01-11-2016, 03:23 PM
So I�m sure some of you seen me complaints about no one willing to build a cage for my bike and although it may not be a "standard" stunt bike, It is what I own and have parts for so this is what I want to build. I�ve thought about buying a new bike and what not but its not im my nature to have something others have. I like being different. I also like building. So here is goes....
The bike is a 2003 Honda VFR800. Weighing in at 470lbs dry it�s a heavy bike for sure. The frame though is strong (well for now) this is a V4 118hp 62ft-lb torque bike. In regard to what is may look like this bike has a top speed of about 162. Lots of low end torque that falls off in the upper rpm ranges. Probably why this bike is not popular with the young riders. Either way I�ve owned 3 different generations and love the bike. So past all this let�s get to the good stuff. I�m building my own cage. Got the dust knocked off the pipe bender and got the welder set just right and away we go. O wait plus I ordered some DOM tubing. A buddy owns a metal shop so I got 20ft of 1 1/8" .065 wall Dom tubing. Although it could be thicker this is just a first cage. After I get it set and right I will put my measurements into an AutoCAD drawing so I can copy these plans with the 1 1/2" bar at a later date.. I will also be making a sub frame cage for this bike as well. Hopefully this summer I will be doing the 08-11 cbr1000 sub frame swap and can find some already fabed sub cage and tail saver for it�
So to start I snapped a photo took the fairings off and did a not so great drawing. Lets just call it a rough draft.
After pulling the fairings off I can see I will have a plate mounted towards the back and one impact tube mounted to the frame. The farthest forward mount will be under the radiator (VFR�s have a radiator mounted on each side of the bike not in front.) but will not be connected to the frame. There is no mounting points in the front so I will be running a bar from each side to separate the load across the cages. This may also be a weak point but it may save the bike in the instance of a larger than usual impact.
After playing with some bends and tack welds. This is where I am at so far. After a shortage of argon I have stopped until this weekend. Hopefully I will get some gas (insert bad jokes here) and will get this project finished this coming weekend.
To Be Continued����������.
The bike is a 2003 Honda VFR800. Weighing in at 470lbs dry it�s a heavy bike for sure. The frame though is strong (well for now) this is a V4 118hp 62ft-lb torque bike. In regard to what is may look like this bike has a top speed of about 162. Lots of low end torque that falls off in the upper rpm ranges. Probably why this bike is not popular with the young riders. Either way I�ve owned 3 different generations and love the bike. So past all this let�s get to the good stuff. I�m building my own cage. Got the dust knocked off the pipe bender and got the welder set just right and away we go. O wait plus I ordered some DOM tubing. A buddy owns a metal shop so I got 20ft of 1 1/8" .065 wall Dom tubing. Although it could be thicker this is just a first cage. After I get it set and right I will put my measurements into an AutoCAD drawing so I can copy these plans with the 1 1/2" bar at a later date.. I will also be making a sub frame cage for this bike as well. Hopefully this summer I will be doing the 08-11 cbr1000 sub frame swap and can find some already fabed sub cage and tail saver for it�
So to start I snapped a photo took the fairings off and did a not so great drawing. Lets just call it a rough draft.
After pulling the fairings off I can see I will have a plate mounted towards the back and one impact tube mounted to the frame. The farthest forward mount will be under the radiator (VFR�s have a radiator mounted on each side of the bike not in front.) but will not be connected to the frame. There is no mounting points in the front so I will be running a bar from each side to separate the load across the cages. This may also be a weak point but it may save the bike in the instance of a larger than usual impact.
After playing with some bends and tack welds. This is where I am at so far. After a shortage of argon I have stopped until this weekend. Hopefully I will get some gas (insert bad jokes here) and will get this project finished this coming weekend.
To Be Continued����������.