My new Project.. From Chop to...
Discussion
The Suzuki GSXR 750 K8 disc I was given needed an adaptor making to mount it to the hub, its not very pretty but it will do for now, it can be drilled / lightened / shaped later. The disc bolts aren't anything special (far too expensive), they're just standard hex head bolts which have been 'tickled' in the lathe.
I'll wait a few days for the sealant to fully cure before getting a tyre fitted and polishing the rims.
I'll wait a few days for the sealant to fully cure before getting a tyre fitted and polishing the rims.
Edited by Merch131 on Saturday 29th November 20:58
Still waiting for the coil and tacho to arrive, till then don't want to start making the wiring harness. I really want to get the bike running and on the dyno before mid December, so I've been scratching around for the final bits to get it running asap. For example, I didn't have the correct size HD throttle cable, so I modified an old cable I was given to work with the Mikuni carb, it works fine, pity about the colour, beggars cant be choosers 
The front wheel turned out to be airtight thankfully, with a used (free) tyre the bike was finally on its wheels, so I could push it outside and make brmmmm brummmm noises when nobody was looking. But not before I had the local machine shop extend the M18 thread a few mm to match the slightly wider than standard yokes. This didn't come cheap.. cost me a box of Mr Kiplings finest Mince pies...
Also made a simple hand change and finally got the clutch adjustment right.
Picked up a tired ZZR1100 caliper which fits the ZXR750 forks on the bike. I've ordered new seals for it, and a trip to a bead blaster would clean up the grotty body.. think I'll need to buy another box of Mince pies
Also made a simple hand change and finally got the clutch adjustment right.
Picked up a tired ZZR1100 caliper which fits the ZXR750 forks on the bike. I've ordered new seals for it, and a trip to a bead blaster would clean up the grotty body.. think I'll need to buy another box of Mince pies
Turn7 said:
Im liing that as a roadbike tbh....
The gear change would be tricky with the rearsets, though not impossible, as I had rear sets on my last Evo drag bike. As for it being a road bike, I have a Evo big twin already with a 131 Cubic inch engine. They aren't easy to live with, one is enough for me.Done a few small jobs over xmas, the frame down tubes are thicker than those on a standard HD, so we made a couple of frame clamps to hold the clutch cable in place. The second job was to machine out the centre of the clutch/pulley cover. This exposes the clutch, so the pressure plate and push rod adjuster nuts can be accessed quickly without having to unbolt the cover each time.
Almost ready to put the bike on the dyno, though hit an unexpected problem with the starter pinion... in that there isn't one. Its a non standard part which comes with the belt primary kit, but its missing. Its either been lost or someone 'borrowed' it without asking me some time ago, will have to order a spare from the states, in the meantime its possible that the bike could be started via the dyno drum, not sure if its powerful enough.
I fitted a Tacho with a built in shift light, ideally I'd want one which red lined at 5 or 7k, but this one will do, and I'm tempted to program it to read double since max power will be made at not much more than 5k.
Made up the ignition leads which turned out to be a right pita, and sorted out the front brake spacers too.
I fitted a Tacho with a built in shift light, ideally I'd want one which red lined at 5 or 7k, but this one will do, and I'm tempted to program it to read double since max power will be made at not much more than 5k.
Made up the ignition leads which turned out to be a right pita, and sorted out the front brake spacers too.
On a different note, my mate Jeff won a bid on a few parts on Ebay last week, by one of those flukes, turns out the seller owns the first drag bike Jeff built back in the eighties, the bike that Jeff was slowly acquiring parts to replicate one day. Its been changed a bit over the years, it now has a 250cc engine, a Wade supercharger (when the original exploded!), an air shifter, hydraulic clutch and a different tank and seat etc. The home made frame and handmade yokes (the first he ever made) are still the same as is the front end. Well, turns out the chaps wife was nagging him to get rid of some of his old junk (he still has a supercharged BSA) so Jeff bought it along with a pile of spares. Including a half completed engine, which Jeff had started to build when he sold the bike more than twenty years ago. This spare 350cc engine has a much stronger home made three speed box, built by Jeff using CB750 parts, as running it on Nitro used to break the standard box regularly.
I'll no doubt be roped in to help out here and there, be interesting to see how it turns out.
I'll no doubt be roped in to help out here and there, be interesting to see how it turns out.
Back to my bike, which I've not had much time to work on recently, so I'm behind where I'd planned to be with it, not that it really matters, I'll still get to race it this summer (fingers crossed)..
The fork brace made for the 43mm forks was originally meant for yokes which were 4mm wider, I thought that I'd have to make a new centre section. But with some machining and 'stretching' the mounting holes by a couple of mm each side it was made to fit.
The fork brace made for the 43mm forks was originally meant for yokes which were 4mm wider, I thought that I'd have to make a new centre section. But with some machining and 'stretching' the mounting holes by a couple of mm each side it was made to fit.
Finding a home for the electrics has been a pain, there isn't much in the way of space anywhere convenient on the bike. In the end, I ended up making this card template to hold the ignition key and idiot lights, and maybe double as a home for the choke lever. Then got it made in 1.5mm stainless sheet, it bolts to the tank mounts..
Also had a go at sticking down some foam to the seat base, tricky to cut it neatly, but I tell myself its not a show bike and it'll do for now.
Also had a go at sticking down some foam to the seat base, tricky to cut it neatly, but I tell myself its not a show bike and it'll do for now.
The wiring is all done, bar sorting out the kill switch which is part of the air shifter, cant do that until I make a mount for it. In the meantime I'm waiting for some 5/16 unc bolts to be delivered, which will be needed to make a start on making a guard for the primary belt. I hit a problem with the Yuasa battery, it was too tall to allow the seat to fit, despite being the correct spec for a softail. Turns out softail seats have a cut out in the base to clear the battery, unlike my homemade seat.
The solution was to buy a Lithium battery, which at 1020 grams had the bonus of being 5kg lighter than the Yuasa, though I could've without the £150 cost.. On the bright side my local bike shop gave me a couple of gallons of fully synthetic oil for free. I'd feel guilty about using it straight away, as the oil will be changed after the first 50 miles .. say an hour on the dyno, which would be a real waste of the synthetic oil. Plus it may be too good to allow proper bedding in of the bores etc.
I was on the look out for some cheap 20w/50 to do the running in. Cheapest I could find at Asda was £10 for 5ltrs and that's semi synthetic, so I bought a couple of cans. I guess that's the standard now, as mineral oil is more expensive and is being pushed for classic cars.
The solution was to buy a Lithium battery, which at 1020 grams had the bonus of being 5kg lighter than the Yuasa, though I could've without the £150 cost.. On the bright side my local bike shop gave me a couple of gallons of fully synthetic oil for free. I'd feel guilty about using it straight away, as the oil will be changed after the first 50 miles .. say an hour on the dyno, which would be a real waste of the synthetic oil. Plus it may be too good to allow proper bedding in of the bores etc.
I was on the look out for some cheap 20w/50 to do the running in. Cheapest I could find at Asda was £10 for 5ltrs and that's semi synthetic, so I bought a couple of cans. I guess that's the standard now, as mineral oil is more expensive and is being pushed for classic cars.
Also had to dismantle the clutch and lock tight in the six stubs which the pressure plate slides on, as a couple had come lose. Wasn't difficult and didn't take long, one of the advantages of running an open belt drive. The one thing that needed a little care was making sure the springs which hold the clutch plates together were all equally torqued down to the clearance given in the instructions.. in this case 0.350 inch proud of the pressure plate.
By compressing these six yellow springs a little more the clutch can take more HP without slipping, at the expense of a heavier clutch pull.
By compressing these six yellow springs a little more the clutch can take more HP without slipping, at the expense of a heavier clutch pull.
Edited by Merch131 on Thursday 23 April 17:43
With the oil tank filled, I turned it over on the starter with the ignition off to get some oil through the engine, then put a few litres of petrol in the tank and prepared to start it for the first time. The starter has its own push button which overrides the solenoid, so to simplify the wiring and for other reasons too (may use Nitrous Oxide later), the power to the starter bypasses the ignition switch. This means I can turn the engine over with the plugs out in this case without any power going to the electronic ignition system.
With the plugs back in, the ignition was switched on and I pushed the starter button... result not much happened.
I could hear the starter trying to work but the primary belt wasn't moving. I released the button but it didn't feel right, it didn't spring back out as it should. It took a second or two to realise the starter pinion was jammed and power was still going to the starter. The one circuit which isn't fused.. not good. I quickly unbolted the leads from the battery, after which the battery didn't seem to have any power.. double not good, I'd only bought it a couple of days ago, if the lithium battery had totalled drained, it could be knackered.
I lifted it out of the bike to check it over, and nearly dropped it.. it was too hot to hold on too. Not just warm, but ouch that hurts hot. Those Dreamliner 747's had the same problem. Once it had cooled down, I tested it, and all seemed well thankfully.
Back to the starter problem, I removed the pinion cover and found the pinion jammed into the ring gear before its teeth could engage correctly. I've seen this before, sometimes happens particularly with new parts which haven't bedded in yet. There's a spring inside the starter pinion which should disengage the starter when the button is let go, I think it could do with being stronger. I'll try again when I have some help. Back indoors, I consoled myself by ordering the custom brake lines from HEL, and finished off the stand offs which will be used as part of the primary belt guard. I have a second primary belt kit, so I could use its back plate for making the guard.
With the plugs back in, the ignition was switched on and I pushed the starter button... result not much happened.
I could hear the starter trying to work but the primary belt wasn't moving. I released the button but it didn't feel right, it didn't spring back out as it should. It took a second or two to realise the starter pinion was jammed and power was still going to the starter. The one circuit which isn't fused.. not good. I quickly unbolted the leads from the battery, after which the battery didn't seem to have any power.. double not good, I'd only bought it a couple of days ago, if the lithium battery had totalled drained, it could be knackered.
I lifted it out of the bike to check it over, and nearly dropped it.. it was too hot to hold on too. Not just warm, but ouch that hurts hot. Those Dreamliner 747's had the same problem. Once it had cooled down, I tested it, and all seemed well thankfully.
Back to the starter problem, I removed the pinion cover and found the pinion jammed into the ring gear before its teeth could engage correctly. I've seen this before, sometimes happens particularly with new parts which haven't bedded in yet. There's a spring inside the starter pinion which should disengage the starter when the button is let go, I think it could do with being stronger. I'll try again when I have some help. Back indoors, I consoled myself by ordering the custom brake lines from HEL, and finished off the stand offs which will be used as part of the primary belt guard. I have a second primary belt kit, so I could use its back plate for making the guard.
I weighed the bike today, including oil and a full tank of petrol... came to 94kg on the front tyre and 118kg on the rear, giving a total of 212kg or 467lbs. Not exactly featherweight but not bad considering the engine and transmission weigh in at a hefty 300lbs on their own. The frame is 65lbs and with a new chrome moly frame I could lose 20lbs from that, at the expense of £1200. So I doubt I'll go down that route for awhile, though the axle adjuster on the current frame are cast and look to be quite heavy, so that's an area where a pound or two could be saved in the future, along with machining a bit more off the rear wheel. Its heavier than it needs to be, more than the equivalent modern sports bike wheel, though its staying as I like it.
A cheaper option is for the nut holding the handlebars to lose a few kilos, so that's in (slow) progress now
A cheaper option is for the nut holding the handlebars to lose a few kilos, so that's in (slow) progress now
Finished 99% of the work now, it starts with the help of a external car battery, it'll probably start better when its got some miles on the engine. That has to wait for it to go on the dyno for a few hours. Not sure when that will be, as my mates dyno is fully booked at this time of year.
The belt guard was made with rolled stainless plate and alloy stand offs, I still need to finish the chain guard, also made from folded stainless.
The belt guard was made with rolled stainless plate and alloy stand offs, I still need to finish the chain guard, also made from folded stainless.
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