11-08-08....Wheels DONE!!

Finally, on 11-03-08, my tires arrived. I immediately took them to Rocky Mountain Motor Sports here in Loveland Colorado, and had them installed on the wheels. On Election Day I retrieved them and begun to prepare them for paint that evening. Without going into too much detail, I prepped and painted the wheels using Dupont Chromabase paint, Ford code 775302K, Ranger/Mustang Grabber Orange. I had rattle cans loaded with the color and used Dupont acrylic A-7480S Clearcoat, purchased at Ed's Paint Supply also in Loveland, for the final finish. It worked exceptionally well considering the marginal temperatures here in Colorado these days. While this is not powdercoat, I feel it came out extremely well.

11-01-08....The "PLAN"

I determined that I could refit this bike fairly easily to have a much more aggressive appearance, without compromising the innate nature of the machine. Through some simple paintwork and mechanical upgrades, the bike would be fun and look good, too.

I chose Satin Black with '08 Mustang Grabber Orange accents. Years ago, I developed a clever way to apply the black in order to produce a stippled effect that minimizes how noticeable small defects appear.

I began by getting the bike up in the air, disassembling the fairings, and pulling the wheels. I mail-ordered out for a set of Bridgestone BT016 Battlax tires, basically on the recommendation from my son Erik who is in the Navy in CT and rides a yellow '00 Superhawk (really nice bike!).

While waiting for the tires, I began prepping the middle side fairings for paint, disassembling the vents and doing the first paint work.

10-29-08....The TEST ride...and the future

After riding the bike for almost 3 weeks, I concluded that I'd made a good choice. I had wanted a VFR... any VFR.... and it had come true. I had test ridden new VFR's and this machine runs as near to new as I could imagine. The bike has no mechanical flaws. I'm happy.

During this three week period, I began developing scenarios for the future of the bike. It definitely needed paint and a few parts, but would I bring it back to original? Or would I have a lot of fun with a relatively small investment? Keeping in mind that the modifications would be reversible, if I or any subsequent owner wanted to bring it back to original? I haunted forums such as VFRWorld and VFRD and realized there were a bunch of beautiful box stock '94's. Being who I've always been, I chose change. Now to decide how to change the bike and do something unique (I think, I hope!).

Browsing about, I came upon pictures of Honda's current MotoGP machine, the RC212V in developmental trim. I was taken over by the stark simplicity, as well as the high visual impact of this"test mule". I found my template. I will make some small changes that better suit the bodywork of my Fourth Generation VFR.

I also find the front upper fairing of the RC45 particularly intriguing with it's dual round headlight system. I'll research that and see if that change would be feasible. Mechanicals may also find improvements as this progresses. I'm open to all suggestions.

Sooo, here we go, on the way to something a lot different than your run of the mill VFR.

10/19/08....The NEW BIKE comes home

On October 19, 2008, I purchased my 1994 Honda VFR750F-R and brought it home. It had 10,800 original miles, but had a few minor issues. The previous owner said he purchased it without plastic and claimed he replaced it with used pieces. It looked OK, but had a pretty shabby rattlecan red paint job. Wrong color. I enjoy a project. A few discoveries were yet to come about the history of the bike, but nothing that would affect the enjoyment of it. It needed paint, tires, a saddle(maybe only a cover), passenger grips, and a new LR turn signal unit (perhaps just a repair). But that being said, it was a road-ready bike and would be ridden until winter weather brought it to a halt. Then the project would begin in earnest, with the intent of completing it quickly in order to possibly ride again during the winter warm spells that seem to always occur here in Colorado and be ready for spring.