sssarm conversion getting there.....!

[vtrmann]

after a few weeks of neglect i have finally got the bike rolling again. fitted the wheel and re routed all the wiring yesterday. subframe and exhaust is bolted on, need to make a few brackets for cdi etc then the mechanics are finished. not sure what to do with paint now??? was going to do camel rep. but now thinking about hm plant rep instead? panels are prepped in primer so need to make a choice and stick with it......any suggestions on colour or race reps welcomed [and no i won't be painting it red its not me]
pics to be added shortly:-----














the yellow fairing has only been used to check clearence etc...actual fairing in a one off single unit.

reworking the tank mount was nice and simple, was going to fabricate a new one, but when i measured up i knew i had enough room to just notch it and weld the seat bar back on so it will fit in oe holes with some new bolts.

as you can see its geting there now.....biggest issues were geting all the electrics to fit somewhere with the exhaust so they don't burn out, not as easy as it sounds....plenty of jiggling and fannying about before i could get them on. exhaust was a bugger to fit, each piece has to go on in a certain order and being that there is so litle margin for error next to the shock it is very fiddly.....needless to say it will never be coming off again while i own the bike. apart from adjusting the clutch, bleeding up the rear brake [which is massssssive] the frame is finished.

panels are next.....got the jet black 2k now and all panels rubbed down ready for paint. being black [most difficult colour to paint, why do i make things easy for myself?????] will probably end up taking more time over the finish than normal, but as bike will be covered in hm plant decals not too fussed it its not 100% perfect [back side of panels will just get a good dusting to blend in] then its just a case of bolting everything up and doing some testing to get suspension set up and a good shake down run [with a van for support should the wrose happen]

hopefully the nest photos will be of freshly painted panels followed by the finished article.

as with most things i do...wont be keeping the bike long...was planning to keep until next year and sell in april/may, but if anyone on here is interested [once finished of course] i might be open to an offer [in the region of £3k which reflects the amount of work and the overall condition of the bike 24k miles and fully serviced taxed and tested etc etc.] gonna be looking for an r1 or gsxr1000 or even a ducati749 etc

[marlbororman]

Camel scheme looks good, saw a bike yestrday in that scheme (not vtr though), but dont think hmplant would look right due to not enough side area for the hmplant logo. Camel is bright and colourful too

[tony.mon]

Aerosol matt black from a rattle can.

You'll never have to clean it again, and if you get an "accidental" bit of overspray on the plate you won't get tickets, either.

Although apparently you have to accessorise it with plastic dolls heads and skulls, and bits of chicken wire.

[sirch345]

I thought the Camel rep job looked pretty good on this bike that Mike (FirestormMike) spotted when out and about.



Chris.

[marlbororman]

that does look bright. much better than a dark hmplant one. bikes need to be colourful

[benny hedges]

bikes need to be colourful

i would agree with that - not like you can miss mine is it, but some turd in a merc still pulled out on me earlier, saw them look as well.
doesn't matter if you have a luminous bike with flashing blue lights, they still go for it

agree the camel, repsol ang laguna are my favourites

[vtrmann]

cheers for all those responses. i think i am going to go with HM PLANT though, as my wheels are gloss black as well, if i position the graphics in the right place and add some extra decals to make it look for "race like" it should lok great. i have a mate with a graphics company near me and he can do actual imaging on his pc so i will know what it looks like before i go for it.

should save a bit of weight on wiring when its all done as you have to relocate all the hardware on the subframe and make brackets for everything so will lose miles of wires.....LMAO.

exhaust system looks the dogs bollox, iv'e polished everything up to a mirror finish [which matches my rear sets and engine casings].

if anyone said this conversion is easy they are talking bollox, there are so many fiddly bits and fabricating to be done, relocating parts, etc etc...if you want to know how hard it really is look at my pictures [more to come] if you can't weld....paint....machine parts [or know someone who can at a reasonable price] dont even bother trying it, total cost so far is about £500 for parts and i still need a few odds and sods...take into account time and you must be into a grand easy maybe more.

[marravtr]

i loved my storm after her camel make over

[vtrmann]

she does look sweeeeeet.....hm plant for me now, i am going to put the main decal where you put your camel graphic [higher than normal to see more of it, i think if you compliment it with right extra graphics [like you have] you cant really spot the difference......like the exhausts and polished bits too, bugger to clean aren't they!!!!! luckily i have full lower fairings so stickers shouldn't look out of place.

[marlbororman]

I can recomend this guy for replica decal kits

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/perfect-decals

[marravtr]

she does look sweeeeeet.....hm plant for me now, i am going to put the main decal where you put your camel graphic [higher than normal to see more of it, i think if you compliment it with right extra graphics [like you have] you cant really spot the difference......like the exhausts and polished bits too, bugger to clean aren't they!!!!! luckily i have full lower fairings so stickers shouldn't look out of place.

loved the bike but yeh it was a b8stard to keep clean! i recon the hmplant kit will look good matey the camel kit was a git to put on but got there in the end... just remember to use loads of diluted wash liquid in a spray bottle, and a hairdryer to warm the larger decals (makes em more flexable to fit) good luck and dont forget the piccys

[vtrmann]

last few pics just added...what do you all think so far????

yes i know.....how far off the original hole is the new rear shock top mount!!!!!! its the only way to do it unless you want a 55mm lower arm mount making [£££'s] as with most things, if it looks right it usually is, plenty of measuring first then deep breath and drill your frame. as long as the shock is at 90 degress to the road your laughing, any big difference either way and boy you will feel it. due to the sssarm i'll be slacking off the rear shock quite a bit and increasing the rebound one click at a time until i find the right settings for me.

can't wait to get back on it now, been off the road for over a month now, and the tyres weren't even scrubbed in.

first coat of black done, loads of snotters to rub out, didn't quite have the gun set right but just went for it....big mistake, got about 3 hours of flatting to do now before second coat [only getting 2 coats as the paint i'm using covers like a big covery covering thing hiding under a cover].

oh and my compressor is playing up/..only making 40psi, makes for a long job, think its just the old hose with some cracks losing pressure [hope so].

[marlbororman]

looking good mate

[vtrmann]

last few parts have arrived, from all over the world i might add.... new rear light unit [led twin round jobby] new cnc billet fuel cap [no key required] and hrc resevoir socks [finishing touch]. panels are now fully painted and cleared, will be doing final polishing in next couple of days and re fiting panels to check for any issues [especially tail piece as its custom part]

clutch and rear brake fully bled up ready for test ride. once happy with everything stickers will be applied and then clear coated to protect and thats it.

new pics will be added soon.