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InsolentMinx's RR4

4K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  keldon 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought I had a mod thread on here, but obviously not!

Hello from London, England!

I bought my RR in 2009, after spending 2 years clocking up about 19,000 miles on a cruiser, and getting comfortable on two wheels.

Riding-wise I just ride for pleasure at the weekend, exploring the local twisty country lanes, but I also go to France/Belgium when possible. I've even completed an Iron Butt End2End, which was riding 1000 miles from Land's End (most Southern point in England), to John O'Groats (most Northern tip of Scotland). - That was on the cruiser though!!
I've also explored Death valley, Grand Canyon, Route 66 and a few local National Parks on a rented Harley back in 2010. We clocked up 2,000 miles over 3 days.
I've been on 3 track-based-training days, which were more focused on machine control and skills that can be transferable to the road, rather than just trying to get your knee down. (I'm yet to do that, aside from when lowsiding!)

Back in 2008 I started riding with the Institute of Advanced Motorists, an organisation who help improve on-the-road skills, and safety; but the heavy cruiser just couldn't keep up as I'd liked with the faster rides, and tight twists of UK roads. So I went on the hunt for a sexy 600cc supersport, with an underseat exhaust: and the RR was pretty much the only option available in my pricerange.
My Dad has had a few Hondas and raved about their reliability, so I bit the bullet and settled on this relatively stock, beautiful blue example. A year after buying the RR, I sold the cruiser!



Riding through the winter, I wore fleece-lined textile trousers in the cold, and found I got no grip against the side of the tank with these, so I applied some Stomp Grip



I quite heavily modified my cruiser, but actually kept the RR standard for a few months, and then couldn't cope with how silent the stock exhaust was.
A titanium Scorpion slip on was the first mod, along with a R&G tail tidy.



Then I added some reflective blue rim tape, a cheap eBay seat cowl, and a tinted doublebubble screen as there was a hole in the one previously on the bike which was whistling over 40mph! Very annoying!



Continuing with the 'blue' theme, I added some accent LEDs. Controversial, I know, but I had them on my cruiser too and they got lots of attention at bike meets, and I liked the added visibility on the street at night. I also checked with London Police bikers, and they told me that as long as the bulbs weren't visible, then technically they weren't illegal...



I also added some heated grips, and while I was there, stuck the on/off switch for the LEDs to the side of the heated grip control box.

Whilst I had the fairings off, I fitted a ProBolt black fairing bolt kit too, as well as some mesh behind the vents.







Then I bought some black adjustable shorty levers from eBay



Whiles tinkering, I also swapped the red flashing LED from my alarm to a blue one :)

 
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#2 · (Edited)
And wanting to make the speedo look better, I reversed the LCD display


Then I embarked on my first track day in France with the IAM in 2010.
Aaaand lowsided on a hairpin bend. First lap out after lunch, cold tyres, torrential rain.







Thankfully there was hardly any damage to the bike itself, but the rear cowl needed some duck tape to cover a hole, and I had to limp home with a bent rear brake pedal...

I then bought some new R&G crash bungs to replace the unbranded ones that wore down, and got some fork protectors too (just in case).







Later that year, I came off on a roundabout in winter, another cold tyre incident, and wore down the R&G bung and scratched the side of the bike again.





I touched up the scratches and battled on, replacing the holy rear cowl with a used undamaged one off eBay.

As a treat to myself in 2011 I got my suspension tuned and fork springs/oil replaced at MCT, who help set up race bikes.

 
#3 · (Edited)
I went on another track day in 2011 but didn't get any pictures as the photographer didn't turn up.
Then I started to get busier and the bike got pushed aside :(

In 2013 I went on the track again, back at Folembray, France. Thankfully no rain or lowsides!





After riding in the sunshine a few times I decided that the reverse LCD on the speedo pretty much rendered it impossible to read in daylight! So when I was changing the LEDs in my car speedo, I swapped the polarising film back, and changed the LEDs to white and blue. A much clearer option!



Annoyingly my indicators stopped working too, so I went for flushmounts... but shortly after, I was told from fellow riders that they couldn't see them at all!



Worried I might end up getting hit by a car who wouldn't see my flashers, I switched to some traditional-style LED units (which I don't actually have a pic of yet)
And that's the RR4 up-to-date!

I'm planning on replacing the damaged R&G bung and maybe looking into how to better hide the fairing damage, but at the moment, I had to splash out on a new battery as my old one wouldn't hold a charge anymore :(
 
#4 ·
So after surviving for a few years with a poorly touched up right-side fairing, and ground down crash bung, I decided to order a new bung and some stickers to hide the scratches.

The damage came about from 1 lowside on a wet track, and 1 on an icy road.

I did try looking for 2nd hand panels on eBay, but they always come with more or less the same amount of damage that mine already had!

I know it's probably not to everyone's taste. I'm quite involved in the car scene, and really like the stickerbombing look, I've just never had the balls to do it to my car!
This seemed like a perfectly good excuse to give it a try, and it's much cheaper than getting the fairing repaired.

(The touch-up was a little better originally, but using meths to wipe the panel down beforehand, it rubbed off some of the paint.)

I ran out of stickers so have ordered some more to fill in the spaces


Before:




After:



 
#5 ·
I wanted to buy some vinyl sheets of black/white stickerbombing off eBay but never did.
 
#6 ·
I looked at the sheet vinyl but was worried about the quality, and the problems of getting it to adhere properly to the different curves and angles of the fairing.
Bike panels are a lot more intricate than flat car body panels.
Plus most are car related, and the majority of those referencing VW and Dubs. - Seemed a bit odd on a Japanese bike!

The stickers are a fun alternative.
 
#7 · (Edited)
So it's been 4 years since my last update.
The bike hasn't really changed a lot in that time, it's just dirtier! I don't get as much time to ride (or money to spend on mods) now that I have 2 young kids, so when I do, I just get a few hours of time in the saddle.

I did get some new tyres last year Michelin Pilot Road 3, and they're great. Also spent out on some short Dainese boots, for when I'm not speeding around in need of the full clunky race boots.
I've been having some trouble with my regulator/rectifier too, so think I'm going to have to get a new one soon. Bike seems to be overcharging the battery, so if out on a long ride I can have trouble starting her again after a stop.
I know Honda R/Rs are known for being temperamental, and the 2003-2004 models had an issue with the lack of a decent heatshield too; so I'm looking at buying one of the upgraded mounting brackets, along with a new R/R. There are used ones on eBay, but I'd just be concerned that an R/R from a similar era may well be on it's way out too.... extra cost I don't really need :(

That aside, here's an updated pic.
I'm still loving the stickerbombing. Everything's still stuck down, which is good.


 
#10 ·
Fiiiinally got round to replacing the dead regulator/rectifier last night, and putting the battery back in after I've had it on trickle off the bike.
New Mosfet r/r from a specialist UK company, coupled with the improved 05/06 bracket :rocker:

Can't wait to finally get out for a ride at some point soon!

Old one out:



New one in:

 
#11 · (Edited)
Next week I'm off to France for a weekend and a track session.

So I did and oil&filter change; and also changed my brake pads and fluid, since I don't think the front pads or fluid have been done in the 10 years I've owned the bike. Actually I did the rear pads maybe 9 years ago, so thought they could do with a change, but I actually still had quite a bit of meat left on the rears.... oh well!
The new fluid probably wasn't needed either as it was still pretty good looking, but after so long, I thought it was better to be safe.

I also changed my air filter, for a K&N one, while I was fiddling :)

All of this was done with guides taken from this forum :D

Only 1 pic.

 
#12 ·
Next week I'm off to France for a weekend and a track session.

So I did and oil&filter change; and also changed my brake pads and fluid, since I don't think the front pads or fluid have been done in the 10 years I've owned the bike. Actually I did the rear pads maybe 9 years ago, so thought they could do with a change, but I actually still had quite a bit of meat left on the rears.... oh well!
The new fluid probably wasn't needed either as it was still pretty good looking, but after so long, I thought it was better to be safe.

I also changed my air filter, for a K&N one, while I was fiddling :)
No fluid in 9 years! Def overdue a change!

Think you've done everything I would have in prep for a track day. Enjoy it!
 
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