Frame Maker
New member
- Joined
- May 8, 2011
- Location
- Livermore
- Moto(s)
- sportbikes, dirtbikes, and some odd bikes that I've built myself.
- Name
- Julian
Call me crazy for starting yet another project... especially for starting a project that from the beginning I'm not sure if I will ever complete. But here goes...
A long time ago, but not so far far away. In a period before the famed AK-1s and Gibson framed bikes ruled the AFM 500 Twins universe. The common upgrade for EX500s and 500 Ninjas was swapping forks and wheels from CBR600F2s. During that time, there was a local landmark business known as Super Cycle. Super Cycle was operated by my friend Jonus. Jonus was (and still is) a very good business man. He would often sell salvaged EX500s and 500 Ninjas as a package deal with race prep included. That's were I came in. My friend Bob and I would get the task of race prepping these bikes. I would do the CAD work and Bob would do the machining. We did a number of these little Ninjas so it became almost an assembly line for us.
Fast forward and for unexplainable reasons, I have the urge to build another 500 Ninja + CBR600 F2... plus a few twists of my own are included in the vision.
From my days campaigning the AK-1s, I have a pile (literally) of 500 Ninja engines. I've got radiators and wiring harnesses. I even have an extra upper fairing which have become very difficult to find in good condition. What I don't have, or didn't have until a few weeks ago was a stock frame and CBR600 F2 parts.
Well a cheap frame popped on on eBay. The seller used some fright company for shipping, so it was much cheaper than going by usual carriers. So that was easy.
20220227_122709 by andbike, on Flickr
Next was trying to find the needed CBR600 parts. There are plenty on eBay, but no particularly good deals. I decided to cast a wider net and did some searching on FB Marketplace. Voila! Someone had a complete CBR that they were parting out. They were planning to keep the engine and electrics, but everything else was available. It was kinda local, but still 3 hours away in the middle of nowhere a few miles north of ThunderHill. I made the trip on a Sunday night. The seller was super nice and even though I only needed wheels, forks, and brakes, he kept everything attached to the frame which made transporting much easier. He even offered to give me all of the bodywork for no extra cost, but I declined on those parts. I spotted a not too badly damaged Yoshimura RS-3 muffler from the CBR which I did accept. It ended up being a 6+ hour round trip, but it was late evening so traffic wasn't bad. It was actually a nice relaxing drive and I got everything I needed and then some.
20220226_140600 by andbike, on Flickr
A long time ago, but not so far far away. In a period before the famed AK-1s and Gibson framed bikes ruled the AFM 500 Twins universe. The common upgrade for EX500s and 500 Ninjas was swapping forks and wheels from CBR600F2s. During that time, there was a local landmark business known as Super Cycle. Super Cycle was operated by my friend Jonus. Jonus was (and still is) a very good business man. He would often sell salvaged EX500s and 500 Ninjas as a package deal with race prep included. That's were I came in. My friend Bob and I would get the task of race prepping these bikes. I would do the CAD work and Bob would do the machining. We did a number of these little Ninjas so it became almost an assembly line for us.
Fast forward and for unexplainable reasons, I have the urge to build another 500 Ninja + CBR600 F2... plus a few twists of my own are included in the vision.
From my days campaigning the AK-1s, I have a pile (literally) of 500 Ninja engines. I've got radiators and wiring harnesses. I even have an extra upper fairing which have become very difficult to find in good condition. What I don't have, or didn't have until a few weeks ago was a stock frame and CBR600 F2 parts.
Well a cheap frame popped on on eBay. The seller used some fright company for shipping, so it was much cheaper than going by usual carriers. So that was easy.
20220227_122709 by andbike, on Flickr
Next was trying to find the needed CBR600 parts. There are plenty on eBay, but no particularly good deals. I decided to cast a wider net and did some searching on FB Marketplace. Voila! Someone had a complete CBR that they were parting out. They were planning to keep the engine and electrics, but everything else was available. It was kinda local, but still 3 hours away in the middle of nowhere a few miles north of ThunderHill. I made the trip on a Sunday night. The seller was super nice and even though I only needed wheels, forks, and brakes, he kept everything attached to the frame which made transporting much easier. He even offered to give me all of the bodywork for no extra cost, but I declined on those parts. I spotted a not too badly damaged Yoshimura RS-3 muffler from the CBR which I did accept. It ended up being a 6+ hour round trip, but it was late evening so traffic wasn't bad. It was actually a nice relaxing drive and I got everything I needed and then some.
20220226_140600 by andbike, on Flickr