kai ju

I've been watching this forum for a couple of weeks and decided to join the fun.
I'm new to VTR's but not new to bikes and have always prefered standard/naked bikes.
So I decided to build one based on the VTR.
What you see is a work in progress but is also my daily rider.
The forks, front wheel, brakes and gauges are 2001 CBR 929
The headlight is 599 aka Hornet.
Turnsignals are GSXR.
Oil cooler is late model Ninja 600.
Oh yeah, the radiator is VTX1800.


Since my original post the bike has evolved, I'll try and repost the pics as best as I can remember.

Kai Ju

vitter

nice.

how did you get the tach to work with the two cylider motor?

kai ju

Honda uses the same type of trigger ( Coil ) for both bikes, the tedious part was extending the harness and switching gauge connectors.
I also had to switch to '98 fuel sender to work with the fuel light.

superhawk22

Nice job if your into the toatally nacked thing. I perfer a little wind protection but I like the looks and add ons. 8)

superhawk22

Just took another look is that screening on the tail? I like that alot. Please givr more info on that mod!

blokeontheend

That's impressive! radiators under the seat? Ditto on the Hawk GT look. Very cool.

redsuperhawk

This bike is wickedly cool. More photos please.

The only thing that's left to do is the single sided swingarm conversion!

Jeff
redsuperhawk

superbling

How cool does it run with just one vtx rad? Seems like it would get REAL hot there, especially for the rider too! Where do you live? What did you do with the r/r?

Hot bike! 8)

inderocker

FREAKIN' SWEET!!!!!! best naked super hawk conversion i've ever seen. i think the naked conversions look terrible with the side munt radiators, so thanks for moving them. looks better than an '03 SV1000 (which i love).

kai ju

First of, thanks for all the comments.
It seems that most of you like the way it turned out.
But like I said it is a work in process.
As far as some of the details, I had the idea several years ago when I saw a VTR without the tailsection and a VTX1800 radiator happened to be in my hand for a crash repair. A couple of quick measurements showed that it just might fit.
And it does, with about 2-3 mm to spare on either side.
The filler neck is in the back by the taillight and I installed a Schrader valve in the upper right hand corner so that I can bleed the system properly.The cooling system volume of the VTR and the VTX is within a couple of hundred cc's and with the plumbing I had to run to make it work it's about the same.
The bike runs at about 190F to a high of 210F with the fan constantly cycling.
I installed a manual ground for the fan switch and if I leave it own it actually overcools the engine.
The oilcooler is ZRX6 and oil temp runs at about 180F which is cooler than I expected.
I verified the indicated water temp with an infrared temp gauge and the 929 gauges are accurate.
The seat cowl is cool to the touch, as is the seat, even after a canyon blast. It seems the bike doesn't care what I do, it just cycles between the mid 190's and 207-8.
I cut the tailsection by hand and glued the screen in place from the inside.
The idea was that air would enter through the cutouts and exit down and out above the rear tire.So far so good.

inderocker

awesome mod! great thinkin'

superbling

Very interesting. Thanks for all the answers but you forgot two. Where do you live? I don't mean your address but what part of the world/country/state. Also, on the r/r issue: Heat is an enemy of the pathetic oem item. You'd better think about addressing that.

Judging by your first pics, I thought the vtx rad was small enough that it mounted behind the side screen (doh!). I don't think one rad, even with a fan, would be enough for me (105f tomorrow ).

Another question: what did you do with the rest of the electrics? Mount outside the subframe?

kai ju

I live in the L.A. area and it has been unseasonably cool, the only thing that gives me hope is that even after a severe flog in the local canyons,albeit on a cool day, the fan always cycled off and the temp never went over 208F.
I've been riding the bike now for about a month in every kind of traffic and not once has the fan remained on, it alway drops down to where the fan switch turns it off. Just in case I have added a manual ground to the fan circuit which allows me to keep it on, but I haven't had to.
So far it works better than it has any right to
The r/r is exposed to cool air behind the screen and so far so good.
Also, on the '02 everything is outside the subframe, one of the hardest jobs was the battery box. First I ruined the stock one and then succeeded with the one from the Big Ruckus, forcibly removed from the rest of it's electrical tray.
If I learned one thing from this project, it is how precious space is and how hard it is to find.

caffeineracer

Hey Kai ju,

It was great seeing you at the Rock Store today.

Your bike looks even better in person, lots of attention to detail.

The biggest drawback to a street fighter shawk has been the side radiators hanging out there in the breeze covering the frame / engine and making the whole side of the bike look cluttered instead of minimalistically clean, like a street fighter should.

You've solved the problem brilliantly.

Makes me want to strip nakkid!

(but this dosen't mean I want to take long, hot showers with you)

~Jeffers

Mithrandir

Very, very cool radiator mod! I'm just about to start my own streetfighter project, so I've got this page bookmarked as that is going to be one of the things I do. Would you mind getting some private questions when i get around to doing this work?

I want to check one thing - did you reverse the wiring polarity on the fan so that it blows air out through the radiator rather than sucking back into the seat cavity? Most radiators on front mounted systems are setup to draw air through the radiator from the front, rather than push from behind.

Texassuperhawk