[jbswear]

Here she was as I bought her, some eight years ago:

The first thing I did, with the help of the guys here, was remove the fender.

I didn't like the way the plate was completely hidden, so I bought some L brackets and rehung it.

When I bought the bike, there were some pinhole scratches in the tank, which were starting to rust. So I decided to strip it down and paint it with bedliner.

More to come as I get more time.

 

[jbswear]

Here's how I put my '06 GSX-R 1000 can on:

Hack off the stock potato gun. With a 3" air grinder, takes about 27 seconds. Then use a pair of pliers to break off the perf sheet inside.

Then, spend an hour and a half, and three cutting wheels to remove the plumbing from the can. Titanium is tuff to cut!

Then cut off the original hanger because it gets in the way:

Cut some bar stock to make new hangers. Drilled them out to mount on the rear footrest's bolts. You only see one piece here, but I have two.

 

[jbswear]

I got the idea of the LED bar across the back from Jeff (Nexus242). I drilled two holes in the bottom of the plate to match and wired it to light up with my brake lights.

It isn't very bright during the day, but at night it helps A LOT!

 

[jbswear]

I was running a set of Bate's duals because when I bought them, not too many people had them. Now they're more common than the stock headlamp, and the lighting sucks balls, so I went back to a cheap 1st gen headlamp I found on eBay.

I'll eventually replace it with a drop-in "boobie" HID light.

 

[jbswear]

Just before the '08 Rally I installed a 636 rear shock and .85 springs from SonicSprings. Loved it! I wasn't gonna do any thing else to the front; I was perfectly happy with it.

But then a buddy offered me a great deal on a complete '04 GSX-R 600/750 front end, minus a left clip on (damaged in a wreck) for $400.

 

[jbswear]

My bike has been known on this board as the $2 whore. Mechanically, I did everything needed to keep it running well. Cosmetically, well, let's just say that I didn't think much of how she looked. Bed liner, rust, road grime, et al were the norm.

A few months ago I got tired of it and decided to clean her up. Good bye $2 whore, hello lipstick lesbian. I still have a few weeks to go until it's done, but it's coming along.

The nasty tank on it now is from a wrecked bike. It's only on because my nice tank is getting painted. The rear seat has finally given up the ghost, so I'll soon recover and repad it.

Duplicolor T282 Deep Jewel Green. Rattle can, done by hand with lots of patience, sanding, rubbing, buffing, and cussing.

 

[jbswear]

Next up? Pulling the swingarm and painting it black.

 

[jbswear]

Pulling the swing arm and painting it will wait. I've decided to go with a VFR swing arm, but that won't come until next summer.

In the mean time, here's a bracket a friend fabbed for me from 1/2" plate aluminum. The open area will be filled in with a voltage meter and I'll drill it to accept the switch for my heated grips.

 

[jbswear]

Finally gonna show these ten year old carbs some love. Looks like they need it. Rejetting to 17.5 and 140 jets, gonna finish up the plumbing I started some time back so it can be synced, and will pull the carbs completely apart to give them a sonic bath.

No wonder why it's been running like crap and idling even worse...Even on warm days!

 

[jbswear]

Um, yeah. So I started painting this thing two years ago and never finished it.

I started "finishing" it tonight. In the two years it's been sitting, the tank has picked up a few scratches. I put another layer of paint on and in a few days I'll sand it smooth and go from there.

 

[jbswear]

Oh, hey, yeah...about that tank.

And the bike is just about done. It now has the OEM bar mounted back up with 3" risers, new brake, clutch, choke, and throttle lines. From here I doubt I'll make many more changes. The roll of wire you see up front is for the heated grips; still gotta connect it. It has a blown fork seal. I *might* eventually put a VFR SSSA on it, but I doubt it, as in the next year or so I'll probably be buying a VFR and selling the SV.