VTR Newbie
 

Hey everyone! This is a very cool forum and I'm glad I found it. So here's the story...I wanted a project bike and found a great deal on a VTR on e-bay. Boy am I glad I did. As you guys know, it's a torque monster.

It's a 1999 -- basically stock. It has slip-ons (I don't know what kind) and a new screen. The bike was laid down at some point and the previous owner replaced the right and center fairing, the tank, the tail, wind screen, turn signals and rear pegs. He spray painted the fairings to try and match the Italian Red, redid the seat himself, and cut the license plate plastic off -- and did a very poor job of it.

The mechanics are strong so I bought it -- I did new fluids, filters, battery and front brakes. It still needs a fork rebuild, rubber, rear brakes and a chain to be really road worthy. It's in rough shape cosmetics wise. Just perfect for a project.

I want to do several mods right away -- stainless steel brake lines, new chain and sprockets (I'm about 215 pounds), fork rebuild/upgrade, and corbin seat. I also need to strip the bike down and give it a good cleaning. The chrome pipes are a little rusty.

Long term, I want a lower fairing and a new paint job. The pipes need to be re-chromed or something....

The bike has about 40k on it but it's got to be wrong and reading a little high because the speedo is off about 10-15%. It says I'm doing 72 when I'm doing 60.

Let me know your ideas in case I'm missing something and check out my pic.

http://linkshell.info/bike/4.JPG

Sounds like it has been regeared. That will explain your speedo issue.

Pipes are not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Fairings are not hard to find. Paint is fun if you can do it yourself.



And.... Welcome noob :)

Looks like D&D pipes. If they're really loud that's what they are. Dunno if you know it but your front tire is on backwards. You also have wheels from a CBR900RR and a painted frame (none were stock that way). Good luck with your project. It's fun but can get pretty expensive if you're not careful. If you're interested in fork work shoot me a PM.

Thanks guys. Yeah, these pipes are very loud - must be D&Ds. I love the thumping sound but my neighbors don't!

I noticed the front tire was on backwards when I did the brakes. I was puzzled about the wheels too. I see most SHs have three spokes on the rims.

These rims look like the paint has been stripped off of it and now the metal is tarnishing, and I'm afraid that the rims might pit. I'm going to have them painted. I'm thinking about painting them what would be best from red (or whatever color I paint the bike) and am concerned that it might be too much color.... I bought a new front wheels with tire from ebay. It was sold as an F3 but I figured out (it's an F2 and) won't fit. I'll take the tire off and sell it in another forum.

I'm pretty good with my hands, but doing the forks might be out of my league. The right fork is leaking around the seal. I'll PM you Hawkrider.

I have to count the teeth on the sprockets and see if that is the cause of my speedo and odo being off. I want new ones anyway and I have to figure out what will be best for low-end torque considering I'm a little bigger than most riders.

Welcome to the forum!

I see you have a '92 Nighthawk 750, that was my last bike before the Superhawk, a red '92 in my case - miss that bike's comfort but the SH is a lot more fun.

Welcome and good luck!

Looks like your project has some good possibilities. The paint isn't horrible but the tail section could match a little better. Jet Hot coatings for the header and mids and maybe repack the cans should get your exhaust improved until you can afford to replace it. Ask around and see if you can find a powder-coater in your part of the woods. They can do the wheels. They were probably stripped and then polished but it they are not cleared over after polishing they can and will pit. Good luck!

:welcome:

The Jet Hot coatings looks like a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion! Does anyone know how the coatings react to use over the long-term? I have seen so many pics of SH pipes having tarnish and blueing, I just assumed that's part of being an SH owner.

Hey Rick B, I love my Nighthawk. It's such an underrated bike.... I had a 650 in High School and I regretted getting rid of it. Years later I bought the 750. I'm keeping it because my wife likes riding that better than the SH, and as you said it's way comfortable.

The front tire is on right, it's the front wheel that's on wrong. DOH!

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2309...zB?vhost=rides

Yeah, I wondered why the bike was so fast in reverse!:p

Holy crap! You're right. I didn't catch it at first because of the 900RR wheels, but should've noticed it by the rotor holes. Good catch!

Good squid - sense of humor appreciated! :kneel:

43T in the rear. That explains the speedo reading fast. I'll pull the cover on the front sprocket (maybe today) and see if that was changed too. I'll need a speedohealer it seems.