking a nap in the freezer right now, so it will be easier to tap into the frame later. I ordered the top bearing and seal from David Silver Spares, but it was part of a giant order of OEM bits and hasn't shipped yet.

I now have every piece of hardware from the tank forward, on the front end, in ti, all the way down to the piston calipers. I have all of the OEM seals and o-rings to rebuild both calipers, which will be vapor blasted and cerakoted. I have replaced everything except the meters. The forks are getting DLC stanchions from Brook Suspension in the UK and custom Andreani cartridges, and the upper tubes and the axle carriers are getting coated. Fast Bike Industries is doing all of the fork work. Should be really decent when they are done.

My good friend and ace machinist from Maine, Rob, is working diligently on recreating two front spindles (axles) from ti as this is being typed. The stock Honda spindles are discontinued, so I thought I would just have him work his magic and create a couple for Diving Pete and myself. It's not an easy process, ti is finicky to machine and the design of the axles requires a little bit of effort to recreate....but I couldn't just have everything in ti, and keep the steel axle If you're gonna do it, go ALL the way.



I also grabbed some new tools that I will be needing. A Motion Pro bearing race extractor, to remove the old races from the frame and their race installation tool to tap them in correctly, without damaging anything. I'm not really big on beating on shit with punches and hammers, the right tools for the job is a personal priority for me. I also picked up the special swingarm nut tool from Honda Classics in the UK. The swingarm pivot bolt mounting and a couple of the engine mounts use a rather bizarre setup, so it's imperative to have this tool to get everything torqued correctly.

Honda Classics is a company that started in 2012, they specialize in restoration parts and tools for Honda machines from the 90's and earlier. They are associated with the David Silver Spares Honda Collection, which is a very cool operation. It's very similar to the Honda museum, but not quite as extensive for things other than 2 wheels.

http://www.davidsilverhondacollection.co.uk/

 

Speedwerks finished up their part of the deal and the bike is scheduled to be picked up for delivery by HaulBikes in the next 2-3 days.....Then my part of the project can start.

 

I'll keep this brief...WOW!!

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, I'd keep that one. Very nice.

 

How much does it weigh?

 

I haven't weighed it myself, of course. The quoted numbers I've seen are 360 pounds. When I'm done, who knows what it will be. I have an idea of what I would like to see, only time will tell if I can get there. It will be a decent build, I believe. Just have to get it here and start the process. I have a solid platform to start with, and that's always good. Stay tuned.......

 

Shitty video quality.....But it sounds decent for a cell phone vid. Tyga Performance full system, carbon high volume airbox, rejet with HRC spec jetting and dyno tune....I have a pile of bits to throw at it. This is just the baseline.

 

Getting to the pointy end.
Very exciting, are you planning on keeping it Road registered?
It will be a sweet handling bike and a good weapon on a tight track.
Some time ago there was a heap of Jap imports that were brought over and were selling for around AU$4000 with about 20,000km on them.
They would have made a great buy.

 

Sweet sound.

 

Thanks! You don't really know until you hear it in person, but my guess is that it will be decent.

 

It still sounds good. Good looking bike too. Thanks for sharing. It has been a long wait for you.