Bike is now sold since last spring,but I wish I still had it sometimes.
I bought a ex-raced '91 F2 in the fall of '98,plan was to build the quickest 600 around and run 10sec 1/4 mile times.Then a month later Yamaha brings out the R6 with almost 100 hp at the back wheel and my first goal is toast.

I have no pics anymore but it was well beat on cosmetically,but the motor was great.Crappy Vance & Hines pipe was changed to a Hindle 4/1 with carbon can.
It only had beat up race bodywork so I had to find something.Luckily I worked at McBride Cycle in Toronto and had a few connections.My wrecker buddy gave me a pair of lowers of a 98 F3,the owner of McBrides was building a '98 F3 track bike (complete with Ohlins forks) and I made a deal for the upper and headlight,actually the Hindle was his too,he went Akro.I bought the tail section new,got a used 97/98 seat and tailight and it was almost done.

 

Original purchase price was $2800,it had a Fox twin clicker,some spare hardware,some small original F2 stuff,side lids,t/l not much else.
We put it on the dyno as I got it-86 hp,this is with a dynojet kit it had and the V&H pipe.I wasn't thrilled,I was told it was a good #.They were making like 83 stock,86 sucked.This bike had been raced for at least the last 3 years and never been rebuilt.
So the motor came apart,now the fun begins,or so I thought.
I was VERY fortunate to work with one of the best tuners NA has ever had in Superbike racing,argue if you want,the man is a genius,Rick Hobbs,who did 2 yrs at McBrides then went to Vance and Hines racing,tuned for Jamie James (I think) and built Eddie Lawson Daytona 200 motors when Eddie un-retired to race that event.
He had already left McBrides long before but I called him to get his do's and don'ts on my ideas.One thing I won't forget him saying is "don't take too much off the head when you port it".

 

This could get long FYI.I'll skip a lot of details.
So from Erion Racing I ordered JE 637 13:5-1 pistons and their cams,which are stock cams ground to .6mm and .7mm more lift,I forget the duration,guaranteed more power all through,just drop in.Rick assured me the bike will run on pump gas,it did.

For a bike that was raced the clutch was perfect,in fact everything was good,shift forks,gears.I was truly becoming impressed with Honda quality more than I was already.
I thought about oversized valves,another tuner known especially for his valve work advised against it,"would shroud the head",basically too close to the edge,so 3 angle valve job it was.The cam sprockets were slotted but I never did get around to having them degreed.

 

The motor eventually ended up at a friend of mine who worked on bikes out of his garage.
He ported it and reassembled it.I told him what Rick said about the porting,apparently it fell on deaf ears as the head looked liked 5 lbs had been removed,even the valve guides were cut away.Not much I could do but hope for the best,didn't cost me anything.
The crank was sent to a shop in T.O. (who's name I can't remember) but they did all the racers cranks.You brought your stuff to the back door instead of the front and only cash was accepted when it was finished.They knife-edged it,wish I had before and after pics.
Years later I would park a stock F3 beside it to compare how much faster mine revved,wow,not even close.
OK,so it's ported,valves seats cut,Erion cams,637 kit,Hindle pipe,balanced knife-edge crank.that's the motor done.
Next 520 gearing and DID gold race xring chain.
Oh forgot the bike also had braided lines.
RR peg brackets removed,alum brkt used for muffler.
Time to go to the dyno again.

 

Back around '91 or '92 the mags posted up a 600 build shootout between a 2 Bros F2,V&H nitrous FZR600,a Yosh Katana 600,and I guess a zx600 was in there too,still have that mag somewhere.
Anyway 2 Bros got 98 hp out of their F2,using Wiseco pistons and FCR 35mm carbs and everything else I had done,except maybe the crank.

I got 97.7 with 46.6 lbs tq. It was the torque that surprised me the most but still was disappointed not to break 100 hp.I blame the porting.

 

So I was just getting started in drag racing.When I first got the 86hp race bike I took it to Cayuga to see what I could do.I remember my first pass being like 12.25.This was no good,had to run faster.Got to 11.86 that night.
Prior to this I had taken a brand new TL1000S down the 1/4 and that was it.Went 11.32

I can't remember my first times,I would keep time slips but get rid of them when I got a new PB.
I would keep trying different sprocket combos,started with -1/+1,kept adding a tooth to the back every few months.
By Aug that year I was running low 11's with 14/46 gearing,using all 6 gears,hitting an avg 123 mph,101-103 in the 1/8 @ high 6.9's to 7.0.
Then I went 14/47.....10.98@122.56,I framed it. 1.74 60ft,7.06 1/8@101.78
I know,not my best start but somehow my best finish.
I had also raised the forks and gotten an adj link for the rr.Using Metz M1 tires.Fuel was any premium.
Then ONE day,and just the one day,I got some C12.Went 1 maybe 2 mains bigger,raised the clip 1/2 stop and went 10.86@ 128,I was running 10.9's letting off in the elimination rounds.

 

I got some sponsorship from Armour Bodies and custom painted the race body,with the lights off,horn,mirrors,signals etc it weighed in at 390 lbs with a 1/4 tank.
I still have the bodywork and tank.

 

I have the Armour Bodies kit and a tank painted in Candy Wineberry red,was mint but I'ved moved a few times and its picked up some scratches.Too expensive to ship so I've been holding on to them.