The 799RS project has gone through some twists and turns, starting out as pretty much just an exercise in using up some take-offs, race spares, and stuff that wasn't quite good enough to use but too good to throw out. I'm not, and it is never going to be, the show-bike type, but one of the things that strayed the build from the path of just using what was lying around the shed was a Febur swingarm.
1.8kg lighter than stock and a tad longer, once it was in place throwing any old crap at the build and seeing what stuck wasn't really going to cut it (yes the 'arm is the right way up)
After machining some Ti bushes and alloy spacers...:
... I'm happier than a dog with 2 dicks:
Who doesn't like some eye candy? The same swingarm on Febur's own display/project build:
Hmmm. that raw aluminium is also giving me plenty to think about vs the black finish... (cheesy paraphrase: "I am alloy, hear me raw!")
But, fast forward a couple of shit years and the build that I never ever intended to go down the RS-clone route, has slowly but surely been guided there by a confluence of circumstances beyond my conscious control. An RS tail/seat unit here, an RS radiator there, some genuine F06 fairings too close and too cheap to ignore, with some other RS sprinkles on top, etc etc. Don't get me wrong, these aren't problems, there have been plenty of those to know the difference, it's just not how I originally imagined things going.
Cutting to the chase, I sorta surrendered to fate: when the chance to purchase a slightly damaged, and a good price because of it, genuine RS Termignoni 63.5mm exhaust came along, I took it. I'm actually reasonably happy with the home-brewed unit, the "texture" kinda suits the tough junkyard dog I originally envisaged and the muffler weighs exactly the same as the genuine article, but the genuine RS pipes are thinner and therefore lighter by a full 1kg...although I wasn't sold on the polished finish:
One pipe was dented and, if you look closely, the lower bracket is broken:
The bracket was an easy fix even for my quality-challenged welding, I even gritted my teeth and polished it to a matchy-matchy finish, despite it rubbing my fur completely the wrong way.
The dent was not so easy. After trialling the time-honoured method of filling with water and freezing multiple times, then pressurised and heated red-hot, I reached a point where the elasticity of the material could not be overcome. It would improve, but then as soon as the pressure/heat was removed it would relax back into the dented shape.
The best gains happen in the first couple of efforts, then it's just rapidly diminishing returns after that. My ability to pressurise the pipe was limited by my setup, "plumber's plugs" achieving maybe 35psi (measured on a very battered 40 year old compressor gauge, so who really knows) before the plugs would attempt a low-Earth orbit (restraints were fitted following atmosheric re-entry):
All in all it probably wasn't worth the effort, maybe 50% smaller (?), but it was an interesting albeit frustrating exercise:
Yes, I coulda/shoulda wrapped the pipe (the "soft-jaws" caused no damage) but I was getting pretty frustrated by this stage and the pipe came very close to following the plugs into orbit.
Once it was obvious I was only making micro-gains I could reward my lack of success by finally fitting the bloody thing....
....except it wouldn't fukn fit!
I'm not talking a slight mismatch, there was a major clash between the vertical cylinder header and Febur swingarm, leaving the pipe 30mm from seating:
That header section is just one long shallow curve but the Febur arm is obviously designed more for exhausts like the 57mm LV with it's straighter, more vertical pipe sections as you can see on the 749R:
So this is the offending area:
I actually contacted Febur for guidance, not really expecting too much.....but they were fan-bloody-tastic, getting back to me quick-smart. A brief too and fro resulted in the only path forward if I wanted to use this parts combination: I would have to cut a small section from the arm and weld in a curved patch to reshape the area. There was no problem at their end from a structural point of view if done by a competent welder....hmmmm, "competent", being the critical word here.....
But, there are people and companies who have done exactly this sort of thing to 1*98 swingarms to allow a 200/60 profile rear tyre:
Side-note, if you want to sound sexy to your better half while talking bike stuff, whisper "modifica forcellone" in their ear and they'll be putty in your hands...
But back to my problem (it's all about me, don'tcha know). A year or so ago, I was lucky enough to get up close and personal with some WSBK loveliness when I played the part of "freight forwarder" for a buddy in the UK who had purchased the holy grail, a Bursi swingarm, from Downunder. This is exactly what was used on the Factory F0 bikes and many RS's back in the day. It was interesting comparing the two at the time, but even more so now with my current problem. Here the Bursi 'arm is upside down but gives a great look at the exhaust cutaway:
And here it is the right way up:
So the Febur arm can be modified....the question I'm struggling with is: should I?
I'm seeing my options as:
1/ Keep the home-brewed exhaust/Febur combo and stare at the resulting Termi wall-art the way a dog stares inside a butcher's shop window.
2/ Modify the Febur arm and fit the RS exhaust
3/ Stop drinking for a year to rehabilitate my kidneys then offer one for sale to pay for a genuine RS/F0 'arm (Bursi, Pierobon, Lusuardi etc)
The way things have gone, despite my best intentions, the RS arm is the "best" option from a physical perspective, but jeezus, the bike is a complete mongrel worth nothing to anybody else, and even if I find a buyer for that kidney do I really want to spend the value of a half-decent GSXR1000 on a swingarm? If I can find one? And as sure as Tamburini is God, it will be on the other side of the world and cost me the other kidney to ship it down to Australia....(insert heavy sigh here). Can a man live without kidneys?
Oh shit, now I've just sold both kidneys and I desperately need a drink....
