The Fastest Postie Bike

The Story

 

Started in 2022, the second build in the Crane-o garage. A build that I was looking forward too starting for a long time. I'm a postie myself and one day I was looking at the bike thinking you could probably fit a 1000cc engine in there, so it got mye thinking. The CT110 is such an iconic bike especially here in Australia, and they have heaps more room for activities. 

 

One morning I saw an old CT110 up for sale for $200. Wasn't really looking for one at that time, nor did I have any cash spare, so I let it go. That afternoon it was still for sale but for $100. Now that was a deal I could not pass up. Picked it up 30 minutes later. The bike wasn't running at the time. But after cleaning up the carb, I was riding it around the backyard. 

 

It took a while before I was ready to start the project, but I knew I wanted a modern 1000cc. Wanted something with at least traction control as it is gonna be pretty rowdy. It also had to be a Honda engine. I ended up with a wrecked Honda VFR1200. Not exactly what I was after, but it was a deal, and V4's are amazing. Honda claims they have 170hp at the crank, so the engine has potential. By the way, that's over 20 times more powerful than stock. 

 

The VFR engine is shaft drive which makes this build a bit tricky. But I have plans to convert it to chain drive, machine a new side case and output shaft. Should pick up a bit of power, as the stock driveshaft assembly weighed almost 20kg.

 

Now that I have a bike and an engine. Time to get started. The 1200 is quite a bit bigger so I had to cut a bit of the CT frame to make the engine fit. After building the new engine mounts and getting the engine in, the wheelbase was only extended 5cm compared to the stock CT. Added a bit more rake to help with stability at high speed. 

 

Unfortunately the VFR did not come with a key. Australian bikes have an immobiliser, and Honda do not make it easy to get around them. So I decided it would be easier to get a new ECU. So I got my hands on a Haltech Elite 1500, a very very nice bit of kit, and will let me run a lot more stuff than the stock ECU could. Such as traction control, auto blipper(clutchless full throttle up and down shifts), launch control. 

 

There is no official Guinness World Record so it is hard to verify who actually holds the current record but I believe it is 206 km/h which the CT1200 will do on the back wheel. The CT1200 is far front stock but neither is the current record holder, they all have some sort of modified frame. I will try my best to keep it looking as stock as possible. Unfortunately I'll have to switch out some suspension and brake components for safety.

 

The biggest challenge so far in this build is fitting everything on the bike. Not only do I have to fit an engine that's over 10 times that original displacement, it needs an ECU, Battery, fuse box, ignitor module, rectifier, fuel pump, fuel regulator, wideband controller, dash. I’ve managed to keep the stock battery box as is to house the lithium battery and ignitor module. The air box has been slightly modified, as it is more of a cover now for the ECU. And I've made a hollowed out seat with carbon fibre to house the fuse box, rectifier and wide band controller.

 

I have big plans for this build, and its just beginning so stay tuned!