2006 CBR 600RR Streetfighter Build Pt 1
Getting Started
(Disclaimer: I am not a certified/licensed mechanic and by reading this article you agree that I am in no way responsible for any damage or loss to any vehicle(s) or person(s) as a result of the installation(s) of aftermarket parts or modification of stock equipped part(s.) Thanks and I hope you enjoy the article!)
A few months ago, I began turning a 2006 Honda CBR 600RR into a street fighter. I Slowly began gathering the parts wanted for the motorcycle and doing what I could to give it more of a clean, stock-like look. My goal has been to make this motorcycle look as professionally manufactured (Stock) as possible, while at the same time maintaining its individuality.
First things First:
While deployed, my motorcycle sat in storage, quietly awaiting the day when it would be able to experience the freedom it had so brutally lost.
Once I got home, things changed again. I didn't have a job to come home to and lost my main mode of transportation due to financial difficulties, so I could not afford to tempt fate by thrashing around my bike and breaking things just yet.
A couple of years later, I was reintroduced to the street fighter look and fell in love. So off came the mid fairings, along with the belly pan. Over one long, somewhat frustrating afternoon, a Freestyle Ingenuity stunt cage was installed. Excitement started to flood through me. Ideas began to take shape...
The following afternoon I asked my boyfriend to supervise me while I attempted to raise the height of the CBR up a little bit. 15 minutes went by and we were finished...
How we did it
-The bike was on both front and rear stands. After sliding the two stationary stands underneath the stunt cage and adjusted the Jack stands up to cup the stunt cage. (there is a part that looks similar to a frame slider. We put the stands there for stability, as well as to help keep the bike straight and upright. This also allowed us to use both hands for working on the lowering link.)
-After the stationary jack stands were in position, we carefully removed the front stand and checked the stationary jack stands to make sure they were cupping the stunt cage properly.
-We moved the floor jack into an angled position underneath the bottom of the spring assembly attached to the lowering link. Carefully raising the floor jack to where it was bearing weight without causing the bike to become wobbly or less stable, the boyfriend took one side of the bolt/nut and I took the other.
-We lined up the links, put the bolt through the hole that was closer to the front of the bike and tightened it up to spec and adjusted the kick stand to accommodate the new height.
After that it was cake-we slowly lowered and removed the floor jack out from underneath the bike, put the front stand back on the front of the bike, removed the stationary floor jacks and poof! The bike stood proud and tall.
Adjusting your motorcycle height is something to NOT be taken lightly. There is a lot that can go wrong, as there is a plethora of weight sitting on the spring attached to the dog bone. All of that will easily come crashing down if things don't go as planned. ALWAYS wear proper safety gear, consult a mechanic if needed and if it is your first time-DO NOT attempt to do this on your own. I was glad that I didn't try to do it on my own by the time we were done. There were some areas where it helped to have a second pair of hands around.
Note: You may need to adjust the front suspension (on the forks) as well as the rear spring to work properly with the changes you make to the dog bone.
Next Up: Aftermarket Headlight/Custom Gauge Cluster Mount Install...
