PROJECTS.

[Gustav O]

Finally got my bike home from my parents garage. We´ll see if I get started before April this time around.

[RatsMC]

Well.

I am finally back to work. Realizing that summer is fast approaching and working on anything when the garage is 135 degrees (57C) is about impossible.

So...

Chapter 2: Defeating the Giant Mirrors

My first thought was to figure out all of the parts and come up with a complete design for the whole front end. Then, I got bored of thinking. Realizing I had a $30 paypal credit, I bought some $20 bar-end mirror. Remarkably, they are actually decent. However, after getting them it dawned on me that they mount at exactly the same point that the handguards I wanted to put on did. So I had to decide which I wanted.

Or did I? Laying in bed one night, it occurred to me that I might be able to run the mounting screw from the handguards through both pieces.Turns out this worked perfectly. Unfortunately, while getting all the tools laid out I broke a bottle of car wash fluid in the garage and spent 45 minutes cleaning up that mess. By this time I was annoyed and forgot to take pictures of the whole thing.

The mounting went okay but since none of these parts are actually made for a Buell, I had to do a little "unfabricating" - shortening some bolts and cutting the end off of one of the handguards.

Anywho, I got the guards on and realized the bar mount simply would not fit so I got in touch with phil. Phil has graciously offered to assist with creating, out of nothing and with little but some doodles on a scrap of paper, mounts that will allow the handguards to actually serve their purpose.

Here is where the mounts need to be:



As you can see, there is not a lot of room there. phil is going to have fun with this one. If you look closely, you can see my special modification to the end of the handguard.

Since the handguards were at least in place, if not mounted correctly, I figured I'd proceed with removal of the stock mirrors.

Here is what I started with this afternoon:



Hanguards and lots of mirrors.

You'll see this later on but there was an incident resulting from this configuration.

This morning, as I was leaving for work, I rolled off the sloped suburban curb, gave it a little gas and let the clutch out. Engine stalled, bike started to fall, Jerry puts his foot out and somehow misses the ground. The next thing I knew, I and the bike were on our butts in the street. I hadn't even moved yet.

After a little analysis, I realized that when I tightened the handguard mount to the bar end, it had tightened more than I realized on the throttle grip creating a tiny bit of friction. This wasn't noticeable by feel but was just enough to affect the force I typically give the thing when starting from a stop. Just enough that the revs weren't as high as expected and dropping the clutch was too much for my lean running motor to handle.

Basically, I failed as a mechanic and as a rider in the same day.

I'll take some comfort in the fact that it is the first time I have found myself sitting in the street in 8 years. And that there wasn't a cement truck and Polish driver involved.

getting back to the work: the next step was to remove the stock mirrors (I said that already, right?). Two Torx bolts and they were loose but the turn signals needed to be disconnected which meant getting into the naughty bits of the bike.

BRAINS!



The entire rest of the work was throwing the mirrors on the garage floor.



and then realizing that was untidy and my wife would run them over without a second thought, so I put them in a pile of other parts I have removed. On top of a pile of stuff in boxes. Stuff that I haven't seen in years.



And the work is done (sort of):



Except the part where I finish it properly which means sending off these doodles to phil.

Now, doesn't that look better:





You can see the fuckered up paint from my early morning asphalt extravaganza.

[phil]

Yea....Projects!!!!

Now, doesn't that look better:

Yes mate it sure does...good job!!
I'm a fan of bark-busters they give a stern stealthy look.

...the fuckered up paint....

I presume you're talking about that god awful shiney red on the tank and seat section...

Is that a VFR i see hibernating in the corner??

[RatsMC]

Is that a VFR i see hibernating in the corner??

That is actually the F3/RC51/VFR/Hawk in the background. I haven't been running it because of some crazy registration catch-22s.

I was going to paint all that red but then I realized I was going to replace it with some hammered aluminum. But that is taking longer than expected. I did just get the last couple of tools I need to begin work. Now I just have to figure out what the hell I am doing

[Rusty Bucket USA]

Bare metal (hammered aluminum) in AZ? Really?!

Can you get a second front rotor for the left side? Or is the thing stoppie-prone enough already?

[RatsMC]

I grabbed the brakes on the freeway when I first got it and nearly landed on my head. The perimeter brakes give you pretty damn good braking force. Two of them would be like getting hit with a bat.

And I don't think you can put another one on there.

[phil]

Bare metal (hammered aluminum) in AZ? Really?!

Dont mean to be negative Rats but thats a valid point!

[RatsMC]

Lol. Yeah. Fortuantely, I don't ride around in shorts.

But seriously, once it is hot enough that the metal is an issuem it will be too hot to ride. Like most people have winters that they can't ride in, we have the same thing during the summer. Even riding without gear is all but impossible. Sitting at a stoplight in an ambient 115 degrees with heat radiating off the pavement and off the bike while the sun is beating down means a trip to the hospital.

[phil]

[RatsMC]

Wow. That is purdy. What is that swingarm from?

[phil]

Wow. That is purdy. What is that swingarm from?

RGV250M

[Rusty Bucket USA]

I was thinking more like burning your leathers, and then the important areas inside...

I've been in Colorado when it's about 75 degrees F, but you can't touch anything metal that's been left in the sunlight.

[lucy]

I'll take some comfort in the fact that it is the first time I have found myself sitting in the street in 8 years. And that there wasn't a cement truck and Polish driver involved.

Oops! Sorry to hear that, Rats.

Your bike looks tuff. Is it legal without front turn signals? Five-Oh would be all up in my shit if I tried that here.

[TwoStroke Institute]

ENOUGH of the limp wristed nancy boy projects. We can now looka t some mean mofo's. Take a Cagiva Mito subtract the engine, take a KTM 380 engine minus the running gear and add the 2 together, Voila the KTMito 380 the bike KTM should be building, up until this shot it was just measurements but you can see it is meant to be. Will be painted in Red Bull colours with Aprilia Pegaso Strada Y spoke wheels, a Maxton rear shock and RS Showa forks, Brembo 4 spots EBC Pro-lite discs,R6 radiator, programmable ignition/power valve, 41.5mm carb electronic power jet with TPS and my pipe Target weight is 100kgs with 65HP on the wheel and about 30ftlbs torque at 2000rpm. Gearing is the unkown calculations show with 2.00:1 is good for 245kmph. No kick start but rollers and 'Start Ya Bastard' to fire it up. Next will be a 'son of a KTM 500 into an Aprilia 125 frame

[RatsMC]

Whoa! Nice. I wish you could find a retired Mito frame out here. Actually, I wish you could find a Mito period. There are a couple of people with them back in Oakland (the bike capital of the US - don't let those Harley guys or the stunters tell you different) but they are kept under lock and key, only being peered upon through a crack in a garage door.

I good friend who died last year was working on strapping a CR motor in this itty bitty frame. I need to find out where that bike went to because it needs to be finished. It is his legacy.

Your bike looks tuff. Is it legal without front turn signals? Five-Oh would be all up in my shit if I tried that here.

Technically, it isn't legal without signals but I live in the land of the "custom" Harley and the helmet-mohawk squid so I am expecting that I shouldn't experience much trouble. I've never actually seen a bike pulled over down here. I will be putting signals on it, I just need to figure out design first and I need other parts in place before I will be able to know what should be where.

I was thinking more like burning your leathers, and then the important areas inside...

I've been in Colorado when it's about 75 degrees F, but you can't touch anything metal that's been left in the sunlight.

I just realized what the hell you are talking about. On the Buell, the front of the seat comes up really high (I have yet to experience any issues with a normally manhood testing stop) so none of me ever really touches the bits that are now plastic. Also, I will be doing everything in aluminum which doesn't store heat as well as steel so it shouldn't ever get too back. What would normally be the tank is actually the airbox cover so I have a lot of flexibility in execution. If I have any issues with heat, I'll modify things a bit. Maybe even remove the airbox altogether.

[phil]

Yep, thats a great project TSI, give us regular updates now.

[JanBros]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading Motomatters.com for a while now, but never realised there was a forum to . And now I've found the "projects" topic, I had to register and present mine

first one was a 50cc automatic racer with handbuild frame. Reason I build it was because a chain takes up some BHP's, and since a 50cc doesn't have much, I wanted the front sprocket on the same spindle as the swing arm for constant chain slack.





secand : my beloved KR-1S . I've bee nrideing them for 14 years now, and after I stopped racing it, I made a streetfighter off it :





third was a ZXR400 with ZZR600 engine and ZX6 '04 front end, for trashing on the tracks :



now in it's testing fase, is a KR-1S frame with a SV650 engine in it (I wanted a 4-stroke alternative for my KR1 when it decides to seize again, and for a bit more torque at bottom rev's when riding with the misses at the back, but I didn't want to buy a different bike ) :



full story on this one can be read here : http://www.kr-1s.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67

and now I'm building a KR-1S with a KX500 engine, ZX6 '04 front, RGV swinger , R6 shock and TDM850 radiator :





story on this one here : http://www.kr-1s.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=375&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[RatsMC]

Very cool stuff! That first KR-1S is fantastic.

On the first bike, do you have any closer pics of the swingarm and tranny set up?

[JanBros]

you mean the moped ?

it has no transmission, it's an automatic . the front pulley can differ in diameter (like on a Honda Camino). but it has a pedal with witch you can push the engine forward and thus using the small diameter for the front pulley (rear pulley is fixed diameter, so the engine swings backwards when the revs open the front pulley) :





spindle for the big "pulley" for the belt runs through the hollow swingarm spindle :

[phil]

welcome to the forum janbros, youre instantly in our gang mate!!
wow, so many projects, how'd you find the time!!

secand : my beloved KR-1S . I've bee nrideing them for 14 years now, and after I stopped racing it, I made a streetfighter off it :

she's a beaut mate!

and now I'm building a KR-1S with a KX500 engine, ZX6 '04 front, RGV swinger , R6 shock and TDM850 radiator :

very impressive indeed.
i've always wanted to do a bigger project but i guess i was lacking in the testicular department as i was scared it would turn into a money pit i never finished but you guys really have me thinking....

as always jan....keep us updated!

[TwoStroke Institute]

Phil the Castiglioni brothers bought and reserected the MV marque. lots of bits have MV cast into them.

Jan Jan Jan I thought we could keep this forum free of Belgian Kawasaki nuts

[JanBros]

she's a beaut mate!

there is one downside on it's story pictures were taken in a studio for a bike magazine that was going to write an article on my bike. But bye the time they were published 2 months later, I had parked it into the crashbarrier on a track



putted it back together with a different frame, but never made it as nice as it was ( too many things on the to do list )


i've always wanted to do a bigger project but i guess i was lacking in the testicular department as i was scared it would turn into a money pit i never finished but you guys really have me thinking....

you'd be surprised off what you can do with little money for example : the ZXR600 costed me about 1200 euro's as it is in the picture , the KR1-SV at the moment is at about 2.500 euro (some parts I already had lyi,g arround, and not included the engine, swapped it for an entire bike that was usless to me).

Ebay is your best friend for projects like these



as always jan....keep us updated!

[JanBros]

Jan Jan Jan I thought we could keep this forum free of Belgian Kawasaki nuts

sorry

it's just my way off making it a greener world

[RatsMC]

My brain is going to have to take some time digesting that moped arrangement.



Update on th Buell: I finally got the last of the tools I need for hammering out some pieces. One of the things I got was a large shotbag which is used for a base for hammering metal. If you haven't seen one before, you fill it with lead shot or sand depending on the metal you are hammering. The idea is that is gives way under the hammer allowing the metal to stretch.
Well, this bag is 12x18 which is really big for this sort of thing. After I got it, I found that if I were to fill it with lead shot, I would need to get 102lbs (46kg)

Fortunately, I use sand since I am primarily working with aluminum (lead shot is used for steel) so I only need about 90lbs

Anyway, I am really, really new to this whole thing and learning it without help so I'll be posting lots it comedic workshop pics very soon.

[JanBros]

My brain is going to have to take some time digesting that moped arrangement.

on top is the front pully, it can vary in diameter , depending on the rev's. the blue steel balls are pressed outside with more rev's, and the push the right half of the pulley to the left, forcing the red belt to run on a bigger diameter. Because off the different diameter at the front, the entire engine pivot's arround it's sole green mounting point and is pulled backwards to compensate the bigger front diameter.

below that is a sidevieuw off both the pulley's (rear is a fixed diameter). left is low rev's, right is high rev's.



pink are springs that push the engine to the front and keeping the belt under tension. you can push the red pedal down (big picture left), forces pass on to the arm on the other side (big picture right and small picture) and push the engine to the front and the belt onto a smaller diameter. That way, you can choose with your foot at what diameter the front pulley runs, slowly releasing it with increasing speed, and this way you can keep the engine at it's top-power , or when comming out off a slow corner, you push the pedal completly down giving you the highest acceleration.