'98 VTR rebuild
 

I've been around here for a bit, don't chime in much, mostly just use the forum as a technical reference.

Picked up a 1998 VTR last August, the price was too good to say no.

Put an F4i front end on it, bar risers, and a GIVI rack/45L topbox.

My CBR929 was pretty much on trackday duty, so I wanted to turn the VTR into something a little more sport touring oriented.

I was heading back from work on June 14th. I was on a 4 lane road seperated by a double line median, 50mph zone. There was alot of traffic eading westbound, and very little heading east in my direction. I saw a bike in the distance passing multiple cars by jumping over the double solid line into my oncoming lane, so rather than filtering through his lane, he decides to come at me head on. This guys flying... I start thinking "this tard is heading straight for me!" I steer right to avoid a head-on with him and wind up bouncing off the left side of an SUV thats at a dead stop behind another car that is turning right into a driveway. I have no time to react, hit the back end of the SUV, take out the taillight, my steel toe boot takes the right peg off so I have no rear brakes. I bounce across the side of the SUV and my right hand and right side plastics take out the mirror on the SUV... Now I have no front brakes and the bars are going back and forth doing the funky chicken...

I manage to hold on, I'm all over the bike... I have no brakes, so I kill switch it, keep downshifting to bleed off speed, and it takes me a 1/8 mile to coast to a stop...

Bikes F-ed... pissing oil out of the clutch cover, I know I'm hurting.

The 4 teenage girls in the SUV are fine, they didn't see the oncoming bike (they are 4 teenage girls... I don't think they notice much, lol...)

Right side of the bike is screwed. Rad is bent, tank is dented, fairing exploded, etc...

My knee feels like someone hit it with a hammer, my hand is bleeding from hitting the mirror.

No charge since the other vehicle involved dissapeared. No collision, so I'm stuck putting the bike back together myself, or parting it out. I can fix it.

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How it sits right now.

I've got a new rad (well, new to me.)

rearsets on the way.

clutch cover coming.

picked up a cracked right side fairing, already started plastic welding it. Soldering iron works wonders.

I might glass the CF bellypan and paint it... A shame to cover the carbon fiber, but it took a good hit.

Midpipe on my right Hindle slip-on took a hit as well. It's purely cosmetic, but it looks like shit.

Seems like it could have been a lot worse. Sorry to hear there are still idiots out there who can't obey the rules of the road. I'm glad you managed to get away with only minor injuries. Good luck with the rebuild!

Similar damage to mine when I was hit broadside at a crossroads (my right of way). Amazingly I was knocked several feet sideways but kept upright! Parked up a couple of hundred yards further along and the young driver and passenger were more in shock than I was. Thankfully armoured Sidi boots and leathers had saved my leg from getting crushed between the car and my clutch cover. Fairing, footrest/hanger and radiator were totalled. But with cash from settlement all the parts were easily available from breakers (this was before ebay took off).

The fun bit was replacing the r hanger/footpeg as the swing-arm shaft needed to be pulled, so I used a garden gate and rope to lift & support the rear of the bike.

Could be worth investing in a kevlar/carbon clutch cover from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/carbonadi-shop?_rdc=1

Yeah, the cop couldn't believe I kept it up.

My knee was pretty messed up though. Swelled up about the size of a softball. Sub-dermal hematoma. Got it x-rayed, didn't crack the cap or anything. My right knee looked like a hamburger patty, lol.

I'll check out that clutch cover, thanks

didn't look that bad at first...
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Gross knee pictures...

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yum yum...

rebuilds going slowly in the off season.

Partsman has been helpful sourcing some of the parts I need to put her back together.

Got the clutch cover and gaskets/mechanical seal from another member a couple months back.

Did the bodywork on the tank, primed it.

Got a rashed and cracked right side fairing from a former member (VTRCanada???) that is about an hour drive from me.

used a soldering iron to plastic weld it back together, and re-inforced the rear with fiberglass screening and plastic repair.

Probably going to get some odds and ends powdercoated (wheels and subframe), paint the bodywork black, and call it a day.

Here's some current half dissassembled pics.
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I'll wrap the headers as well to cover up some curb rash on the underside, and wrap the hindle midpipes where the right side got dented.

I've fiberglassed the CF bellypan where it had cracked in the accident, so I'll be painting that black as well. I'll respray it with a quality polyurethane paint & a gun. No spray paints - I want it to hold up to fuel.

Seems I've gone a little parts crazy with this rebuild. I've been getting some parts shipped up from Tenessee from Partsman (thanks Gareth), and I'm starting to think some of his "hoarding disease" might have come through the mail.

Found a sweet deal on another superhawk. Figure I'll use it for parts to rebuild mine.

Told my buddy... he wants us to race it in the endurance races next summer, and possibly BOTT and lost era classes.

Oh boy!

Its got some bumps and bruises, and some issues, but its complete. Here's some pics.

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Had a single exit highmount exhaust fabbed up (poorly...)

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Ownership says 1998, but it has black calipers, 2nd gen gauges???
Looks like it used to be yellow too, the paint job isn't terrible... not great either.
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It was the POs first bike... dropped it on both sides.

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Clutch cover doesn't leak, but it looks terrible... lathered up with JB weld.

I tore right into it tonight. I want to remove everything I'm using for the other bike, and swap out the bent parts from the parts bike. Might just do the bodywork on it as well; have two sets just in-case.

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Attachment 25248The basement is full of parts...


Any guesses to the year? I'm betting it was crashed and the frame was swapped out. Headlights cracked, had water in it...

The front marker light was filled in (not too badly done, but could use a little work.)

Frame Damage!
 

Hello Matt,
Glad you were ok.....sounds like it could have been worse.....Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the pictures of the red VTR shows some frame damage. In my experience, the frame damage in that location can, and usually does affect the handling. I would have a very close look at that. If the donor bike you purchased is title-able I would consider a frame swap. The bikes I have had with damage to the frame in those areas had wobble issues at high speed.....Just something to think about.....Take care let me know if you need anything.....G

Frame Damage!
 

Hello Matt,
Glad you were ok.....sounds like it could have been worse.....Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the pictures of the red VTR shows some frame damage. In my experience, the frame damage in that location can, and usually does affect the handling. I would have a very close look at that. If the donor bike you purchased is title-able I would consider a frame swap. The bikes I have had with damage to the frame in those areas had wobble issues at high speed.....Just something to think about.....Take care let me know if you need anything.....G

Must just look odd in the picture. Frame never got hit, I just ended up grazing off the side of the SUV at 50mph. Right side plastics exploded, the rad twisted up, and the clutch cover took a knock. I started it a couple days after the accident with the hole in the clutch cover. The clutch was spinning straight, no wobbles at all, so the crank must be fine.

Not even a scuff on the frame, or State Farm wouldn't have let me keep it. It would have been branded, and you can't put a salvage titled bike back on the road in Ontario Canada.... once it's branded, it's parts only.

Gareth, I see what you mean. In the one pic, the right side looks like there is a dent in the frame spar just under the tank. It's just dirt, and a wierd reflection from the flash off the other bike.

Very good.....I would hate to read about you in the Canada Times.. "Motor cycle rider craps his self during high speed wobble" LMAO! Hope you are well.......

Midpipe on my right Hindle slip-on took a hit as well. It's purely cosmetic, but it looks like shit.[/QUOTE]

Hawkrider has a genius fix for the mid. You fill it with water - put in the freezer just right with water in the tube where is needs to be bent back out. Let it freeze and voila - no more dent.

Hawkrider has a genius fix for the mid. You fill it with water - put in the freezer just right with water in the tube where is needs to be bent back out. Let it freeze and voila - no more dent.[/QUOTE]

I tried that with a gas tank years ago, err, um... didn't work out too well with that one.

Theory is pretty sound, but I'd have to cap both ends so the water couldn't expand out the ends? Maybe I'm missing something?

I was just planning on header wrapping it all the way back past the midpipes to cover the indent, but I'm open to other options.

I'm reading through the manual right now. I ended up putting the stock front end back on the red VTR. I pulled the fork cap, and pulled the spring to check if its the stock spring or not. The red bike has an ohlins shock, so I assumed the PO would have at least swapped out the fork springs (why have a turd of a front end and an Ohlins out back, lol).

Looked to be a straight rate spring that I removed, no markings on it anywhere to indicate the spring rate though.

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Heres whats in the manual. The straight rate spring I removed looks much different than this.

I'll have to pull the fork from the parts bike to inspect it as well. I'm betting its all stock.

got a question about the sending unit that controls the fuel guage on the 01+ hawk. Is it the same unit as in the 98 tank that controls the low fuel light?

Can I swap part of the wiring harness to allow me to use the newer guages from the 01?

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...cluster-18240/

Just answered my own question. Found Yruyur's writeup about the swap.

The more I get into this parts bike, the more I hate the previous owner... Maybe hate is too strong a word, -dislike his inept mechanical ability...-

I swear everything was put on with red locktite and an impact gun.

broke one exhaust stud in the front...

Two studs pulled out with the bolt, one in the front and one in the rear... but at least they came out...

rotors were on backwards...

chain looks like it has never been cleaned.

zip ties holding the right radiator on (guessing the stock brackets got wrecked.)

wood screws for license plate bolts... and two were screwed into the taillight housing.

i'm sure the list will go on and on the further I dive into it. Lots of corrosion, stripped threads, AAAargh...

Got it back together. Painted it in the early spring. HVLP gun and GM gloss black paint.

Wasn't trying to break the bank on this rebuild. I put the stock forks back on, VFR bars, and used the second set of bodywork from the parts bike. Might have to tear into the carbs as I seem to have a bit of a stumble and more vibration than before under hard acceleration. It was sitting for about 8 months or so; I suppose it's to be expected.

I'll run some seafoam through it and see if that cures it before I tear it apart.

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WOW. That looks great! I like the Two Tone approach you took. That's a machine to be proud of.

I missed this one! top work Sir, looks superb

Thanks guys! I ride the hell out of my bikes, so I didn't want to break the bank on the rebuild. I'd like to get rid of the "flexi-flyer" front end, but it works fine for street duty. The suspensions been sorted, but 41mm stanchions tend to feel like wet spaghetti at high speeds, lol...

Nice job with the rebuild; bike looks very good :)

Looks pretty good for the most part. Some 1500 grit wet sand paper and a good buff would really make it pop! Looks a little orange peeled.

The pressure in my gun was turned up too high when I started spraying. Its got a textured look to it. I don't mind really, its my second set of bodywork off my parts/project VTR. If it bothers me down the line, I'll just spray the other set in the off season.

I kinda like having it seem a little ugly, less desireable to thieves I suppose.

Any chance you still have the headlight mounting bracket from the donor bike? I need one for my 02 that bent when I highsided to miss a car.