VFR 750 fighter

[chyaroh]

It's been a while but I've finally managed to get a start on the strip down for my 1988 VFR 750 fighter conversion. The plastics were shot and they are virtually impossible to find or too expensive to replace, so I thought I'd go the fighter option. The plan is to do a tight budget conversion as much as possible but still make it look half decent. So it will get new lights and dash, new chain and sprockets, plus some mods to the subframe for starters. I'd like to throw in a new exhaust system as well, though that one will be more difficult to get past the Minster for Finance :-)

With the side fairings and seat off, the girl was looking like this

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/th_lhs.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/?action=view&current=lhs.jpg)

Today I took off the front fairing and instruments. That was pretty straight forward, just unplug a few electrical connectors and a few bolts. This left the front end looking like this (note all the electricals on the left of the picture.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/th_2012_0119001.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/?action=view&current=2012_0119001.jpg)

That, and repositioning the oil cooler, was going to be a bit of an issue. Fortunately, when I took off the tank and the air filter there was a bit of room between the air intake and the steering head. So a bit of fiddling around saw me get the main wiring loom tucked away nicely:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/th_2012_0119007.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/?action=view&current=2012_0119007.jpg)

Haven't gotten too much further than that yet. I'm thinking that I can scavenge the existing instrument bracket to remount the oil cooler, or just fabricate a couple of brackets if I need it to be held lower. Now I need to pick out some lights and an instrument cluster to go with it all.

[chyaroh]

No more pics yet, they'll come shortly. The subframe is now off, as is the rear wheel and shock. I've got bits of while electrical tape all over the wiring harness in the hope that I'll remember where everything goes. It was a bit of fiddling to get the subframe off, mostly with the plastic rear guard that continues down and becomes both the battery box and support for the radiator overflow bottle. After that getting the subframe off was pretty straight forward.

Would have had the swingarm out as well except I don't have a big enough hex socket and Repco was shut when I went hunting for one. That'll have to wait until midweek I guess.

I discovered the rear headers will be a complete bitch to get out - even with the shock out they curl up almost under the main frame before entering the rear cylinders. It's going to be a job I'm only going to want to do once, so I'll need to talk the Minister for Finance into an upgrade on the pipes as well :-)

[Fight_fan]

Keep up the good work mate!

[RevHead]

i got a 4 into 1 if you want it ,and yes the rear header is a nightmare to get out,good work though

[Jed]

Would have had the swingarm out as well except I don't have a big enough hex socket and Repco was shut when I went hunting for one. That'll have to wait until midweek I guess.

Mate. What size hex socket are you after? I have a couple big ones I bought for the ZXR. You can borrow mine. I'm in Armidale as well. Save you buying one. Let me know.

Cheers, Jed

[chyaroh]

i got a 4 into 1 if you want it ,and yes the rear header is a nightmare to get out,good work though

What sort of 4-into-1? I was eying off a Motad system, I found a mob in in Aus that imports them.

[chyaroh]

Would have had the swingarm out as well except I don't have a big enough hex socket and Repco was shut when I went hunting for one. That'll have to wait until midweek I guess.

Mate. What size hex socket are you after? I have a couple big ones I bought for the ZXR. You can borrow mine. I'm in Armidale as well. Save you buying one. Let me know.

Cheers, Jed

Looks like it's a 15mm one.

[Jed]

I've PM'd you my phone number. Give me a call

[hooligan]

What sort of 4-into-1? I was eying off a Motad system, I found a mob in in Aus that imports them.
I bought a delkevic full stainless headers for my vfr 800 (through the US delkevic distributors) for $300 delivered. Might be worth checking if they do them for the 750.

[RevHead]

it s only the 4into 1 headers if you pay post you can have them

i dont know what brand they are

[chyaroh]

I bought a delkevic full stainless headers for my vfr 800 (through the US delkevic distributors) for $300 delivered. Might be worth checking if they do them for the 750.

Unfortunately they don't carry systems for my model.

[chyaroh]

Thanks to Jed for the lend of a 14mm hex socket I can now get the LHS swingarm bolt out. But would you believe that in their infinite wisdom Honda decided to put what appears to be a 12mm bolt in the other side?

At least 12mm should be easy to get hold of in one of those hex socket sets, which I should really pick up anyway. But these things sure are sent to try us.

[hyofighter]

they sure did have some strange ideas but honda i did find to be the best for interchangablity things from other bike of simillar age just slipped straight on , good luck with the build , good to see more vfr's in the mix

[chyaroh]

they sure did have some strange ideas but honda i did find to be the best for interchangablity things from other bike of simillar age just slipped straight on , good luck with the build , good to see more vfr's in the mix

Cheers. Once the swingarm is out it'll be time to clean things up and bite the bullet on spending cash. The only bit I haven't figured out yet is the seat unit. I've seen a pick of a VFR in the States with a Ducati rear end that looked pretty sweet, but that's going to get expensive.

[hooligan]

ben's making an adapter for me so i can get a 1098s rear wheel on my vfr8. Anything can be done.

[hyofighter]

there is a bloke on the vfr dissusion forum thats same model as yours , got a feeling that might be the one your talking about he has a few vfrfighters sebspeed is his name he is on custom fighters too

[chyaroh]

Short update time. A few bits have arrived so I've started bunging them on where I can. Here's a couple of pics of the new and old gear:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0415001.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0415004.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0415002.jpg

Busily cleaning up the rear caliper, it'd be easier if I could get the blasted cylinders out!

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0415012.jpg

The silver nuts you can see are actually the front header nuts. Luckily the old exhaust came off really easily, though the rear nuts are horribly corroded. New ones are on the way.

The rear sprocket nuts arrived last night so I can reassemble the rear wheel. More pics to follow.

[RevHead]

if you need to get the pistons out ,use compressed air ,into the caliper ,in the fluid line ,leaving the bleed nipple closed ,

[chyaroh]

if you need to get the pistons out ,use compressed air ,into the caliper ,in the fluid line ,leaving the bleed nipple closed ,

I've tried that. Either my compressor is too tiny (I think it's older than I am) or the pistons are a bit clogged. Maybe both. I'll give it another blast or two later. I've got some brake cleaner so maybe that will loosen things up a bit. When I apply air I can see one of the pistons move a bit, but when I take the pressure away it pops back in again.

[Redmohawk]

Just hook calipers back onto master cyl fill with fluid and start pumping put a thin lump of something (power hacksaw blade is what i use) into the gap between pistons and other side of caliper so pistons dont pop right out. This stops one piston poping out and leaving the other half stuck in still. Once both are out as far as you can get them asside of the 1.5 mm from the hacksaw blade/whatever you use. Then they will have enough out that wrapped in a bit of rag they will prob just pull out with a little gental twist n pull.

[chyaroh]

Well, it's been a quiet couple of weeks on the build side of things as I've been waiting waiting waiting for some bits to arrive. What I have managed to do it get the blasted stuck piston out of the rear caliper. I tried the air compressor and reconnecting it to the master cylinder to force it out under hydraulic pressure with no luck. I eventually resorted to brute force - soaked it for a day or so in brake cleaner then worked it loose with a pair of multigrips. Mangled the top of it but got the bugger out. I'd say it had been stuck for some time as the brake pads had been worn on a pretty steep angle. So I've got new pistons and seals and have a new set of pads on the way.

I found a rear hugger for my model on the French Ebay of all places so that is wending its way over the turbulent Euro seas before the entirely of Europe goes up in financial flames, along with a top triple clamp adaptor so I can put a set of drag bars on instead of the clip ons.

I'll stop spending money on this bike one of these days!

[Nudie]

I'll stop spending money on this bike one of these days!


Yeh good luck with that!

[chyaroh]

Still waiting for the exhaust system to arrive, but figured I'd chuck a couple of updates in here to prove I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

Bought some LSL bar adapters and fitted them. Waiting on a set of bars that are on the way so I can get them all buttoned up. Shifted the oil cooler from the front of the forks to the back, and now I need to manufacture some brackets to hold it in place. I also painted up the underside of the original seat, which was a white plastic and now is nice and black, along with the brackets that hold it in place.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0624002.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0624003.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0624013.jpg

Also here are a few more old/new shots, of the rear caliper pistons and the rear exhaust nuts.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0624010.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0624008.jpg

[chyaroh]

Wow, two updates in three days, things must be happening! We'll, kinda. My black drag bars arrived last night so I fitted them up and they look pretty good. At least that gives me something to fiddle with as my exhaust system is supposedly leaving England this week. I think they had to to mine out the raw materials by hand with all the time it's taking.

[hyofighter]

I'll race ya I got a new top yoke leaving the UK as we speak , still it would be quicker than Aust post getting from east to west coast

[chyaroh]

They're all probably still hung over from Lizzie's 60th.

[chyaroh]

Finally - a nice big box from England arrived yesterday! I'll open her up and check it out tonight, but just picking it up the entire parcel - box, shipping material, headers and pipe - feel lighter than just the old pipes I cut off. Excellent!

Of course, now I've discovered I need to fit s slim set of switchblocks as the blasted brake and clutch master cylinders don't fit on the nice low drag bars I've installed. They hit against the top of the forks. Ah well, they needed a tidy up any way, just spend some more money, why not... I'll have to relocate the choke while I'm at it.

[chyaroh]

Progress! The new exhaust arrived, so fitted that. Put on the new bars and grips (temporarily), started to mock up an undertray to hold the spark unit, RR and coils for the rear bank of cylinders. Even got the swingarm, chain and wheel back on so got the beast back down on two wheels. Dropped the tank and seat back on to get an idea of how it's looking and was pretty impressed. Anyway, time for pics.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0707001.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0707004.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0707005.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0715001.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0715002.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0715005.jpg

I need to get her outside for some better pics, but it was getting late and too cold!

[hyofighter]

she's starting to come together now , hows that system she looks mint

[chyaroh]

Yeah, the system looks great, can hardly wait to hear her all fired up. I've got a ton of rewiring to do now though. Picked up some new slim switchblocks as I discovered that both the brake and clutch master cylinders hit the top of the forks with the old blocks. Fortunately I've got a manual with a wiring diagram and Mr Honda is very good about colour coding all the wires.

[Bob]

That exshust looks great mate.

[chyaroh]

TIme for another update. I've pretty much fabricated the battery box and under tray electronics holder. It's a bit rough but not too bad for a gumby with nothing but a brick and a hammer to bend metal. Also working on the rear light holder, which will also hold the seat clip. Here's a few pics anyway.

The tray started out like this:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/DSCF1269.jpg

Then other bit got turned into this:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/DSCF1350.jpg

then the whole lot in place became this:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0816005.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0816004.jpg

Here's a better shot of the bike kinda back together:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0820003.jpg

[BOBBY]

Coming along nicely mate ;-)
Nice pipes too and a little bit of backyard ingenuity to top it off.

If I was you I would move that rr into a spot away from the cdi and somewhere it'll get some airflow.
Hondas like to eat rr's and Stators and cook anything near the rr.

[hyofighter]

I can second that I swapped mine out for a much larger cbr1000r one , much bigger fins

[chyaroh]

Coming along nicely mate ;-)
Nice pipes too and a little bit of backyard ingenuity to top it off.

If I was you I would move that rr into a spot away from the cdi and somewhere it'll get some airflow.
Hondas like to eat rr's and Stators and cook anything near the rr.

Cheers for that. I've heard that the rr can be a bit of an problem with the VFR. I'll have a poke around and see where else I can squirrel it away, which will give me a bit more space in the tray for the extensive wiring that Mr Honda decided to gift us all with.

I might have to look at giving the bars a 45mm lift or replace the bars with MX style ones. The master cylinders just stick out too far the way I've got them set up at the moment.

[chyaroh]

Ok, some progress has been made. Finished fabricating the wiring box and all the associated brackets:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0922001.jpg

Then it was time to set up my high-tech spray booth and get them painted:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_0922004.jpg

I had painted the tray a gloss black, then decided that I should paint up the subframe as well. In my infinite wisdom I picked up the wrong kind of black (satin) and painted the subframe that anyway. Then decided that the satin look was dead sexy and I'd paint it all that colour! Here are all the bits after multiple coats and ready to go back together:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1003002.jpg

And finally, assembled and ready to go back on the bike:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1003004.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1003006.jpg

Next up is the wiring! Also arriving today was my Koso instruments, so it's all looking sweet. I've just got to work out the front light, coolant bottle, reposition the choke and get the rewiring done. Oh, and maybe a new set of bars with some lift rather than the flat drag bars. Getting there slowly...

[RevHead]

hey man best part about building a fighter,is deciding what to make or fix or paint ,while your waiting for the new shit to turn up,look great by the way

[BANDITROD]

looking good mate

[wackyrider]

Looking good mate

[Tony Nitrous]

Tidy job.
Nice pipe too.
I like it.

[chyaroh]

Progress has been slowed again, mostly as some more bits are on back order. I've been trying to sort out the electronics, having to rewire both switch blocks as I've got some nice new ones. That, and working out which wires to connect in the new digital speedo. Last night I bit the bullet, grabbed out the old headlight and hooked it up along with the new rear indicators and the old front ones, reconnected the battery and turned it on. Success! No sparks or fire! Plus the indicators, light, horn and starter all work! Interestingly the indicators flash too fast when the LEDs are on the rear and old bulbs on the front, but not at all if I have LEDs front and rear. I figured I'd need a new flasher unit, so that's next on the list. Now it's a matter of getting the dash working, then a bit of front end cleaning until the last of the parts arrive.

[chyaroh]

A few more pressies arrived in the mail today - new bar, brake/clutch lines and hopefully the headlight brackets. The light itself is still on back order. I've finished the supports for the oil cooler and they go on tonight along with the new arrivals. I've got a fuel filter and indicator relay swimming over the ocean as we speak, so it's getting closer and closer to Stage 1 Done! Hopefully some pics to come tomorrow.

[wackyrider]

Were's the piccies. We need piccies.... :)

[chyaroh]

They're coming, I promise! I even got lucky in the mail today - the flasher unit and filter showed up. That just leaves the headlight unit. Test fitted the bars and headlight brackets tonight, and the bars I think look even better than the drag bars. They're black ABM street bars.

[chyaroh]

Ok, here are some pics of where I'm up to.

Subframe and tray in place, wiring 99% sorted:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1101008.jpg

Oil cooler in place with custom brackets:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1101004.jpg

New bars plus a tangle of wiring I'm trying to get sorted:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1101002.jpg

[chyaroh]

Blasted wiring has been a pain, but I think I've got it sorted (mostly). There wasn't as much room as I thought around the air box, but with a lot of fiddling I've gotten it in. Just need to tidy it up and make sure it works!

Got a parcel from Japan the other day - must have been big an important, check out the packaging:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1121001.jpg

So what was inside?

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1121011.jpg

One tiny little clutch switch connector, packed into a shoebox. Impressive. I guess they wanted to make sure it arrived undamaged.

[chyaroh]

Bloody electrics. I finally get everything back together, tank on (with new fuel longer fuel hose), exhaust fitted, ready to roll. Reconnect the battery, turn on the key and mains, lights go on. Take a deep breath and press the starter - NOTHING. Crap. Fiddle with clutch and stand switches, no joy. Pull the tank off, pull the air filter off, stare at the tangle of wires that I was sure I had been bloody careful with. Poke around in a depressed kind of way, then have an epiphany. Pull off the cover of the fusebox and start checking fuses. The first one I pull is busted. All the rest are fine, and everything electical on the bike is working bar the starter, so I'm hoping that the busted fuse is the reason I'm getting nothing. So off to Supercheap tomorrow morning to pick up a couple of 10A fuses and will give the beast another go tomorrow.

[wackyrider]

Good luck with it being just a blown fuse

[chyaroh]

Good luck with it being just a blown fuse

Cheers. When I first got the wiring all done I tapped the starter and the starter motor fired up. So I'm vaguely confident that it was just the fuse. We'll see tonight.

[chyaroh]

Crap. Not the fuse after all. Turns out it was the fan fuse, so at least that will now work. Time to break out the multimeter and see if I can find where the dud connection is.

[chyaroh]

Success! It turns out that I had the wiring for the ignition/kill switch wrong. But it also looks like the kill switch is arse about - when it's in the 'run' position the circuit is open. Also, what I thought was the common wire for the starter and kill switches wasn't - the starter button shares a wire with the brake switch. So after some rewiring and connecting up again the engine turns over. Of course, the fuel tank is empty, but I'm going to fix that one tonight and hopefully she'll come back to full life.

[wackyrider]

Nice one mate

[chyaroh]

Of course, now the fuel pump won't run while the starter is turning the engine over. Pump works fine if I bypass the fuel pump relay, connections are all good. It kinda tries to fire up - I can feel it clicking when the starter is pressed - but won't pump. It could be the battery as it has sat around for ages. I've got it on the charger now, and it was registering pretty low on the charge lights, so I'll see how it runs tonight.

[BANDITROD]

gotta have good power mate if the battery has been sitting there is a good chance its prob fucked

[chyaroh]

Could be. It's a sealed type, rather than the traditional lead acid type. It'd draw a nice 12V when not under load, but I think was struggling when kicking over the starter. After a day of charging I'll see how she handles.

[BANDITROD]

if it takes charge it will still be ok

[Redmohawk]

Sealed will come back ok a few times from being left a long time, if it doesnt a quick fix (if its cactus fuckus) is to open the top of battery (usally a small rectangle of plastic about 15mm by length of battery on one side of top) pry this up with a thin flat screwdriver underneath you will find rubber bungs over holes in battery dribble a little sulfuric acid into each hole re bung and glue down cover with a little heat only in the corners. Will prob bring it back to life with a charge for a few months.

[chyaroh]

SHE LIVES!

Stuck the battery on to charge this morning and by around 9pm she was fully charged. Whacked it back in and cranked her over, and the starter and pump fired up. Slapped the tank back on, cranked for a bit and off she went! Sounds great with the new pipe. Still have a few little things to button up, but Stage 1 is just about done!

[BANDITROD]

good stuff mate

[wackyrider]

Well done bud

[chyaroh]

Stage 1 is now complete - she's back on the road and rideable!

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1211006.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1211005.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/bike/2012_1211007.jpg

The overflow bottle is a bit dodgy, but I'll replace the zip ties with either pipe clamps or a custom bracket. I need to fiddle with the lights a bit to get the angle right, and the "elliptical" beam takes a bit of getting used to. But she lives! Fun to ride, too.

[Gix11]

Good stuff mate. Great feeling getting her back on the road hey?

[chyaroh]

Absolutely. I need to do some more tidying up of cables, as well as mounting the choke somewhere. Then I can think of where to go next.

[BOBBY]

I like it ;-)
2 things but. Headlight could come down a couple inches. And flip the mirrors and hang them under the bars. A much tidier look IMO.

Have you night tested the light? Looks cool from here hope it is as a bright as it looks good.

[chyaroh]

I like it ;-)
2 things but. Headlight could come down a couple inches. And flip the mirrors and hang them under the bars. A much tidier look IMO.

Have you night tested the light? Looks cool from here hope it is as a bright as it looks good.

I'll give the headlight thing a go. Just looking at it again in the pics after your comment I see what you mean, it does look a bit perched up there. The light is pretty bright at night, I need to get the angles right for it though. Cheers!

[chyaroh]

It's been a bit since the last update, mostly as not much has gone on. I've tidied up some of the front wiring, and built a couple of brackets to keep the clutch line under control. One thing I did find out as I was tidying things up was the the LHS rearset looks like this:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228004_zps334e9ebe.jpg

A nice little bend thanks to a few drops by the PO (and maybe one by me...). Anyway, that got me looking for new rearsets, and the buggers are pretty much impossible to find. Raask make one, but I don't like it much. The age of the bike and the asymmetric frame means it's time to break out the streetfighter adage - build the bastard yourself!

I dollied up a couple of timber adapter plates:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228003_zps993cdbe3.jpg

and would you believe the buggers even fit?

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228002_zps1936b69d.jpg

Anyway, thanks to a couple of suggestions from the lads here I'm now going to look for some rearsets to attach, then get the plates done up out of metal.

Here's a couple of pics of the girl as she currently sits:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228005_zps74e7513e.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228006_zps425ad5d1.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/2013_0228009_zps55f7a0f2.jpg

[chyaroh]

Damn, it's been a while since I posted here. I've not really done much else to the old girl apart from adding a nice red rear brake resevoir and riding it pretty often! But it's time to move on, so she's up for sale. I can't start a thread in the for-sale section, so can I spruike it in here instead?

[Gix11]

Not really mate. Sales are only for full members because of scammers from the past. Not saying you are mate, but just a policy.

If you got the basic full membership for $20 you could post in there for as long as it takes to sell plus on the ASF Facebook page.

[chyaroh]

Fair enough, I did read the sticky on the top of the for-sale section about spammers, etc. You can't escape the buggers anywhere.

[chyaroh]

It's been a while. Good news is I still have the bike and I'm going for stage 2 of the streetfighter project on it after all. Going to kick up the tail end a bit, mod the subframe to suit, and get stuck into the wiring. I'm hoping to gut the loom almost completely and go for a motogadget m-unit setup to get rid of the massive tangle of wires that I've been trying to hide in front of the air box.

As a result, the bike is currently looking like this:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160525_200904_zpszrydafnl.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160525_200904_zpszrydafnl.jpg.html)

[Gix11]

Ha - A very common motorcycle photo on this forum! Have fun with that.

[chyaroh]

I plan some very careful wiring work - using my angle grinder and a large axe.

[hooligan]

I've just neatened my vfr800 harness up recently.

[chyaroh]

The wiring looks much better now that I've ditched half of it :-)

[The Phantom]

Pics!

[chyaroh]

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160615_192005_zpsdwa9whke.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160615_192005_zpsdwa9whke.jpg.html)

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160615_192022_zpsvqdl5wks.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160615_192022_zpsvqdl5wks.jpg.html)

Ok, it doesn't look quite so good at the moment :-)

The plan is to have just the kill switch on the RHS of the bars, and a minimalist light/horn/indicator on the LHS. I'm planning on moving the starter button, and maybe the key as well, just to tidy up the amount of wires to run past the engine or to hide in front of the airbox. No wonder people choose in line 4 cylinder bikes as a preference for streetfighters, there's a whole lot more room to hide stuff.

I'm also working on kicking the arse end of the seat up in the air, to give me a place to hide the battery/spark unit etc, and to give it a bit more flavour.

[The Phantom]

Terrific stuff, and don't be concerned about how it looks. For starters, you're miles ahead of me on progress :) and how it looks now and during the build is actually good for whoever follows... that's what forums are all about.

I hadn't even considered moving switchgear off the bars on mine, so there you go - you've just given me thoughts I didn't have.

Keep it coming!!!

[chyaroh]

Cheers. I'm doing some welding on the sub frame to kick the standard seat up in the air. I don't carry a passenger so having them perched on a ridiculous angle isn't a problem. That also gives me some space to hide away the battery. I'll post up some more progress pics when I get the chance. Warning in advance - I'm a total newbie to mig welding so the welds are a total work in progress :-)

[chyaroh]

Finished the rough subframe mods to kick up the tail, house the battery and mount the tail lights/number plate:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160625_164049_zpsvhmzpuyd.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160625_164049_zpsvhmzpuyd.jpg.html)

Having put it back on the bike with the tank I'm a bit worried I've gone a bit too high for comfort, but I'll see once I get it fully sorted. I might have to play with the front end of the seat to get it to fit in right and still look decent on the tank.

Now I need to build a base piece to hide away the rest of the electronics, then get the bugger rewired. Slow and steady(ish) progress.

[Gix11]

What tail plastics are you using mate? The original ones?

[chyaroh]

Nope, they're all long gone and were all cracked and damaged anyway. So I'm going to fab up something to cover it in. I'll re-use the tail light and rego assembly from the first incarnation, I just needed to bend it into shape a bit more.

Here's a pick with the seat back on. I think it's going to work out ok after all, but I will probably need to get the seat reshaped in the future.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160628_193743_zps6xw3kbfb.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160628_193743_zps6xw3kbfb.jpg.html)

[chyaroh]

It's been a while but there has been some progress. A bit more dodgy welding and metal fabrication, plus a few parts turning up, means the bare bones are coming together. Now the wiring can commence.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160804_190250_zpssb670lsy.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160804_190250_zpssb670lsy.jpg.html)

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160804_190257_zps3ipfr1iv.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160804_190257_zps3ipfr1iv.jpg.html)

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160804_190321_zpsyib687cf.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160804_190321_zpsyib687cf.jpg.html)

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/chyaroh/20160804_190457_zpsf3cucktk.jpg (http://s536.photobucket.com/user/chyaroh/media/20160804_190457_zpsf3cucktk.jpg.html)

I recon I should get the Eye of Sauron painted on the back bit behind where the rear lights will go.

[Gix11]

Cool simple switch gear mate.

[ozzy1100]

there isn't enough of this anymore lol

[chyaroh]

I had a major win tonight, just after a pants-crapping moment. I've been re-wiring and arsing about, not having a lot of time to spend on the project. I finally had it at a point where all the lights etc were connected, just not the ignition system. So I figured why not, let's see if I've got this wired right. So I kludged up the last of the ground wires, attached the battery, and went to turn the key.

As soon as I touched the key to the lock there was a zap and a puff of smoke from the barrel. Bloody thing had shorted out the instant I touched it with the key. That's what I get for buying a crappy cheap OS barrel. Ripped it off, and wired in the original ignition barrel and gave that ago.

Success! Lights worked, horn worked, indicators worked, instrument cluster worked. Damn that was a relief that I hadn't screwed up the wiring or blown up an expensive control box.

Now to try to finish it all.

[BOBBY]

Need a like button.
That's good news mate. I hate wiring. Mine is still a mess. I really should pull my finger out and finish it. I miss riding.

[ozzy1100]

Good stuff

[chyaroh]

Cheers, guys. The wiring is still a bit all over the place, unavoidable I suppose but I'd love it if I could just get it all tidied up and done. I think I've got four wires left to connect before I see if the beast lives again.

[chyaroh]

I passed a major milestone yesterday - started her up after 10 months sitting in the shed. Just a bit more wiring to tidy up and get another kill switch and it'll be back on the road.

[Gix11]

Good feeling hey?

[The Phantom]

Good stuff! Pics (vids?)