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The Birth of a 240

23K views 144 replies 23 participants last post by  Wigit 
#1 ·
Hi all! My name is 'Wigit', and I've been a very bad boy...

Over the winter months, I have been collecting parts and tools to do a Sumo-X conversion on my '08 1300c. My plan is to show everyone here my progress and possibly ask for advice along the way. I've been a little busy in the garage for the last few days, and although I'm no mechanic, I do feel much more comfortable out there turning a wrench than in here, typing with two fingers.

First off, I would like to thank everyone here for providing all VTX owners with valuable advice, as well as countless hours of laughs and entertainment! I have been around for about five years, and really haven't contributed much, besides a comment here and there, but I do consider the Cafe as my 'go to' source for technical info and inspiration where my bike is concerned.

I will do my best to keep up with this thread, including pics(I know, I know!) but please keep in mind my work schedule is very different than most, and my computer skills are embarrassing at best!(it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to start a new thread, LOL)

Here's what I'm starting with:

Land vehicle Vehicle Motorcycle Motor vehicle Fuel tank

(That took me forever to figure out how to post a pic!):banghead:

Yes, that ******* bike stand was built from plans I found here on the Cafe, cost me next to nothing, and is about as rock solid as I've seen.(Thank you to whoever posted that thread!)

There are Tornado warnings at the moment in my area, so I'll submit this before the power goes out.

Cheers!
 
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#2 ·
Ok, the ominous clouds have passed, and the power is still on. Here is what I have been doing for the last few days.(keep in mind I am going by memory only here, as this was a few days(and countless beers) ago. If you realize that something is missing, PLEASE point it out for the benefit of the next guy to do this mod)
Auto part Engine Automotive exterior Bumper Automotive engine part

Cobra speedster slashdowns removed.
Auto part Tire Disc brake Automotive tire Motor vehicle

Shocks removed.
Motor vehicle Tire Automotive tire Auto part Vehicle

Strut/fender removal. (disconnect rear wiring harness)

Now, for whatever reason, I forgot that I was supposed to be taking pics and left the camera on the bench for the tire removal.(in my defense, my hands were full) The axle nut is removed and after getting my boy to lift the tire a bit, the axle pulled right out. Tire rolls away. EDIT: my bad, you have to remove the four bolts that hold the final drive to the swingarm shaft. Then the tire rolled away with the final. The final pulls out from the wheel with a small tug.

Remove the rear brake bracket stopper bolt from the swingarm, and the brake assy. comes off.

Now we're at the swingarm bolts. You will need two specialty tools at this point. One special socket for the right lock nut, and a 17mm allen socket for the left side. They're on there pretty good, so it took a bit of lube, and a breaker bar to snap them loose. The lock nut socket is for sale at the Honda dealer here for $112. I was lucky enough to borrow one from a member here.(I won't 'out' him for being one of the good guys, but I will tell you his handle rhymes with 'Boozer1300c'. LOL, sorry buddy)

At this point, the arm tilts out of the frame, bearings fall out, and you're off to the 'races'. (pun intended)

Cheers!
 
#54 ·
Ok, the ominous clouds have passed, and the power is still on. Here is what I have been doing for the last few days.(keep in mind I am going by memory only here, as this was a few days(and countless beers) ago. If you realize that something is missing, PLEASE point it out for the benefit of the next guy to do this mod)
View attachment 101361
Cobra speedster slashdowns removed.
View attachment 101369
Shocks removed.
View attachment 101377
Strut/fender removal. (disconnect rear wiring harness)

Now, for whatever reason, I forgot that I was supposed to be taking pics and left the camera on the bench for the tire removal.(in my defense, my hands were full) The axle nut is removed and after getting my boy to lift the tire a bit, the axle pulled right out. Tire rolls away. EDIT: my bad, you have to remove the four bolts that hold the final drive to the swingarm shaft. Then the tire rolled away with the final. The final pulls out from the wheel with a small tug.

Remove the rear brake bracket stopper bolt from the swingarm, and the brake assy. comes off.

Now we're at the swingarm bolts. You will need two specialty tools at this point. One special socket for the right lock nut, and a 17mm allen socket for the left side. They're on there pretty good, so it took a bit of lube, and a breaker bar to snap them loose. The lock nut socket is for sale at the Honda dealer here for $112. I was lucky enough to borrow one from a member here.(I won't 'out' him for being one of the good guys, but I will tell you his handle rhymes with 'Boozer1300c'. LOL, sorry buddy)

At this point, the arm tilts out of the frame, bearings fall out, and you're off to the 'races'. (pun intended)

Cheers!
LOL!

Looking good :drunk:
 
#11 ·
Ok, I just got 'weirded out' a bit. My friend took a pic of his propane BBQ after a particularly bad winter rain storm a couple of years ago. He was likely stoned out of his mind, and snapped a cool photo of his BBQ. It wasn't until now that I saw the VIKING face. Perhaps it's a soldier. In any case, my buddy passed away two years ago, so we won't be able to figure this one out. Maybe I'm just stoned, and it's just ice! RIP, Greg! Awoooooooga!
 
#12 ·
Anyhoo, there's a big downside to throwing caution to the wind, my friends. MONEY! I went a bit overboard with my choices on this mod, but I don't regret any of them. My dad passed away a couple of years ago(I miss him dearly) He was the funniest, happiest, and coolest man I've ever known. (and best guitar player I've ever met). When he passed away, I made a decision to live my life. I will chase my dreams, I will support my kids in whatever they do, I will love my wife. (Haha, and I will embarrass myself on the internet, I'm sure he wished that for me!)
 
#13 ·
Back to the bike.

I have a tubular swingarm from Sumo-X. It is a work of art. I was under the impression that I could re-use the bearings from the stock swingarm, but I quickly realized that the inner races for the bearings could not be removed.(at least not with the limited skill and tools in my garage) No problem, I found a replacement Allballs set for $26.

Initially, I thought I might have to get a shop to press the races into the new swingarm, but after speaking to the mechanic, I decided to try it myself. I had a 30mm socket on the shelf and it fit perfectly into the swingarm. After dropping the grease holder(small disk) into the swingarm opening, I lubed the race, and used a 2 lb sledge and the socket to lightly pound the race into the opening. It is important to keep everything level when doing this. As the race seated against the grease holder, it was easy to tell by the sound change. You don't want to damage the edge of the race.

All in all, this was much easier than I expected it to be.

(Ok, well after trying to load a pic for 10 mins, I am giving up) :banghead:
 
#16 ·
Interesting, I reused the stock inner races and bearings with my Sumo swingarm. My Sumo arm already had races pre-installed. But this was >5 years ago so I guess Kurt could have changed it.
 
#17 ·
This was my first unexpected issue. Thankfully, it was a quick and easy fix.

I gotta' say, you're a bit of a legend here,DC. I must have read through your build thread at least 5 times. LOL
I've spent hours drooling over your bike. My bank manager would like to thank you!:cheers:
 
#19 ·
LOL...I'm sure you'll have 1-2 more unexpected issues along the way:)

One of mine was not getting rotor bolts with my wheels/rotors, but it looks like your set there.
 
#20 ·
I had the same issue, actually. I called Kurt, so he sent me 6 (I needed 10). No biggie, just went to the local fastener store and bought new ones. I'll need to pollish them, though. I try not to sweat the small stuff. The quality of his product far outweighs a few missing bolts!
 
#22 ·
Next up, cutting the frame rails. This is officially the point of no return. The Sumo-X fender is too wide to fit between these frame rails, so they are cut off and replaced by two beautifully chromed sickle-shaped struts that bolt to the frame. Sumo-X provides a template to show where to make the cuts.

Auto part Tire Automotive tire Engine Vehicle


Here's where I had to stop crying, pour myself a stiff one, and fire up the grinder.

Automotive exterior Vehicle


I test fitted the fender and had to grind a bit more off the underside of each frame 'stub'. For anyone who is about to do this mod, you will also need to grind the inside edge off the peg mounts. I took a little over 1/4 inch off each side.



A couple of coats of gloss tremclad and I'm good to go. Patience is not something I have been blessed with, so for me to wait for paint to dry overnight was a HUGE hurdle for me. I managed to do it though. This was my chance to kick back, admire my work so far, and drink a few cold ones!:beer:
Cheers!
 
#23 ·
That's Attack Mode for sure - Great Job.

A cool trick to speed up painting of small spots like that - once prepped -
Hit it with heat gun to get the base metal nice and warm - then shoot it-
You'll chop drying in half ready to touch.

Plus setting can in warm water - shakes up mixed perfect.
 
#24 ·
Almost forgot, you will need to set the fender on the frame, install the shock bolts loosely, and have someone tilt the fender until the bottom of the chrome struts line up parallel with the side covers. Then with a center punch, mark the location of the front holes of the struts on the frame. Remove the fender, drill these holes, then a touch of paint to all bare metal.
 
#26 ·
Well, that about brings everyone up to date! Here's what's sitting in my garage at this moment.

Ok, I'm an idiot. This pic is on my phone, and I am unable to load it onto the computer. I will have to wait until the wife gets home with the camera.:doh:

STUPID COMPUTER! Haha.
 
#27 ·
Miscellaneous info:

The reason I haven't installed the wheel yet is due to the rear caliper mount. I considered many options for this part. Do I use Glen's brake relocating bracket? Powdercoat the mount?

Once it was removed, I dremelled the cast lines and any words/numbers off the part. I tried my hand at sanding for a whole 15 minutes, then Googled 'metal polishers' in my area. I found a guy close to my work, and took the mount to him Tuesday morning after shift. Cool shop, a real dirty place with tonnes of metal laying all over the place, a bunch of giant old polishing machines/sanders, and a couple of dirty little dudes in coveralls, cigarettes hanging from their mouths, and hands grayer than gray. He took the part to his sanding belt for about 10 seconds, sanding the pitted metal. Then he buffed the area for about a minute with two compounds. It came out like a mirror. SOLD! I shook his dirty hand, and left it with him. I'll pick it up Friday morning.:glee:

I also have plans to paint the calipers. I will be doing them in 'VHT Wrinkle plus'. A buddy at work did his sport bike engine with it and it is the cat's a$$. You are supposed to bake it in the oven at 200 degrees for awhile, so I might have to break into the neighbour's house when he's at work! Haha.

I would LOVE to have the final polished, but don't want the added downtime. As well, the sidemount plate holder hides most of it, so I see that as something I can do down the road.

Another plan for the near future is filling the tank seam. The 'look' of this mod is incredible. I will do this in the winter months, as it involves body filler/paint, and let's face it, summer is WAYYYY too short to have the bike out of commission!

Speaking of the final, I am having one heckuva time breaking the nuts off the final drive. Any suggestions?
 
#29 ·
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