James' 2001 Honda VTR1000 Build
 

It's about time to let everyone know what I am up too... Nothing new, just a collection of tasteful mods from across the internet.

It all started when a couple months ago my father called me and told me he picked up a new Honda Fury, so I could have his Superhawk. I shipped it from North Carolina to Boise right away, and got to work on it.

It has about 30k miles on it, and in my opinion needed some cosmetic rejuvenation. My dad rode it and did regular maintenance, and that was fine for him. I'm really a perfectionist when it comes to my bikes, and I wanted this one to be special, with a few "newer model" upgrades.

Honestly I don't even know where to start, I've done so much already.

Erion Cans - Years ago I bought black Erion cans for my dad, we met at Daytona Beach for Bike Week, and they are still on the bike. He never wanted to deal with jetting it, so when I got it I yanked the carbs and did Hawk's carb setup: (48 pilots/2 .020" shims under rear needle, 1 .020" shim under front needle/HRC style front slide) with a stock air filter (my dad had a newer one installed, so I left it there).

I bought a set of CBR600RR stick coils from Ebay, and installed those.

I removed the flywheel and had a friend lighten it according to Roger D's spec (6lb - 6-3/4 oz currently).

I installed Red Line Synthetic oil in the bike, and a Purolator Pure One oil filter. My combination of choice.

I removed the PAIR system, and installed black block-off plates. I also extended the vacuum lines to make carb syncs easier.

The bike had Goodridge stainless steel brake lines on it when my dad got it, so that was nice :)


Now onto the big stuff.....

I love black frames, so I yanked the rear subframe, and had it powdercoated flat black. I did the fender eliminator kit at the same time, and got a matching license plate frame. I converted 99% of the subframe bolts to stainless.

Right now the swingarm is removed, and I have a CBR900RR brace ready to mount to it. Just gotta finish sand it, have my friend weld it, then powdercoat it flat black to match the subframe.

I also have a CBR900RR rear wheel that will be powdercoated gloss black, and mounted up with new bearings/seals. I'm coating the sprocket carrier also.

I removed the rear Nissin brake caliper and disassembled it. I plan to have it powdercoated a nice, fancy red color.

In the mail is a Galfer rear Wave rotor, and a gold EK chain. My goal is a black swingarm, red caliper, gold chain. I love that combo :)


Eventually I'll get to the front end, not sure what I'm gonna do there yet. Maybe over the winter I'll pull the whole thing apart and get the main frame powdercoated flat black also... Right now I'm just trying to get everything back together so I can ride by late August and enjoy the fall weather here in Boise, Idaho.

One of the last things I did was pull the header pipes off and send them to Nitroplate in TN for a shiny silver finish. Can't wait to see those! While I was there I found a stripped out front header stud (the hole on the cylinder head). An M8x1.25 Keensert is on the way, so it will be repaired properly very soon.

Anyways, I will try to update this thread when I can. Right now I'm kind of "mid operation", so it looks a bit scary...

James

Pics from 2005, after installing the cans in Daytona Beach. Me (younger then), my dad, and my grandpa.

Pics with my then 4yr old...

Recent pics

More....

even more...

more again....

even more again...

Last ones for today...

I showed all the pics of the rear shock/spring/swingarm to illustrate that there is no way the 900RR brace can really hit the shock. The tire hits the plastic undertail before the shock gets anywhere near the brace area.

In fact, from the factory the front-inside of the swingarm is hitting the yellow spring (down inside almost to the lower shock mount)... I'll flap-disc it a bit to give some clearance.

I'm a bit shamed that I am using a floor jack, on a trailer, with a Dell computer to counterweight the jack, and finally resting the dogbone of the bike on a cinder block.... sigh.... It was the only way I could remove the rear end. The good news is the front straps are really helping to triangulate everything and keep it stable.

Hopefully late next week the swingarm will be ready for reinstall :)

James

Wow nice work. Dell computers are excelkent counterweights

Updates! Got the new rear turn signals all soldered up, and tightened down. (LP USA Short Stalk 1)

Swingarm pics.... RR brace mounted, welded. A good friend of mine used his Lincoln MIG wirefeed (aluminum, using Argon) to set this up for me. The welds looked good, but I decided to smooth them out.

Going to powdercoat tomorrow....

James

Great thread! I know it can sometimes be disheartening to keep posting with no response from the community but the work looks great and it's we some to see someone do their own work instead of farm it out to a shop. Keep it up!

Thank you!

Just wanted to share what I have been doing. I really enjoy doing the work myself. It's a nice, small project. Dunno when I will get to the frame, maybe over the winter. I'm just super anxious to ride it at this point :)

Gotta start getting rid of the extra parts soon. I think a for sale thread is in order...

James

Nice build, I was wondering about a black subframe. I have one that I got awhile back but haven't installed yet, now I thing I will.

That's great!! I may be borrowing from some of your ideas!!

Looking good. Now you have me thinking about a flat black subframe.

It looks like clearance will be an issue for the rear brake caliper. What are you going to do there, or am I wrong?

900rr rear caliper bracket )

James

Are you changing out the standard CCTs?

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...5348-large-jpg

I'd like to, but dont think i have room in my budget right now...

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...sioners-25706/

Cheaper than a top end rebuild

Scare tactics don't work on me :)

The bike has 30,000 miles on it. I seriously doubt they will go out in the next 2 months before winter....

I'll do it over the winter.

Don't say you weren't warned...

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...52/#post353460

Thanks for the warning. I used to own cannondales, so i'm familiar with the "replace it or it will break in the next 60 seconds" theory...

It's on the list, i'll get to it.

James

BOO!

My '99 has 23,584 miles and bent valves in the front head because I was going to wait until this winter to install manual cct's. No clacking. No ticking. No warning.

I bought a set of unistalled (never installed) Kreigers from a forum member just the other week for $50 shipped. Because it's looking more and more like I'm not going to get to my head replacement until this winter (sound familiar), I'll sell them to you (and only to thedeatons) for what I paid, $50 shipped if you're interested. I'll come up with a set for myself later.

PM me if you want them. If not, I hope you're luckier than I was.

New pics...

CBR900RR rear wheel, powdercoated black, with a Galfer Wave rotor.

CBR900RR braced swingarm. Powdercoated flat black like the subframe. New bearings/seals. Shiny chain adjusters.

Baron Red powdercoated rear brake caliper. New seals, crush washers, bleed nipple.

CBR900RR rear brake caliper bracket. Powdercoated flat black.

Very, very nice lookin' swinger James! I want one!

Thanks! I've had these ideas kicking around in my head since I got it... There are so many things I want to do, but I decided on the rear end to start with. Over the winter I will try to do the frame.... The suspension (front & back) will come eventually. The good news is the bike doesn't need anymore power, what with the lower gearing, lightened flywheel, jetting and exhaust, so I can just tinker with other things :)

James