I have to be honest here. I personally think it's ridiculous how these bikes have not been given there due respect.


I am an old guy so maybe I am not so inclined to get sucked into the "newest" technology and I also am an "old iron" restorer. My pride and joy bike is a Norton 850.


But when I got into these CBR's I was looking for a water cooled motorcycle engine for another completely different project. I think some here have heard the story so I won't go into it.


But think about it. Yes these bikes are old by most standards, but the technology is still pretty impressive. The horsepower, the 4 valve per cylinder design, the overhead cams, they run hard and are tough as hell. They handle pretty well. There are a lot of really good things about these bikes. Yeah maybe a wider rear tire would be nicer...better brakes...but jeez. There is a lot of new crap out there that can still not touch them. They should be worth more and respected more in my opinion.


And even the old Jelly Mold body kind of grows on you after a while.


I have sort of become a "Revive the F1" guy. I like them and working on them is fun. Getting them back to nice running driving bikes is fun.


I may not make a nickel on any of them, but for sure I will have preserved a few and made a couple into unique "new" bikes.


And realize, I have a 919 that is a jewel of a bike...yet the F1 still is up there with me.

 

if the rest of the bikes you build look anything like what you've shared with us, you will have no problem them finding a buyer with the proper kind of folding money. I guess I've always been a sucker for keeping things alive to preserve the history. I hate the disposable society we have. Your work is a fine representation of what I like.

 

Hamlin,


Your kind words are very encouraging. I thank you for that.


I have a little different taste than many people. I've always tried to make things have a "factory" type look more than overly radical, although I have seen some radical designs that I like. I think execution is more important tho. I try very hard to do the best I can at that. I'm not a professional and in fact never had much training in restoration and learned most on my own or by reading threads on the web and finding what I considered to be the best approach.


Being an engineer by trade, I think that is what drives me to find the answers. For some reason for me it's part of the fun and trust me, there have been times when I have had to do things over because they didn't turn out to my liking.


One of my ideas with all of this was to have a fun hobby when I retire. I have always wanted a fully equipt shop to just "play" in. Although my stupid back problems have slowed that down I am getting closer to seeing that become a reality. Over the past several days I have been working through the details and making CAD drawings of the layout.


I know that everyone doesn't have the means or the space to do that and I remember having no space and still doing cars and bikes, but my dream is to have this very special shop that will allow me to execute the projects even better. It will include machine tools and a CNC machining center because I want to be able to make some of my own parts.


I hoped that maybe I could supplement my income or pay for things with some of the bikes, but that is not the primary plan.


I've had a lot of people tell me that I "should" be able to get decent money for my work. We'll see. But then if you think about it how would I ever be able to sell the conversion bike? It's sort of in my blood and a part of me now. I actually have a special spot for it to be parked when I'm not riding it in the shop. A small alcove with track lighting and a special motorcycle background...I will have to post pictures of the "special" bike spot when it's done because it is more art than garage.


Thanks again for your very kind comments. Trust me, it is what keeps me and other's going.

 

A CNC mill is nice to have. I have one we use for engraving at my "second job" - a small record label. It gets used so much for that job that I have yet to pull off the engraving jig we have set up on it to use it for other projects, but it has been very tempting at times on the bike project.

Have you included a powder coating setup in your plans?

 

I have a large spray booth with full fans and filters in the plan. That room can also be used for applying powder. I have been looking at ovens and there is a guy very close to me that builds really nice ones that are pretty reasonably priced.


Right now I am still working out the spaces...and it keeps changing. The building is a double wide house. One of the ones on a foundation that they bring in 2 halves and put together. It is 26 feet wide by 44 feet long and I already am running out of space for all the stuff I want in there. I will post my CAD drawing once I complete it and see what everyone thinks. It will likely be somewhat of a work in progress but starting to make sense.


What is nice about the house is there are bathrooms, a laundry room to wash my dirty towels, it's heated and air conditioned so I can work year round. Really a dream space. I want a man room in there to put all my other toys though and that is messing up the shop space a bit.

 

Here's the first layout

 

I don't see the words "Parts Cleaner" over the bathtub. I would also add an espresso machine, but that's just me. You might want a kegerator instead.

Seriously though, the only thing that seems to be missing to me is some sort of shelving/storage area. A good 25% of my little old garage is taken up with shelves, a table and an old dresser to organize the project parts while they wait their turn.

 

I didn't get all the shelving shown. The wall on the back side of the laundry will be shelving. There are a couple of closets not shown...The rectangular box outside the main bath by the metal working area is shelving. There are lots of places for shelves...There will be overhead hanging shelves that aren't shown. I'm also am looking at enclosing part of the deck area for more storage. I have a 40x60 pole barn inches from the shop (that is my shop now) so only stuff that needs to be in a heated temp controlled area will be inside.


Also it's not perfectly to scale. The bikes are really bigger than they actually are. I will have more bike work area and likely a regular bike lift. The trolley spot is for the build tables so I can lift them up and down,

 

Getting a little closer. Lot's of "how the heck did that fairing move 1/4" from when I cut it?" today. But it's coming together reasonably well.


Obviously still some finish work to do. The vinyl wrap on the tank and lowers is turning out to be a disappointment. It just doesn't want stay stuck and it is fairly fragile. I had planned to do the whole bike with it, but I think I will probably be more or less replicating the color scheme wth paint in the future. I've done far too much work to end up with a finish that won't last. OK, time for a ride...

 

Doc,


We haven't talked about the film you used much. What brand is it? I used 3M vinyl wrap film for the gold on my bike. The 3M films are the best in my opinion but I am bias because my 35 years as an engineer were at 3M.


I know we make a carbon fiber film. I can try and get you some, and also get you tech info and application guides. I think we have videos that show how to do it.


I know you are a talented guy and probably did all the research but maybe there is something out there that might help.


I really like how that looks and would hate to see you have to change it if there is a solution.


Dennis