Day 360 - Sporty Versus the VX800

With two operable bikes in my garage, I thought of comparing them to the specifications of a VX800. Comparing my Honda Rebel would be like apples to oranges, but comparing my Harley Davidson XL1200C Sportster might be interesting. So, here we go.

	HD XL1200C Sporty	Suzuki VX800
Cylinders	2	2
Style	V	V
Valves	4	8
Cooling	Air	Liquid
Compression Ratio	9.07:1	10:1
Carbs	1	2
Transmission	5 speed	5 speed
Weight	555	470
Length	7.5 ft	7.3 ft
Seat Height	26.3 in	31.5 in
Ground Clearance	4.4 in	5.7 in
Wheel Base	60.4 in	61.6 in
Fuel Capacity	4.5 gal	5.0 gal
Horsepower	70	61
Displacement	1200	803
HP/Weight	0.1271	0.1298
HP/cc	0.058	0.076

Day 360 - What Luck!

What Luck!

Yes, this VX800 doesn't look like much but she has everything I need... A front end, exhaust pipes and parts, parts, parts!

Plus, the title is clean.

The owner is asking $250, so with $50 in gas to drive from Las Vegas to San Diego and back, I have a donor bike! Now I just need to get a free day and $300. Hmmm....

Day 361 - Headlights

Almost... No time today to finish my inventory list so I stopped at a local Cycle Gear to look at possible headlights. What do I find? The Acerbis DHH Headlight.

The size looks good. I want a dual headlight setup. It is a dual 35 Watt assembly with high and low beam capability. It includes the small windscreen and is quite inexpensive.

Then I arrive home and pull up more information.

Not DOT approved for road use. Sure I could use it, but would much rather use something DOT approved. So, the search goes on.

Day 362 - More Paperwork

One mistake that was made early in my disassembly of Vixen was that my parts cataloging was severely lax. Many parts were unceremoniously put in grocery bags with nothing more than "Vixen" or "VX800" scrawled on them.

So, now this mistake needs to be rectified. Before any more parts work is completed, the inventory check-off sheets need to be done. The less I handle the parts, the better.

At this point my inventory sheets are nearly 50% complete. If all goes well, they will be done tomorrow. Then, back to the parts cleaner and soapy water!

On a related note, several parts bikes are starting to show up on Craigs List. Unfortunately they are on the other side of the continent. BUT, hopefully that is a good omen of things to come on my side of the country.

Day 363 - Paperwork

Day 363.

If you don't already know, I am entering a journey of 365 days. There should be a custom Suzuki VX800 motorcycle at the end of this path. Who knows... There may be some other things as well.

So, Day 363 was a paperwork day. Parts views and "fiche images" were downloaded from mrcycles.com According to Suzuki customer service, this is where the most accurate information can be found.

After downloading, each image was edited, adding large text at the top of each image, indicating what part group it is. The goal is to create printable fiche pages and parts list. Using my laptop, or any computer for that matter to research parts while my hands are greasy and filthy is likely not the most effective think to do.

Past the Turn, Onto a Straightaway.

Project Vixen has now passed a vital hairpin turn. She's getting the wash of her lifetime. With parts cleaner on the right side of my bench and soapy water on the left, every single piece will receive my sharp attention.

Yes, Vixen is now on the straightaway of rebuild. She is no longer being disassembled, labeled and tossed in bags or boxes. She is now being gently scrubbed and checked down to the smallest pin.

Further, I now have TIME!

There are some major concerns that may alter plans somewhat.

• Cost. Plain and simple, spending $3,000 on a rebuild by a rank amateur (yours truly), while enjoyable, may be financial stupidity. Other VX800 motorcycles, operable ones, can be purchased for as little as $1,000. Why spend $3,000 or more on a rebuild, especially when I have never done this before?
• Parts Availability. The VX800 is not a common motorcycle in the USA. She was only available in 1990, '91, '92 & '93 through US dealerships. There are few opportunities to purchase 'junker' VX800s for parts. Luckily some parts can be substituted from other Suzuki bikes.
  

Stand by... 365 days of motorcycle rebuild and personal journeying ahead... Details later.

Good Carbon Fiber Link

For those who want to build your own motorcycle plastic pieces or otherwise use carbon fiber on your project, here is a great place to start: Motorcycle Parts from Carbon Fiber on WebBikeWorld.

Slow going on Vixen recently. Update on that soon.