‘94 comes to life

Discussion in '3rd & 4th Generation 1990-1997' started by Toddman, Nov 9, 2019.

  1. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    7B28CEEE-A0DF-4923-9177-71DE5B2F6D59.jpeg A couple more. There will be a black pad on the tail section for the seat.

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    ...and I love Mr. Ed. (Basically the great grandson of the VFR).

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    Last edited: Mar 15, 2020
  2. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    a couple of shots from the build again. This chassis setup was the one tested at the Hallett racetrack. It works great. This year I’ll mount a transponder to document lap times as they progress. The fastest that I was able to muster the ‘06 gsxr1000 was 1:21 and change. I expect the vfr to be in the 1:24 range at the end of the season. 1:24’s will outrun all of the plain-Jane trackday stars. Lol.

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    This was my 3rd ‘06 gsxr1000. It is also the red one above. Built by the exact same process as the vfr. This gsxr had cams and spent several hours on a dyno. It ended with 157 rwhp. This bike would absolutely come out of an apex like nothing I had ever ridden. Smooth as silk and would raise the front tire about an inch off the ground to 140mph (in 3rd gear) all the way down the straightaway to turn 10 at Hallett.
    Naked while testing. 59EDB580-C91D-4C8D-B55F-4876E8E00901.jpeg

    this is my favorite picture of the vfr to date.


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    Last edited: Mar 15, 2020
  3. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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  4. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    very impressive, and nobody here has done more or more excellent work on a gen4. ;)
     
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  5. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    That’s a heck of a nice thing to say but I don’t know if I could equal some of the builds coming from this group of folks. I do center my builds for the trackday enthusiast. A quick story.

    years ago I was qualifying for a sprint race at Hallett. I was coming through turn 9 which is an uphill right hander. It’s very close to #8. To get through 9 quickly one must drift through 8 a bit. After coming through 8 perfectly I could hear a factory Buell coming up behind me. I knew who it was and he has since won 4 Daytona 200’s. (Danny Eslick) I was coming through 9 with my right knee on the ground and this dude passed me on the outside shooting a roostertail of dirt behind him. He was in the fringe and was flattracking his factory Buell!!!
    Moral of the story?
    If you think you’re fast, you’re not! Hahahahahahaha. (He’s a great guy)
    At one event I got to meet Bubba Shobert and his family as his son was racing for the CMRA in the 600 class.

    I don’t have a pic of him but this is my first gsxr1000 going through #9. There are some extremely talented riders that have raced at Hallett. I’m more of a “setup” wrench than a racer.
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    Last edited: Mar 16, 2020
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  6. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    865C35BE-580D-454E-9A73-DB020E434661.jpeg View attachment 84447
    With all that is going on these days this might be a nice change. The fuel tank is almost ready...now I understand all the hoopla about gas tanks. They are not easy to fabricate.



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  7. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    Update.

    Tig brazing with silicon bronze is a good way to seal the tank. And again, the original VFR 750 fuel tank was too big to coexist with the ‘04RR plastics. It looked out of place. We tried three builds. The first was to literally dent in an original tank to fit under the ‘04 cover. That would not work as the area directly under the cap would never fir right. The RR cover tilts slightly forward. No matter what we tried there wasn’t room for it.

    the necessity to have a cap that fit the cover meant I had to purchase a cheap original tank for an ‘04. Found a dented one for $20 on EBay. I had the same thought. I’ll cut it down to fit the VFR and fab hangers for everything. As the dissecting ensued, the same problem surfaced in that it didn’t matter what was cut down, the cover would not fit right.

    The third go around was to design a 2 gallon tank (remember this is a trackday bike) to fit under the cover. The first one wasn’t bad. I make everything out of cardboard first and trim the parts to fit. The cap mount was extracted from the RR tank (or what was left of it), cleaned up and mounted to a 16ga. Steel top. The steel was bent and hammered to fit to the top of the cover. Problem was that the top of the tank was too wide from the 22ga steel that was used to build it. One would think to make that tank smaller on the top section. Yeah it just doesn’t work right. If you change something it affects the whole.

    The fourth one is working. The pics of it are part cardboard and part steel. The trick is to mount the tank to the frame because the tank is the stressed member that supports the plastic cover. Not the other way around. The clearances that have to happen for this to work are very small. A 1/16” can cause the whole thing to fail. It’s almost like building it out from the middle. Fuel tanks on motorcycles really define the style of the build. It has to be right and that takes time.

    When the inner tank is completed it will have a polished finish with the bronze seams. It will be grinded smooth and polished out. The mounts for both the tank and the cover will double as coil mounts and cable stays just as Honda had them built originally. The tank cover will utilize simple hinges and Dzus fasteners for quick access. The petcock bung has been welded in and smoothed for the Pingel duel outlet valve. I’ll have the tanked welded, sealed, polished and mounted in two days. As clean parts are secured back on to the bike it looks better and better. Again as with most resto-mods, if it is thought out, pictures don’t do the machine justice. They have to be seen in person.

    More Later

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  8. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    Update:
    The gas tank cover has hinges now mounted to the frame at the triples and am finishing the fuel tank. It turned out to be 2 1/2 gallons. Will weld mounts to it and polish it out before pictures are submitted. I’d still like to cover the welds with silicon bronze tig braze as it creates a nice finished gold trim. After the polish, will clear it and add an insulated cover on the bottom. The tank will be sealed with Red Koat. The tank mounting was involved as the fit had to be spot on.
    The tank cover pivots up from the rear. Found some old style Rizoma mirrors when it goes to street. Need to find a 900rr clock set, a 2004 1000rr taillight and some trick LED small headlights. Have decided to move the oil cooler to the left side inboard of the coolant hose. It seems to fit perfectly there. I’m keeping the “shorty” exhaust chrome tip. This shows off the rear wheel and sounds cool. We don’t have sound restrictions in OK, besides, live and let live now more than ever.

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    Last edited: Apr 12, 2020
  9. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    My tig brazing skills are improving. Thank goodness for grinders. The fitting for the gas cap had some gaps that were tough to reach. The welds on the fuel tank seams originally looked like, as a certain internet instructor puts it, Fido’s butt, but the penetration is good and they will smooth out. Practice, patience, arc distance, cleanliness, rod diameters, tungsten type and size, amp and argon settings, and above all, pedal control all combine to a “Welding Artform”. I seriously love tig welding and every session makes me a better welder. I cut the sides of the tank off, regrinded and fitted the seams tight. Cleaned the metal with acetone and was able to weld it without dipping rods (thanks Jamie). I can now lightly grind and cover the seams sparingly with the bronze braze. I don’t mind showing you guys my learning curve. It’s all about doing it yourself and taking pride in your work. When I’m satisfied with the tank, the mounts will be welded on, the tank sealed and polished out. This is 16 gauge mild steel and I’m tellin’ ya it ain’t as easy as it looks. FC79C8DE-9F31-47D2-ADB5-3EB2BA12BCD0.jpeg
     
  10. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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  11. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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  12. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    though the mods performed on this bike are primarily suspension performance mods, it’s cool to have a great look at the track. Jacked up in the paddock with tire warmers on allow other riders to ask questions about the bike. Most of the riders at trackdays are not totally involved in winning a race, it’s mostly about improving one’s riding skills. Setting up suspension, track lines and cornering skills usually dominate the discussions. Whatever bike you ride one thing is important to remember: Don’t try to make the bike something that it is not. You could purchase a stock new Kawi 400 and run faster laps than this VFR will ever see, if that’s your objective.
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    Last edited: Apr 14, 2020
  13. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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  14. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    sorry but i gotta ask: aren't those forks raised up beyond sensible levels ?
     
  15. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    Yes about an inch. I haven’t slid them back down yet. I’ll devote a post for adjustments when we can get to the track again. Last year with them raised about 3/4” past stock I was dragging a knee through turn 3 but that’s a ~40mph hairpin and I didn’t want to push it. At the time I couldn’t find a 170 rear tire either in the bt016 line, and that will help initial turn in. I was talking to a dude that was riding a BMW1000 and he was from Germany and currently living in Kansas. His home track was Topeka. He told me that he used to have a gen4 and that I could confidently raise the forks about 3/4” from stock. But remember, this suspension Jamie put together for me for 225 pounds of rider and gear and valved for the track. It’s pretty tight and the active play is about 1 3/4”. I think stock it’s about 3” is it not? So what might normally be 3/4” could be slightly more. I like quick turn in but I do realize that there’s a limit where the rear will start pushing the front. We will start at 3/4” and go from there. Since the shock and fork inserts are matched it’s very neutral in its handling, quite frankly some of the best that I’ve felt on any motorcycle. I really wish you could see this scoot in person. It’s shockingly beautiful with the smaller tank cover and the paint was done by a girl named Jade at school. She’s since been hired by a dealership. I can’t wait to get it finished. There are quite a few details to iron out. Thanks for the question and stay safe up there. Notice where they are at the track last year testing in the pic below. 5BB7AFC1-BB4A-4B0B-968B-0B1B55426FA8.jpeg
     
  16. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    The tank is done and sealed. No leaks. Bike fired up like normal. Time to do some assembly. The hard parts are over. It’s time to enjoy this thing.

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  17. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    Well.....it's about done. Front fairing stay, make 3 brackets, have lights coming for it. Tidying up. Some black small honda graphics. For the most part it's ready to ride at the track. Here are some shots from today. This has been a lot of fun. Thanks for letting me share. Cheers and I'll be in touch.

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  18. RllwJoe

    RllwJoe Insider

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    Nice job! It looks great. Can't wait to see some photos of it in action on the track.
     
  19. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    Meeee Toooooooo!!!!! lmao. The front Brembos are soooooo smooooooth. It blows my mind. This is my old 'o6 Gixxer. This bike had cams and was dyno tuned. The tuner told me that it came to a total of 157 rwhp. The tune was so good that you could just open the throttle and the bike did nothing twitchy, it would bring the front wheel off of he ground a few inches and it was gone. My gosh that thing would make power everywhere and ran so smooth it was deceiving how damn fast you were going...lol. The pits nicknamed it "The Beast". It had a great tune. Full TI Akro pipe, OZ wheels, etc. It didn't FEEL fast but it never spun a tire or did anything funny power wise. It was just easy to ride and it was FAST. We were running just under 180 on the Texas World Speedway start/finish try-oval in College Station. I loved riding it at Hallett. There's a hump in the track between 2 and 3 (3 is a hairpin, we call it the bus stop) this bike would get a lot of air on that "hump" in the road. I'd just crouch down and kinda roll off the gas and the front would come over. So Fun!

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  20. Toddman

    Toddman New Member

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    rupp.jpg
    Looks like we have a trackday in May.
    hallettracing dot net
    check 'em out. if you're looking for a get-a-way and plan a long ride or would like to bring your track bike and learn a new track, they know what they are doing there. They have a three generation of family racing history. Nice folks and safety is always at the forefront. Personally I've raced or performed track days at 7 different tracks. It's pure adrenaline and skill builders. If you enjoy track days you'll notice how much of a better rider you are after just one weekend at the track. Maneuvers on the street seem old hat and much easier after a track day. It's a rather surreal experience taken in.

    Cheers,

    Todd
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2020
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