The Beast Within...
Januarys Roadstar of the Month is Bruce "Color Me Gone..." Gilbert's georgeous red & pearl Standard. This is a 'work in progress' as you will read but the beginning stages will make even the most hardened owner wish for more. Here it is, in his words...
I find it interesting for my Roadie to be chosen "January 2000 Road Star of the month". The interesting thing is that many of her parts are strewn around the USA getting some winter changes made.
A little background might be in order. I've been riding again for the last 4 years. What I mean "again" is that I first started riding in high school. That was 30 years ago. Now, this is what I do to relax and getaway. This last year I put nearly 14,000 miles on the Road Star. North Carolina climate allows decent riding weather 12 months out of the year.
I'm the Vice President and Road Captain of Cruiser Club USA Piedmont-Triad Chapter 17. (formerly Shadow Club USA...name was changed to protect ourselves from mother Honda's legal arms) We have about 24 members and 5 of these ride Roadies.
A year ago in January, a friend and fellow CCUSA member, Bill Taborn, called me and said he had just seen his first Road Star. He told me that the Yamaha Dealer in Statesville, NC had one and it was something I needed to see. I drove about 35 miles from Winston-Salem, NC to Statesville the next day and I took one important item with me....my helmet. I saw it, I road it, I bought it. That was it... I was hooked. And mind you, I'm a guy who had an awesome looking Honda Shadow Aero that was fully customized and was happy as a clam with the bike. I worked closely with the parts and service department, not long after the purchase, to explore what you see hear. I'm still working with them on the current project, which I’ll be glad to share with you in photos, when I'm finished later this month.
One constant theme that I've kept is to give this bike the fat look. I felt I needed to concern myself with trying to keep the lines clean and non-cluttered. This is a lot easier said then done. There are so many goodies that I wanted to add, but I had to be careful to not overdue it. I have a definite concept on what the look should be. For example, I will keep the Dunlop Cruisemax wide white walls and spoked rims. The chromed mag wheels would ruin the look I'm trying for.
The customizing the Road Star has been a challenge. Mainly, due to the fact that since last January... many of us were breaking new ground and exploring new territories. Metric cruisers are not suppose to have belt drive, pushrods, air cooled, single carb and 98 cubic inches.
There were a few things that needed change on the bike immediately and the first was the exhaust. In my opinion, the Vance and Hines Longshots were the answer. The long length, mellow sound and the 220 degree heat shield had the look I was searching for. The next two additions were something I had found in Yamaha accessory catalog under the Royal Star line. One item was the replacement of the rear turn signal and license plate bracket. Another Roadie CCUSA member had bought this same bracket and said it fit Road Star and this really cleaned up the rear end. I think he was right.
. The other item was fitting the chrome Stiletto hub covers for the Royal Star to the Road Star. The next items were your basic Yamaha Road Star accessories like light bar, risers, bar clamp, rear fender rack and seat rail. The Baron's EPA removal kit was one of the great bargains. This clever items really cleans up the left side of the bike.
Now the power items were added. The first item was the high compression pistons from Patrick Racing. 10.25 to 1 ratio. Then I added the 42 mm Flatslide Mikuni Carb and Dynotek's Dyno 2000 ignition. Current figures are 68 hp and 99 ft. lbs. of torque. The power starts low and continues seamlessly with a kick in the pants at about 3000 rpm. (feels like a turbo's been added... my understanding is the high compression pistons are just starting to kick in... when a cam is available is when we will see the true results of the piston change) The redline is set at 5000. I haven't hit the rev limiter yet, since I've added the Dyno 2000 and I've tried...boy have I tried. I have all this usable power and I'm stilling getting 43 to 48 mpg on the highway.
. The new carb set up needed cables that were steel braided and Patrick Racing didn't have these yet. So, with Nigel Patrick's permission I contacted Barnett's Engineering. Barnett's a wholesaler and along with making clutches makes great cables. The same cables that you can buy from Barons. I told them what I needed and with some trial and error they sent me a set that's a perfect fit. Steel braided brake hoses,not only look nice, but with all this extra power and 700+ pounds, stops this beast under control. I highly recommend to every Roadie owner to equip your bike with steel braided brake hoses. A steel braided hose will not expand on the increase pressure of brake fluid. The fluid will be applied to the calipers without any waste. The result is better controlled braking, especially under full load.
Some of the final touches were the Pro-one chrome floorboards covers and the chrome pulley from Custom Chrome. The pulley has 70 teeth just like or stocker, but our stocker's hub has a threaded stud instead of a bolt. The holes on the pulley line up with the studs and I used chrome acorn nuts to give it that finished look.
My Christmas present this year is:
Currently, I'm getting the handlebar controls in John Barons hands for the chrome swap out program. The brake calipers and brackets have been powdercoated gloss black with the Yamaha caliper chrome accents. The stock wheels will be replaced with Hallcrafts chrome 80 spoke tubeless designed wheels with their matching spoked rotors and pulley. To top off the change, I'm going with the Yamaha/Corbin Boulevard seat for boulevarding,Yamaha/Corbin plain leather seat for touring and John Baron's lowering kit, front and rear.
Later I'll have the head work done when Nigel Patrick has perfected the performance cam and springs. My goal is 80+ hp and 110 ft. lbs. of torque (at this stage I'll need to beef up the clutch) and still tour 15,000 miles a year.
I hope to see you in Daytona, Myrtle Beach and Sturgis. I never trailer 'cause we have a saying in Cruiser Club USA....besides "Ride to eat and eat to ride" we also say "If you see my bike on a trailer, dial 911 'cause the son-a-gun has been stolen"
Man, I gotta get me a bigger lock!
Bruce "Color Me Gone" Gilbert
Winston-Salem, NC
Fastroadie@cs.com
This is one georgeous Roadie, Bruce. Keep the information coming on all of the future modifications. I for one want to see you make the HP/Torque numbers you're shooting for...
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