Honda Fireblade 1000 Touring Edition Conversion

Trip to Yorkshire with friends

Hi all its Wednesday 30 May 2012 and on Sunday myself and viffer and a few friends returned from what was the best 1000+ miles of riding i have had in a long time.  On Thursday 24th i meet with Ian and Bernie his wife riding a fazer 1000, Terry on his fireblade , Colin on his fireblade , john also on a fireblade and Richard riding a gs1200 at the Birchanger services near stanstead airport to depart for a 3 night trip to Yorkshire. we departed the services with full tanks around 9.30am aiming for the Farm Cafe in         where we had a bit of breakfast and a cup of tea before continuing our northward journey.  we made a stop for fuel at about 140 miles and we all topped up and also decided to give Bernie the £1.25 we thought the Humber bridge would cost to cross it. when we arrived there at the tolls we were just waved though it turns out the Humber bridge was free for motorcycles which it never had been, we pulled up in the tourist parking area on the left just after the tolls for a rest stop and a stretch. This was i think the last stop before getting very close to the B&B where we all topped up with fuel so we were ready for a ride on the Friday. We arrived at The Black Swan pub and B&B by around 5ish i think, were staying here for the 3 nights and when entering the bedrooms i was very impressed with the quality accommodation we had for such a small per person price. We got a evening meal and breakfast included in the price and the food was chef prepared quality stuff which is always a good thing. A few drinks in the bar and early to bed for most of us as we had all had a early start and ridden around 300 miles that day in weather that was HOT. Friday morning were all sitting eating breakfast at 8 am getting ready for our day out which Ian told us was going to be a trip out to Hawes for a stop and then on to Hartside Top cafe. i have been to both these places before on my trip to Scotland but it was raining all day while riding so i couldn't get the best out of these great roads. No rain today though so we had a great ride and all day. a high light for me was the road up to the hartside cafe which was great fun in the dry. we left hartside and carried on in a big loop back to the B&B which completed our day out which i guess was about 250 miles if memory serves me right. Again a good night of listening to stories from the others about this and that coupled with a couple of drinks and a very good sirloin steak meal made for the conclusion of another great day out. Saturday morning arrived far to quickly and again we were of on the bikes but this time to Whitby using some roads through the moors this ride was a lot easier but still good fun. We rested at the cafe by the train station in Whitby with a piece of cake and a drink and then decided to make our way back through the moors towards Masham and then use some of the roads we rode the day before ( A6108) as they were so much fun.  We ended up in Richmond in the market square area at a snack van for a cup of joe and a rest before returning to the B&B for the final evening meal and night of banter between the guys and girls there was even a Million pound bet placed which i suspect will never be paid by the losing party as we could never decide who really lost. The route home was hard work as the Holiday blues began to set in and we were slowly making our way south. We did end up using the A1 from Newark down to Stanstead which was a very easy way of clocking up about 80 miles in a hour and a bit. By this point in the ride it was just me and Ian and Bernie riding together as the others were keen to get going home to see family.  To sum up the weekend i would say Great roads Great company in a super B&B serving good food made this a weekend i won't forget any time soon and im very keen to return next year and do it all again. As for Viffer she worked like a great bike should and caused me no trouble all weekend and even returned a very impressive 50MPG on one take of fuel on the first day.

My pictures are Here

Exhaust Repairs

The system was returned very quickly from Motad after the second time there to have the pipes resized and there a good fit now in the right holes. I refitted the system on Friday morning and now the VFR runs as quiet as it should be and the performance seems to be a tad better now. But most importantly when rolling along from high revs there's no longer a constant popping and banging coming from the bike like there was before. Thanks Motad for the work and quick delivery.

Exhaust repair update

Have received the collector back from Motad in record time was very happy when unpacking it. The pipe resizing has been done and they are a great fit, shame the two front pipes were resized the wrong way round! Motad did off cause offer to fix this error but i have found a local custom exhaust builder with a pipe resizing tool that can do it but at a cost of cause but then i know they will be right as i will over see the work. Take a look at the pictures, is it not clear which goes where? They are the right way in the pictures.

Exhaust Trouble !!

I have got to strip the Motad Exhaust collector of the vfr this weekend and send it back to Motad as the front downpipes are loose in the fittings on the collector. i called motad and they have offered to repair the pipes for free if i send them the parts.

It seems that the weather is starting to improve.

Went and ran the bike up for 10 mins on Wednesday. She's been waiting about 3 weeks to be run again and she started nice and easy and ran a treat. I need to fix an exhaust blow under the engine where the front down pipes link into the collector i replaced the standard set-up with the stainless Motad parts a couple of years ago and the joints are just one tube inside another and where the inner has vibrated over the years its made the fit quite loss and now i get lots of pops and bangs when rolling off the throttle. Hope i can bring her home soon and get some miles under my belt.

A little winter ride.

Went on the Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclists monthly ride yesterday which was lead by Jaques(er6f). There was also Ian (fazer 1000) and Morris (gtr1400) in attendance. We bimbled off to Cambridge. Myself and Ian didn't stay for a roast dinner in the pub as it was already 1.30 when we got there and we didn't fancy riding in the early afternoon cool down as the roads were pretty slick most the morning.