We decided to stripe the paint from the frame down to the bare aluminum. Alex decided on using paint stripper, but I had to take over half way and use a sand to better results. Check it out.

Oh, and don’t mind the beer commercial in the middle of the video. We have bills to pay, you know?

Be sure to check out CBR Boards for more Honda fun. Stay tuned for more updates!

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As you saw from our short video, we went with Honda Accord silver to keep with the Honda family theme. Next up, we’ll be sourcing an engine from a junk yard, eBay or Craigslist. Let us know if you happen across a good deal!

As always, be sure to check out CBR Boards for more Honda Cbr fun! Stay tuned!

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First, take stock of your turn signal situation. Are they mounted to the saddlebag brackets? If not, high five! A couple monkeys could this job in five minutes, so I won’t bother telling you how. If they are mounted to the saddlebag brackets, take a stiff drink. Then remove the VT750′s seat and uncouple the turn signals and the rear brake light.

Soon, you’ll need to remove the rear fender so you can proceed to rewiring your turn signals to their original hardpoints. This process involves the wiring for your taillight, too. Alternatively you could just pull off the signals, cut the wires and install new couplings. Seriously, send a diagram to andrew@inlineperformancemag.com to show me how.

Next, we remove the four bolts that connect the saddlebag brackets, frame, and fender (and sissy bar). Try not to lose all the bolts’ washers in the process.

Flip the fender and work the wiring out of the fender’s frame so that you can then remove the wiring from the saddlebag brackets, after you’ve pulled off the turn signals. Go ahead and reattach the turn signals to the fender’s hardpoints, and work all that wiring back through the fender’s frame. You may want to test your signals and taillight before you do this (read: Murphy’s Law).

Reattach the fender (and sissy bar, if you have one) to the motorcycle frame. Here’s where your bud – or spare monkey – comes in handy, because it’s hard to line up that fender, the frame, and those stupid tiny washers by yourself. Everything fits together very snugly, and on top of that, you don’t want to scratch the fender’s fine paint job.

Make sure everything works, then reattach the seat. Congratulations! You now know the back end of your Shadow like only an owner should. And you’ll be sure to bring some help. Did I mention bringing help? It’s probably a good idea to have some help.

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Last weekend we received the first part of the new bike: a donated CBR1000RR chassis. It took a good twenty minutes to strip it down and clean it up (see video above), and now all we have to do is drop it off for a nice paint job. Straying from the traditional blacks, reds and greens, we’ve opted for an eerie bone-white, or Honda silver, something to really set this machine apart.

The other task ahead of us will be sourcing and assembling the remainder of the parts. It’ll take some skillful sleuthing, a little outside help, and a whole lot of funds, but we at IPM are confident we can pull everything together to produce a lean, mean motorcycle worthy of our already-impressive tradition of Triumphs, Suzukis, Ducatis and KTMs. A Honda, you say? It’s about time.

Stay tuned for frequent updates from the IPM garage. As always, your support is appreciated!

Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to check out CBR Boards for more information.

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My own experience with motorcycles includes a couple years of travel overseas, a cross-country trip and a whole lot of Eastern Seaboard riding, during which I only rode Hondas and, unfortunately never found anything negative to say about the monolithic Japanese manufacturer. Nothing negative to say, that is, until the IPM team introduced me to the Daytona 675 that I’ll be riding, a machine as exhilarating as it is hopped up on aftermarket tech (you’d need NASA to track it, except a Remus exhaust system pretty much nuls all attempts at stealth).

And now I know what’s been missing from my Honda experience. “I’m sorry, baby, but the emotion is gone…”

Anyway, I’ll be updating twice weekly on the Daytona (with video once a week), and I’ll include the odd word or two about my Honda “Lets-Just-Be-Friends” Shadow as issues arise. In conclusion: it is good to join the team. IPM is looking strong and until we install the incendiaries, I’ll be out front with the shotgun Tuesday nights.

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Not only have I logged the most miles of my young riding career on this thing, but due to its Jekyll and Hyde personality, I have learned much about the finer side of riding through its troubles and problems.

As you may recall, this bike was sold to me through a “friend,” and I use that term loosely (I’ll tell you later). After selling my Zx-6r, and not riding for about a week, I felt like a crack fiend after a binge, and had the itch to get back on a bike ASAP.

The Fireblade had previously been used as a stunt bike, and this should have sent red flags a-waving, but I was still very naive about the mechanics of motorcycles at the time, and did not know a fraction of what I have learned since then.

I was told by this “friend” that it was fully rebuilt and ready to go. It just needed paint and new fairings. I was told this repeatedly and since he worked for a local shop that I trusted, I chose to buy the bike from him. It was a huge mistake in the end, but the amount of knowledge and lessons I have learned from buying/riding/fixing this bike is unparalleled.

The Fireblade, or The Beast as I call it, started me off with a very steep learning curve. Not only was I still very new to riding, but this bike also had a lot of quirks and issues from being so badly abused by the previous owner. I bought the bike in the winter time and soon had to learn how to handle this large excess of power on very wet and slippery roads. This took a lot of time and a lot of near misses, but I now have no problem riding in the rain, through the hills, on any bike. I have also started learning how to work on bikes because of this thing constantly breaking down.

Most people would not ride this bike, or deem me crazy for doings the things I do on it, but it is mine and I loved it no matter how bad of shape it was in. It was like having an ugly child, it’s still your kid and you love it no matter what.

A few weeks back, the fuel injection system started going haywire. It would randomly shut off. It was extremely unnerving and very dangerous. It happened many times at freeway speed and also in the middle of turns up in the mountains. When the fuel would cut out, the bike would lunge forward then back as the rear wheel began to lock.

I took it back to the “friend’s” shop to have it fixed, but they said they rode it and felt no problems. This was laughable but it seemed the only one who knew how bad it was, was me. I rode it for a few weeks in this shape which was scary to say the least.

Finally, I took it for one last ride in the mountains despite reasonable concerns for safety. I found that if I never used the brakes, thus not having to use throttle as much I was able to keep it from cutting out a bit longer. I used the brakes a handful of times on 20 miles through the mountains, kept my cornering speeds very high and used only minimal throttle. The bike only died out 4 times on the way back but one was mid turn as I decided to give it a touch more throttle than usual. It cut out then came back on hard causing the rear tire to slip then regain traction fast also known as a high-side.

The bike tried to catapult me over the side and into a mountain, but despite having one leg in the air, I managed to keep the other planted on the inside foot peg. This was the closest I have came to crashing in a long time and it turns out my excess weight might have saved me from a horrible crash in this situation.

I made it back the rest of the way without issue from the bike. The best part was coming through a high speed left hand sweeper going down hill, where a HUGE deer with a GIANT set of antlers was posing majestically in front of the backdrop overlooking the valley. As I came into the turn, I looked straight into the deer’s eyes and he looked back at me. An eerie calmness took over me, like I knew everything was going to be fine. By the time I arrived in the town of Saratoga, I hopped off my bike to take a breather. I looked over my bike and laughed when I checked the tires. The sides were shredded as if I had gone to a track day. Normally I would not brag about this, as this meant I was being completely stupid and unsafe, but not this time. This ride, I knew, was going to be my last on my bike. I knew it was never going to see a track day now, but maybe, just maybe, it got to taste a little of the track on its last mountain ride.

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Since it is a slip on system, we won’t have to mess with the headers, just take off the old exhaust can and attach the new one. First, we took off the rear passenger peg and loosened the exhaust bracket that attaches the muffler to the connector pipe. Then we unbolted the hanger for the muffler and gave the can a few twists and turns before it came off. Next, we slid the new Remus slip on over the connector pipe and tightened the bracket down to make sure there were no leaks.

Once that was settled, we did not have a stock muffler hanger for the Remus pipe, so we used a little ingenuity and made one from scratch. We wanted to make sure the muffler did not move around too much. Once it was secured, we put the rear passenger peg back on and started it up! It sounds great and gives that down low growl that Remus is known for. A great product all around. See you next time!

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Rim stripes are an easy way to add more style to any bike and they come in a wide variety of flavors to match any taste and color. They are easy to put on. All you need is a steady hand (which I do not have) and some soap and water.

Clean your wheels off first and make sure they dry fully before trying to put the rim stripes on. If the wheels are not dry the stripes will not adhere correctly and may come off once the wheel begins to rotate. Once you have cleaned and dried off the wheels, you are ready to add the rims stripes.

These particular ones come 1/4 of the way around the wheel, which means you will use four of them for each side of each wheel. The kit comes with more than enough for one bike so if you mess up on a few, don’t worry you are covered!

It is best to put the bike on a stand before you attempt to put them on, as it makes spinning the wheels much easier. Simply peel each stripe off of it’s sticker and slowly lay it down along the side of the wheel. Try to do it slowly about one inch at a time. That way if it’s not straight or you mess up, you can pull it back off with out bunching up the tape. Once you get one stripe on, overlap about 1mm of it with the next strip that way there is no gap in between and it gives it that endless line look. It takes a little while to get the hang of it but don’t worry if it isn’t perfect, when the bike is in motion it will look like one solid circle.

Stay tuned till next time!

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I also switched the profile of the rear tire from a 190/50/17 size to a 190/55/17 which is basically a higher profile tire. The difference between the two could not be more profound. The 190/55 tips into turns much faster than the 190/50, it also makes transitions and tight turning a breeze. My old tire had a bit more straight line stability as it was a lower profile tire, but took much more effort to turn into corners. With this new ratio I have a lot more confidence entering turns and that allows me to take them at higher speeds which is also an added bonus!

The Michelin’s should also give me a bit more mileage and life out of them than my previous set, due to the harder center compound. We will have to wait a few weeks to test out their rain capabilities. As you saw in the video, i had to take it easy breaking them in. Until then, ride safe!

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The old one was worn out a bit and had developed a leak so I decided to remedy that with a new one from Honda. The first step was to drain out the old oil, so I removed the lower fairings and took off the drain plug and old oil filter. Make sure to dispose of old oil properly!!!!

After all the old oil had drained out, I put on a new K&N oil filter and re-installed the drain plug. Next, it was time to remove the stator cover, which was held on by ten 8mm bolts. It’s easy to take off but make sure you loosen the cover with a light touch or rubber hammer, as to not damage the aluminum.

Once the cover is off, I used a razor blade to remove the old gasket and cleaned off the surface. I then used red RTV high temperature gasket maker to help make a better seal. You are only supposed to put a very light film around the engine casing so it doesn’t get too messy, but this can be hard to do so make sure you wipe off excess amounts after you are finished.

Next, I carefully placed the new gasket on the engine case, making sure to carefully line up all the holes. With the new gasket in place, I attached the stator cover and tightened all the bolts back to spec in a star pattern to make sure the gasket didn’t get bunched up in one spot. After the cover was on, I put all the fairings back in their places, zip ties and all, and waited a few hours for the silicone to dry. It takes about 20 minutes for it to start to film but I recommend a full 24 hours before it fully hardens.

Once it dried, I poured in the new oil. I use AMSOIL full synthetic 10w-40, which has a long life to it that my motor seems to enjoy. Now my baby is ready for the road! Happy Riding!

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It is a pretty basic setup that pops right into where the stock tail light was. All you have to do is unhook the old one, put the new light in it’s place, hook up the wires and you are done! It is a LED set up as opposed to the stock setup that used regular bulbs.

LED’s are brighter than bulbs and can be seen much better from a distance and at night. They also last a lot longer than conventional bulbs. It uses integrated turn signals which cleans up the tail section nicely. This setup also has a built in license plate light on the bottom section of the tail light. It will fully illuminate your plate so you won’t have to worry about adding a separate license plate light, or get pulled over for not having one.

Clear Alternatives makes some pretty trick products and this one is no exception. Its form is as good as its function. Happy Riding and stay tuned!

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This bolt on silencer is available in all finishes both round and oval. I have the high level system which includes the half system collector which connects to the original four bolt flange.

When you start it up in the mornings, it has a nice growl to it as the engine starts to warm up. At idle, it is nice and mellow but once you get on the gas, people will definitely know you are there. This is my first aftermarket exhaust system and it is a very fun feeling when you open up the throttle and you can hear your machine echoing off of nearby buildings and overpasses! I would recommended this system to anyone who wants to add a bit of performance to their bike as well as a nice sound for an affordable price.

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So, my 900ss was missing this plastic piece you see up top. That way, water or mud won’t jump up into the wiring and gauge cluster. I actually got it for $5 from the website. Not bad huh?

It should arrive within a few days. Stay tuned and see what else we got in store for this project!

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My current bike is a 2000 Honda CBR 929RR. It is currently a project bike as I bought it from a friend after he couldn’t hold a wheelie, haha! It’s all good though, as I still ride the bike everyday rain or shine, in all the back roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

So far the mods it has are, a Power Commander III which has been mapped and dyno’d to 130 WHP, a highmount Scorpion exhaust, steel braided front and rear brake lines, a Cbr 954rr swing arm and 954 front forks. It also has an integrated taillight as well as flush mount turn signals. The frame and seats were also painted bright orange to help with viability.

I am currently working towards turning it into a track bike, as opposed to the daily commuter it is currently workhorsing as. Future mods will include a new exhaust system, frame sliders, track plastics (as well as getting the street plastics painted), new sub frame, new engine casings, steering damper, and some shiny new wheels.

Well that’s all for now, stay tuned and ride safely everyone!

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I gotta tell you, the hardest thing about owning this bike is getting parts. You remember the installation video? Well I kinda had to rig a lot of it because I only had about half the bolts and pieces. So I had to order them from Ducati in Italy remember? So, uh yeah, I ordered them around Thanksgiving, and yeah they didn’t come in until well this week!

Finally finished is all I could think! Until I looked at the subframe that held headlight. Yeah, it was bent; not from me mind you, another left over from the previous owner. So I brought it in to Desmoto Sport in San Francisco to have them straighten it and install the fairing (hey at least I have paper work on all the installation right?). Well voila look at my pictures! The Ducati 900SS SP is a thing of beauty now.

Stay tuned guys! Peace.

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So we took out the toothbrushes and got to scrubbing! Check out the cleaned up engine pics. Plus we cleaned both the K & N air and oil filters.

While we were at that, we also installed a new power regulator. The previous one was putting out 17.5 amps, when in fact 14 is what is required. The new power regulator is an upgraded unit from Ducati.

That’s it for this week guys. Stay tuned. Peace!

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In my case, my wallet is hurting, big time. Every time I bring in the 900SS for a small fix, the mechanics seem to find another, bigger problem. But, all is not lost. While at work, I was surfing the net and found this beauty of a motivator.

Here is a more NOT SAFE FOR WORK poster from our brothers across the pond at FastBikes.

Nothing like a topless hottie next to my bike to keep me forging ahead. Well, not my bike exactly, but what I can aspire to restore it to. Hmm, I may even be able to make it better looking than the one in the poster. Be on the look out for a future wallpaper spread featuring my 900SS.

Ahh, I can now go on and finish this puppy. Okay guys, now back to our originally scheduled program. Peace!

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Alright guys, stay tuned for more. Peace!

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I am not really familiar with this process so I’ll just trust the guys at the shop on this one. I always thought that the vibration would bend the mounts or cause some other sort of damage. But hey, they can be liable for it! Check them out!

All right guys, check back in a day or so for the next video. Peace!

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So, it’ll be a while longer before we can put clothes on her. What we ended up having to do was order a new fairing and have it get painted. Hit to the wallet but hey, it’s what we’re here for right? Anyways, on to the video!

Alright guys, stay tuned and have a good day. Peace!

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Will told me I was asking for magic but he agreed to get the job done. Check it out. These fairings need a miracle. But hey, it’s all in the pursuit of getting my 900ss back to beautiful.

Alright guys. that’s it for this time. Stay tuned for more updates. Peace.

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So after looking for a good place to get this job done, I found Wally’s Auto Tops on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco. They’ve got a good reputation, employ good people, and is an all around good place to have this job done. I took it in in the morning and they were done by the afternoon. Here’s a shot with the cowl off.

The seat came out great and they even matched the seams that were there before. At any rate guys, there will be more to come as I want to get this bike looking nice before the weather changes.

Peace.

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But I happily stumbled across this bike made by an industrial designer, so technically it is “Ferrari inspired” but man it looks like something that would actually fit in their current line of vehicles. Check out the website here.

Now, all you gearheads can just head over to the website for all the technical specifications. Since I’m the lead graphic designer here, I’m going to talk about this piece from my perspective.

Overall, the bike very well designed. Mr. Glinik is a very talented designer. He started from the engine out (and that’s what I’m really into, the design is amazing). What he did was cut a Ferrari engine in half. Whether it was a v12 or a v8, I forget. You guys can check out his website. As a colleague in the field, I can totally appreciate the time and effort that Amir obviously put into this project. When a true artist is passionate about a project, it reflects in the work.

The suspension is also really trick. This designer really did his homework and created a work of art and spared nothing to the attention of detail.

Check out the headlights. Very Modena-esque, if you ask me.

Here it is in black. I think Amir made one in yellow too. Check the website.

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Till next time guys, Peace!

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It’s a little beat up and battered, but isn’t far off from being ride able. It’s not stock, as you can see from the pictures, and there have been some modifications: some carbon bits, aftermarket high compression pistons, an upgraded air filter, and a dual Two Brothers exhaust system that’s music to the ear. It’s been sitting for over a year now, and it’s ready for some additional upgrades.

First off, to get the bike running, it’s going to need a new clutch. And since the stock one is coming out we might as well put a new slipper clutch in. Don’t know yet where it will be coming from, but will let you know once we get it. This one upgrade should provide a substantial upgrade in terms of rideability, and will allow me to ride it much harder – and safer since I shouldn’t get that dreaded wheel lock on downshifts anymore.

Other upgrades will be coming up, but I’m hoping we can get this really soon so we can get this bike purring again. If any of you have some suggestions for other upgrades, drop me a line or post a comment, and we’ll see what we can do.

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Soupy’s Performance makes lowering links for a variety of motorcycles. Check out their line of products at www.SoupysPerformance.com.

Thanks again Soupy’s Performance!

Visit www.HeliBars.com for more of their precision made products.

Thanks again Heli Modified!

The following was taken directly from their site.

HeliBars handlebars give you a better, more comfortable riding position so you can tack on the miles and leave pain in the dust. And whether you’re standing at a stop light in town or flying down a long lonesome desert highway, precision-built HeliBars transform and improve your bike’s handling and performance. More than just drop-dead gorgeous, HeliBars meticulous hand-crafted designs are the pinnacle of style and performance. When it comes to safety, precision engineered HeliBars improve your control and reduce fatigue for safer riding and long-distance touring.

TracStar will fit on

- 2006/08 Suzuki GSXR600 / 750
- 2006/08 Triumph 675 Daytona
- 2005/06 Honda CBR600RR
- 2007/08 Honda CBR600RR
- 1999/07 Suzuki Hayabusa
- 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa
- 2005/08 BMW K1200S
- 2007/08 Ducati 1098

An innovative new design with improved street comfort.

Heli Modified believes you should have your cake and eat it too because, “Performance shouldn’t be painful”

Our design guru, Harry Eddy, has once again applied his 360° Design approach to produce the first in a new line of one piece alloy HeliBars.

CNC carved from a single 6061 extruded aluminum billet, the new TracStar clip-ons allow optimal placement of controls in a cramped environment. Because there are no handlebar tube mounting clamps attached to the fork tube clamps, the master cylinders and switch gear can be mounted closer to the top triple clamp. This single feature optimizes bar angles, height and width changes.

-42.5 mm (1.670″) taller at the damper end
-10 mm (3/8″) taller at the fork tube
-25 mm 1″ wider at 27 inches
-One piece seamless design
-As always, pre-drilled for control housings. A true direct replacement design.
-Retains factory damper weights
-Billet reservoir mount included
-Retains all stock cables and hydraulic lines

HeliBars are designed to give the rider a more comfortable riding position, allowing better control of your bike. Each of their high-quality products are precision-designed to be sturdy and stylish. They make handle-bars and clip-ons for a large variety of models.

Check out their site by clicking here.

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This is a threaded style lowering link that does NOT require going through the re-installation process again and again to make adjustments. With this lowering link, you simply make a few turns of the hex body to adjust the height. Other lowering links only allow you to adjust to fixed heights at -1″, -2″, -3″, or -4″. With the Soupy’s Performance lowering link, you can achieve the exact height desired, anywhere in between and up to -4″!

Check them out at www.soupysperformance.com

This was originally supposed to go onto the Street Triple, but there was an incident. Read about it here.

Stay tuned for the installation video onto the Daytona 675 Project Bike.