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Yes, another 900RR revamp/build thread. 1999 racer hopefully

95K views 628 replies 40 participants last post by  Gunk 
#1 ·
Well in case we all forgot, when I bought my now red wheeled 93RR I got a 1999 crasher for free. The stator side case was smashed, and a chunk of the engine case went with it. I thought the crank was bent, but it seems with a pointer on the flywheel there was no runout, wobble, or anything. So that was good news. I had the carbs off last year and noticed that the #1 cylinder didn't seem to be firing properly. The vacuum slide on #1 wasn't seated properly and seemed to have shrunk compared to all the others. When I checked the intake tract on #1 it seemed there was a lot of carbon/nastiness on the valves while the other cylinders were surprisingly free of any build up. I carried on taking items apart, and noticed the #1 side of the airbox looked as though there had been a lot of backfiring. Weird to be honest. It has no plastics (they were so smashed and nasty that I tossed it all). It had skidded down the road and both wheels had rash around the out lip, so I just cleaned that up. And I mounted the old sh!tty du lips that came off the Cafe bike. Anywho, I want to see if I can turn this sucker into a track day bike. My 93 is just too pretty to risk on the track. :rotfl:

So here is where I will document whatever direction I take with this one. Bear in mind that there is no budget, meaning no money to throw at it, so it will be slow going. I hope you all enjoy!

We know I'm a pic whore, so here they are:

As the day I brought it home:





















I tried to make it feel better by giving it a bath, it didn't help.......








The rear tire was flat, and I found 2 holes in it. So just to make it easier to roll I plugged them. The center was down to the cords, and that's where I plugged it. When I took that tire off to swap the other garbage tires on last week I counted 5 other plugs sticking out from inside the tire. This poor thing was definitely owned prior by an idiot.
 
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#3 ·
So into the garage she went, and I used the 93's ignition to power up the 99's gauges. And it worked!! 24,000 on the odo. Hard miles it would seem.






Here's the weirdness I found in the airbox.



It was clear it went down hard on the left side, dented the frame, scraped the wheels, chunked the lower engine case and smashed the tank. But I didn't know how bad it was until I pulled the rear wheel off. Seems the chain took a hit and dug into one of the spokes on the rim. Almost tossed the chain....

Case chunk missing (to the left of flywheel):





Rear rash:



Almost snapped chain. The inside side plate is almost detached:




Front rash:



And after some refurbishing:





The sanded spoke is where the chain hit, I think. I didn't get a shot of it before I started sanding, but it was nasty. You can still see the 2 indentations.



I got the outer ridge blended in pretty well on both rims. And the scrap/ding where the chain hit looks much better. Once I have some $$ the powder coat will make them look like new.

And now she's just a chassis and engine. She will be headed to my buddy Dave's house for the winter. Heated garage and much more room. Plus he loves to wrench all the time, so I'm sure stuff will get done even when I'm not there:thumb:

 
#21 ·
Haha, me too. :D

...I thought the crank was bent, but it seems with a pointer on the flywheel there was no runout, wobble, or anything. So that was good news...
I'm glad to hear that, but not really surprised - even if the stator had seemed like it took more of a hit than it did, that metal is soft, well, soft-er anyway, and would likely give before jacking with the end of the crank.

Well, I'm anxious to see what transpires over time, and just because I'm curious, I've got to ask about one thing that comes to mind with putting this thing on track:
As you know, the 900RR generations were not really Honda's race bikes, not at all, to be honest - with the 4-cylinder superbikes back then being 750cc, there was the RC45 though to '99, and then came the VTR1000/RC51... so, the question is, was there any sort of a market at all for race plastics, for the 900RRs? I'm sure it's easy enough to use other race glass, and modify the mounts, I mean, I know I could do it if necessary, but I was just curious about whether anyone at all even made anything specifically for the 900RR. :huh:

Good luck with the case repair, and keep us posted! :thumb:
 
#10 ·
Well as stated this one has taken the back seat to the red bike, but I got a photo from Dave yesterday, looks like it crashed again:rotfl: I guess he decided to get something going on it and using a piece of a blown CRF450 case half he's actually made a piece to get welded in where the 900's case is missing a chunk. What a guy, I didnt even ask:thumb: Maybe this will kickstart this "track build":eyebrows:

 
#14 ·
:rotfl: should be good for you, buying more parts from ya :thumb:

I'm going to be checking in on this build. #1 your last build came out amazing. #2 I have a 98 blade that I want to convert for the track. Last year I did a few track days and managed to wear down not only my footpegs but the muffler as well from being so low in the curbs. I think this year I need new rearsets and slap on my thinner Vance and Hines can etc. So come on Ian give me something to aspire to :)
Thanks dude:thumb: it's gonna be a long build and probably won't be ready for this year, but the thread will get updates as they come :D
 
#13 ·
I'm going to be checking in on this build. #1 your last build came out amazing. #2 I have a 98 blade that I want to convert for the track. Last year I did a few track days and managed to wear down not only my footpegs but the muffler as well from being so low in the curbs. I think this year I need new rearsets and slap on my thinner Vance and Hines can etc. So come on Ian give me something to aspire to :)
 
#17 ·
Thanks, I appreciate that. I love the 900's. Just something about them, and I feel kinda lucky. I have an original 1993, and the last incarnation with carbs in the 1999. And post pictures you say??:idunno: Yeah, no problem there:rotfl::thumb:

I'll be watching too as I have my own project in process.
Thanks, as long as the motor is "somewhat" solid I'll be moving forward. I got this bike for free and have no idea if it even runs. Should know late next week.
 
#24 ·
Funny you post that Mike. I was at NHMS this weekend as part of my vacation, watching a friend's son rip around Loudon. He was running 1:15 hot laps and took 2nd place in one of the races. The last time I was in the infield (1997??) at Loudon was back when Erion had a very similar 900 that I think The Bostrom's were riding, 6 piston Willwood calipers, etc. I'll have to dig up that photo. I got some pics from the infield and some quick video of him I'll be posting once I get back home to reality:crap:
 
#25 ·
So.........I was really lazy this year with this project. I did NOTHING with it, and now we're coming into November. If I don't get this thing welded up to see if I have a viable motor there's no way it will be tracked next year either. So, to try and light a fire under my own ass I set out to spend some money on ancillary items :eyebrows:

The beauty of this is that even if I don't get the track bike project going properly, ALL these items will bolt right to the Red Rocker :thumb:

So, I got some good deals on this stuff, and I'm hoping it will revive thread, because I've got a motor to sort out and a front end to deal with.

So I'll ask.........keep it stock with the conventionals and 16" wheel, or go hybrid with a 954 or an RC51 front end:idunno:

Here's the pile, getting bigger.....




6" rear RC51 SP1 rear rim that I've been told with minimal modification will essentially bolt right in



Cushdrive purchased separately:



Rim for 115$ and Cush for 20$. Thought that was a great deal:thumb:

Set of 99 900 calipers that will get a rebuild, cleaning, and a paint job




99 front master




Old school 900 stop switch to work along side the quick turn throttle




Driven Clip ons new in box:




And a Scott's damper (which I've ALWAYS wanted!)



And a special thanks goes out to Kent Larson for the last couple items, as he also tossed in a copy of his track day book, signed no less:thumb:



This SHOULD get the ball rolling on this project:thumb:
 
#31 ·
Started on the 6" rear from stock to SP1 conversion. BIG thanks to Eric (eyhonda) for sharing some insider info on the bearing swap:thumb:
You're welcome. I did check the 600rr cush drive bearings and yes they were 52x25x12 bearings (2x stacked).

What I did to measure the inside width:
Take the stock wheel with all the bearings and spacers, insert the axle and measure the remaining axle length.

Take the new RC wheel with all the bearings and spacers, insert the axle and measure the remaining axle length. I juggled around the 900rr spacers and new bearings until I got the same length. The new bearings will be the same RC bearings but with 20mm inner diameters.
 
#30 ·
Thanks Sabotage. One hand washes the other, when I see you adding goodies to the 600 I get motivated (jealous actually :D) and feel the need to get modding:thumb:

I'm hoping next year WE can get to the track together and chew the fat:patriot:

If my bike is ready next summer, I would assume some time in August/September I will hit up New York Safety Track. A few of my local buddies go there a few time a year. :smilierr:
 
#39 ·
well get off your friggin' cell phone (texting like a 12 year old gurrl) and get to WHERK! this is global now, "Mr. Doohan"... sheeeit or geeeeit off the pot :rotfl:
 
#40 ·
:rotfl: I enjoy our Sunday afternoon conversations, whether it's text or post (or both) :thumb: Just wish my cowgirls could get a win one of these days:(


In other news..............Its an epic day, the track bike is off at the WELDER!!:hyper::highclap:







And Tim said said come get it later today :eek:

Same day service:thumb:
 
#44 ·
And this came in today, again, courtesy of mudduck2112:thumb:

She's ugly as warned, but she'll clean up just fine. And when part 2 of this mod comes in this week, I'll hopefully have successfully completed the 17" conversion both on the 93-97 AND the 98-99. And that means I'll make a thread outlining both, in detail:eyebrows:




The paint on the rotor mating surface chipped right off with a utility knife. Easy peasy:thumb:

 
#45 ·
Put the file to the weld slag, got it pretty good and straight. The problem is the piece is recessed a bit too much into the case. When I mate the cover up there is a small gap about twice the thickness of the gasket. I'm not worried about it really though, I'll just double up gasket material there and be a bit heavy handed with the Hondabond. Should be good. Time will tell I guess. In the meantime some parts should be rolling in by the end of the week:eyebrows:




 
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