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Randy's 2006 VTX 1300C build page

95K views 462 replies 46 participants last post by  Randy2575 
#1 ·
Greeting fellow enthusiasts, here is the start of a long and drawn out journey.

Ok, so I'm gonna take my bike and tinker with it a bit. It will enjoy my company and beats a therapist here in Los Angeles.

I had a Scorpion Alarm sitting around that I was going to put into my Triumph 955i, but decided I only need one bike, so into the VTX the alarm goes - went. That little pocket in front of the battery made a nice little nest for the guts of the alarm. After installing it there, I took an old vinyl DVD case and cut a little panel to fit right behind where the tools go to hide the sensors. It's mainly for looks, since a thief will pretty much know the few places an alarm can be installed.

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Next I decided to try my hand at surgery, the patient being one of the rear shocks. Stumbled across this thread: http://www.vtxcafe.com/showthread.php/26831-cutting-down-stock-shocks, in which Okie Bob documents cutting his shocks. I did not have the desire nor materials to make his nifty shock squeezer, so I made a much smaller one the did the trick, but can certainly be improved upon. I'll get a pic of it tomorrow.

Once I removed the left side shock, I could see that the rubber bushings would need to be replaced. Anyone have any insight as to OEM or aftermarket?

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Anyhew, got the shock taken apart, without losing any digits and then was faced with the dilemma of cutting the housing and the spring nice and straight. Upon rummaging through that vast expanse otherwise known as the great void, or my brain, and then rummaging through the even greater cluttered expanse known as my garage, I recalled having some kind of cut off wheel for my skill saw. Knowing darn well that I wasn't gonna achieve any kind of straight cut, much less a safe working environment with my skill saw, I came up with the bright idea of putting the 8" cut off wheel in my 12" chop saw. Not a bad idea, but now I had to raise up the parts to be cut since the 8" wheel would not reach far enough down to cut all the way through. No matter, since I had to make a cradle for the part anyway to keep them nice, straight, and secure while cutting. Long story short, the parts were cut semi straight but actually caused part of the plastic in back of my saw to catch on fire due to all the sparks being created during the cuts. I smelled the plastic before actually seeing the melted part. Take care kids.

Once cut, I got out my trusty belt sander and put some smooth edges on the cuts. All in all, not too bad, although I'm probably gonna cut the housing shorter as well as cut one more coil from the spring. I purposefully cut leaving a bit of excess, since I had no idea if all of this was going to work. The biggest question mark was the cut off wheel. Why? Because I wasn't sure if it was a masonry wheel or a metal wheel. It was so old and used, that no writing was left on it. I'm pretty sure it was a masonry wheel that had no choice but to cooperate. Oh yes, always wear protective eye gear and a dust mask. Safety first. Here is the before and after. This is close to about two coils removed, but it looks like it needs to have one more taken out. As you can see, the housings could also be whittled down some more. It seems to me that shortening the shaft would not be such a big deal. Get the correct die, cut about another inch worth of threads, and then cut an inch off the end. Gonna see if I have a die flying around somewhere that might fit, and if not, I'll find one somewhere. I'll report back on this experiment when concluded.

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One more note of caution - should really be a lot of notes, but I'm not asking you to repeat what I have done - when I had the left shock off, I also wanted the right off to take before and after pics. So I go and see how heavy the rear of my bike is...lift...right shock responds rather easily. Hmmm, I figure, I'll just take the right off also and genly lower the rear fender onto the rear tire, right? So I get ready, take out both shock securing bolts while holding on to the rear fender with all my not minuscule strength, and start to wiggle the shock off it's mounting studs. Well, turns out that the rear end is so heavy, that I could barely hold it up with both my hands. I had to let the shock dangle on the upper mount while holding the rear up. The reason I could not let it rest on the tire is that the brake caliper was hitting the bottom of the fender. What to do? I let go one hand, grabbed a nearby wrench, and stuck it between the fender and the caliper. Once that was done, I was able to get my trusty hydraulic jack, a piece of 2x4, and jack the rear up from the back, behind the license plate mount. Make sure you are in gear when doing this, or the bike might roll forward off the jack. Again, don't do this at home, at least not in the way that I did it, lol.

Final note: When I started to reassemble the shock, I checked the pre-load setting and found that it was on 2, on the soft side. I'm 6'4" at 240lbs, so I set it on 4. Can't wait to do the other side tomorrow and take it for a spin. Eventually I'm going to buy Progressives, but for now, this will have to do. The reason I am doing this is because my feet won't reach the floor when sitting on the bike - not! It's because I'm gonna rake the front by about 6 degrees and I read that the rear needs to be lowered about 1.5 inches to be on the safe side. Something about trail, I believe. Lot's of talk about it, just no clue what trail is?

Ok then, till a few hours from now...Good night.
 
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#2 ·
Just a quick note on the replacement for the shock bushings. I've read several posts on this topic and seen a lot of pros and con for stock vs aftermarket. I fully agree that the stock rubber bushings leave something to be desired, so I wanted something a bit more durable. Read that the upgraded "green" poly bushings from the lower end of an 1800 VTX will fit the bill. Part # 52489-HN0-671. I looked for them online and found them for less than $3 each. Problem was flat rate shipping of another $8. So I did a crazy thing and called my local Honda dealer. $12 out the door and they'll be here Friday. I will be replacing all four.
 
#3 ·
So I wanted to show you what I made out of scrap 2x4's to take the shocks apart.

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The nut you see in the middle pic is the one that's a pain to get to. It tightens against the top cap to keep everything together. When I compress the shock in my wooden squeeze box, the top cap pops through the hole so I can get to the nut underneath. Once the nut is loosened, the top comes off and I slowly lower the jack, being rewarded with a shock that is literally coming apart at the seams, lol.

This is my quick and dirty rig on my chop saw for cutting everything.

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#4 ·
Here you see the modified test shock from yesterday, and the improved version done today. Then both newly modified shocks side by side.

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I like the shorter skirts on these much better. Check them out on the bike.

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Took the bike out after re installing the shocks with the new hardness setting of 4 and thought the bike rode better. With my weight, the softer setting just wasn't cutting it. Can't wait to get my new shock bushings to tighten everything up a bit more.
 
#6 ·
Thanks motorcyclereb. Just had a few bits of 2x4 laying around and came up with that after looking at Okie Bob's shock smusher. I tell you, setting the rebound to 4 made a world of difference for me. I got to ride my bike a bit today and could really tell the difference in the way it rode over bumps. It's gonna get even better when I install my new bushings tomorrow.

Rode my bike over to C&C custom seats the other day and really loved the way the low boy looked on my bike. The only concern I had was the fact that the seat was so darn thin. I can't imagine that it would be very comfortable on any extended ride. With that in mind, I let my mind wander. Looked at Craigs and found a stock 1800 solo seat with passenger pad for $40. I said I'd come over right now if he'd sell it to me for $30 - yes, I'm frugal (cheap). He agreed, and I am now the proud owner of a almost new 1800 VTX solo seat. Thank you Brandon (heck of a guy).

Did the first part of the 1800 to 1300 seat mod, which means I cut off the two forward pegs on the seat and did a little creative shaving to make it fit as snug as possible.

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#7 ·
Oh, almost forgot, need a pic of the seat as it sits now. Keep in mind, that the edges of the 1800 seat come down lower than the 1300 seat. This means that without modification, the seat will hit the side covers and may blemish the paint job on them. I'll go take a pic of the seat on the bike now and point out the areas that will need to be trimmed in order for the covers not to hit.

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The fender seam can be fixed by adding a bit of foam to that area and covering it with the new custom seat cover. The area where the seat meets the tank can be fixed the same way, except for the end points of the seat. There is a bit too much foam around those areas, so that will just be trimmed. At this point, the seat has not been trimmed and is hitting the top of the side panel (not shown in the pic). Also an easy fix by simply trimming just enough seat pan material and foam to clear the side panel. Be careful not to trim too much for obvious reasons.

First remove the seat hold down bracket and then the staples. Remove the seat cover, being careful not to rip the foam since the cover is glued in the main seating area. Once the cover is removed, trim the foam to your liking, but only if you plan to have a custom seat cover made.

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Seat taking shape after cutting and sanding the foam contoured to my back side. Again, only do this if you are going to have a new cover made. The original cover will not fit anymore after such major changes in the shape of the seat. I made my seat a bit more narrow, lower, and the back support pushed, well, back, lol.
 
#8 ·
As promised by the Honda dealer, my bushings arrived. I can safely say it was about time these suckers got replaced. As mentioned before, these are the "green" poly bushings made for the lower shock mount of a VTX1800. They are a direct replacement for the VTX 1300.

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Don't they just look all perdy sittin in the shock mount...

Thought I'd also post progress on my VTX 1800 solo seat conversion. To make it fit the way I want, there is a lot of trimming and shaving involved. Here you can see how I'm doing quite a bit of the shaving on the bike to get the proportions and seams just right. I've found that a 6 inch blade from a floor scraper works great for doing the rough shaping, and then, believe it or not, a belt sander with 80 grit paper for smoothing the cuts. Fine tuning is done with a piece of 80 grit disc sandpaper. I've found a guy who does work for the Honda dealer that will do a custom cover for me. Don't wanna give it away before it's done, but it should be a sweet seat. Oh yeah, I'm also gonna put a couple of gel pads on the seat for extra cushion and comfort.

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#10 ·
Had to take today off since we had a big party at our house. Gotta do that sometimes to remember there are still fun times to be had.

Shocks are shortened and installed with new bearings - the ride made a noticeable improvement. I also give a lot of credit to increasing the preload on the shocks. If you are a bigger than average guy, you're short changing yourself if you don't check and adjust your preload. I honestly didn't look into this until I had the shocks apart. I don't even know if you can adjust the preload with the shocks still on the bike. Someone with more knowledge on this subject might wanna chime in here.

To do list for tomorrow:

Clean up mess from party
Finish shaping custom seat
Go to Sam's Club and check out the Sharper Image Gel pad

Been looking all over the web to find the best deal on a gel pad to use on my seat. Best I found for a large was a Saddleman from Amazon for $49. Then I came across a large gel pad that is used for office chairs and such, sold at Sam's for $20. It looked plenty thick enough and was certainly large enough. But, have to see it in person to make sure it fits the bill. If it does, I'll pick one up and get the seat ready for the upholstery shop. The guy is gonna work with me from material selection, design, layout, to finished product. I told him he'd better give me the family discount or else I won't tell anyone who made my seat, lol.

Bid on Fleabay for a set of aftermarket grips with throttle boss. Won the bid and am now patiently waiting for them to arrive.

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Near future mods:

6 degree rake
Foots mod
Fatty handlebar
Shaved rear fender
Side mount license plate
Radiantz LED Run/Turn/Brake Array
Something home made along the Spyker Airbox Cover Mod
Polish final drive
Polish front forks
Polish wheels
Headlight extension 2"

That will keep me busy for a while. As you can see this will be a budget build with lots of elbow grease and a bit of ingenuity. All of this has already been covered, but hey, a new set of eyes never hurts.
 
#12 ·
You must be clairvoyant, stuffy nose, congestion, and a bad cough. Just the day before yesterday I was bragging to a friend of mine how I haven't had a cold in almost 10 years...2 days later I'm blessed with this crap. :cus: I won't be shaping any seat today :rain1: nojoke
 
#15 ·
Thanks guys, really appreciate it. For a while there, I thought I was writing a private diary, lol. Still feeling a bit under the weather, so no new pics, but while I'm laid back, my fingers were busy on the internet and I researched an additional low budget, high impact mod that I'm gonna perform on my bike. Not sure if it's going to work, so I'm gonna do it first, then post later. All other progress will be reported on as usual, but this one will be a well documented surprise. I may open another thread for it so it can be referenced easier if successful. Again, thanks for checking in with me, hopefully I'll be back posting some progress tomorrow.
 
#16 ·
Looking good!! Keep the updates coming :thumbup: There's no known vaccine for the modification bug, and when you catch it things can get fun:D
 
#18 ·
All righty then, sinuses starting to clear up a bit and ready to go. Received my headlight extender from a member of VTX Cafe and am very pleased with it. Needs a little bit of polishing, but I wanted to chamfer the edges anyway. It's a 2 inch extension, and to my eye just perfect for the bike - eye of the beholder, lol.

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I would have shown pics of it mounted, but still a bit in recovery mode, and worst of all, I didn't have two lousy nuts and bolts to hook it up. In case anyone is interested in doing this, don't worry about the cables, because there is enough cable inside the headlight bucket to reach - at least in my case, and someone else that put in a four inch extension. Will head over to box store tomorrow and get some bolts. Before and after pics shown then. Oh, and if anyone wants to donate some stock 1300 shocks, I'm mulling over a mod that may or may not work with them. I'd off course pay shipping.

Till tomorrow...:beer2:
 
#19 ·
The gods are not smiling on me :snow1:
Went to the box store with my extension plate in my pocket and lost it on the way. Was too dark to re-trace my ride, but will do it in the morning. Wonder how many car have run over it by the time I find it? Pics tomorrow. :badabing:
 
#20 ·
Finally joined the land of the living again and whittled a little bit more on the re-worked 1800 solo seat. Made the sections where the pointy butt bones go a little deeper, and it really made a difference. After contouring the seat a bit more to my anatomy, I took the bike out for a half hour spin. Mind you, it wasn't a Grand Canyon tour, but I definitely noticed the difference in the seat, and I can honestly say, this seat is the most comfortable seat out of the stock 1300 seat, a stock 1800 seat, and even, yes, even the Ultimate X seat. The X is the most cushy, but the custom contoured seat, at least to my educated butt, is the most comfortable. Needless to say, I am very pleased so far. I want to put a gel pad in it also, but now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't mess with perfection. Heck, I'll still do it, because now I feel comfortable in shaping the seat, and I may even make one from complete scratch, ala a home made fiberglass bottom. The stock seat really has a terrible shaped shell. Here's a pic, albeit not a very good one. You can, however, see the contours rather well.

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A bit more shaping on the sides, and that sucker is ready to take to the upholsterer. Err, after inserting a gel pad, lol. ;)
 
#21 ·
So Randy, did I see you post- or try to post- on the VTX cafe site? Not terribly friendly over there. I used to frequent that site but have been put off by the attitudes of a few prima donnas who feel they have achieved near God status and have no time or patience for those dumbasses (in their eyes) who have a simple question or two. I have been riding since 1980 and don't claim to know it all by any means, but I hate to be shouted down or belittled when I share an experience, a repair I've made, or have a question that might be pretty basic to an older, experienced rider. Nice job on your bike, by the way.
 
#22 ·
May have just picked up a spare rear fender, which means I have one to play with as far as cutting the rear, muahahahaha :pepper1: Just got off work, so now time to hide out in the garage and finish shaping that seat. Gonna get it upholstered on Monday, just not sure if all black or maybe something like....

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this?
 
#23 ·
Also picked up a motorcycle lift to make taking wheels off easier. Got a sweet deal on this baby, very light due to the mostly aluminum construction. Already had my bike on it and it does the job fine.

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Getting no response from the guy selling the fender, but maybe he was out of town for the weekend. Still hoping for the best, we'll see.

The gel cushion from Sharper Image was a no go for the motorcycle mod, but I'm sitting on it now since it works just fine for my office chair. Reason I'm not using it for the seat mod is that the gel layer is only about 1/4 inch thick, and I want at least 1/2 inch solid gel. Maybe my upholstery guy will have some on hand.

Hmmmm, wonder what I can do to this gismo???

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#24 ·
Also picked up a motorcycle lift to make taking wheels off easier. Got a sweet deal on this baby, very light due to the mostly aluminum construction. Already had my bike on it and it does the job fine.

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Getting no response from the guy selling the fender, but maybe he was out of town for the weekend. Still hoping for the best, we'll see.

The gel cushion from Sharper Image was a no go for the motorcycle mod, but I'm sitting on it now since it works just fine for my office chair. Reason I'm not using it for the seat mod is that the gel layer is only about 1/4 inch thick, and I want at least 1/2 inch solid gel. Maybe my upholstery guy will have some on hand.

Hmmmm, wonder what I can do to this gismo???

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You could send it to me. The mileage readout is starting to turn brown on mine.:joke::lol:
 
#25 ·
Looking good, Eric! That's some impressive craftsmanship and ingenuity you're putting into this project. Gotta love that mod bug! I think the best part is the bummed out feeling that follows not too long after the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing a long-term to-do list. How is that the best part, you ask? Because you soon realize that there's still so much more you can do, and then the anticipation and fun starts all over again! Keep up the solid work, I'll be following your thread. :thumbup:



Also, I see you've got new handlebars on the list. T-bars, maybe? I'm going with different handlebars this winter as the Harley upper controls don't fit perfectly with 1.25" fatty bars. If you're interested, I'll give you first shot at them when they're off the bike.
 
#26 ·
Thanks for all that Shawn,

coming from you, my head is getting pretty fat!!! Talkin about fat, I gotta go with 1.5's, but I appreciate the offer. Although the cowl wasn't on the front burner, now you've done it...:mrgreen:

Hey, could you shoot me a couple of pics of the cowl mounts? Thanks
 
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