Stay behind the guardrails, Mad has a fast bike again!

[themadscientist]

Well, I knew I shouldn't check the local classifieds. It's like an alcoholic looking through the window of the liquor store.

There it was, fixer upper for dirt cheap with just the right amount of broken things and owner in an explainable hurry to justify the price. Nooo, not now, I don't need more complication in my life at the moment. I know, I'll show it to the wife and she will shoot it down. Cmon, just this once be a blatant stereotype and crush my dream.

"Oh, that's nice. Are you going to get it?"

Houston, we have a problem....

You see, my wife never really liked my SR400. I think the thing looks pimp, but it shakes like crazy, it sucks on the highway and my wife loves sportbikes. I know. I'll go see it, it will have some problem that makes me nervous and I will walk away. Damned thing fired right up and settled into a smooth idle from dead cold. dammit.

So all the cash I had built up selling extra crap just got turned into a 1997 CBR900RR; lord help us all.



I never really paid attention to the big CBRs. I always found the 600 F3 to be a visually striking machine and I loved the motor that was stolen from it to power my old Hornet, but the big brother was never an attraction. Really, all literbikes held no appeal for me. GSXR? Give me a 750. R? I'll take an R6; I'm just a fan of revvy flickable sportbikes.

I heard this bike redefined the genre and I see why. I took it for a spin, nothing crazy; I still haven't really taken it out on the road, but I was amazed at how light it felt. Honda really located the center of gravity just right; it tips in like a 600! A few blips of the throttle confirmed that all 120 horses are still in the corral, though.

I ha the guy deregister it so I could get it fixed and put it back on the road, it needs some work. The t ires are hosed and the chain has the haggard patina of something used to suspend a boat anchor.




The owner admitted and I could tell it had kissed the street a few times. Nothing outlandish, but she has some roadrash.




The fork tubes are a bit crusty up top, but the business ends are serviceable. I haven't really tested the suspension yet, but I will likely rebuild the forks and make sure the rear shock is alive. Can't afford to have sketchy footwork on a bike that will scream past 150 mph.



Alright, lets get this slut out of her clothes!



The bodywork has scuffs and some cracks, but it's structurally sound enough. It was not originally black. I like that it's been messed up a little. I can modify it guilt free now. I have some ideas, but step one is basic maintenance so all the fruity s*** can wait.



It has an aftermarket hugger and underseat pan that apparently required some hacking to get on there. Ah the shoddy work of previous owners; some things never change.




I had to remove the muffler can. Remove, cmon, I said, re,move, you %$#@ SNAP! First broken bolt! f*** it.

[themadscientist]

I got it off an Air Force guy who thinks it came from Europe. It's got a tag on the frame in French-talk, so I think he's right. Not sure if that's better or not. I think it means I can import it to the states without a problem.



All I wanted to do today was get the bodywork off and have a quick peek. I didn't find anything I wasn't expecting to find so I'm happy. I can't wait to do a freshen up on it, oil change, plugs, flush the cooling system and check the hoses, replace the air f ilter and balance the carbs. Friggin CV carbs. Luckily, I don't have a desire to pull the airbox on this bike so I guess they will get it done.

Shall we fire it up?
http://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o141 ... V00310.mp4

Not bad for a, what is it, daym, 15 year old bike that hasn't been treated too nice.

I have high hopes for this scoot. I never bothered to check it out, but now that I have one and I am researching it, it seems like it was built for me. I'll save the official stamp of approval for after I've had it on the road for a little while, but on paper and sitting on it everything seems perfect. If reality tracks with theory I might have a permanent addition to the stable.

A last ode to my former bike. I enjoyed it and as the new owner rode off into the sunset I still thought "dam that's a cool bike." The good news is he like the direction I was taking and he intends to keep going with it. I think that makes me happier than getting the new bike for me, that my old bike is in good hands.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Nice so what tires are you going with?? Are you going to get any mods for it or just freshen it up?

[alphapig]

Beautiful!

I'm a big CBR fan.

Had a 1988 CBR F1000 Hurricane and a 2000 CBR 600 F4.

Motors are just bulletproof... The hurricane had 50k miles and still trolled most things on the road.

Carburetors kinda suck tho

[raremotive]

Sweet bike, looks like it needs a bit of TLC.

I been having my sights on a Daytona 675 triple for some time now. My other bike of preference would be a 06 R6...

[snwbrdr435]

Yea TMS has real bike now!

Sweet bike, looks like it needs a bit of TLC.

I been having my sights on a Daytona 675 triple for some time now. My other bike of preference would be a 06 R6...

Do you plan on doing any racing or track days? The triple is a beast on the street but will the motors can be time bombs for track and racing. The r6 is awesome on the track but on the street not so much.

[themadscientist]

For t ires I have a limited selection. This model came with a 16" front rim so t ires are scarce. It's either going to be a Bridgestone S20 or a Metzeler Sportec M3. I normally use Dunlop, but they don't make a tire for this front wheel.

Mods? I have to be careful. If I start messing with things it starts to get expensive, ADD boy starts to neglect other projects, which are legion and overdue, and I detract from the practicality of having this bike. It's plenty powerful, more power than I've ridden before. It's reasonably attractive in its current form needing only a good scrubbing to be decent looking. It's got at least $1000 worth of real fixes that MUST be done and that's about all I have any business doing. I'm not going to let myself get started modding it.

I think it will be just fine as it is for the foreseeable future. It should get me to work really fast and be fun to go out with the wife on on are rare overlapping days off. No drag racing or dragging knees with the other idiots. I have no room to pencil death into my schedule and one of the reasons I sold my Hornet was how stupid I was being on it. Hopefully having a more powerful bike will mean I won't be so quick to whip my d!ck out and lay it on the street when some dude revs his d!ck at me.

I'd like to think I'm too old for the juvenile BS, but I know I could fall off the wagon very easily.

[alms24sebring]

Awesome buy. I know a few bikers. One of my friends dad had a R1 with a shorter rear sprocket and would top it out at 185 and compare it to the 190mph stock one a few nights a week. Ths other guy has a turbo 'Busa which surprisingly isnt much faster than stock. I think it needs a tune or a smaller turbo.

As a side note, I was in a 2012 Mustang GT (hate mustangs..), but raced a bike on 95 to the top of third before traffic. It must have only been a 600 because they were dead even the whole way. Not only that but the biker had a hamhock of a girl on the back that looked like her pants were ready to rip 30 pounds ago.

Before you know it you and your local bike crew will be swingin d!ck comparing sizes to one another

[rc1honda]

For t ires I have a limited selection. This model came with a 16" front rim so t ires are scarce. It's either going to be a Bridgestone S20 or a Metzeler Sportec M3. I normally use Dunlop, but they don't make a tire for this front wheel.

That's a awesome bike. Pretty much made the liter bike category what it is today. Also, if i can make some suggestions on tires. I have ridden on Dunlop Bridgestones, Michelins, and Pirelli. Maybe you can find a 17in wheel from the 929 or 954 that will fit with your rotors and brakes.

Of all them Michelins or Pirelli are the way to go no doubt. Get the Michelin 2ct's or the Pirelli Rosso Corsa's. They are just the 2 best street/track tire you can buy. I hate bridgestones with a passion and have seen more then a few Metzlers have cupping problems. The new factory CBR 1krr's have OEM BS's on them and almost everyone switches after their first set.

I ride on the Rossa Corsa's and i have never felt a street tire like them. My friend and I got caught in heavy rain and even going 80-90mph in water the tire never slipped and neither did his (He has the 2ct's on a ZX10). Also did a track day at the novice level with them and put down my fastest lap times i ever have with them at the local track. After the track the tire still looked like it had another 3k miles left on it for highway and local cruising no problem.

If you're going to go with a muti-compound tire stay with the highest rated and most used at the tracks. That's either the 2ct or the Rosso Corsa. I have also heard really good thing about the Dunlop Q2's but heard they wear fast as well.

I have a 08 1krr. A great thing about the cbr is the midrange power. CBR's are really street friendly and awesome on the track too. It looks like you know exactly how to get that bad boy up and running so have fun.

Also get a akrapovic slip on for it for pure sound p0rn.

[themadscientist]

In the short term I'm going to get the best tire that will fit this rim. I will be on the lookout for a 17" front, though, for the future. Tire selection here is difficult. They use crushed coral in the asphalt and it behaves differently from the normal stuff. They also don't put reflective paint on the road markings which also drives me crazy.