Discussion
Thought I'd share the journey I've been on since coming back to motorcycles after 28 years 
After spending fairly ludicrous amounts of money on modifying cars over the years for fast road and the odd trackday, a couple of years ago I decided to get a sensible-ish car and maybe take the time to learn how to ride a bike – well and safely, unlike how I rode as a teenager. The decision wasn't taken lightly: I’m in healthcare and have seen an awful lot of people ending up rather damaged while riding. But at the age I am it felt right: a case of always secretly loving the bikes and realising that now’s as good a time as any, and probably better than most – I’m a lot less impatient nowadays and probably better able to plan for other road users’ stupidity without over-reacting.
I wanted a sports bike, as 1. they look ace / sound awesome / just because, and 2. if I didn’t like the riding position I could go on to realise a boyhood dream of building my own streetfighter…
I thought an inline-four 600 was the way ahead, and decided on the CBR600 F4i. These are reliable, quick, cheap for what they are, and are known for smooth power delivery with a screaming top end. Perfect. This model is really popular with stunters too, as the frame and engine are considered pretty much bulletproof, and at some point I want to learn wheelies and drifting (in safe places mind you!). I found a 2001 model local to me in great nick for a fair price, and bought it before I’d even started my CBT. Did the complete ‘zero-to-hero’ package and passed my test in October ’22. TBH the A-licence process was a massive palaver, I was committed but with the time and expense involved in getting a full licence, it’s no wonder the motorcycle industry is in decline!
Anyway here she is in standard trim (more or less) as I got her from the shop. The only mods were a dark bubble screen and an Akrapovic slip-on:
The insurance company wanted proof of it being garaged, so I sent a pic over along with proof of the ‘extra security’. They didn’t see the funny side, the miserable gits. Not that he (was) a particularly good security measure in truth, being an overgrown lap dog who would genuinely run at the first sign of trouble:
I started to do as much learning as poss to try and reduce the chances of me or someone else becoming roadkill due to my nervousness and / or stupidity:
And along with a fair bit of reading and watching videos and trying to put that into practice, I joined the IAM. This wasn’t completely unfamiliar to me, having dabbled in their car program at one point about 15 years ago – the ‘system’ hasn’t changed much! I also found a local MotoGymkhana group and got hooked on the first go. On the bike I reset the suspension to factory settings, and installed a Renntec luggage rack, heated grips and a wired phone holder. For about 9 months I had the bike in this standard form. But over time a few things came together that inspired me to take that long-held love of streetfighters and build my own. Firstly I love the idea of a ‘fighter – to me it’s a similar thing to modifying a car where you get to put your own stamp on it and make it one of a kind. Secondly I’m not getting any younger – the sporty position was putting strain on my wrists and coupled with continuing nerves it wasn’t the best fit for me or my riding at the time. And lastly a few of those events with MotoGymkhana West Mids showed me how much low-speed manoeuvring could improve safety and confidence at higher speeds – it’s properly addictive too! So putting an MX bar on the bike started to make a lot of sense. This would involve a few things:
- Fairings off
- Crash cage
- MX handlebar with fork clamps
- Aftermarket fork-mounted headlight
- Modifications to wiring loom
- Relocate clocks onto a custom ignition-mounted bracket
- New, longer, brake throttle and clutch lines
- Replacement cheapo exhaust (no point ruining the lovely Akrapovic titanium can if I’m likely to be dropping the bike)
Despite an almost complete lack of experience with things mechanical (at least at this level, I’m alright at DIY and bicycle maintenance but not much more) I’d already decided to try and do the job myself. Part of the journey and a big appeal in getting a bike was learning how to spanner haha. I had the official service manual and some good tools, so thought why not give it a go! With everything together in summer '23, I had a few days free and began:
Went for ODI 28mm motocross fat-bars with ‘medium’ rise. This gives a lot more manoeuvrability and comfort while still being in quite a forward, sport-like position. It’s a perfect compromise for me, and since putting them on I’ve done some big journeys (a couple of 450-milers and a few of 150-200mi) without any massive discomfort. But the bar lets you hustle on when you want, you never feel cramped getting into a more tucked position.
Anyway, back to the build. I got the fairings off and all the electrics carefully wrapped up as a problem to be addressed later. The crash cage presented the first little hurdle. I remember being reduced to nonplussed giggling after trying for about 25min straight to locate a really fiddly nut on the radiator bracket... The cage went on fine after this though and I got a chance to use my lovely new Teng torque wrench
. Then relocating the clocks threw a problem up - the aftermarket bracket I'd ordered had no room on it for the Honda HISS immobiliser. Easy fix - a bit of Dremel machining, a careful sand-down, and a rattle can repaint got it sorted.
New brake lines and levers went on with no particular drama – not that different from the hydraulic brake systems on mountain bikes with which I’m reasonably au-fait. That said this was particularly critical so I dedicated most of an afternoon to this one task. It’s just about taking your time, ensuring you get things on in the right order and at the right torque, and bleeding the system carefully. Once the system was bled I used the zip tie around the lever trick overnight which helped firm things up even more, and next morning I confirmed a great lever feel with a freely spinning front wheel off the brakes.
Next challenge was the loom: after stripping everything it was time to get the electrics sorted and this was an absolute mare. For about a day I couldn’t get the bike started at all, and at this point I was cursing myself for getting into this stupidity… A good night’s sleep and a fresh attitude the next morning let me spot the problem – I’d connected the incorrect leads to an identical connector. Doh!
I remodelled the wiring for the headlight, indicators, horn, clocks and IMU, making sure I had a good bit of wiggle room in the lead for the bar movement. Uh-oh, slight problem here, so eyeballing the wire gauge and realising I already had something that would work, I carefully spliced in some speaker wire. I had some qualms about that but more than a year later and through all kinds of weather it's holding up fine... I putt everything together with quality connectors, self-amalgamating tape and that gluey heat shrink:
It was now time to do the clutch and throttle cables. The former was pretty easy but the throttle cable, oh my days. After pratting about for ages, a little ingenuity with a pair of locking surgical forceps and a lever made from a wire coathanger (back-street surgery, anyone?) I finally got the cylindrical nut-things in the holes and had a working throttle again. Phew.
Next job was threading the ends of the bars to fit some MX handguards. Not everyone’s cup of tea aesthetically and unusual on a ‘fighter style bike, but I wanted some protection for the levers and controls – plus they would reduce wind chill on the hands at speed. Who knew that aluminium would be so hard to thread? I didn’t, but a couple of hours and a few blisters later I had the handguards installed. Could have just used the expansion bolts but I’d done my research; the addition of threaded brass weights in the ends of the bars would reduce vibes and make a bulletproof connection for the guards:
Final job was installing the new headlight. After a few iterations I managed to get it all together and working, but once it was on, I didn’t think it particularly suited the bike. Ah well, it made her street-legal again and I had an eye on something that would be a serious lighting upgrade and in my eyes, suit the machine better.
As it happened, I got all this completed just in time for the bike’s MOT, so I put her in at M&C Motorcycles in Walsall (highly recommended btw) for a service & full check-over, along with the mandatory Govt inspection. The guys at the shop took the mick out of my throttle & clutch cable adjustments, and pointed out I’d failed to reconnect a small air hose to the airbox (after maybe the umpteenth time of taking it off and putting it back on again), but other than that gave it the thumbs up. They liked the loom so I didn’t tell them about the audio wire!
The bike stayed in pretty much the same shape for the best part of a year. In that time I did a Bikesafe course with Derbyshire police, a brilliant day out which let me feel a bit more like I knew what I was doing:
And got a bit more confident in my Fig 8s:
But pride comes before a fall doesn’t it! Coming home one night after a ride to see a pal in Wales, I stopped at Strensham services and after brimming the tank and paying, it just wouldn’t start. Eventually the penny dropped; I’d managed to fill the bike with super-grade… uh… diesel. Two hours and nearly two hundred quid later, here she is being expertly revved by the fuel rescue guy to rid the system of the nasty smelly gunk:
This went on for about 10min which is quite a while when a petrol forecourt looks and sounds like a war zone and smells like a refinery fire… But no complaints from the staff bless them. Thinking about it this might have been partly due to the fuel guy’s awesome dog – a Belgian Malinois, which just happens to be the same breed as one of my other dogs so we got chatting about that straight away. Turns out his family had had really similar experiences to me and my partner in owning one of these ultra-smart, lovable d*ckheads, bonding through shared pain haha – if you’ve ever had one you will know:
One happy side-effect was that the bike seemed to run better after this… But I double-check each time I fill the bike now!
The headlight continued to bug me. Water ingress into a supposedly sealed IP-whatever headlight unit was the final nail in the coffin, so I bought the new unit – double-stacked LED bars in an ally bracket, that look a bit like a Grom got the mad max treatment. Electrics-wise the unit wasn’t particularly difficult to install as it shared the same kind of 3-pin connector as the previous one, but I did need to get some custom bracket pins fabbed up (in brass on the pic), once again thanks to the HISS immobiliser – this was now stopping the upper light bar going back far enough, annoyingly only by about 4mm. But once I had the custom pins it all went on with no trouble. Big difference. Easily the brightest light I’ve seen on a bike, it makes night riding a pleasure. I like how it looks despite it being a bit bigger than I’d hoped, and to me it suits the bike a lot better than the bucket headlight. The proportions should balance out more once I’ve installed the USD forks. One thing’s for sure – people see you:
Next bit of learning progression was doing a knee-down course! Essential road skill (I joke) but what I wanted was to get a chance to really lean in a controlled environment and learn what grip was there. And maybe put some cool scuffs on my pucks. This was at Millbrook with i2i in August: over the afternoon I got both knees down, but also & a bit worryingly a toe and at one point a peg… However the bike and me stayed the right way up and I had a lot of fun! No pics because disappointingly Millbrook bans photography completely ☹ The day was done on i2i’s Triumph Speed Triples, which handling-wise feel just like my bike, but have a lot more torque.
IAM learning continued, and a couple of months ago my observer made the, uh, observation that my tyres (the same ones the bike came with) were pretty squared off, and recommended I get them changed ahead of the upcoming MOT. He reckoned I’d be able to corner with a lot more confidence with some new quality rubber on, and it turns out he wasn’t wrong (see what I did there?). I went for Michelin Road 6s and could not be happier - amazing tyres in wet and dry.
At this point the lack of torque on the F4i was really getting to me. My Fig 8s had sharpened up a lot especially with the new tyres, but I was increasingly aware of how little drive I had coming off the apexes. The bike is powerful with a nominal 110bhp, but has fairly low torque, around 40lbs/ft. This coupled with high gears means it can be surprisingly sluggish off the line without slipping the clutch a lot, and only really gets going above 8-9k. Whereas what I need is oomph at speeds from nought to maybe 100 tops. So next job (done last month) was putting a new set of sprockets on, and here I took the plunge on a pretty radical change, going down one tooth on the front, and up two on the back with a lovely Supersprox combo rear sprocket - anodised centre with hardened steel teeth, which looks awesome in black and gold. The gearing calculators told me I was basically taking the bike a complete step down in the gearing, giving 6th more or less the same speed range as 5th, so absolute top end would now ‘only’ be about 135mph (which even when I start doing track days, I probably won’t see that often). But torque would be up around 20%. Yum.
As soon as I got the bike going I knew I’d made the right decision. What a difference! It really wants to go now and doesn’t need its neck wringing. Super useful around town (I do a lot of city riding), and it’s fantastic on A and B roads. Bags and bags of usable power from about 4k, and the pickup at 9k is absolutely wild. The downside was clear from the outset – she’s singing a bit at motorway speeds (about 8200 at 75mph in 6th I think). But it’s a Honda and I look after her so hopefully she will cope. Temps seem fine during short-ish (circa 15-mile) motorway journeys around that speed, is there anything else I should be keeping an eye on with these higher revs?
This gearing change meant I really needed to do something about the speedo which was now under-reading by about 18%... I went for the HealTech ‘Speedo Healer’ unit with a bike-specific loom, and decided to put a gear position indicator on at the same time. Anyone thinking of doing this, don’t be afraid to have a go yourself. With very limited electrical skills I got the units installed right first time, and managed to suss the programming for both with very little trouble. It was a bit fiddly getting the connector into the speed sensor wiring, but those indispensable locking forceps and a small molegrip helped me with this. Including time spent faffing around, I got the job done in about an hour and a half.
Next on the list is a set of USD forks. The conventional KYB forks on the F4i are ok, but I suspect better handling and feel are available. Comparing it to MTB I’d say the standard forks aren’t particularly plush despite the factory settings being about right for my weight, and I suspect I’m not getting a lot of feedback especially in higher speed turns. From reading around on the forums a USD conversion should improve both handling and braking – and the standard F4i braking setup feels a little underwhelming to say the least.
I’ve already got the forks; I found a newly refurbished set from a 954RR on ebay, with brand new aftermarket springs that just happen to be specced for someone my weight. The 954 forks are the most popular USD unit for this bike, as the headset / stem thing is the same and the geo is almost identical. A bonus includes the fact that the 954 discs are 330mm, so should have tons of stopping power. The deal included triple clamps, stem and wheel spindle, and I was delighted to find that not only had the forks been serviced when the new springs went in, but the fork uppers had been shot blasted and reconditioned… Must’ve missed that last point in the description but all in all it was a massive bargain.
A custom CNC top yoke and a mudguard are on order. The only things not accounted for now are a 954/929 front wheel and 954 discs – if anyone knows of any for sale please feel free to PM me! The F4i callipers are a straight swap by all accounts so that’s one less thing to worry about… Pad recommendations would also be gratefully received, I’ve been thinking about the RST ones.
I've thought about doing the job myself – doing the conversion last summer was really good fun. But I’m leaning towards getting it done at the garage – steering and braking are famously quite important on a motorbike and there’s enough new stuff / variables / critical elements in play for this to put me off. Regardless who does the job I’ll get brand new wheel and headset bearings done at the same time.
Tail tidy will be done at some point: I’m not planning to do a ‘fighter style seat / subframe conversion (I like the practicality of the underseat storage & luggage rack, and being able to take a pillion), but it just looks wrong with all the black plastic gubbins on the rear. I’ve found something that looks like it’ll fit the bill, just a matter of biting the bullet really. Is anyone else like me in that *all* the stars need to align before you get going on a job?? Here I’ll need to get all the rear plastics off and while I’m there I’ll repaint the Renntec rack which disappointingly is starting to peel and rust.
I think the final job will be making a belly pan out of the fairings. It just looks a bit too naked really, I reckon a belly pan will make it look a lot more complete.
Anyway, after all this fiddling, I adore this thing even more. Individual aesthetics, ergonomic position, sharp handling and abundant power and drive; as far as I'm concerned it's got the lot. At the same time I'm really excited to see how it evolves with the next steps... Thanks if you've made it this far, I will update as I get more things done.
Here’s how the bike looks now, photo taken just before the new sprockets went on. Dog 'helping' with the hose sprayer as I try to clean it:
After spending fairly ludicrous amounts of money on modifying cars over the years for fast road and the odd trackday, a couple of years ago I decided to get a sensible-ish car and maybe take the time to learn how to ride a bike – well and safely, unlike how I rode as a teenager. The decision wasn't taken lightly: I’m in healthcare and have seen an awful lot of people ending up rather damaged while riding. But at the age I am it felt right: a case of always secretly loving the bikes and realising that now’s as good a time as any, and probably better than most – I’m a lot less impatient nowadays and probably better able to plan for other road users’ stupidity without over-reacting.
I wanted a sports bike, as 1. they look ace / sound awesome / just because, and 2. if I didn’t like the riding position I could go on to realise a boyhood dream of building my own streetfighter…
I thought an inline-four 600 was the way ahead, and decided on the CBR600 F4i. These are reliable, quick, cheap for what they are, and are known for smooth power delivery with a screaming top end. Perfect. This model is really popular with stunters too, as the frame and engine are considered pretty much bulletproof, and at some point I want to learn wheelies and drifting (in safe places mind you!). I found a 2001 model local to me in great nick for a fair price, and bought it before I’d even started my CBT. Did the complete ‘zero-to-hero’ package and passed my test in October ’22. TBH the A-licence process was a massive palaver, I was committed but with the time and expense involved in getting a full licence, it’s no wonder the motorcycle industry is in decline!
Anyway here she is in standard trim (more or less) as I got her from the shop. The only mods were a dark bubble screen and an Akrapovic slip-on:
The insurance company wanted proof of it being garaged, so I sent a pic over along with proof of the ‘extra security’. They didn’t see the funny side, the miserable gits. Not that he (was) a particularly good security measure in truth, being an overgrown lap dog who would genuinely run at the first sign of trouble:
I started to do as much learning as poss to try and reduce the chances of me or someone else becoming roadkill due to my nervousness and / or stupidity:
And along with a fair bit of reading and watching videos and trying to put that into practice, I joined the IAM. This wasn’t completely unfamiliar to me, having dabbled in their car program at one point about 15 years ago – the ‘system’ hasn’t changed much! I also found a local MotoGymkhana group and got hooked on the first go. On the bike I reset the suspension to factory settings, and installed a Renntec luggage rack, heated grips and a wired phone holder. For about 9 months I had the bike in this standard form. But over time a few things came together that inspired me to take that long-held love of streetfighters and build my own. Firstly I love the idea of a ‘fighter – to me it’s a similar thing to modifying a car where you get to put your own stamp on it and make it one of a kind. Secondly I’m not getting any younger – the sporty position was putting strain on my wrists and coupled with continuing nerves it wasn’t the best fit for me or my riding at the time. And lastly a few of those events with MotoGymkhana West Mids showed me how much low-speed manoeuvring could improve safety and confidence at higher speeds – it’s properly addictive too! So putting an MX bar on the bike started to make a lot of sense. This would involve a few things:
- Fairings off
- Crash cage
- MX handlebar with fork clamps
- Aftermarket fork-mounted headlight
- Modifications to wiring loom
- Relocate clocks onto a custom ignition-mounted bracket
- New, longer, brake throttle and clutch lines
- Replacement cheapo exhaust (no point ruining the lovely Akrapovic titanium can if I’m likely to be dropping the bike)
Despite an almost complete lack of experience with things mechanical (at least at this level, I’m alright at DIY and bicycle maintenance but not much more) I’d already decided to try and do the job myself. Part of the journey and a big appeal in getting a bike was learning how to spanner haha. I had the official service manual and some good tools, so thought why not give it a go! With everything together in summer '23, I had a few days free and began:
Went for ODI 28mm motocross fat-bars with ‘medium’ rise. This gives a lot more manoeuvrability and comfort while still being in quite a forward, sport-like position. It’s a perfect compromise for me, and since putting them on I’ve done some big journeys (a couple of 450-milers and a few of 150-200mi) without any massive discomfort. But the bar lets you hustle on when you want, you never feel cramped getting into a more tucked position.
Anyway, back to the build. I got the fairings off and all the electrics carefully wrapped up as a problem to be addressed later. The crash cage presented the first little hurdle. I remember being reduced to nonplussed giggling after trying for about 25min straight to locate a really fiddly nut on the radiator bracket... The cage went on fine after this though and I got a chance to use my lovely new Teng torque wrench
. Then relocating the clocks threw a problem up - the aftermarket bracket I'd ordered had no room on it for the Honda HISS immobiliser. Easy fix - a bit of Dremel machining, a careful sand-down, and a rattle can repaint got it sorted. New brake lines and levers went on with no particular drama – not that different from the hydraulic brake systems on mountain bikes with which I’m reasonably au-fait. That said this was particularly critical so I dedicated most of an afternoon to this one task. It’s just about taking your time, ensuring you get things on in the right order and at the right torque, and bleeding the system carefully. Once the system was bled I used the zip tie around the lever trick overnight which helped firm things up even more, and next morning I confirmed a great lever feel with a freely spinning front wheel off the brakes.
Next challenge was the loom: after stripping everything it was time to get the electrics sorted and this was an absolute mare. For about a day I couldn’t get the bike started at all, and at this point I was cursing myself for getting into this stupidity… A good night’s sleep and a fresh attitude the next morning let me spot the problem – I’d connected the incorrect leads to an identical connector. Doh!
I remodelled the wiring for the headlight, indicators, horn, clocks and IMU, making sure I had a good bit of wiggle room in the lead for the bar movement. Uh-oh, slight problem here, so eyeballing the wire gauge and realising I already had something that would work, I carefully spliced in some speaker wire. I had some qualms about that but more than a year later and through all kinds of weather it's holding up fine... I putt everything together with quality connectors, self-amalgamating tape and that gluey heat shrink:
It was now time to do the clutch and throttle cables. The former was pretty easy but the throttle cable, oh my days. After pratting about for ages, a little ingenuity with a pair of locking surgical forceps and a lever made from a wire coathanger (back-street surgery, anyone?) I finally got the cylindrical nut-things in the holes and had a working throttle again. Phew.
Next job was threading the ends of the bars to fit some MX handguards. Not everyone’s cup of tea aesthetically and unusual on a ‘fighter style bike, but I wanted some protection for the levers and controls – plus they would reduce wind chill on the hands at speed. Who knew that aluminium would be so hard to thread? I didn’t, but a couple of hours and a few blisters later I had the handguards installed. Could have just used the expansion bolts but I’d done my research; the addition of threaded brass weights in the ends of the bars would reduce vibes and make a bulletproof connection for the guards:
Final job was installing the new headlight. After a few iterations I managed to get it all together and working, but once it was on, I didn’t think it particularly suited the bike. Ah well, it made her street-legal again and I had an eye on something that would be a serious lighting upgrade and in my eyes, suit the machine better.
As it happened, I got all this completed just in time for the bike’s MOT, so I put her in at M&C Motorcycles in Walsall (highly recommended btw) for a service & full check-over, along with the mandatory Govt inspection. The guys at the shop took the mick out of my throttle & clutch cable adjustments, and pointed out I’d failed to reconnect a small air hose to the airbox (after maybe the umpteenth time of taking it off and putting it back on again), but other than that gave it the thumbs up. They liked the loom so I didn’t tell them about the audio wire!
The bike stayed in pretty much the same shape for the best part of a year. In that time I did a Bikesafe course with Derbyshire police, a brilliant day out which let me feel a bit more like I knew what I was doing:
And got a bit more confident in my Fig 8s:
But pride comes before a fall doesn’t it! Coming home one night after a ride to see a pal in Wales, I stopped at Strensham services and after brimming the tank and paying, it just wouldn’t start. Eventually the penny dropped; I’d managed to fill the bike with super-grade… uh… diesel. Two hours and nearly two hundred quid later, here she is being expertly revved by the fuel rescue guy to rid the system of the nasty smelly gunk:
This went on for about 10min which is quite a while when a petrol forecourt looks and sounds like a war zone and smells like a refinery fire… But no complaints from the staff bless them. Thinking about it this might have been partly due to the fuel guy’s awesome dog – a Belgian Malinois, which just happens to be the same breed as one of my other dogs so we got chatting about that straight away. Turns out his family had had really similar experiences to me and my partner in owning one of these ultra-smart, lovable d*ckheads, bonding through shared pain haha – if you’ve ever had one you will know:
One happy side-effect was that the bike seemed to run better after this… But I double-check each time I fill the bike now!
The headlight continued to bug me. Water ingress into a supposedly sealed IP-whatever headlight unit was the final nail in the coffin, so I bought the new unit – double-stacked LED bars in an ally bracket, that look a bit like a Grom got the mad max treatment. Electrics-wise the unit wasn’t particularly difficult to install as it shared the same kind of 3-pin connector as the previous one, but I did need to get some custom bracket pins fabbed up (in brass on the pic), once again thanks to the HISS immobiliser – this was now stopping the upper light bar going back far enough, annoyingly only by about 4mm. But once I had the custom pins it all went on with no trouble. Big difference. Easily the brightest light I’ve seen on a bike, it makes night riding a pleasure. I like how it looks despite it being a bit bigger than I’d hoped, and to me it suits the bike a lot better than the bucket headlight. The proportions should balance out more once I’ve installed the USD forks. One thing’s for sure – people see you:
Next bit of learning progression was doing a knee-down course! Essential road skill (I joke) but what I wanted was to get a chance to really lean in a controlled environment and learn what grip was there. And maybe put some cool scuffs on my pucks. This was at Millbrook with i2i in August: over the afternoon I got both knees down, but also & a bit worryingly a toe and at one point a peg… However the bike and me stayed the right way up and I had a lot of fun! No pics because disappointingly Millbrook bans photography completely ☹ The day was done on i2i’s Triumph Speed Triples, which handling-wise feel just like my bike, but have a lot more torque.
IAM learning continued, and a couple of months ago my observer made the, uh, observation that my tyres (the same ones the bike came with) were pretty squared off, and recommended I get them changed ahead of the upcoming MOT. He reckoned I’d be able to corner with a lot more confidence with some new quality rubber on, and it turns out he wasn’t wrong (see what I did there?). I went for Michelin Road 6s and could not be happier - amazing tyres in wet and dry.
At this point the lack of torque on the F4i was really getting to me. My Fig 8s had sharpened up a lot especially with the new tyres, but I was increasingly aware of how little drive I had coming off the apexes. The bike is powerful with a nominal 110bhp, but has fairly low torque, around 40lbs/ft. This coupled with high gears means it can be surprisingly sluggish off the line without slipping the clutch a lot, and only really gets going above 8-9k. Whereas what I need is oomph at speeds from nought to maybe 100 tops. So next job (done last month) was putting a new set of sprockets on, and here I took the plunge on a pretty radical change, going down one tooth on the front, and up two on the back with a lovely Supersprox combo rear sprocket - anodised centre with hardened steel teeth, which looks awesome in black and gold. The gearing calculators told me I was basically taking the bike a complete step down in the gearing, giving 6th more or less the same speed range as 5th, so absolute top end would now ‘only’ be about 135mph (which even when I start doing track days, I probably won’t see that often). But torque would be up around 20%. Yum.
As soon as I got the bike going I knew I’d made the right decision. What a difference! It really wants to go now and doesn’t need its neck wringing. Super useful around town (I do a lot of city riding), and it’s fantastic on A and B roads. Bags and bags of usable power from about 4k, and the pickup at 9k is absolutely wild. The downside was clear from the outset – she’s singing a bit at motorway speeds (about 8200 at 75mph in 6th I think). But it’s a Honda and I look after her so hopefully she will cope. Temps seem fine during short-ish (circa 15-mile) motorway journeys around that speed, is there anything else I should be keeping an eye on with these higher revs?
This gearing change meant I really needed to do something about the speedo which was now under-reading by about 18%... I went for the HealTech ‘Speedo Healer’ unit with a bike-specific loom, and decided to put a gear position indicator on at the same time. Anyone thinking of doing this, don’t be afraid to have a go yourself. With very limited electrical skills I got the units installed right first time, and managed to suss the programming for both with very little trouble. It was a bit fiddly getting the connector into the speed sensor wiring, but those indispensable locking forceps and a small molegrip helped me with this. Including time spent faffing around, I got the job done in about an hour and a half.
Next on the list is a set of USD forks. The conventional KYB forks on the F4i are ok, but I suspect better handling and feel are available. Comparing it to MTB I’d say the standard forks aren’t particularly plush despite the factory settings being about right for my weight, and I suspect I’m not getting a lot of feedback especially in higher speed turns. From reading around on the forums a USD conversion should improve both handling and braking – and the standard F4i braking setup feels a little underwhelming to say the least.
I’ve already got the forks; I found a newly refurbished set from a 954RR on ebay, with brand new aftermarket springs that just happen to be specced for someone my weight. The 954 forks are the most popular USD unit for this bike, as the headset / stem thing is the same and the geo is almost identical. A bonus includes the fact that the 954 discs are 330mm, so should have tons of stopping power. The deal included triple clamps, stem and wheel spindle, and I was delighted to find that not only had the forks been serviced when the new springs went in, but the fork uppers had been shot blasted and reconditioned… Must’ve missed that last point in the description but all in all it was a massive bargain.
A custom CNC top yoke and a mudguard are on order. The only things not accounted for now are a 954/929 front wheel and 954 discs – if anyone knows of any for sale please feel free to PM me! The F4i callipers are a straight swap by all accounts so that’s one less thing to worry about… Pad recommendations would also be gratefully received, I’ve been thinking about the RST ones.
I've thought about doing the job myself – doing the conversion last summer was really good fun. But I’m leaning towards getting it done at the garage – steering and braking are famously quite important on a motorbike and there’s enough new stuff / variables / critical elements in play for this to put me off. Regardless who does the job I’ll get brand new wheel and headset bearings done at the same time.
Tail tidy will be done at some point: I’m not planning to do a ‘fighter style seat / subframe conversion (I like the practicality of the underseat storage & luggage rack, and being able to take a pillion), but it just looks wrong with all the black plastic gubbins on the rear. I’ve found something that looks like it’ll fit the bill, just a matter of biting the bullet really. Is anyone else like me in that *all* the stars need to align before you get going on a job?? Here I’ll need to get all the rear plastics off and while I’m there I’ll repaint the Renntec rack which disappointingly is starting to peel and rust.
I think the final job will be making a belly pan out of the fairings. It just looks a bit too naked really, I reckon a belly pan will make it look a lot more complete.
Anyway, after all this fiddling, I adore this thing even more. Individual aesthetics, ergonomic position, sharp handling and abundant power and drive; as far as I'm concerned it's got the lot. At the same time I'm really excited to see how it evolves with the next steps... Thanks if you've made it this far, I will update as I get more things done.
Here’s how the bike looks now, photo taken just before the new sprockets went on. Dog 'helping' with the hose sprayer as I try to clean it:
That's quite some post
Glad you're enjoying it!
We did a lot of things the same, including buying the same bike in the same colours
I bought mine for track days so if you haven't sold the fairings and want to, let me know
For a cheap old bike, I'm amazed how competent they are
I'm surprised you need to upgrade the brakes, mine's on standard brakes but I cleaned the calipers, refreshed the fluid and fitted ebc HH pads - the brakes are fantastic, work from cold, great bite and feel and never fade
Glad you're enjoying it!
We did a lot of things the same, including buying the same bike in the same colours
I bought mine for track days so if you haven't sold the fairings and want to, let me know
For a cheap old bike, I'm amazed how competent they are
I'm surprised you need to upgrade the brakes, mine's on standard brakes but I cleaned the calipers, refreshed the fluid and fitted ebc HH pads - the brakes are fantastic, work from cold, great bite and feel and never fade
KTMsm said:
That's quite some post
thanks... I think! I have a tendency to natter on when I get startedKTMsm said:
Glad you're enjoying it!
We did a lot of things the same, including buying the same bike in the same colours
I bought mine for track days so if you haven't sold the fairings and want to, let me know
For a cheap old bike, I'm amazed how competent they are
I'm surprised you need to upgrade the brakes, mine's on standard brakes but I cleaned the calipers, refreshed the fluid and fitted ebc HH pads - the brakes are fantastic, work from cold, great bite and feel and never fade
They're ace bikes aren't they. We did a lot of things the same, including buying the same bike in the same colours
I bought mine for track days so if you haven't sold the fairings and want to, let me know
For a cheap old bike, I'm amazed how competent they are
I'm surprised you need to upgrade the brakes, mine's on standard brakes but I cleaned the calipers, refreshed the fluid and fitted ebc HH pads - the brakes are fantastic, work from cold, great bite and feel and never fade
I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep the fairings to make up a belly pan, but not 100% decided. I might be able to get an aftermarket pan for something similar like a CB600F and adapt that to fit. Will let you know if they don't get used, they're in good nick.
Brakes - that's interesting to hear. It could just be that the pads on mine are glazed / old. Or that I have too-high expectations coming from modified cars... I'll look at the EBC HH pads for sure, do you find them dusty?
snagzie said:
That is some... transformation you've done there.
Great post and you sound like you're loving it, which is entirely what biking should be about.
You been stopped by the rozzers yet?
Yeah it's a transformation haha. I get that it's not everyone's cup of tea but it seems that people who like it, really like it. Bit of a Marmite thing...Great post and you sound like you're loving it, which is entirely what biking should be about.
You been stopped by the rozzers yet?
I haven't been stopped by the law yet. Been a bit surprised at that in all honesty especially with the unusual headlight, but around my way the cops are kept pretty busy. I was actually chatting with a copper the other day - he was one of a pair riding Honda CRFs, doing a patrol on a local green space where kids sometimes go to abuse mopeds (been there done that many moons ago). Showed him a pic of the bike and clocking the headlamp he politely enquired 'are those LEDs?' Made me wonder if the unit might be deemed illegal for the road, but then it passed the MOT with no dramas...
One on the list I'd forgotten about - radiator cage. I actually ordered this last year but due to issues with UPS and my work schedule, it's gone back to the States twice. The shop have been great about this and sent it back out recently, looking forward to getting it on the bike:
The cage has fitment for the standard fan plus the option to fit to an additional Panasonic R6 fan on the other side. I'm thinking this would be a sensible move given the Gymkhana usage and the altered gearing.
I'll also replace the rad and hoses at the same time - the original rad is looking ropy to say the least and I reckon it's worth making the extra investment for peace of mind. Plus it'll look better! Can't decide on a painted rad or a shiny silver one - being behind the cage it might be hard to keep clean. Leaning towards getting a silver one and slathering the outer parts (ie not the fins) in ACF-50 first. Advice on this would be welcome.
The cage has fitment for the standard fan plus the option to fit to an additional Panasonic R6 fan on the other side. I'm thinking this would be a sensible move given the Gymkhana usage and the altered gearing.
I'll also replace the rad and hoses at the same time - the original rad is looking ropy to say the least and I reckon it's worth making the extra investment for peace of mind. Plus it'll look better! Can't decide on a painted rad or a shiny silver one - being behind the cage it might be hard to keep clean. Leaning towards getting a silver one and slathering the outer parts (ie not the fins) in ACF-50 first. Advice on this would be welcome.
MurderousCrow said:
Brakes - that's interesting to hear. It could just be that the pads on mine are glazed / old. Or that I have too-high expectations coming from modified cars... I'll look at the EBC HH pads for sure, do you find them dusty?
I come from modified cars too, not sure what that has to do with bike brakes I was easily out breaking most people on track (admittedly in the newbie group) the rider is the weak link IMO
Once you have all eight pistons freely moving, the pads are the next most important thing
No idea about dust , when my bike's dirty I clean it. It's not something I think about
Really liking that.
I had a CBR when they first came out, 1988. I part exed my GPz900R for it.
Ran it in on the way down to the Bol D'Or, where it was stolen a few days later.
It was found 2 years later having been used in a French race series, so at least it had a good life
Bought another in 1993.
Thanks for rekindling the memories
Out of interest, what in earth do you tell the insurance company in these days of price hikes if you add a racing stripe.
Can't see the kid at the call centre understanding any of what you've done
I had a CBR when they first came out, 1988. I part exed my GPz900R for it.
Ran it in on the way down to the Bol D'Or, where it was stolen a few days later.
It was found 2 years later having been used in a French race series, so at least it had a good life
Bought another in 1993.
Thanks for rekindling the memories
Out of interest, what in earth do you tell the insurance company in these days of price hikes if you add a racing stripe.
Can't see the kid at the call centre understanding any of what you've done
KTMsm said:
I come from modified cars too, not sure what that has to do with bike brakes
My cars wearing the like of Yoko AD08s would stop unbelievably quickly. I can't actually know, but I think braking distances were far shorter from any given speed than on the bike. This could just be rider error, ie not knowing how much I can squeeze the brakes, but I practice full on emergency stops almost weekly and never feel like I can slow down as quickly as my cars did. KTMsm said:
I was easily out breaking most people on track (admittedly in the newbie group) the rider is the weak link IMO
Fair play to you! This idea of the rider being the weakest link was part of the appeal in bikes; it does seem as if rider skill has more impact on lap times than driver skill in a car. KTMsm said:
Once you have all eight pistons freely moving, the pads are the next most important thing
No idea about dust , when my bike's dirty I clean it. It's not something I think about
I meant pad / disc dust and in particular the type that's hard to scrub off. I've had the finish on a set of wheels badly damaged by aftermarket pads which shed a lot of high-temp material - minute sparks bed into the finish. Not sure if this affects bikes to the same degree. No idea about dust , when my bike's dirty I clean it. It's not something I think about
croyde said:
Really liking that.
I had a CBR when they first came out, 1988. I part exed my GPz900R for it.
Ran it in on the way down to the Bol D'Or, where it was stolen a few days later.
It was found 2 years later having been used in a French race series, so at least it had a good life
Bought another in 1993.
Thanks for rekindling the memories
That made me chuckle, sorry you lost your bike but seems like you made your peace with the loss haha, and that's a heck of a story. Having it nicked from the Bol d'Or is much, much cooler than it being lifted from outside Greggs or something I had a CBR when they first came out, 1988. I part exed my GPz900R for it.
Ran it in on the way down to the Bol D'Or, where it was stolen a few days later.
It was found 2 years later having been used in a French race series, so at least it had a good life
Bought another in 1993.
Thanks for rekindling the memories
I idolised the all the CBRs as a kid, I loved the original jelly mould 600 but then when the FireBlade came out it stole my heart. At some point I will be buying a 954 (the FireBlade designer Baba-san's swan song), and that will stay standard - except maybe the exhaust!.
croyde said:
Out of interest, what in earth do you tell the insurance company in these days of price hikes if you add a racing stripe.
Can't see the kid at the call centre understanding any of what you've done
I've been with MCN insurance since I bought the bike. When I contacted them about what I'd done the guy on the phone knew his stuff actually! I started out with a basic explainer 'well I've done a lot of stuff around taking off the fairings and adding a motocross bar' and he seemed to get that we were talking about a 'fightered bike. Adding the various mods onto the policy took about 15min of back and forth, my fault due to last-minute racking of emails, receipt drawer and brains trying to account for everything. But in the end I think the mods bumped the total price up by about 40 quid a year; it seems that with MCN at least they really only care about things that increase power ... Can't see the kid at the call centre understanding any of what you've done
KTMsm said:
I mean all riders are the weak link - including me
Yeah I got you completely - what I was trying to say was that for me a big part of the appeal in getting a bike was learning a new skill... Impressive that you quickly started outbraking people on trackdays.KTMsm said:
On track I was grabbing the brake harder and harder each time, wary of locking it up, it soon got tiring bracing myself
I struggle to believe you'd need better on the road or stunting
To me the brakes on mine feel weak - for comparison the brakes on the Suzuki I did my Mod 2 on felt better, and I've rode a few other bikes since that seemed to have better bite and feel. I've tried to stoppie on mine a lot and barely lift the rear wheel at maximum effort, whereas I managed to do so easily doing emergency stops on the Suzuki... And this isn't a change following the new brake lines on the bike, it's always felt that way. For what it's worth, an awful lot of stunters run the F4i and the brakes and forks are the only common complaint.I struggle to believe you'd need better on the road or stunting
If you still doubt me feel free to drop me a PM if you're in or around the West Mids over the next few weeks - you can have a go and tell me what you think
KTMsm said:
All HH (sintered) pads have metal particles on them
I was thinking about this earlier, motorbike pads can't be that different from high performance car pads, and I think I've answered my own question. It seems obvious really - unlike a car, motorbike brakes are outboard of the wheel. So most of the crap flies onto the road or blown into the air, rather than landing directly on the inside surface of the wheel as in a car. But have you cleaned all the pistons and checked what pads you're running ?
If you want to change them because you can - fair enough - but it's not hard or expensive to maximize the current set up
I've set car pads on fire on the road and melted greenstuff on track - I really liked Yellowstuff
If you want to change them because you can - fair enough - but it's not hard or expensive to maximize the current set up
I've set car pads on fire on the road and melted greenstuff on track - I really liked Yellowstuff
KTMsm said:
But have you cleaned all the pistons and checked what pads you're running ?
If you want to change them because you can - fair enough - but it's not hard or expensive to maximize the current set up
This is a fair point - no. I'd just taken it as read that this was normal for the F4i, given the number of stunters who've voiced their opinions on the standard brakes online... Because I'll be using the same calipers on the USD conversion, there's nothing stopping me (ha) getting the brakes off and cleaning them up, maybe replace pistons and seals at the same time. The shop have told me the pads are in decent nick but there's no harm in having a closer look. I hope to get the USD conversion done over the next couple of months so will probably leave the old pads on until then if they look OK. Ta for the advice If you want to change them because you can - fair enough - but it's not hard or expensive to maximize the current set up
Will get amongst this very soon then. Ta!Completely ruined it , but I do appreciate it’s your bike op so you can do with it as you please ,
Though I remember my dads thoughts when I ripped the factory ( shinny chrome ) exhausts off my brand new Kawasaki kh250 & stuck some Matt black expansion chambers on it
Enjoy op but I’d of left it standard .
Though I remember my dads thoughts when I ripped the factory ( shinny chrome ) exhausts off my brand new Kawasaki kh250 & stuck some Matt black expansion chambers on it
Enjoy op but I’d of left it standard .
Gas1883 said:
Completely ruined it , but I do appreciate it’s your bike op so you can do with it as you please ,
Though I remember my dads thoughts when I ripped the factory ( shinny chrome ) exhausts off my brand new Kawasaki kh250 & stuck some Matt black expansion chambers on it
Enjoy op but I’d of left it standard .
It's all good! Though I remember my dads thoughts when I ripped the factory ( shinny chrome ) exhausts off my brand new Kawasaki kh250 & stuck some Matt black expansion chambers on it
Enjoy op but I’d of left it standard .
I know it's not for everyone and I'm happy with that. To be fair aesthetically I feel like it has a way to go yet myself: I think the next few mods - rad guard, belly pan, tail tidy and forks - will make it look a lot more complete. But even after these it's never going to look beautiful. To be fair that's not what I am aiming for though. The bike needs to suit how I want to ride so function > form. I like a street fighter - early sports bikes were miles ahead in every way compared to "normal" bikes but so uncomfortable
Here's a VFR I nearly bought (I loved the look of it but a fair bit was held together with cable ties and hope)
These days with the advent of all the nakeds there's not a lot of point but some like modifying and that should be encouraged IMO
Here's a VFR I nearly bought (I loved the look of it but a fair bit was held together with cable ties and hope)
These days with the advent of all the nakeds there's not a lot of point but some like modifying and that should be encouraged IMO
Interesting headlamp work.
My bike has a dire H4 headlamp and I rode 70 miles home in the dark earlier this month and it wasn't fun. I am not riding my ride, I am riding my headlamp's ride.
That naked VFR posted by KTMsm looks good to me. It's reminding me of something else, possibly the the X11.
My bike has a dire H4 headlamp and I rode 70 miles home in the dark earlier this month and it wasn't fun. I am not riding my ride, I am riding my headlamp's ride.
That naked VFR posted by KTMsm looks good to me. It's reminding me of something else, possibly the the X11.
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