AP's project.....UPDATE

[agentpineapple]

hi everyone.
this is gonna be the start of a very busy couple of months for me, my mates strpping down my vtr this weekend and fingers crossed over the next couple of mths it will be rebuilt into something a bit special.
i bought the bike last sept, it was the first time i had ridden in 10yrs and within 10 days mr white van man had me flying thru the air, followed by an air amberlance journey to the royal london hospital, a spot of intensive care and 3 weeks of hospital food later and i was released into the real world again.
still i'm trying to be positive and i won't give up riding, i just can't do it.
my mates think i need to go back to hospital because i'm spending more money than the bike is worth, but when you've got the bug.
so heres the list of things that are being done.

hopefully buying the fame and swingarm off of bobtheimp this week, fingers crossed.
black powder coat the frame/subframe and swingarm
fireblade 929/954 front end
2 into 1 exhaust
fireblade 6 spoke wheels powder coated black
digital dash
race seat unit
hugger/tail tidy/belly pan
lots of carbon bits and pieces thrown at it
k & n/dynojetted
a few extra teeth on the rear sprocket
jack the back up a bit
and finally painted white with black decals.....

heres a few pictures of it being stripped.........

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/9938/photonx.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6061/photojpgdd.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7469/photojpgsss.jpg

[tony.mon]

It'll need setting up on the dyno for the dynojet kit and 2:1 exhaust.
The 2:1 will cost you some power anyway, BTW.

[agentpineapple]

i'll see what its like with the 2 into 1 tony, if it robs to much power i'll take it back to normal with some high level cans, i'm a bit concerned with the 2 into 1 because the pulses from the big twin will knock the stuffing out off the can............
i'm also looking at th rear sets that geoff is selling via the forum......

[benny hedges]

good luck with the project mate, sounds like fun
the white ones are taking over!!!

[agentpineapple]

lets be honest the firmstorm has never been a stunner but its suttle and certainly no minger and with a black frame and white body work making it look more modern and up to date imo................yr right white is the new black....lol

[marlbororman]

.........yr right white is the new black....lol

hmmmmm errrrrrrr i just resprayed in black

[agentpineapple]

hahaha black is the new black then mate.....

[mik_str]

Having run a 2:1 for almost two seasons (with a couple of dyno runs to boot), you can expect a slight bump inlow-end, a hole in the mid-range (between 4.8-6.5K on mine) and roughly the same hp on top with a slight drop in peak torque. I used a stock header cut at the collector and fit a link pipe to the single can. Some folks who also experimented apparently reported good results from opening up the collector (replacing it with a larger diameter) and mating it to a larger diameter link pipe and end can.

[agentpineapple]

cheers mik i'll look into it, i wasn't going for power originally but since the frame and swingarm came up for sale, i my now think about some decent power upgrades.....mmmmmmmm

[mik_str]

I can offer a few pointers if you choose to go down that route (I have owned my Storm for ten years now and have tried a fair number of mods over the years; I can steer you towards some effective and affordable ones....). Look at it as benefitting from my experience (and experiments)......

[agentpineapple]

i would appreciate any help you can offer with power gains mik, i think listerning to someones knowledge and wisdom built up over many years is worth a hell of a lot more than some so called mechanic's babbling...........
and if i do end up with the carbon frame protectors from bobtheimp, i will stick them on my bike and see what they look like because there will be other carbon bits and bobs thrown on it, and if they don't suit the bike then you will be the first person i will contact mate.......

[Eclectic]

Then spill the beans on the affordable. I'd love to reap your experience

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[mik_str]

Affordable engine mods:
- (long) billet velocity stacks (see a chap called Dr Honda on the Superhawk forum)
- BMC street air filter
- jetting (kit or tune using shims and jets; get it tuned on a dyno so it is done properly)
- airbox: carve out the divider in the snorkel, remove foam inside and remove material (I used a dremel) to open it up, silicon over the step inside (smooth out airflow)
- lightened flywheel (contact Roger Ditchfield for specs, or to have it done)
- shortened gearing (optional: with 520 pitch chain and aluminum rear sprocket)
- set of decent aftermarket cans
- A shorter-throw throttle tube (like RC45 or HRC unit) can also quicken throttle response somewhat.

The above engine mods will noticeably wake the engine, with ahealthy boost of power in low-end and mids, right where you need it most on the street. You can also add low-friction wheel bearings (c3 clearance with low-friction seals) for reduced friction (freeing up power).

Also, run regular-grade unleaded gasoline. There is no benefit from running high octane (it actually makes a bit less power) so don't waste your money on it.

Bit more expensive: You can also have the heads shaved about 0.015" to boost compression and have your cams indexed to ensure everything is optimised.

Things get expensive after this.......

[agentpineapple]

cheers mik i will definately look into it, i've just joined the superhawk forum aswell, so i'll drop a line to dr honda tomorrow...............

[benny hedges]

- lightened flywheel (contact Roger Ditchfield for specs, or to have it done)


Also, run regular-grade unleaded gasoline. There is no benefit from running high octane (it actually makes a bit less power) so don't waste your money on it.

lightened flywheel.... do a search here and you will find the dimensions i turned mine to, while still keeping the timing marks - it's 2lb lighter and noticeably picks up faster.
this means you can turn down your original flywheel and dont have to buy a spare for when you need to set up timing.
the same machine shop that does roger's machining work did mine, for £20 (alan Richard in heysham)

super unleaded... you will notice a difference in power & acceleration if you have an ignition advancer fitted.
i did anyway, on the vtr and the kwak.