Vn1600tcms

[andyvh1959]

In the vein of Harley alphabet model codes, the conversion of my VN1600 Classic to a Tour Classic Mean Streak (VN1600TCMS) has begun, a bit. I recently swapped out the stock 16" rear wheel/bias-ply tire, with a 17" rear wheel/radial from a Mean Streak. Its a direct replacement without any mods. I like the lighter look of the Mean Streak wheel and shorter side wall of the radial tire. Plus there is a good selection of 17" radial tires in good load range options.

Up front I fitted the Mean Streak front wheel/discs, and the wheel mounts into the Classic fork with no mods. It uses the same axle and spacers as the stock VN1600 Classic front wheel. However, the Mean Streak discs are much larger in diameter, requiring the Classic calipers to be mounted further from the fork legs. The center to center distance of the discs on the Mean Streak are 1/8"narrower, which the caliper mount pins should allow. I'll make the caliper brackets needed to fit the Classic brake calipers to the Mean Streak discs.

Another change: I just don't like the flat top/stodgy looking front fender of the Classic. A front fender from a Yamaha 1300 has a much better shape, and mounts to the Classic forks with minimal mod and some spacers. Plus, with the Mean Streak front wheel it looks like a Hugger style fender but still allows plenty of clearance underneath.

I'm looking forward to the sportier, lighter look of the Mean Streak wheels and Yamaha fender on my VN1600 Classic. I have a set of Nomad hard bags I'll also mount, along with V&H true Duals, to go with the tour box I already added. I think it has real potential. I'll post some pics soon.

[VulcanJeff]

Can't wait to see it!

[andyvh1959]

Here are some "development" pics of my VN1600TCMS. The last pic with the fairing on it is a rough idea of the look with the early 80s vintage Pacifico frame mounted fairing in place. When done, it'll have GPS, stereo/mp3/USB, all the goodies.

[DragonLady58]

.....Looks good! The big old bikes with the Vetters on them looked good....and the pacifico's.....
A little massaging on the fairing brackets, she'll fit....has that vintage early tour glide look.... which is also hard to beat a frame mounted fairing on long road trips....

[andyvh1959]

HA! I knew you'd respond eventually. Thanks for the comments. I mounted the same fairing on a buddy's VN900 four years ago and it turned out so good I decided I'd find a VN1600 for myself to build my 1st big cruiser. My wife prefers riding this versus my BMW R1200RT. I anxious to feel how well the bigger discs on the front perform braking wise. The stock brakes on the Classic are good, but I bet with the Mean Streak full floater discs and SS braided hoses it'll really feel good. I can't leave much alone, as I plan to mod the forks for air ride and improved damping. The Classic handles well, just some tweaks to make it better.

I'll make my own mount for the Pacifico fairing, something like how a Road Glide fairing mounts on a Harley. I even have a gauge set and wiring harness from a Vaquero that I hope to mount in the Pacifico fairing. Big plans but so far it appears everything will fit with some custom work. When all done I'll have a custom full dresser, with the heart of a Mean Streak.

[DragonLady58]

That front fender would look killer with a Harley 21" or a 23" up front....yea, it takes awhile when your custom fitting stuff.
Took me 2 years to get the Road Glide fairing ready for my bike....then, someone offered me twice what I had in it, so it went. Last year I picked up a perfect Pacifico Aero, all the covers, grills, locks, everything is in perfect shape. Its waiting paint for when I repaint my tins....

[andyvh1959]

Here is my friend's VN900 with the Pacifico Shadow I modified and mounted for him. I installed a stereo and LED spotlights in place of the large diameter turn signals. I had to cut material out inside the fairing to allow for the swing of the big fork legs, and also to clear around the fuel tank. I was able to heat weld and solvent weld ABS plastic into the cut areas. Made for a solid modification that has held up to four years of riding.

After I finished that project for him, I found two more of the same fairing on craigslist. One for $40, some cosmetic issues, but complete with the air flow vents. Another for $80, complete and perfect like it just came out of the shipping crate. The $40 fairing with the fresh air vents is going on my Classic project. Those older Vetter and Pacifico fairings are big, but the wind/weather protection is great, and the storage for light weight items like rain gear, gloves, etc is great compared to the newer faring designs.

[BrokeAss]

Just need some Drifter bits somewhere...don't leave out the Drifter bits!!!

[andyvh1959]

Got the Yamaha fender mounted, still using the stock Classic front wheel/tire. That'll be changed out soon to the Mean Streak front wheel/tire/brakes. I weighed the Classic versus Mean Streak wheel/tire assembly, and the Mean Streak wheel/tire is 7.5 pounds lighter. Quite a difference, even though the front brake discs on a MS wheel are 20mm larger in diameter. But the disc carriers on the MS are much more open than on the Classic. I suspect too, that the rear Mean Streak wheel/tire is also much lighter than the Classic wheel/tire.

I have the caliper mounts figured out so I can get them welded up. I had an extra set of Classic calipers, so I used the mounts to cut them as needed to be welded to the original caliper mounts to suit the larger diameter discs, and allow for the narrower spacing between the Mean Streak discs. Once installed the welded up caliper mounts won't be too obvious.

Once I get the Pacifico fairing mounted, along with the huge tail trunk, and the big Nomad hard bags I'll have a LOT of storage space. The Pacifico Shadow fairing has lots of room inside for lightweight/bulky stuff like rain gear, gloves, etc.

[VulcanJeff]

That looks sharp! The 900 too.

[mbarr10]

Lookin Good.

[andyvh1959]

Thanks for the compliments. I feel the Pacifico fairing, with a few updates really has a "vintage Vaquero" kind of look. I feel those old Pacifico and Vetter fairings have a new place on metric cruisers, especially with the lines of a big cruiser, and lower windshield than was commonly fitted to them back in the early 80's.

I weighed the Classic rear wheel tire assembly, and it is heavy! Almost 51 pounds. When I mount a new rear tire I'll weigh the Mean Streak wheel tire assembly and I bet it'll save close to ten pounds of weight on the bike.

[andyvh1959]

Got my 1st installation of the Mean Streak front wheel/discs completed on my Classic. I say 1st, because I have to make another set of caliper mounts to reposition the calipers better than I had done the 1st time. It works for now, but the wear range on the outside pad will be limited.

My initial setup, I used an extra set of caliper mounts that I cut up and had welded to the original caliper mounts, which offset each caliper to the centerline of the bike 0.625". Well, that is too much offset. I could just get the pads in the calipers to slide over the discs after I fully compressed the pistons in the calipers.

So, it works for now. But this winter I'll remake the caliper mounts to fine tune the caliper position relative to the brake discs. I like the look though, I think the Mean Streak wheels look much better than the stock Classic wheels. Plus the combination of the MS wheels, discs, and 17" radial tires weigh a lot less than the stock Classic wheels/tires.

Of course anytime you get new tires the bike handles much easier and quicker. But it seems even better with the rounder profile radial tires. The 17" radial tires are very close in overall diameter to the stock Classic bias-ply tire sizes, but the sidewalls are much lower. Generally that means more repsonsive handling. Hey, if anyone has two or four of the Classic caliper mounts (ones with the slide pins) I'll buy them.

[BrokeAss]

As long as you're fabbing caliper adapters, may as well make them for the early Mean Streak 6-piston calipers and get the full benefit. Be sure to get the master cylinder from that year range as well.

[andyvh1959]

Yeah, I thought of that as well. But the mount spread for the 1500 MS caliper is much greater than the lug spacing on the Classic fork legs. Also the caliper mounts must clear the rotor mount buttons. On the MS, the caliper mount is integral to the caliper body and the rotor buttons spin behind the caliper. On my Classic, the rotor buttons just clear the caliper mounts.

The disc spacing on the MS is 6.126" center to center to each other compared to the Classic at 6.250". Keep in mind too, that brake torque on the wheel is mainly a function of the disc diameter. On the MS the disc diameter is 20mm larger than on the Classic, so either the 4-pot caliper of the Classic or 6-pot caliper of the MS grip the rotors on the same radial centerline from the axle. What a 6-pot versus 4-pot caliper really gives is feel, as the calipers are designed to spread the clamping action over a greater area of the rotor. A lot of "feel" improvement on the 4-pot caliper can be achieved with different brake pads and S/S braided brake hoses. I will be installing the S/S hoses this winter.

All in all, the easiest swap would have been to mount the entire 1500 MS forks assembly with the MS wheel/rotors onto the Classic, and then use the Yamaha 1100 front fender. The Yammy fender has mount tabs that are closer together and likely would fit the lug spacing on the 1500 MS fork legs.