if I had a dollar for every time I said my bike is close to being on the road over the last 3 years, well, my bike would be done by now! So don't feel bad running a few months over

There is a lot of weight, but remember, its at the center of the spinning circle, which means it has less gyroscopic effect. Ducs have been winning short circuit races for years on under powered bikes with these heavy hubs.

 

Awesome project. I am in the middle of one myself. Keep up the inspirational work.

 

always the same isn't it man haha i don't know single biker who isn't the same.

absolutely get you though, when you're riding the extra weight theres no danger you would feel the difference in weight i can imagine the difference in geometry being noticeable with the length of swinger/width of wheel/tyre.

its not the same thing but i can say that in terms of flickability (not taking into consideration additional unsprung weight and gyroscopic effects), even with massive bikes like a varadero weighing at 280kg wet (if memory serves), when they're moving you just don't feel the weight.

my argument would always be that its still a larger amount of weight for the engine to move and every kg counts, its also a gain of unsprung/rotational weight which is best kept to a minimum. the difference would only be a minute fraction of a second off of a lap time, if that. but the f3 isn't a light bike as it is and less weight should make it feel just that bit sharper.

on that note i kind of wish i knew just how much weight i had lost from ditching the fairings, fairing stay, alloy sprockets, and the significant weight difference in the top yokes, forks and wheel. once its built i might have to drop by a scrap yard and see if i can use their scales to weigh the bike, bound to be a few kg down for sure.

another thought is that the early vfr wheels take a 170 tyre for sure and the later a 180 i think but possibly larger as the years go on, I'm quite a fan of sticking to oem tyre size for the sake of flickability (even though a bigger tyre usually looks better). just how agile it is has to be one of the cbr6s strongest points. on the plus side at least it would be using the correct width of rim and not just a larger tyre on a rim too small for it.

a possibility might be to utilise the speed triple hub & wheel on the vfr swinger and utilise the best of both worlds as the speed triple has just one large nut instead or the car style 4 or 5 bolt on the vfr, which means wheel changes in silly times if you want to haha. seems to be much more obtainable for parts and i could match the front 929 3 spoke with the triple 3 spoke. seen a friend using a similar set up on his harris. going to see what info i can dig up on the length and weight of the two just for comparison vs the specs of the f3 swinger.

its kind of weird but recently I've been doubting myself with the amount of time, thought and money (actually not that much money, its been a well budgeted build in spite of some trick bits) I've been putting towards the f3 build seeing as its ''only a 600'' but they really are a fantastic bike and are far from timid, obviously not the same power or top end as a 1000 but just as fast to 120 and much more manageable. perhaps its just because I've spent the last few months on a 1000 supersport with brutal power... i don't think of 600s as being slow in the slightest to anyone reading this, they are silly fast! but i just don't know haha its going go to be worthwhile when its back together, something a bit special. I'm just a bit out of touch with the cbr if you get me, no intention of parting with her though I'm in for the long haul.

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cheers man, the builds had heaps of views on the thread but its not often that someone drops a line in but yeah dude thanks and its always much appreciated =]

would love to see what you're scheming up!

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in addition to the last post I've also been looking at making a quick shifter, the physical making of it is a doddle but there will be some intricacies on the electronic side for timing in relation to engine speed. chances are i won't go through with it but anything i find on the subject will get posted.

been looking at big bore kits but i just can't justify the cost haha however high velocity intakes may be on the cards. thats in the long run though, need to stop getting ahead of myself lolz

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managed to get a spot of coating done wednesday, really interesting how it works actually and good fun doing it. its amazing the comparison of time involved, less than a minute to coat something and then about 10mins in the oven, when compared to 15mins between coats of paint its unbelievable.



rear pegs, brackets, gear lever and linkage.



headlight brackets. there was a little bit of white powder accidentally in the gun still so theres a couple of items with a slight white speckle through it, looks alright though. its just some dust or something in this picture for the record haha you can't quite see the speckle on camera.



rear pegs, there was a bit of reaction at the pivot point but its fine as they are hidden anyway.



rear of right hanger



after a bit of elaborate and tedious masking, the front of the hanger well pleased with the effect just need to tidy the edges. its a lot of work trying got get clean lines on such intricate areas.

still got the top yoke and left hanger to finish polishing to repeat the effect.

the rear hangers took a bad reaction, must have been a bit of oil or dirt or something from my hands when handling them so they need blasted back and re-powdered, no biggie though. apparently the powder coating can be difficult to blast off as its quite tough.

quite lucky to have friends with blasting and powder coating setups ehh absolute legends. i'll have my own when I've got the space someday. you could make a silly bit of money just doing cheap homers for people. got to do right by those who do right by you though =]

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this bargain turned up today as well.



seems to be in pretty damn reasonable condition as well.



wee scuff on the left, looks like it will polish out.



spot of rust at the cap and in the tank but some electrolysis will sort that out overnight.



the only real untidy bit, its just the edge to its salvageable, clean it, paint the damaged section and put a rubber strip round the bottom.



really not too bad. no fuel tap unfortunately but thats not the end of the world. and i could sell it for double what i payed right now on eBay, so its win win.
only reason i picked it up was well firstly it was going cheap and secondly it gives me the opportunity to mess about with paint without ruining an almost complete fairing set. probably too good to paint the new one if I'm honest haha, I'm a total sucker for not wanting to alter or 'ruin' solid oem parts depending on how you look at it.

colour-wise the gunmetal grey matches the subtle palette I'm aiming for and the yellow drops a burst of tasteful colour into the mix without overdoing it. well happy with the purchase.

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haven't really made any progress with the cbr this week, been busy with there stuff and haven't had time to polish, also had a flat on the ace which meant i couldn't get out to get to the powder coating setup, had initially planned to go rebuild the brakes today but decided against it as i was thinking about powder coating them only to go see them and decide that they weren't half as tatty as i had thought, just needing a clean... haha

so tomorrow the brakes will be getting cleaned right down and rebuild. still need to organise wire.

so today i ended up just giving the thing its first clean down since DECEMBER! *criiiiiiinge*



only gave it a quick one but it certainly cleans up well. the fresh headers and radiator make a hell of a difference.



any excuse to take pictures eh yeah i think i'll get the tank electrolysisised tomorrow to get rid of the rust and give it a wee tidy up.

need to source an appropriate bit of plastic to repair the tab on the mudguard and another on the tail unit.

got some stainless for making a speedo bracket, shelf for electrics under the seat and possibly the steering dampener if its sturdy enough.

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Looks great!

 

cheers man, slowly but surely love the stripped down look, shame i have to put a tank, tail and all the bits and pieces back on haha

 

really don't have the ''energy'' right now to explain it in my own words so heres a wiki extract.

''Electrolysis is the passing of a direct electric current through an ionic substance that is either molten or dissolved in a suitable solvent, producing chemical reactions at the electrodes and separation of materials.

The main components required to achieve electrolysis are:

An electrolyte: a substance, frequently an ion-conducting polymer that contains free ions, which carry electric current in the electrolyte. If the ions are not mobile, as in a solid salt then electrolysis cannot occur.
A direct current (DC) electrical supply: provides the energy necessary to create or discharge the ions in the electrolyte. Electric current is carried by electrons in the external circuit.

Two electrodes: electrical conductors that provide the physical interface between the electrolyte and the electrical circuit that provides the energy.
Electrodes of metal, graphite and semiconductor material are widely used. Choice of suitable electrode depends on chemical reactivity between the electrode and electrolyte and manufacturing cost.''

so anyway the tanks ''currently'' stewing away. yeah heres my electrolysis set up. science bitch haha



left this wee note beside it whilst i was away as well. thought it held some comic value. apparently the gasses are brutal. can be flammable with naked flame and much deadly in an enclosed space. more so to keep people away from it rather than anything else though.



close up of the electrode



the piece of iron bar used as an electrode, i taped the bottom to stop it shorting out on the tank and the top section with the pen to make sure the electrode can't touch anything up there.



the rust and gunk attached to the electrode after 6 hours, leaving it for 24 hours in total. wiped it off, put it back in.



so quick explanation of the setup.

battery charger positive hooked up to the sacrificial anode. using iron, although steel is also suitable but NOT stainless, it kicks off some proper nasty stuff.

the negative lead to bare metal on the tank itself.

petcock out, you wouldn't want the filter filled with this gunk, used a rubber glove over the hole cable tied on and taped up for good measure, the breather as well.

filled the tank with water and an electrolyte, used sodium carbonate in the form of soda crystals (not bicarbonate of soda haha)

have to make sure the electrode doesn't make contact with ground/the negative charger lead.

checking it occasionally every other hour to make sure its still got fluid and hasn't shorted out.

and boom 12-24 hours and you've got a rust free tank. higher voltage makes the process quicker and in 'extreme' cases it can take a week apparently.

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