[drt7877355]

Welcome to my VFR750F build. I know what kind of bike I want to build, but it's hard to say if it will eventually fit into the Streetfighter / Naked / Cafe-Racer. Below is my current concept:

After having had a CBR650R (4 Cylinder) and then a 1050cc Triumph Speed Triple (3 Cylinder) I was looking for a naked bike with with good power but also decent revs, and the allure of the sound of V4 engines in MotoGP seemed like another ideal to add to the target bike. Searching for naked 4V motorcycles brings up Ducati Streetfigher 4V or Aprilia Tuono both of which are out of budget and not particularly classic looking, but what I also stumbled across in my 4V searching was the good old VFR750...and ugly but well regarded sport touring bike. I found a bike, price was right that's where it started.

The objectives for the biker were:

1. Have and enjoy a project
2. Learn about rebuilding forks, single sided sing arm, bearings, refinishing metal parts ecetera
3. Bike needs to have some built in storage for wallet/phone/cap...typical things that you take on a bike
4. Motogaget M-Unit Blue controlled so the bike can be started and stopped without a key
5. Appearance, hopefully, look a classic as possible and ideally taking queue from a Ducati Sport Classic
6. Bonus, as a carburetted bike with a V4 engine, enjoy an awesome engine noise

Below is the current progress:

 

[CK 187]

Sick!

We'll be watching

 

[Smoker]

I like your concept photoshop.

Might be cool to remove the lower subframe mount part of the frame. Would love to see you do away with the lower support, as well, by making a monocoque seat/tail, or using a hidden support.

Silencer looks ridiculously long for a custom bike.

Good luck with the build!

 

[yantosh]

sounds like you have a plan, wouldn't worry about the label

 

[ToadofToadHall]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - i loved my 97 VFR750F exact same model as this, but I'm going to enjoy seeing you bring this on. Already looking great.

Still want another though - the handing, the pickup with the revs above 10K, the inductuon noise with the throttle wide open, laying it over with the pegs down and coming out of corners silly speeds still makes me shiver.
How i didnt crash it is testimony to the quality of the frame and the sorted geometry....

Best changes I made to mine
1.) Decent aftermarket rear shock. The stock one never was up to much
2.) Michelin Pilot Sport tyres
3.) Drop the risers through the yokes by about 10mm
4.) Aftermarket exhaust to get rid of the collector box
5.) Revalve and re spring the forks (at the time it was cheaper than a set of fireblade forks)
6.) 6" rear wheel from the earlier VFR (the rc36 has a 5.5 rim if i remember correctly
7.) Braded lines to sort the wooden front brakes

And then go ride the nuts off it.....

 

[drt7877355]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - i loved my 97 VFR750F exact same model as this, but I'm going to enjoy seeing you bring this on. Already looking great.

Still want another though - the handing, the pickup with the revs above 10K, the inductuon noise with the throttle wide open, laying it over with the pegs down and coming out of corners silly speeds still makes me shiver.
How i didnt crash it is testimony to the quality of the frame and the sorted geometry....

Best changes I made to mine
1.) Decent aftermarket rear shock. The stock one never was up to much
2.) Michelin Pilot Sport tyres
3.) Drop the risers through the yokes by about 10mm
4.) Aftermarket exhaust to get rid of the collector box
5.) Revalve and re spring the forks (at the time it was cheaper than a set of fireblade forks)
6.) 6" rear wheel from the earlier VFR (the rc36 has a 5.5 rim if i remember correctly
7.) Braded lines to sort the wooden front brakes

And then go ride the nuts off it.....

Thanks ToadofToadHall,

Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ride the VFR at it's best with soggy suspension and brakes and old tyres, but the engine ran like a clock and revs out nicely.

Your list of changes makes a lot of sense, thanks for the advice.

2. 5. & 7. - New tyres, rebuilt forks, braded lines are all mandatory upgrades at this stage.

4. 1. & 7. - New exhaust headers, new shock, upgraded forks are on the Wishlist.

6. - The early VFR rim is 6" but it's also almost impossible to find, and if you find one it's very expensive 💸

 

[drt7877355]

First step was to evaluate what I had, to make a call on if it was even worth starting what I had planned and making a list of what might be involved. The bike I bought was totally standard and original, but with 45,000km of not much but basic maintenance and a lot of time out in the weather the bike was going to need some refreshing. I took it for a quick ride to feel it out and try and identify any mechanical problems (and to convince myself that this was a good idea!).

Below are some before pictures and a quick YouTube walk around with some revving, the stock exhaust is practically silent :/

YouTube: VFR750F Streetfighter - Part 1 - The Beginning

The bike was grimy, corroded in places, and anything made of rubber appeared to need replacing. Not a great start, but nothing was broken.

Next step is to give it a proper deep clean.

 

[ToadofToadHall]

Thanks ToadofToadHall,

Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ride the VFR at it's best with soggy suspension and brakes and old tyres, but the engine ran like a clock and revs out nicely.

Your list of changes makes a lot of sense, thanks for the advice.

2. 5. & 7. - New tyres, rebuilt forks, braded lines are all mandatory upgrades at this stage.

4. 1. & 7. - New exhaust headers, new shock, upgraded forks are on the Wishlist.

6. - The early VFR rim is 6" but it's also almost impossible to find, and if you find one it's very expensive 💸

If a new shock is out of the question, maybe ebay will turn something up of the same length that's suitable. When the shock on mine failed it just span the back almost everytime i cracked it open

 

[bonehead]

Love a Vfr.
Ducati monster seats work well, they work well on alot of bikes, would have to build a sub frame though
Cbr 929 or maybe 954 rear shock can work with bracket to make longer.
Did a white vfr for a winter build a couple a years ago and a black one , but both latter fuel injected models.
Look forward to watching your progress

 

[drt7877355]

Love a Vfr.
Ducati monster seats work well, they work well on alot of bikes, would have to build a sub frame though

Thanks bonehead, a Monster seat seems like a good idea, I know that my Speed Triple seat is a perfect fit but I could not find one second hand. What I have used is a 2002 Yamaha R1 seat, a new copy of one from China, which fits great but the quality is low. I was looking for a seat that I could easily buy so if I ever need a replacement then it's not too hard to source.

Cbr 929 or maybe 954 rear shock can work with bracket to make longer.

Yes I have read on a VFR forum that these fit, and I can get one, I'm just not sure if a shock from a 954 would need rebuilding or not considering those bike are pretty old now too. If it needs rebuilding I might be halfway to the cost of a new aftermarket shock which starts looking like better value at that point.

If a new shock is out of the question, maybe ebay will turn something up of the same length that's suitable. When the shock on mine failed it just span the back almost everytime i cracked it open

ToadofToadHall mentioned that the worn shock on his VFR made it spin the rear wheel...well that's what mine did on my short test rides prior to stripping it down. I put it down to the stuffed old tyres but I'm sure the shock isn't helping much either.

Did a white vfr for a winter build a couple a years ago and a black one , but both latter fuel injected models.
Look forward to watching your progress

Nice, do you have a build thread? If you have any tips, please, keep them coming.

 

[drt7877355]

From the first look over it was I started formulating a plan, but before I committed to stripping down the bike I wanted to just see how well I could clean up the bike.

After a few hours of washing, degreasing and polishing the bike looked pretty good, but this was my first bike with fairings and it became apparent that fairings are just cheap painted plastic...yes they add a character to the bike but nah, not for me. Plus the screen is too low to be of any benefit at all, the wind all still hit my shoulders and chest.

Below is a quick video of the polishing, just before I strip her naked:
YouTube: VFR750F Streetfighter - Part 2 - Clean-up

All Cleaned up, but there's too much work to do to avoid stripping the fairings and I doubt I'll turn back from making a naked bike from that point :

Posing next to my Street Triple. The stand over height and seat to peg high of the Triumph suits me perfectly, the VFR's seat is quite low and the pegs feel high in comparison, that's one thing to remember when I fabricate a new subframe.

The Honda's got a big butt that's for sure.

 

[rex_saugerty]

someone said honda v4? im listening

1-0-1-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-0

 

[ToadofToadHall]

The seat to peg height on the vfr used to give my knees grief, and for my busa build I've lowered the pegs and increased the standover height to get a better riding position

 

[drt7877355]

With the fairings removed this is the first time I'm getting an actual look at the 'whole' bike and get a feel for what work may be required.

Here is a quick video of the fairing removal: VFR750F Streetfighter – Part 3 – Loose the fairings

This is what she looks like under the skin, there's lots of brackets to remove and wiring to relocate. There was certainly some weight in the front headlights and in all the fairings combined, maybe 10-15kg in total.

Right side: coil, coolant overflow and brackets to remove and rehome.

Left side: Pretty clean but coils need relocating and at the rear is the fuel pump, relays and ignition module.

Top yoke, levers and clip-ons look pretty nice, symmetrical, but everything is sun faded and corroded.

Front end with gauges...quite a bit of stuff to remove and tidy up here, the main one is relocating the oil cooler.

 

[ToadofToadHall]

With the fairings removed this is the first time I'm getting an actual look at the 'whole' bike and get a feel for what work may be required.

Here is a quick video of the fairing removal: VFR750F Streetfighter – Part 3 – Loose the fairings

This is what she looks like under the skin, there's lots of brackets to remove and wiring to relocate. There was certainly some weight in the front headlights and in all the fairings combined, maybe 10-15kg in total.
View attachment 152756
Right side: coil, coolant overflow and brackets to remove and rehome.
View attachment 152753
Left side: Pretty clean but coils need relocating and at the rear is the fuel pump, relays and ignition module.
View attachment 152752
Top yoke, levers and clip-ons look pretty nice, symmetrical, but everything is sun faded and corroded.
View attachment 152754

Front end with gauges...quite a bit of stuff to remove and tidy up here, the main one is relocating the oil cooler.
View attachment 152755

Just to be a pedant... she's water cooled not oil cooled.

The later 800's have the rads at either side behind scoops. Where are you thinking?

 

[drt7877355]

Just to be a pedant... she's water cooled not oil cooled.

The later 800's have the rads at either side behind scoops. Where are you thinking?

Yes water cooled engine, with an engine oil cooler. Stock oil cooler is mounted to the front fairing bracket which has to be removed.

This was my first relocation, without shortening the standard hoses I could mount it on a bracket in front of the radiator.

 

[rex_saugerty]

i personally just made an oil line, deleting the cooler. for both of my 750's havent noticed any problems. since bike is nakedm theres more air flow around engine

1-0-1-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-0

 

[MikeGyver]

That is the baby-est of all oil coolers! I'm with Rex, delete it.

 

[ToadofToadHall]

My bad. I'd forgotten about the oil cooler

 

[drt7877355]

VFR750F Streetfighter – Part 4 – The Plan

Here is a video of my thoughts on the bike and what I plan to do - VFR750F Streetfighter – Part 4 – The Plan

In the past, to manage potential scope creep and to make sure projects actually get finished I break the work up into phases. My plan at this stage is as follows:

Phase 0: Stripping the bike and cleaning it up
Phase 1: Strip and rebuild the front end concluding with the bike being ridable again but now as a naked bike.
Phase 2: Rear end strip and rebuild
Phase 3: Rear subframe and exhaust
Phase 4: If by this stage I’m loving the bike, revisit prior aspects of the build like painting and powder coating the individual parts properly, improving the brakes and suspension, painting the engine covers and cleaning up the engine block etcetera

For Phase 1 it is clear that everything will need a full going over, so whilst the front end is apart I might as well do some of the paint and polishing. Below is a list of each job to help keep my on track:

• NEW - Front wheel bearing and seals (Seals perished, bearings feel fine)
• NEW - Head stem bearings (Notch in bearing race at 12 o’clock, races appear to have old crusty factory grease in them)
• PAINT – Upper and lower triple clamp and fork lowers
• NEW - Fork bearings and seals (Fork seals perished, shock oil age unknown) , and add fork gaiters to help add some substance to the front end
• NEW - Grips, new throttle and choke cables, R6 throttle tube to quicken up the lazy throttle
• REBUILD and PAINT – Electrical controls, Brake and Clutch cylinders
• REBUILD – Front Brake Callipers
• NEW – Braided hydraulic brake and clutch lines
• NEW - headlight and brackets, new indicators, and add a windscreen to fill the space between the headlight and the gauges
• 3D PRINT – New housing to hold to standard speedometer and tachometer
• REWIRE – Remove the standard fuses and relays and wiring loom and install the Motogaget M-unit to control the standard functions of the bike. The factory controls will now need to be switched to earth instead of powered, and
  the M-unit will then control all the lights, ignition and starting system.

Starting with the front wheel, a proper clean and new bearings was all that I needed.

The original bearing actually felt fine, they might even be originals

This is the first time I've stripped and rebuilt forks (apart form mountain bike forks), it wasn't too hard and YouTube had some helpful videos. The original paint was very corroded and it basically stripped with just a wire brush.

All stripped down. I'll rebuild as standard with 10W Synthetic oil.

Forks painted and reinstalled with fork gaiters to give the front end a beefier look.