You'll like this So apart from the graphics.. its done

[Jaws]

It has taken a long time.. The actual build including the upside down forks and th single sided swing arm took less than a week.. The paint took 5 years 4 months to get back !!!

This is what I started with.. It was Pugwash's old one and had stood in his garden under a bush for yonks.. What was not green and manky was seized solid









So the first thing I did was this



And then added the swing arm





Next thing was knock up a new sub frame that would take a Ducati 916 seat cowl







Continued in next post................

 

[Jaws]

Next thing was to cut shut melt and mould the arse end to make it fit the tank better



Then I used a Bird single seat cowl from Powerbronze over the hole where a pillion seat would be




With the rear end basically finished I turned my attention to the front and fitted the forks from a Kawasaki ZX12R




With that job done I went back to the back end of the bike and done a bit more cosmetic work to it. fitting a silencer ( £23 from eBay, sold as fitting a 125 Thumper pit bike ) and machined up a master cylinder for the rear brake



All of this was completed years ago.....

Then after what seemed an eternity I got word that the plastics were ready to collect..
Spent today doing the final build
First the Kawasaki front mudguard




Then the nose cone




Continued in next post

 

[Jaws]

Screen and mirrors next. I have retained the front indicators in the mirrors, just changed them for something more up to date



Then it was the tank and seat cowl back on



You can see in this picture the bar risers I had to design and make to ensure the bars cleared the tank and dash





Seat hump next




And finally the side panels..
After years of selling thousands of crash bungs, I had to machine a pair up for my self !!







The rear indicators are two fold..
Integral with the tail light, and a second set to keep it legal ( minimum distance apart nowadays ) set inside the vents of the seat cowl



I have tried to keep it in the spirit of the Bird, and I think I have managed it.. It is still recogniseable as a CBR1100 XX


Of, and by the way........ Took it for a very quick ( in every sense of the word ) test run.. Glad to be able to report is goes as well as it looks

 

[noobie]

Given you've gone so far out there John, had you considered a different front fairing or was that bracket/Space dependent? I was thing more gixxa front or fireblade could they have been made to fit?

 

[andyBeaker]

Good stuff john.

I always thought the Bird would look good in white.

 

[Squag1]

Cool.
Big job

 

[Dickiebird]

Any chance of a limited edition production run, John ? If so, put me down for one !

 

[Jaws]

Given you've gone so far out there John, had you considered a different front fairing or was that bracket/Space dependent? I was thing more gixxa front or fireblade could they have been made to fit?

No mate... I wanted to retain the basic bird look
Anything will fit anything given a bit of work

 

[andyBeaker]

No mate... I wanted to retain the basic bird look
Anything will fit anything given a bit of work

You have kept the good looking stuff at the front and got rid of the hideous stock rear plastics.

This is a good thing.

 

[Jaws]

Any chance of a limited edition production run, John ? If so, put me down for one !

Not really mate.. To be honest I am pretty much past it to be honest.. Every thing is hard work !
But I do appreciate what you said.... Thank you

 

[DEG5Y]

I do like an 'albino' blackbird. Hope the graphics are nice and tasteful.

 

[Jaws]

I do like an 'albino' blackbird. Hope the graphics are nice and tasteful.

Welllllllllllllllll
It is all black and white
I have contacted the management of the group Madness and got permission to use their logo as the main graphic..and the theme will continue on the smaller ones
Having them made up as one offs

And these are the small ones I will be using

 

[Jaws]

This is what I sent to Madness

Hi,
over the past few years I have been building a somewhat modified Honda Blackbird motorcycle..
It is almost complete,with the fairing and plastics coming back from paint next week

In its present guise it is all white and black.... My daughter took one look at it and asked if the bike had been built for Suggs.. the colour scheme just screams Madness

With that in mind, I would like to call the bike Madness and use the following graphic on the side panels

Rather than just do it without asking, I thought it polite and for the best to seek your permission

The bike will be shown at various events next year

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you



And this is what I got back

Hi John

Thanks for getting in touch and running this past us.

Is the bike for your private use or will it be sale at events next year?

Sound like a beauty, would love to see a picture.

All the best,
Tony

Hannah Management Ltd

To which I replied

Thanks for getting back to me Tony.
It is indeed just for my own use.
I have no intentions of selling it !
After five years of working on it that is the last thing I intend to do

When it is complete I will send you pictures...

Basically ( now the boring bit ) it was a sort of barn find, having been stood up for ten years.
Normally old Blackbirds still make a couple of grand ( welllll. it is a 184 mph bike ), but I got the heap for £500...... complete with a bit of tree that had grown through it

It now has a single sided swing arm from a yank Honda Interceptor, upside down forks from a Kawasaki ZX12R, and seat cowl from a Ducati 916 on a hand made subframe..
Sort of bread and butter stuff really. The hardest part is getting the sodding thing in paint !




And straight away got this reply

Hi John

Sounds like a great project!

Great, I just wanted to check. Good of you to run by us and absolutely fine.

Looking forward to seeing the before and afters, I’m on two wheels myself.

All the best




Tony

Hannah Management Ltd

 

[vbird]

Great work John, with the bike and Hannah Management.

 

[andyBeaker]

Amazing what you can find in a bush.

 

[Jaws]

Some debate over what it is now..
Mainly Honda, second biggest bit Kwak, and smallest Ducati, so I reckon it is a HonKaDu

 

[Pow-Lo]

That looks f'ing awesome!

 

[Minkey]

it looks very smart

 

[Lee337]

Great job there John, Looks REAL good.

Now if only I hadn't sent my Bird to the scrapper...

and the knowledge...

and the skill...

 

[Ned52]

Very nice…….its good to be different.
Looks like a lot of hard work and knowhow has gone into it and even more that can't
be see.