Honda VFR 750 XC Makeover

Wow, this is an amazing project. You are literally building your own bike. Very few people would attempt that. I sure hope it works well, but even if it does not turn out to be exactly what you are hoping for, it is still mind blowing.

I notice the new Honda VFR1200X was designed for riders who "spend most of their time on pavement" If that is the case, then I totally don't get it. Look at that thing. Super tall, tiny little seat, almost like a sportbike, I sure don't see it being comfortable on a long trip. And for me, at my age and in my condition, comfort is everything on a long distance trip.

If you need some off road capability, then you will have to sacrifice some comfort. But that being the case, why not get a KLR650 for a fraction of the price of that Honda. If you don't need off road capability, a Goldwing is the only way to go on long road trips. I realize that a new one is a bit expensive for many, but you don't have to have a new one. Goldwings last forever. I have a '95 that I would not hesitate to take off for anywhere on. It can even be ridden on fairly smooth dirt roads. I think Honda is trying to sell a look (BMW GS maybe?) rather than a functional motorcycle. It will probably cost as much as a GS too.

a better way is to run the exhaust from a petrol engine vehicle into the tank for a short while, this neutralises the petrol vapours.

About the VFR1200X it feels desperate solution from Honda to keep up with competitors, they should ressurect Africa Twin.

Chopped the tank little bit and will merge two tanks as mentioned before



Lower side for cheking



Inside of the tank

Fantastic job man!
I think would be easier build a new tank instead modify these.

Have been busy with other matters and was waiting for the company tig welder to arrive
to start with the tank building.

Sneak preview of riding position, still missing the saddle though,

I thought you had given up on us. So glad you haven't

any updates on this build?

Kennon

If you want to save weight on the mufflers, then the only way to go is after market sports mufflers, the pair will weigh less then 1 original. (Sound better as well).
Project is excellent work, looking forward to finished project.
Keep it up.
Chappy.

Don't know how I missed this thread before, but WOW. Great work so far and very inspirational for me. Excellent frame work and nice looking tank work as well.

I bought a R1150 Rockster tank on ebay for $49 including free shipping. It has a bigger dent on the left side than yours does on the right, but I am just using the underside as a belly pan and fuel pump mount and will do something different for the outer shell, similar to your style...keep us posted PLEASE....mad skills man, mad...LOVE IT. Takes a pretty serious set of klackers to build your own frame from scratch... Do they make you walk funny?

I just saw this thread Amazing, how is your progres ?

Looking forward to seeing this beast finished

Never seen anything like this...can't wait to see the finished product in action! Good luck with the build!

Thanks for the thumbs up everybody!
Been quite busy with other matters.

Will post some pics of tank fab on sunday, first time using
tig welder so it aint pretty!

As mentioned before, will weld two tanks together. First will fabricate the lower pan
and then just weld the existing GS tank on top. Will try to fit in ventilation and overflow
pipes also as it was in VFR original tank.

Need to work on these tig skills.





Got the VFR tank cap opening welded in



Excess sheetmetal will be cut off

There ya go....nice tank fab. PLEASE let us know how many gallons/liters it holds when you are done.

I stated earlier that I bought a Rockster tank to use the base, like you did with the VFR tank, but I also have a 1986 R80G/S BIG Paris/Dakar style tank, like the ones that are sometimes signed by Gaston Rahier. I am thinking of cutting out the tunnel on that and over laying the shell onto the Rockster tank base....a Vintage P2D 8 or 9 gallonish tank on an R1100 custom....someone will probably shoot me for ruining a perfect condition P2D tank, but You can still find them, it is not like they are 1 in a million...yet.

Nice job so far Quack

i own a 4th gen vfr750 and the motor is sooooo smooth, sounds brilliant, and really broad spread of power from idle till about 9k rpm.
this bike will be the best dual sport ever.
good luck, cant wait to see it goin.

Managed to weld tank pieces together, still some plates to go.
Ventilation pipes were a pain in the ass so I decided to drop those,
will think something through the gas cap.

Not the winner of beauty contest but nothing putty and paint won't fit.
Hopefully the welds hold.

To test for leaks you can get a big tub like those ones people use for camping gear, and fill it mostly full with water, push the tank down into the water and hold it so the filler is just above the water line. Hold it there for a couple minutes, pull it out and shake it to see if there is any water inside. If you mark the water line you can check how much fuel it will hold by using the displacement method. After you remove the tank pour pre measured amounts of water back in until it rises back up to the line and that is how much it will hold...minus a bit for the metals volume.

That or just go to the tried and true, fill it with water and let it sit...watch for leaks. Measure the water that pours out.

The only issue with that method though is water inside the tank can be a pain to get out sometimes.

Looking fantastic though. Keep us posted with more pics of that nice work. Too bad you are on the other side of the world, I could probably use a bit of help here and there on my beast project.

I need more.

FWIW, it's pretty easy to measure how much it holds, weigh it full and empty.