1994 RVF400R Build Project

I spent some time with Evan and Phil yesterday, they were starting to take all of the chassis measurements
Should have taken some photos, but got too busy flapping my mouth with questions and discussing set up ideas. Also confirmed all of the spring rates and those will be checked to make sure they are in the right range. As the RVF isn't in the database, Evan is going to come up with the ride height numbers and recommended spring rates and fork oil heights, based upon his experience as an Ohlins suspension tech in WSBK and MotoAmerica.

 

If I can find an easy way to do it I'll weigh a couple of mine...

 

Two digital scales with a range of 0-250 lbs. (0-114kg) one at each wheel. You can also check the weight bias at the same time. The biggest thing they knew that had to happen was to raise both ends a significant amount to make it easier to turn and change direction. The shock has ride height adjustment. if it needs more, Rick Oliver has a ride height part available and he will ship it across the pond.

 

Hurry up and ride it, will ya? Waiting for updates ~

Your Engine Builder...

Mike Norman
G-Force Engine Development
www.mngforce.com

 

I have offered to do the first ride so he doesn't even have that stress to deal with....

 

Hahahahahaha, Thanks for chiming in, Mike. Just got back from Mexico. Need to see where it's at tomorrow morning.

 

Well, after a couple of years of dealing with all the bullshit, I finally brought the old girl home.

Here is what she sounds like on a phone video



No sooner did I get her home, started taking here apart again. I had hooked up dual temp gauges to track the efficiency of the radiators I had built and they seemed to be doing just fine in dealing with the temps, so I removed the gauge that was on the outlet side of the rads and set about installing a KOSO NA digital pressure gauge. Didn't want to rely on the light with the stock pressure sensor. Unfortunately, to install the digital pressure sensor, I had to remove the tank and the carbs, because the sensor is basically buried under all that stuff.



Once I stripped everything off, I got down to it and pulled it out. Then I installed the KOSO Sensor..



Of course none of the wiring was the same between the temp gauge and pressure gauge, so I went about getting it all wired up.



Got it all wired up and got the gauge mounted. Powered everything up and it seemed to be functioning, so I set about reinstalling the carbs, airbox, and tank.



Got everything connected back up and did a test of her running to see what the oil pump output was...



Everything looked good and the oil pressure was significantly better than the 7 psi it had when she decided to chew herself into little flakes of metal two years ago. I'm pretty happy with how she runs, sounds really decent and the carburetion appears to be pretty crisp.

To finish off today's efforts, I installed the Tyga keyless gas cap I've had laying around for quite awhile.





The heat shield that Phil fabricated out of 3/16" 6061 Aluminum turned out pretty decent and tucked in real nice, so I'm sticking with it. No more melted Tygon tubing for the rear master and cooking the inside of my leg. We talked about anodizing it, but I liked how it looked natural and a good fit with the rear set.



Tomorrow I have a couple more little detail things I need to finish up, then I can start putting the bodywork back on.

 

That heat shield looks appropriate. What did OEM Honda do? Leave it open? Leg fryer for sure.

 

No, the Honda one was made out of steel and mounted directly to the exhaust. This one mounts to the back of the rear set mount and doesn't weight 15 pounds.

 

Must be gratifying after a long wait. Congrats.

 

Fucking RAD.

 

would be worth fighting with wife to park inside underneath Venetian Mirror

 

Because today was Thanksgiving and I promised everyone I would show up on time and not delay the festivities, I only had enough time to work on massaging the chain guard. I sourced the piece from RSR Motorsports in France and it is an exact replica of the OEM guard. I had initially ran a Tyga carbon guard, but it wasn't quite as robust as this one and got damaged by a rock or piece of road debris the first ride it went on. Due to the wider PVM wheel and tire, there was a little bit of a clearance issue that had to be straightened out.

I bought a variable speed Deremel tool and some sanding wheels and tore into it.





I did a lot of fitting, checking, grinding, fitting, as I only wanted to remove as little material as possible. It ended up pretty decent and I finished the edges with clear nail polish to make it look original.

This is the final fit up. I tried to match the radius of the rim to give it a clean look.





It turned out pretty decent and is very solid. I'm glad I didn't throw away the OEM fender mounting bracket by accident, as this one required it and they are NLA from Honda. I had that powdercoated white and used ti hardware from Titan Classics and ProBolt to bolt it up.



I'm working to get the insurance finalized with Hagerty to insure it for replacement value. I wasn't expecting it, but probably should have been, their underwriter asked me if I had receipts, I told him oh yeah, about a 3" thick folder of them.....great, can you input all of that information into a spreadsheet and send it to us......Um, well, uh, hmm, I guess I could. Took me 10 hours to input all of that shit into an 8 page spreadsheet. I never add up any receipts from a build, because I don't want to be calling the suicide hotline when I see what I've done. Needless to say, I was questioning my sanity when I saw the number. Please don't ask me what it was, because I'm never going to publish it, I'm just glad the bleeding is almost over.

 

Can you put a price on a labour of love? Whatever the number is, I'm sure it is all worth it (unless your wife finds out).

 

SICK!!!

 

Whatever you do, don’t let the mrs see that bottom line, or she will have you committed


VF1000F2F, now rideable,

 

No lady around that has enough pull to know how much money I have or what I do with it, otherwise, I'd be divorced or dead already. Promised myself I would set a budget, track the spending, and stick to it on the next one.

 

LMFO
I have a folder on several bikes and my boat. If I had to actually see the numbers I'd probably pass up the suicide hotline.

I also have to be reminded and promise to show up on time for Thanksgiving. The ocean has been too rough to go out in so a friend and me tended our stone crab traps. Got the "be on time" reminder. (large claws are going for $50 a lb so if I was a little late it would be OK. ) lol.

 

Did you ever get a final weight on it?

 

It's going back to the shop, once I have it all completely assembled so they can get the suspension sag set right. The guys are gonna weigh it then. I'm running out of time, so it will probably be in 3 weeks.