The Motorcycle

Header headache...

2012-01-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

I don't have welding equipment and I can't weld...so making a new 'custom' exhaust for the XT is pretty difficult. From the quality of work that's been done to the frame already I've got no issues with someone to do the welding for me it's just that they are across the other side of town from me. So basically I bought a donor header from a wrecker, some tube off-cuts from a local exhaust shop and started chopping. The next bit is where the "that's not how you're meant to do it" comes in. Using hose clamps I roughly assembled the pieces together into the formation I wanted and marked up a few strategic spot weld locations. I then took all this across town to my welder for the spot welds and then back across town to the bike. The spot welds allowed me to articulate the pieces into the proposed position before (carefully) taking it back across town for full welds...and then repeat because of heat distortion and general lack of accuracy in the method. Headers are good now. Better shots to come of the installed piece. I need to learn welding.

Wet weather

2011-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

Rode up to Turondale on the weekend for billykart action and wood-fired pizzas. I did the ride with Adrock on his sweet little SR400 'Rubie'. Cool little bike stripped back to only the necessaries...with a sweet sound. One of my pipes decided to detach itself 5 minutes into the trip doing about 90kph. Ads dodged the chrome plated missile prior to a little roadside surgery. Bells line of road is killer on a hog.

The return trip was a little more brutal. We encountered rain within 15 minutes of setting off....and snow as we went through Bathurst. Then the rain and wind hit, Really hit. Managed to get to cover at a servo in Lithgow...minus a riding companion. Ads had had some issues with the SR and was stuck on the side of the highway. A few makeshift repairs...couldn't stop Rubie from shorting and Ads from getting on a train. The rest of the trip home stayed cold & wet...think I got feeling back in my fingers midway through a 45 minute shower when I got home.

Thanks Adrock. Lets do it again.

Service

2011-09-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

I'm riding to Lithgow this weekend so gave the SRV a 'fluids & filter' change. Should be a fun ride...

Mocked up...

2011-08-22T23:04:00.001-07:00

I finally bought a new swing arm bearing kit...which allowed me to put together the rear suspension assembly etc. Still a heap of work to go but was good to get an idea of the direction it's going...

Blackhead...

2011-06-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Got engine enamel on the cylinder and cylinder head and baked it in the oven. Just need to rub back the 'tips' of the fins on the head and the unit should be ready to go back together.

Now 601cc...!

2011-06-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

Had the cylinder reboared to suit a new forged piston....1mm oversize too! The tyres should be able to handle the excess power on tap.....

Clear patina

2011-04-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

....have been up in Tamworth the last few days staying with my future parents-in-law....who are incredibly tolerant and supportive of my motorcycle passion. So what better opportunity to do some 'finish' work on the engine components. I had all the engine components plastic bead blasted (non abrisive, good for close tolerance pieces) recently to strip the 25 year old paint off. The parts came up great though there was a bit of pitting and scratches revealed. I want this bike to be practical....which translates as not wanting to have to constantly polish aluminium. So I decided to clear coat the parts leaving the patina as 'character' and a reference to the past use of the engine. The 2-part clear coat is glisten PC and it's a non-yellowing formula that is suited to air-cooled engine temp ranges. The clear coat will allow me to pressure wash if required without having to worry about polishing afterwards. I know some won't agree with the process but...I'm happy.

M14x1.5

2011-04-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

It's just a bolt. I'll use it to sandwich the top triple down onto the stem/steerer tube. Nothing special.

Garnet

2011-04-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

You may notice a few of the bits in this picture have already appeared on this blog...in fresh satin black caliper paint! I was happy with the finish but not the adhesion and chemical resistance after baking, so i had the bits (plus a few others) garnet blasted to remove the paint and chop up the surface. The bag of bits is now at the powdercoaters getting satin black mkII.

Dull it down...

2011-03-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

I polished the handlebar clamps as a bit of a contrast against the satin black triple clamps (trees). Not sure if i'm stoked with the high polish...don't think it suits the build but i'll see how it looks. Alternative would be to dull it down with a brushed finish. Either way it will get the same treatment as all other raw ally components, a 2 part clear-coat. Also degreased the head prior to paint prep.

Mock

2011-03-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Firstly, apologies for recent posts with low quality images...have succumb to the ease of mobile photography. I'll "pull my socks up". Mocked up the build to date, not much to show but gives the idea of where it's going. N.B. the wheels in the background....i'll post re them soon.

Raced

2011-03-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Get them in. Once the triple trees are powdercoated i'll assemble the front end. Swing arm should follow closely given it'll be powdercoated at the same time.

Dreams...

2011-03-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

One day! Until then I have an XT build to finish. Have been a little distracted recently but am picking up momentum. Spent last night trying to retrieve the headset bearing races from the bearing cups....i swear they must be the originals installed back in '85! Anyway....they were eventually removed and the new ones are in the freezer prepping for install. Next? Head and crankcase covers to the bead blaster to get bits ready for this....long stalled...engine rebuild!

Bitchin stitchin

2011-01-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

There has been nothing wrong with the upholstery on the SRV except that the 'zone' under the rider's bum is a mid-grey vinyl whilst the rest is black. I'm not a fan of the colour mix and i've always liked diamond 'quilted' patterns that are common on bobber seats, so it was time for a change. I pulled the existing vinyl off and made some templates from it, cut my new vinyl and began the arduous task of quilting and upholstering by hand. I first quilted 2 of the 'rider's bum' pieces togehter with some dacron between them to give it 'puff'. Once together i top-stitched this section into the remaining piece. To help keep things neat in the absence of a sewing machine i marked up all the stitching lines and pre-drilled the needle holes with a dremel...! Why not get an auto upholsterer to do this all for me? Probably because i don't know a good one and figured it'd be a good learning experience. In the end, whilst the job isn't primo, it has come out really well and for me has alot of character....I've kept the original vinyl in case my workmanship fails me! I haven't taken shots of the finished work but have a few shots of the progress. NB the blood stain in one of the shots from a late night needle mishap.

Grey underpants

2011-01-02T23:29:00.000-08:00

I prepped the stripped frame with an acid etch and then a coat of grey por15. The stuff goes on really well with a brush and gives a pretty smooth finish. The colour component of the paint isn't UV resistant so i'll stick some por15 chassis coat over the top to continue with the satin black theme for all 'frame' parts. With the XT having an off-road basis, majority of the components are aluminium so rust-proofing hasn't been too much of a worry but i wanted to make sure the steel frame would never be a concern.

Seat pan

2011-01-02T02:48:00.000-08:00

I've begun forming up the seat pan for the XT. I'm using 19mm HDPE sheet and thermoforming it to match the angles of the frame. Once shaped and formed i'll run the router round the perimeter to create a scallop (inverse fillet), that matches the tube diameter, allowing the seat pan to nest into the frame.

Not forgotten...

2011-01-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

...just maybe hasn't been a top priority so i adjusted garage preferences to allow the SRV to take centre stage and undergo a small makeover. All aluminium was polished, new upholstery for the seat, fresh grips and fork gaiters. Shots of the results to come soon...

Fuel support

2011-01-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

I cut some sections of scrap pipe, split them and unrolled small sections of the off-cuts to make up these supports for the rubber tanks mounts. Not my welds but certainly happy with them and the rubber mounts fit in nice and snug.

Dirty strippers

2010-11-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

Picked up the frame from the strippers. They did a good job on the paint which was to be expected but I didn't realise their 'de-rust' bath was so good! Super clean frame ready for paint this weekend...after a few welding jobs! I've made up some 'cups' to hold the tank via the standard rubber mounts. I'll post some shots once they're on....

Progress...

2010-10-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

...has been slow. It's now 5 weeks until the Deus bike build-off, which I plan on entering, so I've really got to get moving if i have any chance of submitting a finished bike. Work's been crazy recently so the XT has taken a backseat though a few things have progressed. I've chopped the tail section and shortened it, picked up a tank, shortened the forks, assembled rear drum brake/hub and yesterday I pulled the top end off the engine. Side covers and head cover are going to get bead blasted followed by heat-resistant clear to keep it low maintenance and the rest will get a satin black engine paint.

I don't know the history of the engine but from initial inspection the internals look free from wear and in pretty good condition. There's a bunch of gasket sealer that looks particularly 'non-factory' so i guess some work has happened at some stage. The aim is to continue the tear down and inspection prior to rebuilding with fresh bearings, seals, gaskets etc. Hopefully it continues to be all good news.

I should be getting back into a 'posting' regime to document the works....but for now here's a phone photo of the mocked up assembly (NB the deus bag in the background, that's all the bits from their recent swapmeet).

Bearing issues

2010-09-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

I made a bit of an assumption that the majority of TT and XT parts were interchangeable...seems in most cases they're not. Rear hub is a good example. 4x42mm bearings vs 3x40mm, 20mm axle vs 17mm, width of swingarm etc. Nachi don't make 42x17mm bearings so i had to have some collars machined...allowing a 40x17mm to drop into the hub. Seems to work.

XT due date

2010-08-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

Whilst at the Deus swap meet...the guys there announced that they'll be hosting a bike build off where the main judging criteria is "making the most with the least". The event seems to be aimed at punters and their garage builds...so i figured it'd make a good completion date for the XT project. Saturday 27th November is when i'll have the 'hog' finished...in theory!

Holding on

2010-08-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Dropped in to the Deus swap meet and picked up a pretty used set of Ventura Tracker bars...being a budget build these were about the limit of my wallet. Once stripped and resprayed they should come up ok. I picked up controls too...being Deus the options were W650 or SR so i went with the kawasaki's...a little less 'bulky' than the fairly dated SR controls. The W650's are electric start so i'll need to allocate a new function to that button....double horn?

Pile of parts...

2010-08-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

Always a good source of parts. I'll be headed here for....something...

Paintless

2010-08-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while but I have finally prepped front and rear hubs and rear rim for powdercoating.

Tee

2010-07-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Screened a tee last night. Old design, new t-shirt.

Galston

2010-07-31T01:32:00.001-07:00

Minor service for the SRV and a ride with Nugget out to Galston...finally a break in the wet weather.

Porsche

2010-07-28T03:40:00.000-07:00

One night, during our recent trip to Europe, when in Paris and on the way back from an evening walk to the Eiffel tower I spotted this heading off from a backstreet bistro. There were actually 2 of them, a cream and a black, but didn't have much time by the time I'd got the camera out so all you get is the cream one. As cheesy as it sounds, Porsche and Parisian streets seem to work so well...modern or vintage.

Keep it simple...

2010-07-28T02:48:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of update. Initially it was because i was roaming through western Europe with my girlfriend and then it just became laziness! When in Paris I spotted this little treat...emphasis on the 'little'. No real reference to my current build except that this bike was so stripped back, leaving only the essentials. The bike didn't look to have a key, instead the kick start lever was left loose...and thus becoming the key?! Put it in place to start up and stick it back in your bag?! At least that's my assumption...you can see it missing in the shots. So what is it? Apparently Flandria was a belgian moped manufacturer and this particular model was designed to offer a 'real' motorcycle experience for those that could legally still only ride a moped...

Carnies...

2010-05-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

...so after my dud call a few months back, I am off to this tonight. Stoked. Am also 'watching' a rim on ebay...if all stays cheap i'll have everything set to build the wheels on the XT.

Wheels

2010-05-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

Have been a bit busy at work and haven't had time to post or get much moto work done but i did head to the country last weekend and took my recent purchase of a TT600 rear wheel with me. It got stripped along with the front XT hub. Once I source another rim i'll get the whole lot powdercoated and off to be built up into a wheelset....someday.

TM

2010-04-13T19:13:00.001-07:00

...or paint

2010-04-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

Another colour I've had my eye on for the tank is 'graphite blue' fromVW...

Paint

2010-04-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

I will soon be looking for a tank to drop on the xt....the colour on this GTO could be fun for the paint that goes on it. From lecontainer

Setbacks....

2010-03-24T04:43:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit ill for the last few weeks...so on a late night ride home I popped into the chemist. As I handed over my card to pay for my meds I heard a 'tinny' crash, a car stop....and then a car speed off. There wasn't anyone around to witness it but I rushed out to the street to find the SRV flat out on the ground care of a reversing car and negligent driver. A bit of work in straightening out a few bits and tending to some gravel rash but no paint thankfully. Guess it gives me an opportunity to 'freshen' the SRV....no rush on the XT. Thanks to the driver for stopping....

Fresh forks

2010-03-21T02:50:00.000-07:00

Got the forks rebuilt over the weekend. New paint, sliders and seals. I didn't do much to the triple trees but I did linish off a few large mounts where I guess the fairing and headlight would've bolted on. They looked like a couple of warts so they had to go. All that's left are a couple of discreet M6 bolt holes which will serve well for mounting the speedo only....yep, no tacho. I guess i'll put a plug where the tacho cable normally feeds to the cylinder head. Given I have no real performance expectations beyond what a stock 600 single would offer I'm not too bothered about lots of instrumentation.

I also finally got the outer races from the front hub. So now I'll paint it and get it prepped for the wheel build...once i finally source a rear hub

Burnt sausages

2010-03-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

Popped all the recently painted front end components into the BBQ to properly cure the paint. Once I get my hands on a torque wrench it'll all go back together. Have contemplated getting some shorter springs made up in order to get the front end down but for now i'll wait until I've done the mock assembly...and then we'll see...

The circus wasn't in town...

2010-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

We got the dates wrong for Nitro Crcus by a long way...their not in town until May! Big bowl of ramen instead...and then out of action for the rest of the weekend with a fluey fever (not ramen related though).

Am awaiting a torque wrench and then the forks will be reassembled with new seals and slides...

Circus is in town

2010-03-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

Off to this tonight.

Mock up A

2010-02-19T04:20:00.001-08:00

In order to begin getting an idea of how the bike will sit I mocked it up with all the parts Ihave...i.e. not many. I've kept the axles at the same level as I plan on running 18" rims front and rear with roughly the same tyre. I've shifted the stanchions up the triple trees to try and bring the front end down (the cheap way). The swingarm has a slightly mellower angle based on using an XT350 shock. The plan is to get the bike sitting a bit lower than the typical dual-purpose tourer...

YDIS

2010-02-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

I found some carbs for a good price locally. They're off a TT vs XT. From what i've read they're essentially the same except for the jetting (135 on both main jets for TT vs 125 & 130 for primary & secondary on the XT). There are some suggestions that the throats on the TT carbs are a slightly larger diameter...I'll have to keep investigating. I've pulled the carb apart for cleaning and rebuild. For now the jetting will remain as per factory but I suspect that wont stay, as I plan on running 'pod' filters in place of the big plastic airbox. I'm guessing that tuning them will be a nightmare. The carbs are YDIS (Yamaha Dual Intake System) which is essentially a primary slide carburettor until 3/4 throttle when a secondary CV carburettor adds to the delivery.

Front centre

2010-02-19T03:52:00.000-08:00

I picked up a front hub, axle and spacers. I steered clear of a full wheel as I'm keen to run an 18" rim which is not too typical of this style of bike...and figured no second-hand wheel will be true so a re-build is inevitable. The hub looked good i.e. free of cracks & damage except the bearings had seized pretty bad. About a month later and i'm still trying to get the outer race(s) out of the hub...you should be able to see it in the shot.

Progress

2010-02-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted but things have been happening...slowly! I stripped the swingarm resprayed it with a satin black caliper paint...and baked it in the bbq. The idea is that the caliper paint is a bit more durable against stone chips etc...the fact that it can handle high heat is pretty redundant on the swingarm. I've also disassembled the forks for a complete rebuild and spray. I suspect caliper paint will go on them too...

Gravel

2010-01-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

As the XT project slowly moves along I'm continually looking at styling references for the end product. The blackened SR above has a very likable paint scheme on the engine. The other adds to my interest in running a brown seat. Both are gems from Japanese outfit Gravel Crew.

Britalian?

2010-01-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

Bikeexif recently featured Italian shop TPR, who spice up triumph twins. Their Revolutionary Road has provided great styling references for the XT...

Brazil styles

2010-01-06T15:25:00.000-08:00

The XT project is progressing and I will update with photos soon. In the mean time is something that is certainly not the direction I'm taking with my bike...this is what you would find if you were to type 'xt600 custom' into youtube

Forked

2009-11-20T03:40:00.000-08:00

Received some sparkling forks from an '86 model. They're pretty soft and have a grease covered flaky paint job...so should work great! As tempting as those fork gaiters are, I think they may go straight to the bin.

Swinger

2009-11-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

Received the swingarm from an '85 model recently. I also picked up a linkage & relay arm from an '89, they have a couple more grease nipples than the '85...

Skulled

2009-11-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

Finally finished illustration on Nugget's fish.

The star of Bikeexif for a day...

2009-11-09T14:35:00.000-08:00

The frame and engine that i picked up would originally have looked like this (though in a different colour scheme). I don't think it was on bikeexif for it's looks.....

A skull and an occy again...

2009-11-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

Sticky template & spray paint didn't work too well. Template deformed and paint wouldn't stick. After some time removing the stubborn paint bits I drew the design on with a whiteboard marker...and am now filling it on with a paint pen. Easy.

Tokyo styles

2009-11-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

Fat tyres & fat burgers!

A skull and an occy

2009-11-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Nugget was keen for me to do "a skull and maybe an occy" on his sweet new quad fish. Once drawn, the first attempt was to make a template from adhesive plastic and spray it. Easy.

Late night removals

2009-11-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Engine out of the SRV for new base gaskets....

New heart

2009-11-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

$238.40 on ebay...smart or stupid? The beginning of the next tmotorcycle.