In honor of Winter Hump Day, a congratulations to all of us trapped in the frozen tundra — we've made it half way through the non-riding season. And to those in the American deep south and Down Under, well, get in the saddle, you're now on the backside of your season.
My projects tend to carry on throughout the year, but some are necessarily designated seasonal — I can't paint in the winter, for example....
1. So, this winter I've got a full set of bodywork at my painters. When he reaches the clearcoat stage, he applies a few light coats and then returns them to me for decal application. I quickly get them back to his shop for the final coats of clear. Then wet sand and buffing. These are the first batch that will benefit from our color-matching efforts for the '86 red/white/blue. I can't wait.
My projects tend to carry on throughout the year, but some are necessarily designated seasonal — I can't paint in the winter, for example....
1. So, this winter I've got a full set of bodywork at my painters. When he reaches the clearcoat stage, he applies a few light coats and then returns them to me for decal application. I quickly get them back to his shop for the final coats of clear. Then wet sand and buffing. These are the first batch that will benefit from our color-matching efforts for the '86 red/white/blue. I can't wait.
2. I've grown tired of messing with old fuel lines, and so have carefully sourced Thermoid main lines and Tygon for the carburetor set. OEM hoses, of course, have molded curves and the line from the fuel tank to the filter is magically sized differently on each end. And they're NLA from Honda. I plan to offer a complete kit to make it simple to replace the whole mess — high-quality lines, easy-to-use spring clamps, filter and a necessary reducer. I hope this helps out some owners. Should be ready soon.
Still in primer, shown next to an original pipe. 3. Here's something that I've been thinking about for awhile. When our bikes go down, the mufflers nearly always take a hit, particularly near the ends. Unlike aluminum ones, ours are made of stainless steel, so they can't really be massaged and polished back into shape. And they're kinda quiet.
This is my solution (hopefully) to both issues. From my muffler stash I found two victims and, after some exploratory surgery, figured out the interior architecture. From there, I determined that I could remove about five inches from the rear which is the final interior chamber of four. The net effect should be twofold — an increase in sound and reduced back pressure because that final chamber forces the exhaust path to make two 180 degree turns before exiting. Both these reversals will be eliminated. Oh, and subtract a few pounds from the system. This turned out to be more complex a project than I thought, not as simple as chopping off the end.
The mufflers I'm using for this experiment both have road rash — scrapes and dents. My fix is to apply an epoxy (JB Weld) like I would body filler. File, sand, prime with VHT and sand some more. I plan to give a final coat of semi-gloss black VHT (when the weather warms) and fit them up. They could also be done in a silver color. When finished, I've got the perfect VFR700 FII to fit them to. The bike will be finished as a resto-mod and these should fit right in.
This is my solution (hopefully) to both issues. From my muffler stash I found two victims and, after some exploratory surgery, figured out the interior architecture. From there, I determined that I could remove about five inches from the rear which is the final interior chamber of four. The net effect should be twofold — an increase in sound and reduced back pressure because that final chamber forces the exhaust path to make two 180 degree turns before exiting. Both these reversals will be eliminated. Oh, and subtract a few pounds from the system. This turned out to be more complex a project than I thought, not as simple as chopping off the end.
The mufflers I'm using for this experiment both have road rash — scrapes and dents. My fix is to apply an epoxy (JB Weld) like I would body filler. File, sand, prime with VHT and sand some more. I plan to give a final coat of semi-gloss black VHT (when the weather warms) and fit them up. They could also be done in a silver color. When finished, I've got the perfect VFR700 FII to fit them to. The bike will be finished as a resto-mod and these should fit right in.
Tail Of The Dragon - 2014 4. My "other" V4 is an ST. An '03 ST1300 to be exact. I bought it in Arizona four years ago and two of the many things I like about the bike are optional ABS brakes and the fact that it is fitted with a full Race Tech suspension front and rear. In fact, it was the test mule for the company's development of ST1300 components.
Most of our riding with the ST is two-up, but the previous owner had the suspension set up for much lighter weight. Lately, we've kind of run out of rear compression damping and so I've sent the shock to Race Tech's shop in Corona, CA for a re-valve and heavier spring. The idea is to make this great bike even better for our riding. They've just received it and promise to keep me in the loop. The estimate for this kind of service is $305. I'm really looking forward to the first Spring ride.
Most of our riding with the ST is two-up, but the previous owner had the suspension set up for much lighter weight. Lately, we've kind of run out of rear compression damping and so I've sent the shock to Race Tech's shop in Corona, CA for a re-valve and heavier spring. The idea is to make this great bike even better for our riding. They've just received it and promise to keep me in the loop. The estimate for this kind of service is $305. I'm really looking forward to the first Spring ride.
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