My 1992 VT1100C (Re)build thread

[Thayter]

The Jardines are gone. My stubby legs could not cope with them, the previous owner was 6'6" and I am 5'10". I switched back to the stock pegs, did a one-for-one swap with another guy who has a 92. I just could not get my weight up on the pegs to save my soul.

My turn signals do not function as running lights - is there something I'm missing here? The cobra light bar I have helps me to get the cagers attention as well as having an ear-splitting horn (love the reaction when that thing goes off). I did not realize that LEDs would involve a horrendous amount of modifications. Guess I'll scratch that off the list. The previous owner did some wiring jobs that look like a 5th grader helped him so I have a few things to tidy up.

[Camo2]

Damn, wish I would have beat him to it on those Jardines. I would have loved to have them. Yes, your front turn signals should act as running lights as well (always on when the key is on). A lot of people ditch that feature when they switch to different turn signals. Front turn signals are dual fillament and rears are single. I went with dual filament all the way around and just didn't wire in that wire in the rear. LED's can also be wired as running lights in the front but it's more involved that I cared to get into. To me, the bulbs were much easier to deal with and LEDs not worth the effort.

[Thayter]

I have relamped the signals since I bought the bike so the previous owner must have monkeyed around with the wiring. Time to drag out the schematics or find someone who knows what they are doing. If the fronts are set up running lights would the rears also be?

[Big John]

The rears are not set up for running lights, but it would not be that hard to add them in. I love fixing up the 87- 97 shadows. They are very inexpensive and nearly every part from the later bikes can be made to fit and gotten fairly cheap (other than the tank). Here was mine.


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Finish

[Camo2]

I just can't seem to walk away from this Harley wheel thing. I think I'm obsessed with making it work as close to a bolt on solution as possible. I'm trying to accomplish this without turning down my axle to 3/4" at all costs. I just bit the bullet and ordered a 13" front brake rotor today. Just when I'd decided to throw in the towel and go with the stocker and just have it polished. It's just that the 21" wheel completes the look that I'm going for. If I can get it on there, I'm going with a spoked wheel at first and hopefully get a nice custom/forged wheel up there in the future. This is the look I'm going for and I just can't pull it off with that 19" wheel. I can't find anyone that has done this on a 1100 "Spirit" so there's nothing like blazing your own trial. The following bike is almost the exact look I'm going for but all Scootworks can tell me is that they think these are RC Components wheels and I ain't got that kinda dough!

[Thayter]

Just remember; you have 2 kideys, 2 lungs, 2 eyes. Motorcycle customizing funding options is all I'm sayin'

[Camo2]

LOL. Good point. But I think I'd rather keep those things than have parts for my bike. A bit more valuable to me

[Thayter]

Back to this anodizing thing. When you applied the Metalcast, did you use multiple coats before baking or bake between coats, or...? On the freshly polished wheels are you gong to be using any coating?

[Camo2]

Just one coat. Trust me, when you first spray it you'll think it looks like crap. Tons of orange peal. You just want to get a nice coat on. Not too thick and not too thin. Sometimes it's a PITA to get it to stick to nice shiney parts cuz paint generally doesn't want to stick to that kind of surface. I cleaned all my parts in acetone before painting. When you stick it in the oven it evens out into a nice candy glaze. I don't think I'll be painting the wheels although that would look good.

[Thayter]

I was not so much talking about painting the wheels, though I agree that some accents could look good if not overdone, but rather applying a clear coat to reduce the effects of brake dust and road grime. I am looking to polish my inner rim area and the flats on the spokes. The rough area between the spokes has me perplexed though and is where I would possibly consider a color change. It will require some thought. Maybe it is laziness that prevent me from going to an all chrome wheel.