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CBR650R Hello Everyone! Gauging Interest and an Introduction

C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
Hey Everyone, I go by Tugz,

I am from Toronto and I have been riding for 1 year; coming from a Ninja 400 (pictured below). I am currently finalizing the purchase of my CBR650R and all the mods that i plan on doing to it.
I have always had a silly passion for doing extreme and fun things and that recently has transferred to sport bikes. Ive decided that I want a "Super-sport" feel, without paying Ontario's stupidly high insurance rates for SS bikes. As well as having a fun project to work on.

I plan on taking my stock CBR650R, and after break in, essentially converting it to a 600RR minus the racier bits. It sounds ridiculous to many, and probably not the best use of money. However, I want something that's mine and personal and I'm going to go ahead and build one freak of a bike.

I have still not finalized a full list of parts, but the obvious are going to be the full system exhaust + tune, filter, clip ons, rear sets, quick shifter, tail delete, tail light, levers. I have a bunch more small things here and there and some overall bigger, much dumber plans.

For now I want to guage interest and see if anyone is interested in following this build, and wants to see me share it? Otherwise I might just do a final before and after instead of a 1 time post.

Regardless, Im happy to join the community and happy to get on this bike. I'm going to miss this little lime green devil below though. Super fun bike, just had zero power.

EDIT: So my plans have changed a little bit for this bike. Since I am not getting rid of my old bike anymore and converting it into a track project; im taking all the opinions here and not dropping an absurd amount of parts on this bike. That will probably go towards a 600RR or similar next year. That being said, i still plan on doing a significant amount of work to this bike and will still document it here.

EDIT X2: THE BABY IS IN. OH MAN THIS BIKE IS A DREAM!
 

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MrFritz86

MrFritz86

2019
CB650R
Sep 28, 2019
Nashville, TN
cbrproject said:
Hey Everyone, I go by Tugz,

I am from Toronto and I have been riding for 1 year; coming from a Ninja 400 (pictured below). I am currently finalizing the purchase of my CBR650R and all the mods that i plan on doing to it.
I have always had a silly passion for doing extreme and fun things and that recently has transferred to sport bikes. Ive decided that I want a "Super-sport" feel, without paying Ontario's stupidly high insurance rates for SS bikes. As well as having a fun project to work on.

I plan on taking my stock CBR650R, and after break in, essentially converting it to a 600RR minus the racier bits. It sounds ridiculous to many, and probably not the best use of money. However, I want something that's mine and personal and I'm going to go ahead and build one freak of a bike.

I have still not finalized a full list of parts, but the obvious are going to be the full system exhaust + tune, filter, clip ons, rear sets, quick shifter, tail delete, tail light, levers. I have a bunch more small things here and there and some overall bigger, much dumber plans.

For now I want to guage interest and see if anyone is interested in following this build, and wants to see me share it? Otherwise I might just do a final before and after instead of a 1 time post.

Regardless, Im happy to join the community and happy to get on this bike. I'm going to miss this little lime green devil below though. Super fun bike, just had zero power.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum
I guess wouldn’t be an issue showing the on going project, a lot of us are happy with what they have, but a lot of others keep evolving their bike

yours seems to be very peculiar so would be great to share your “freak and dumb” mods 😜
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
baugustine said:
Welcome. I’m super interested in this for very selfish reasons! I’m sure miweber929 @miweber929 will be interested as well for the same sets of reasons. Are you planning on doing a motor swap?
Click to expand...

Thank you :) I was talking/researching regarding an engine rebuild and potential “race” map but I’m getting way to ahead of my self for a road bike. My goal is to just emulate the feel of a super sport while having a ride that doesn’t send you to jail in first gear. For now the only “performance” mods I’m doing to it are exhaust and tune, air filter, and quick shifter. I plan on seeing if I can get creative with weight loss too.
Honestly I’m just tinkering away at something fun and challenging.
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
Devilsfan said:
Welcome to the forum!

Only one question to make you a proud member here...you being from Toronto, are you...or are you not...a Rush fan?!?! Answer wisely!
Click to expand...
Thank you, what a great question. I’ve been drumming since I was 6 and that inspiration came from watching Neil Pearts YYZ performance on youtube. May he Rest In Peace. I love rush and Neil is one my biggest idols/heroes.
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
MrFritz86 said:
Welcome to the forum
I guess wouldn’t be an issue showing the on going project, a lot of us are happy with what they have, but a lot of others keep evolving their bike

yours seems to be very peculiar so would be great to share your “freak and dumb” mods 😜
Click to expand...
Thank you! The bike itself stock is without a doubt best in class. But for that same reason I feel like it would be cool to push the bike it’s limits. I’ll for sure post after the responses I have gotten!
 
Devilsfan

Devilsfan

2018
CB650F
Jun 5, 2019
Tampa, Florida
cbrproject said:
Thank you, what a great question. I’ve been drumming since I was 6 and that inspiration came from watching Neil Pearts YYZ performance on youtube. May he Rest In Peace. I love rush and Neil is one my biggest idols/heroes.
Click to expand...

Well then, you've definitely passed the test! Your status has been bumped up to "Caress of Steel" membership! 😂
 
miweber929

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
cbrproject said:
Thank you :) I was talking/researching regarding an engine rebuild and potential “race” map but I’m getting way to ahead of my self for a road bike. My goal is to just emulate the feel of a super sport while having a ride that doesn’t send you to jail in first gear. For now the only “performance” mods I’m doing to it are exhaust and tune, air filter, and quick shifter. I plan on seeing if I can get creative with weight loss too.
Honestly I’m just tinkering away at something fun and challenging.
Click to expand...
Sounds good, as baugustine @baugustine said I’m always up for a good build. Be sure to look through here at others builds as the R and F are about 90% the same bike and a number of others have attempted similar builds with only limited success.

As someone who’s owned an RR I can tell you that you are going to be limited in what you will accomplish because they are two different motorcycles from the ground up and share almost no parts between them. Things going against you:

- The 650 motor was not designed for high power, high rpm running so no matter what you do you’ll get at most 100 odd horsepower out of it and redline around 12k. A stock, untouched, poor running first gen RR will eat a 650 power wise; my buddy has an extremely clean ‘04 RR that is a blast to ride and has more motor than my 650 could ever hope for.
- It’s a steel frame and subframe.
- It’s a heavy cast aluminum swingarm.
- The wheels are also a heavy cast aluminum and don’t swap with lighter RR wheels
- Very limited aftermarket support
- The suspension is very budget, if that’s not top of your list going in you’re on the wrong track
- No race fairings, no lightweight goodies, nothing made to made it into a race bike.
- It wasn’t designed to be raced so it’s not built to have the heavy stuff removed and was not built to be light
- There is no “magic power“ to be unleashed from this bike. A good pipe, good dyno tune and fully up to date with service will net you maybe 10 hp on the top, and that’s a big maybe, so you’re at like 100 hp at the rear wheel

I’m not trying to dissuade you, but being real. An air filter will gain you nothing as well, just getting that out there.

If you bought this bike in hopes of it being a comfy RR you can get kinda close with a lot of time and money but ultimately an RR with Helibars, rearsets and a comfy seat is a much better option for that.

Or just buy a Ducati Supersport S if you want a true comfy supersport motorcycle (see my signature)

:)
 
baugustine

baugustine

2014
CBR650F
Staff
May 21, 2016
Ventura, CA
Not trying to dissuade you either, but I currently own both bikes (and ride both of them almost daily). My 650F is modded out (updated suspension, weight reduction, etc) and my 600RR, which is stock other than AKRA slip-on and SS brake lines, will run circles around it, both acceleration and cornering. miweber929 @miweber929 owned both as well (past-tense) and did a great write-up on this topic a few years ago:

All 650's - Review: touring tyres

I no you guys are on these good tyres but don't you find the standard dunlops fairly good.? This is my first sport/touring bike. I've had/own other types of bikes but for some reason none of them have never had dunlops. I did not feel safe cornering in the stock dunlops and I found them useless...
650f.bike 650f.bike

2018 First 300 miles

Having owned a couple of the higher end of Honda's CBR's I am not disappointed with the 18 CBR650F but every bike has it's quirks. Still being in the break in period I expect some of the vibrations to settle down further on. The screen as reviewed by everyone is out of date and just sad. Simple...
650f.bike 650f.bike

The only real similarities are that they are both made by Honda and share tire sizes. Everything else is different. I bought a low-mileage, used 600 last year and do not regret it. The money I saved in used vs new pays the higher insurance premiums from SPORT to SUPERSPORT.

Keep us posted on the build.
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
CrazyTugz said:
Welcome to the forum and great name Tugz btw ahahah, and i share the same opinion, we would love to see the build progress ^^
Click to expand...
ive been being called this nickname for 10+ years and have never met someone with it. Thats amazing! Will be posting soon once the bike is in :)
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
miweber929 said:
Sounds good, as baugustine @baugustine said I’m always up for a good build. Be sure to look through here at others builds as the R and F are about 90% the same bike and a number of others have attempted similar builds with only limited success.

As someone who’s owned an RR I can tell you that you are going to be limited in what you will accomplish because they are two different motorcycles from the ground up and share almost no parts between them. Things going against you:

- The 650 motor was not designed for high power, high rpm running so no matter what you do you’ll get at most 100 odd horsepower out of it and redline around 12k. A stock, untouched, poor running first gen RR will eat a 650 power wise; my buddy has an extremely clean ‘04 RR that is a blast to ride and has more motor than my 650 could ever hope for.
- It’s a steel frame and subframe.
- It’s a heavy cast aluminum swingarm.
- The wheels are also a heavy cast aluminum and don’t swap with lighter RR wheels
- Very limited aftermarket support
- The suspension is very budget, if that’s not top of your list going in you’re on the wrong track
- No race fairings, no lightweight goodies, nothing made to made it into a race bike.
- It wasn’t designed to be raced so it’s not built to have the heavy stuff removed and was not built to be light
- There is no “magic power“ to be unleashed from this bike. A good pipe, good dyno tune and fully up to date with service will net you maybe 10 hp on the top, and that’s a big maybe, so you’re at like 100 hp at the rear wheel

I’m not trying to dissuade you, but being real. An air filter will gain you nothing as well, just getting that out there.

If you bought this bike in hopes of it being a comfy RR you can get kinda close with a lot of time and money but ultimately an RR with Helibars, rearsets and a comfy seat is a much better option for that.

Or just buy a Ducati Supersport S if you want a true comfy supersport motorcycle (see my signature)

:)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed response!! I am not trying to make it into an actual race bike, just one that looks and has the seating position of one. I know myself and I am way to pull happy to have a proper race bike for the road. Already with my 400 I attack every corner like its a race track. This bike is more than capable of giving me the thrills, and everything im doing to it is more for a personal touch rather than trying to claim a lap record. I am however happy you mentioned the power limits it has, I was really considering boring out and doing a big engine build, but I think that's too much for this bike. Also I would consider something like a Ducati or even the 600RR but insurance really is decider. I got quoted 1500 for my 650R and 7400 for a ZX6R.

Also, when this corona situation dies down and tracks open up, I'm going to be pulling the trigger on an older model 600RR just for those purposes. This new bike is more of a long term fun thing I want to have.

Also, Im wondering where is the best place for me to put my build? which section of the forums should I continuously post in? Very new to forums in general.
 
C

cbrproject

2020
CBR650R ABS
May 26, 2020
Riding Since
2019
baugustine said:
Not trying to dissuade you either, but I currently own both bikes (and ride both of them almost daily). My 650F is modded out (updated suspension, weight reduction, etc) and my 600RR, which is stock other than AKRA slip-on and SS brake lines, will run circles around it, both acceleration and cornering. miweber929 @miweber929 owned both as well (past-tense) and did a great write-up on this topic a few years ago:

All 650's - Review: touring tyres

I no you guys are on these good tyres but don't you find the standard dunlops fairly good.? This is my first sport/touring bike. I've had/own other types of bikes but for some reason none of them have never had dunlops. I did not feel safe cornering in the stock dunlops and I found them useless...
650f.bike 650f.bike

2018 First 300 miles

Having owned a couple of the higher end of Honda's CBR's I am not disappointed with the 18 CBR650F but every bike has it's quirks. Still being in the break in period I expect some of the vibrations to settle down further on. The screen as reviewed by everyone is out of date and just sad. Simple...
650f.bike 650f.bike

The only real similarities are that they are both made by Honda and share tire sizes. Everything else is different. I bought a low-mileage, used 600 last year and do not regret it. The money I saved in used vs new pays the higher insurance premiums from SPORT to SUPERSPORT.

Keep us posted on the build.
Click to expand...
Im going to give those both a good read. Im not sure how insurance works in your area, but my 650R is 1500, and i got quoted 7400 for a ZX6R. Also, this premium would not drop significantly after my M license either. It would drop to mid 4000. You are right in that I would save by going to used, but I fundamentally don't want an actual Super Sport for the road. One for the track will come next year hopefully. Thank you though, I really do appreciate all the input.
 
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