Sick of heat, sick of buffeting behind fairing

[nusman68]

Cycle World Magazine: "Mr. Falcon, what you have done with the FJR here....is...

quite, um, unique; so you're a motorcycle designer, then?"

Falcon: "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.....". :dribble:

 

[Coyote]

Don't listen to the nay-sayers.... Let your imagination rule.

Here's something to consider.

 

[twowheelnut]

Cycle World Magazine: "Mr. Falcon, what you have done with the FJR here....is...                                  quite, um, unique; so you're a motorcycle designer, then?"

Falcon: "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.....".  :dribble:

Dammit Nusman! I've been waiting to use that Holiday Inn Express line for months, now! <_<

 

[flying_monkey_girl]

Again I have to reiterate some of these responses are hilarious and its been worth it so far just for the humor.

:rolf: :rolf: :rolf:

 

[falcon]

I think I am going to go with the speed triple dual lamps

The space behind the lamps will make a nice place to put the instrument cluster. And then a small fly screen / deflector to shield the instrument cluster from weather, as well as provide a place to secure the wiring harness.

Where could I find a pair of those? Either used or is there a decent place online to order triumph parts, any online dealers etc?

 

[tripletango]

Try here.

https://www.triumphrat.net

 

[falcon]

Thanks. You wouldn't happen to know of an online dealer that would sell them would you?

these should work!! https://aztec8.com/_wsn/page2.html

 

[falcon]

I have been studying the Triumph Speed Triple's headlight configuration, which hard mounts the lights and gauge cluter to the steering head in between the forks. This is how the FJR's fairing/cluster/lights mounted, so I am going to reuse the mount points on the steering head for my lights/cluster. Going for dual lights because the instrument cluster is pretty wide and would look silly behind a single large headlight. Plus the wiring harness is set up for 2 H4 bulbs with lo/hi beam like those lights have.

I was worried about being able to relocate the battery. However, I have removed the tool tray under the seat and trimmed some plastic to make room for it. Next step is to fab a cage for the battery. It will mount to the subframe, and there is still room for the ECU module. I found a path to run 4 gauge power wire up to the front of the engine where the wiring harness starts. The negative terminal just bolts to the engine crankcase, and the positive line bolts to a fuse/power block. But that leads me to the biggest unsolved issue: one of the ignition coils was mounted on the outside of the frame behind the fairing, and the other one was bolted to the inside the fairing. Both of these are on the right hand side of the bike, just sitting out in the open now. I am going to make a bracket to bolt them both to the frame, but they will just be sitting there, exposed to the elements. It is both ugly and not very weatherproof. I don't know how to make a box/cover that would look decent. But for now I will just secure them to get the bike running and worry about covering or possibly relocating them later.

The other issue is the wiring harness. There will be a lot of extra length/misc wires to secure. I believe I will be able to have a discrete area under the instrument cluster and behind the lights to stow most of it.

Getting a lot of consulting from the mechanical engineers at work on how to fab this all up and not make it look ghetto. I will be using angle iron to make the battery cage, welding it up at my friend's shop. After I get that secured and the wires run, I should have the headlights in hand and can fab a bracket for them and the gauge cluster.

Other issues are mirrors (will get some handlebar mounted ones) and turn signals (will attach to the brackets holding the dual headlights). And eventually I'll want some kind of small fly screen that I can either trim to desired height or adjust on the fly.

Is this all worth it? I don't know, don't care. I needed a project, and I've sure got one now.

 

[falcon]

Well, I've made some steady progress....

But first I had to make a workbench for this project, so I did, with some help from a good friend with all the right tools. Then I went nuts at harbor freight to get all the power tools I needed for basic metalworking, short of a welder. Amazing what you can get for $225 when everything is made in china ($40 drill press!)

Then I went and learned how to weld with the help of another friend...here is the battery holder which will relocate the battery under the seat...

Here is the holder in place, the ECU will sit in front of it, in its nearly original spot. yes i drilled four 1/4" holes in the subframe... *gasp*

And finally here is the test-fitting of the instrument cluster, which I will probably weld up and remove the bolts once everything is fitted properly, including the headlights and turn signals. There are 3 more "legs" that will bolt to the steering head area where the original fairing assembly bolted.

I picked up the dual headlights from aztec8.com....They should look great and mount just in front of the instrument cluster.

To do list:

- finish the headlight bracket

- weld up the bolted stuff, then primer and paint it all so it doesn't rust (its all cheap mild steel)

- mirrors? front turn signals?

- wiring - I have a source for all the heavy gauge wire i need to finish the battery relocate, including an inline fuse so I don't accidentally short out to the frame and cause a disaster right between my legs.

- weather protection for the fuse blocks and instrument cluster - have some crude ideas, like industrial-grade Pelican brand boxes, or maybe contract my brother in law for some fiberglass work.

Yes I am crazy and I'm not going to argue.

 

[Blueliner]

I think I've seen it all now. I thought I had seen it all when a friend stripped his Connie and ended up with a bike that is worth half what it would be stock, doesn't handle at all because the stock suspension was set up for the weight distribution of a stock bike with luggage and fairing and to add insult to injury, weighs 100-150 lbs more than a Z1000, FZ-1 or Speed Triple. The only big difference is that his Connie was worth about $2k and is a 1993 so he didn't have much to lose.

All that said, the nice thing about motorcycles is that they are easy to modify and customize. Have fun!

Wouldn't it be interesting if it became a ticker and Yamaha said, "Umm, that isn't anything we built..... errr, is that a V-Max? no, it can't be, its not as V-4. Better send him to Honda, I think its a naked Blackbird."

 

[FJRMGM]

so, what's the latest on this little "project" - have you managed to take a fine Super Sport Touring bike and turn it into the ultimated naked Super Motard track bike yet?

 

[Ari Rankum]

Heck. Don't do that. Sell the FJR and buy two bikes. For the upright, unfaired UJM thing, I'd recommend the Kwak ZRX1200. With the rest of the money, buy a track bike.

 

[PerfectBlueride]

Continue on your journey, it is looking promising thus far!

Keep us posted, this is looking interesting!

I have an abs which would rule out the battery re positioning, however, I have often pulled the lowers off to do mods etc, and taken her for a ride.

That would be a summer thing then put them back on in the cooler months.

Keep posting these pictures, and finally a ride report!

When you are done you deserve to put a set of those balls on your truck!

Just yesterday on the ride home from work the express way was at a snails pace pulled off, tried to take alternate route, of course everyone else was too!

So my normal 20 min express felt more like I was walking the whole way. over an hour and a half!

Yep soaked in sweat, at least the last few moments of the ride were nice once I could open her up for those final 20 miles

Anything to get the heat off the rider, I do not know if at a snails pace it would help, since you are sitting as close as I can put it to my 1982 corrollas engine.

 

[radman]

Drilling holes in the rear subframe though is a no-no. These things are fragile as it is, some are showing signs of folding, notice the 06's have reinforced this area. Could be due to extra Cadillac like length, but could also be a nod to weaknesses in the original. Too late now though, I guess. Also, older Japsickles used a large headlight shell for 2 reasons, one of which was a place to tuck all the bike wiring connections. Might work for you if you're not determined to have a double light, or perhaps there'll be enough room in the shells to do this.

 

[falcon]

 

[sgoat]

Jesus H Tap-Dancin' Christ! Why!!!! :blink:

 

[squeezer]

Jesus H Tap-Dancin' Christ! Why!!!! :blink:

Because it's there.

 

[nusman68]

[SIZE=24pt]FrankenFJR![/SIZE]

You're braver than I am....I couldn't have done it if someone had a gun to my head...

Um, wait a minute...the jury will disregard that last statement....

I'll give you this..you'll have the only one! Are you sure you just don't want to get one of these?

Then I re-read your statement:

Is this all worth it? I don't know, don't care. I needed a project, and I've sure got one now.

THAT I understand...been there before myself.

 

[BrunDog]

Oh the injustice!!! :bye2: :bye2: :bye2:

I can't watch this. :cray: :cray: :cray:

 

[Bounce]

Again I have to reiterate some of these responses are hilarious and its been worth it so far just for the humor.

And that's the way people meant them to be. Thanks for taking it with a good sense of humor. How's the project coming along? Done yet? Are these latest picks of your total progress? I notice that the headlight bracketing is still bolted instead of welded. I was wondering about the weight of angle iron, too. Wouldn't aluminum be more appropriate due to the weight of the steel?