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1989 3CV Streetfighter Project

Started by aviationfred, August 02, 2021, 11:13:38 PM

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aviationfred

The 1st ride of the Streetfighter 1200 did not go as planned
An eventful morning. I spent all night working on the finishing touches on the Streetfighter. 4:30am I decide to do a 1st ride video. I had to ride to my house and swap helmets. I didn't make it. I had noted that the suspension was way too hard and would need to be sorted. I slowed down as approached a set of railroad tracks. I crossed the tracks and as the road leveled out, I accelerated. The bike had an unexpected full steering lock to the left. I was slammed to the ground. There was other traffic and they stopped to offer assistance. An Ambulance ride to the hospital and I have.... 5 broken ribs, left backside. A contusion to my left lung, a large hematoma on my left hip and some minor roads rash on my left knee.

Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

T Legg

Sorry to hear that Fred. I hope your healed up and back riding soon.
  I was slammed the same way when I highsided my 1100 a couple years ago. I still have a separated clavicle on the left side but it doesn't affect the use of my arm or shoulder. The broken ribs healed up pretty quickly and feel perfectly fine now.
  Good luck
T Legg

fj1289

OH SHIT!  Heal up fast Fred!  When they say a project is never finished - this is NOT how that's meant! 

Again - best wishes for a full and speedy recovery

aviationfred

I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

Pat Conlon

Well shit  :Facepalm: Fred, I'm glad you're ok, no head injuries. I know all about broken ribs. Heal up amigo!
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

FJmonkey

Wow Fred! I am glad you are alright.
The glass is not half full, it was engineered with a 2X safety factor.

'86 Ambulance - Bent frame, cracked case, due for an overhaul
'89 Stormy Blue - Suits my Dark Side

Old Rider

Good to see you had luck in the bad luck.Broken ribs.. try not to laugh is my best advice.

RPM - Robert


joebloggs


Sorry to hear about your off, glad you're OK

Why is it falling at low speed always seems to more damage to both rider and bike.
1989 3CV

aviationfred

I have been working on the Streetfighter for the last 4 months while recovering/healing from the accident. I have also been riding as much as I can. The bike is now officially in the riding stage. Hopefully there won't be too many bugs to work out. I was able to ride it to work. I have about 40 miles on it.


Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

Pat Conlon

I see a steering dampener added... needed?
 We have other GSXR front ends out here that don't have them.
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

Millietant

Maybe Fred added it after the first ride - I'm pretty sure he deliberately changed the steering geometry with the changes he made to the bike and felt that was a major contributor to the first ride crash.
Dean

'89 FJ 1200 3CV - owned from new.
'89 FJ 1200 3CV - no engine, tank, seat....parts bike for the future.
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - complete runner 2024 resto project
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - became a race bike, no longer with us.
'86 FJ 1200 1TX - sold to my boss to finance the '89 3CV I still own.

Pat Conlon

Quote from: Millietant on August 05, 2024, 09:10:54 PMI'm pretty sure he deliberately changed the steering geometry with the changes he made to the bike....
Hey Dean, I wondered about that, but it *looks like* he did the standard GSXR USD fork swap with the same triple clamps we use on other FJ's.....unless the forks are shorter...maybe he didn't use the spacers?
Thus my question...

Cheers mate
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

axiom-r

In my experience the forks are approximately 2" shorter sourced from GSXR or R1.  Thus the fork extenders that are typically used. I did drop my front end by raising the forks in the triple clamps slightly (not quite a half inch) and it increased "turn in" dexterity noticeably. 

I think even that small lowering of the front was too much as I would occasionally get a head shake on deceleration and my front tires seem to "cup" early - well before the tire is worn enough to be thinking about replacing it.

My conclusion is that I a going to try to return my bike to stock ride height, rake and trail...  the R1 Triples are the same offset so its just a matter of getting the fork length right. 

The way I ride right now, I value stability and tire life more than "turn in" dexterity. 

Also, with the front lowered my bike wants to stand up under trail braking...  noticeable lift up under those conditions. I hope this also disappears with a return to stock rake and trail. I am not sure if lowering helps or produces this issue.

I may settle on a few millimeters of lowering...


PS: I cannot see any fork extensions on Fred's street fighter
1992 FJ1200 w 2007 R1 Front & Rear

giantkiller

Fred has some of my fork extensions. But maybe on his other bike. If he doesn't have them that would lower the front a lot.
86 fj1350r
86 fj1380t turbo drag toy (soon)
87 fj1200 865 miles crashed for parts
89 fj1200 touring 2up
87 fzr1000 crashed
87 fzr750r Human Race teams world endurance champion
93 fzr600 Vance n hines ltd for sale
Custom chopper I built
Mini chopper I built for my daughter just like the big 1