The Great, I hope, R4 Project
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:47 am
The cosmetics board is a bit quiet so here goes.
A progress report on the R4 project. My plan was to build the FZR400 into the R4, based on the R7 of course. As in, make it look like an R7 not just write R4 on the seat in red crayon. I think the R7 is stunning and the perfect big brother for this concept. However, living in Thailand means I hit brick walls at every turn. Add to that the pathetic state of my finances, and it is all going at a snail's pace. Also I may be shifting myself and my family back to Australia in the future and that will put an even larger dent in my plans for progress. Why even try? Well I will try not to be sacrilegious here, but not to put to fine a point on it, the 400s are sadly lacking in the aesthetic department (just my opinion, of course). The slant four engine from Yamaha, beginning with the FZ750, was a revelation. Since then it has been copied by almost every manufacturer. With its new (at that time ) aluminium frame and its reputation for excellent handling the FZR400s deserve to be more than a poor forgotten cousin to the V-4 Hondas. Enter my bold plan to give the little 400 the face lift it needs, and make sure it still looks like a proud member of the Yamaha family. (cue Rocky theme)
I have been working on the seat for a 1WG. The plan is to make a sub frame and shock support to go with this of course. I actually got a fair way into making the shock supports from steel, before I discovered that the local steel is complete rubbish. When this seat is finished I will try modifying it and see how it looks on the 3TJ models. Here is the franken seat thus far. Showing a few pics as it progressed. The shape is finished and it is ready to be prepped for a mould. It was originally an R7 seat that I bought from Sebimoto and I have shrunk it, by cutting it into a zillion pieces as you can see, to fit the 400.
I am sorry but there is no way this seat will fit a standard sub-frame. Of course I will sell a just the seat anyone who wants to make their own sub frame or modify their standard one. Apart from the sub-frame I have to make the seat base and solve the taillight problem before I can consider it a finished unit. Given that there is almost no difference between the cost of carbon fibre and fibreglass here, I will be using carbon for finished items. All comments and expresions of interest most welcome and I need them. If everyone thinks this stinks then then it would be good to know.
A progress report on the R4 project. My plan was to build the FZR400 into the R4, based on the R7 of course. As in, make it look like an R7 not just write R4 on the seat in red crayon. I think the R7 is stunning and the perfect big brother for this concept. However, living in Thailand means I hit brick walls at every turn. Add to that the pathetic state of my finances, and it is all going at a snail's pace. Also I may be shifting myself and my family back to Australia in the future and that will put an even larger dent in my plans for progress. Why even try? Well I will try not to be sacrilegious here, but not to put to fine a point on it, the 400s are sadly lacking in the aesthetic department (just my opinion, of course). The slant four engine from Yamaha, beginning with the FZ750, was a revelation. Since then it has been copied by almost every manufacturer. With its new (at that time ) aluminium frame and its reputation for excellent handling the FZR400s deserve to be more than a poor forgotten cousin to the V-4 Hondas. Enter my bold plan to give the little 400 the face lift it needs, and make sure it still looks like a proud member of the Yamaha family. (cue Rocky theme)
I have been working on the seat for a 1WG. The plan is to make a sub frame and shock support to go with this of course. I actually got a fair way into making the shock supports from steel, before I discovered that the local steel is complete rubbish. When this seat is finished I will try modifying it and see how it looks on the 3TJ models. Here is the franken seat thus far. Showing a few pics as it progressed. The shape is finished and it is ready to be prepped for a mould. It was originally an R7 seat that I bought from Sebimoto and I have shrunk it, by cutting it into a zillion pieces as you can see, to fit the 400.
I am sorry but there is no way this seat will fit a standard sub-frame. Of course I will sell a just the seat anyone who wants to make their own sub frame or modify their standard one. Apart from the sub-frame I have to make the seat base and solve the taillight problem before I can consider it a finished unit. Given that there is almost no difference between the cost of carbon fibre and fibreglass here, I will be using carbon for finished items. All comments and expresions of interest most welcome and I need them. If everyone thinks this stinks then then it would be good to know.