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My CBR500R!

26K views 79 replies 18 participants last post by  TheX 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys!

I've always been a lurker on these forums...getting inspiration from all the cool posts.
Now I want to share what I've done to my bike!

As of late I've been very obsessed over losing weight on the bike. Story goes, couple months back I just swapped the stock battery for a lithium ion battery. When I did my test ride, I just happen to have one bar of gas left in the tank. Well, the bike handled and accelerated SOOOooooo much better, putting a big grin on my face..I kept saying to myself.... BEST MOD EVER! That feeling got me hooked! Until I filled up my gas that is.

Well, after that experience, I've been slowly modding (or some would say F-ing up) my bike /forum/images/CBR500Riders_2015/smilies/tango_face_devil.png. My goal was to get that same feeling that day, however with a full tank of gas.
So far I managed to shave approximately 30lb off the bike (that number includes adding back the weight of aftermarket parts). I want to cut another 15 - 20 lb while in street trim.
If you guys have questions on any of the mods below, want details, feedback, just let me know! I'd be glad to help out!


Mods:
-Powerbronze double bubble smoke windscreen
-Black windscreen bolts
-Carbon fiber mirror block off plates
-Bar end mirrors
-Aluminum/rubber hand grips
-Black Pazzo shorty levers
-Rotary style steering damper
-1" riser aluminum clip-ons gold/black
-Sag set for 160lb rider
-Motoholders aluminum black street fairing stay
-front fender brace delete
-Gauge cluster holder shroud delete
-Digital gear counter
-Inner fairing cowl modifications
-Proton flushmounts
-Sato style frame sliders
-Sato style rear sets
-Aluminum oil filler cap
-Luimoto tank leaf, knee grips and tank protector
-Luimoto race style suede rider and passenger seat cover
-Luimoto comfort gold gel
-Front seat lightening modifications
-Passenger seat lightening modifications
-Vagabond exhaust hanger and oem rear foot pegs delete
-Leovince gp dual stainless steel slip-on
-MWR street performance filter w/airbox square hole mod
-WPS featherweight lithium ion battery
-Rear passenger subframe modified/lightened (I do not take passengers)
-Passenger seat key lock delete
-No manual and tool kit
-Tst industries fender eliminator and license plate light
-Motive swingarm cover and hugger
-Black spools
-Slim led rear signals
-Various rainbow ti bolts
-Various removal of unneeded oem brackets replaced with cable ties

estimated: 397lb wet

Still need to do this winter:
Smartmoto pair valve removal block off plate
Rapid bike evo module
Tst Industries oem rear brake reservoir delete kit
Ixil de-cat header
adreani fork cartridges
weigh the bike properly

Possible mods in the future: (If I decide to hit the track)
stainless steel brake lines
aftermarket rear shock
lightweight sprockets and chain
DCR camshaft
 

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#2 ·
Cool looking bike.
The weight loss figures look interesting though. So far I could not count for more than 9.5kgs or about 20 lbs on mine - including the ixil headers without the cat.
I understand that swapping the battery can already bring some serius 4-5lbs weight difference, and the exhaust equals another in the same dimensions - but these are the biggest ones. Have you done a detailed list of weight coming off and going back to the bike?
Keep on modding. ;-)
 
#5 ·
That is a very sharp looking bike. You have made some very good design choices.

Cheers,

Snade
 
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#8 ·
Thanks guys! Here are a couple more pics I took today. I'll try to get into more in-depth detail regarding weight reduction in a later post! Cheers.
 

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#10 · (Edited)
So my findings for weight reduction as follows:

I studied the 2016 - 2018 fairings extensively thinking, Why the **** are they engineered so well? My RC51 SP2 and CBR600RR had simple fairings that kind of just slipped into each other. The CBR500R’s fairings are built tough like a tank, interlocking with the inner fairing with tons of screws, snapping together like a well buttoned suit. Why does the gauge cluster also need its own plastic holder?

I then realized Honda knew that a lot of people who purchase this bike would be new to riding, and they will probably drop it quite often! So the design needed to be heavy duty.

Below is a list of things I actually measured, and some of these mods can be done for free! Just requires you to put in the time with your hack and slash tools.

Please note, only do this if you don’t care about resale value :)

1) Gauge Cluster Cowl -1.1 lb
Removing it allows you have a nice view of all the crap underneath, but I feel its more race bike like! But I also cleaned it up re-routing the front wires through the center under the triple tree. To mount back the gauge cluster, you need to hack the back of the gauge cluster cowl, press your gauge into the rubber grommets, and then strap it down with zap ties weaving through the front fairing stay. I found the front fairings easier to re-install. Downside also is it may compromise the crashability of the fairings. No rattles detected while riding high speeds either.

2) Inner Fairing modifications -0.75 lb
I took a garden scissor and did a hack job cutting away the bottom portions of the inner fairing. Made a trapezoid hole on each side. Also I removed the inner side covers that just served as running the oem turn signal wire. Downside is I think the bike was not as aerodynamic as before, but its probably all in my head! Does the CB500F have a lower top speed than the R? Probably not by much?

3) Front fender X fender brace -0.5 lb
I got rid of the metal X fender brace. My previous bikes never had this, and I did not notice any difference in handling.
Downside is now you must reach into the fender to use a nut to tighten down some of the screws.

4) Rider and Passenger seats, passenger strap, and reflectors -1.675 lb
I’m not a heavy guy, nor I’m never going to take passengers, so I drilled large holes in the bottom of the seat pans and took away most of the passenger areas where I could, enough to have structure so it doesn’t fly apart. Or crack under my weight. Also I removed the oem stock covers and replaced them with synthetic suede fabric materials from Luimoto. the material is lighter than marine grade vinyl by an ounce or 2. I also replaced the stock reflectors/metal brackets with a thin strip of silver reflective vinyl on each side of the front fender.

5) Removed trunk key lock/front bracket stay (under triple tree) -0.46 lb
I don’t keep anything important under my trunk, so just got rid of it and taped a carbon fibre sticker with a plastic under the hole. To secure the passenger seat I use 3M hook and loop stickers where the seat contacts the subframe. It’s very strong and hasn’t flown off at speeds over 150 km/h

5) Modified subframe -2.375 lb
Dreaming this idea for a while, I was hoping to drop like 10lb. Behind the rider, I hacked and slash one side of pipe completely, and a bit of the other side. I also drilled multiple speed holes for added HP. I left one side to hold onto where the passenger seat slides in and tail fairing bolts into, also where the fender eliminator bolts into so they are still rigid. It took me a couple hours a night to do this, and I was hoping for a big result…… Yes I was disappointed through all that effort. I probably could have cut a little more bar to get another .25lb, but I’m done with that.. Ah well. One more bonus trait. More trunk space! I could fit two bottles of water. Before I could only fit 1 bottle. Negatives: increased vibrations through your spine and hands if doing touring (more than 3 hours). When you get off the bike, your whole bodies vibrating… But it was my first time doing an 8 hour ride on the bike. So I’m not 100% sure how much it actually contributed to vibrations. You also lose the built in grab handles and no passengers obviously.

5) Tool kit and instruction manual -1.25 lb
Don’t need this, I have a BCAA membership that comes tow me when I’m in trouble.

6) MWR air filter -0.7 lb
Just put this in 2 days ago. It removes the oem metal filter and black funnel, cut off a square plastic, and 2 screws. I was surprised with the weight savings. the MWR filter weighs only 2 ounces.

7) Lithium ion battery, battery strap, and 2 thin metal wire holders -5.84 lb
The stock battery weighs 7.5lb and the lithium ion battery is only 1.75lb.
Negatives, none! I even ditched the rubber battery strap. I added some soft closed cell foam tape under the rider seat so it makes contact with the battery while riding so it doesn’t move.

8) Motoholders aluminum front fairing stay for street -1lb
I was hoping for a bigger difference, well anyway, no refunds. I think I might be the only one in the world with this as it was made through a custom email inquiry lol. If you decide to go this route, tell them to not weld on the 4 wire tab holders. Don’t really need those. Only need the mounts for the headlight and front cowl. That will probably lighten yours up a little more than 1lb. I do like the bling though, and you can also get it in natural aluminum finish.
Negatives - expensive, came out to $200 US (includes shipping from Czech Republic) Also you gotta snip a bit of a tab behind the headlight.


Thats all the significant things I can think of for now… I’ll update as I do more stuff!

Below is a list of weights of different stock components for your reference only. Unfortunately I do not have some of the measurements compared to the related aftermarket parts on my bike as I wasn’t obsessed at the time.

stock rider seat 1.8 lb
stock battery 7.5 lb
stock rear set Left with shifter 1.5 lb
stock rear set Right 2 lb
stock rear set plastic carbon look covers 0.25 lb
stock chain guard 0.5 lb.
stock clip ons and bar ends pair 4 lb
stock levers 0.5 lb
stock mirrors 1.5 lb
reflectors and passenger strap 0.3 lb
stock license plate rear fender 3 lb
front fender brace 0.5 lb
x2 stock passenger pegs 1.75 lb
x4 stock signals 1 lb
stock slipon 9.25 lb
stock front fairing stay 2.2lb
stock LED headlights 2016 model 3.68 lb

Happy modding!! :D
 

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#21 ·
Oh, that's a fairly old picture, installed those a whike ago already. Sad thing is that the chasis is not ready yet to get them into use (and to the dyno) some parts still at the powder coaters, some under manufacturing and I also have tons of other stuff with family, hobbeies and such. Good thing is that it's anyway 4 degrees and rainig for the last ten days so not missing riding that much.
 
#27 ·
Measured these.
Both are 17mm solid shafts.
Front is approx 340mm total length, 34mm dia 25 at one end, and M14 (just a guess, did not measure thread dia) at the other. 470gr
Rear is 430mm total lenth, Large hex head at one end, M17 thread on the other (23 mm length of thread) 600gr

I assume that a good 150-200gr could be saved easily on both ends. probably more if going up to 20mm hollow shaft and changing 17mmID bearings to 20mm in same width. Also spacers both internal and external could be changed to ally - for another good 150-200gr saving together. If one has access to a lathe shedding some weight is absolutely possible.
 
#22 ·
I happened to have a crazy idea the other day while staring at the swing arm on my bike. Does anyone know if the single sided arm from the NT 650 Hawk would fit on the 500's frame? I'm pretty sure everything from the shock to the wheels and brakes would also need to be changed but I'm thinking that not only would that look really cool but might knock a few pounds off the weight. (only if it can be installed with minimal fuss and doesn't alter wheelbase by too much)
 
#26 ·
Good spot.
I've looked through EPC (Electronic Parts Catalog), and found no trace of a cross drilled front axle. In fact all three models from 2013 to date seem to have the same part number front axle.
I can only imagine that the bike on the picture is a pre-production bike. Also looking at the picture in higher size, it appears to be a shallow hole, one that is most likely been used to center it on lathe during production.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Although I have a nice opening in my airbox combined with new air filter (proven power) I was wondering how to move even more air to that area without resorting to home made scoops. I noticed from the 2016 side panel honda actually has already built in air scoops on 2016 models. I enlarged the holes by 40% and made a third one to allow more airflow to the airbox. Not sure if its going to help, but nothing else better to do after work! ?
 

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#30 · (Edited)
hmm.. thinking need to do more... going to cut 2 slats into the side panel. its a dual layered side panel so the under layer I could cut a downward angled grill in the second layer to prevent too much of the wet elements going in.. Inspired by Mika perez race bike with a gaping hole... attached my awesome sketching skills with my fat thumb.....We will see! surely air will make its way in there when moving around on the seat at speed, and especially the angle of the fairing pointing to it. Anyway all just theoried but more points of entry cant be bad
 

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