Down under, an idiot and a 400F
- Thread starter neevo
- Start date
neevo
Over 1,000 Posts
Fair bit done today although looking at the bike you wouldn't really know,
First up welded up the cut off chain guard holder on the swingarm. It had a depressed section and so I cracked out the filler rod, filled it in and ground it back.
Next up was the subframe. There were a couple of things to achieve here:
1. Remove kinks in the tube after the upright tubes (the tube wasn't level all the way around causing the gap to the bottom of the seat to be inconsistent)
2. Lift it up about 25mm
To remove the kinks I got the grinder and cut some slits where the tube was kinked. Standing on it to bend it slightly, then rewelded back up. Got it pretty good in the end although I will need to tidy the tubes up a bit before paint.
I'm after a sporty aggressive look with this bike, like a modern sportbike. The GSXR front end helps a bit but I needed a bit more space between the rear wheel and the rear hoop. The dodgy way would be to put a longer shock on it, however this would bugger up the handling and also probably cause the chain to rub the swingarm. The other alternative was to bend the whole subframe up, not an issue seeing as I won't require it to be load bearing because I will be converting to a monoshock.
Worried it would look goofy but I used the same technique as I used on the kinked sections. Worked a treat. Just need to get some 1" tube to extend the uprights.
Other items were finishing off the seat, cut the bottom so it was level all the way round, welded up some sections and got the grinder on it so it was smooth. Looks much better:
Stance of the bike is looking great compared to how it was.
Old:
New:
Also started on the tank. Getting it all welded up is proving to be a pain, lots of blowing holes, but I'm getting the hang of filling them in with the TIG. Hope to have it ready for pressure testing in the next couple of weeks.
First up welded up the cut off chain guard holder on the swingarm. It had a depressed section and so I cracked out the filler rod, filled it in and ground it back.
Next up was the subframe. There were a couple of things to achieve here:
1. Remove kinks in the tube after the upright tubes (the tube wasn't level all the way around causing the gap to the bottom of the seat to be inconsistent)
2. Lift it up about 25mm
To remove the kinks I got the grinder and cut some slits where the tube was kinked. Standing on it to bend it slightly, then rewelded back up. Got it pretty good in the end although I will need to tidy the tubes up a bit before paint.
I'm after a sporty aggressive look with this bike, like a modern sportbike. The GSXR front end helps a bit but I needed a bit more space between the rear wheel and the rear hoop. The dodgy way would be to put a longer shock on it, however this would bugger up the handling and also probably cause the chain to rub the swingarm. The other alternative was to bend the whole subframe up, not an issue seeing as I won't require it to be load bearing because I will be converting to a monoshock.
Worried it would look goofy but I used the same technique as I used on the kinked sections. Worked a treat. Just need to get some 1" tube to extend the uprights.
Other items were finishing off the seat, cut the bottom so it was level all the way round, welded up some sections and got the grinder on it so it was smooth. Looks much better:
Stance of the bike is looking great compared to how it was.
Old:
New:
Also started on the tank. Getting it all welded up is proving to be a pain, lots of blowing holes, but I'm getting the hang of filling them in with the TIG. Hope to have it ready for pressure testing in the next couple of weeks.
neevo
Over 1,000 Posts
Thought I would try some bits today whilst I wait for my argon to get replaced on the TIG welder.
Today's challenge: monoshock
Have my eye on an RD350LC shock from Hagon and used the dimensions Hagon sent me to cut a piece of 40mm box section as an analogue for the shock:
The shock is a lot longer than I thought it would be at 290mm. It was a struggle to get it in the space however I have it reasonably close to where I want it. I think I can extend the swingarm down a little lower too so that it rest in the right place when the static sag comes into play.
I plan on mounting the shock up by the end of the rear spine above the carbs. It will be attached between 2 plates which will be reinforced with a tube forwards and 2 tubes back to the frame uprights
The lower mount will also be between 2 plates attached to the swingarm brace, mounting above the swingarm brace like this:
Does anyone have any inputs? Hopefully the spring is compact enough it won't foul on my seat supports that run between the rear seat frame rails. Here is how it currently sits, angle looks ok but haven't done any spring rate calculations at this stage:
Wider shot:
Today's challenge: monoshock
Have my eye on an RD350LC shock from Hagon and used the dimensions Hagon sent me to cut a piece of 40mm box section as an analogue for the shock:
The shock is a lot longer than I thought it would be at 290mm. It was a struggle to get it in the space however I have it reasonably close to where I want it. I think I can extend the swingarm down a little lower too so that it rest in the right place when the static sag comes into play.
I plan on mounting the shock up by the end of the rear spine above the carbs. It will be attached between 2 plates which will be reinforced with a tube forwards and 2 tubes back to the frame uprights
The lower mount will also be between 2 plates attached to the swingarm brace, mounting above the swingarm brace like this:
Does anyone have any inputs? Hopefully the spring is compact enough it won't foul on my seat supports that run between the rear seat frame rails. Here is how it currently sits, angle looks ok but haven't done any spring rate calculations at this stage:
Wider shot:
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
I shaped a couple of 'triangular' plates to sit just above carbs, angle is roughly where you have box section but slightly lower (Maybe 1/2"~ 3/4" above carb top?)
Raise swing arm end of shock about 2", it will give a rising rate as the angles and radii move around 'over center', you can also move lower end 'backwards' closer to radius of wheel/tyre
When I saw you had posted, I though stuff had arrived but postal service couldn't possibly be that fast
Raise swing arm end of shock about 2", it will give a rising rate as the angles and radii move around 'over center', you can also move lower end 'backwards' closer to radius of wheel/tyre
When I saw you had posted, I though stuff had arrived but postal service couldn't possibly be that fast
neevo
Over 1,000 Posts
crazypj said:I shaped a couple of 'triangular' plates to sit just above carbs, angle is roughly where you have box section but slightly lower (Maybe 1/2"~ 3/4" above carb top?)
Raise swing arm end of shock about 2", it will give a rising rate as the angles and radii move around 'over center', you can also move lower end 'backwards' closer to radius of wheel/tyre
When I saw you had posted, I though stuff had arrived but postal service couldn't possibly be that fast
I wish the stuff had arrived PJ!!!!! Christmas in July when that stuff turns up
Did you get the rest of the shipping ?Rethinking the front mount, think I might copy your triangles, weld them to the spine and reinforce them with a plate across the rear frame rails too.
With raising the rear a bit, does that flatten the spring and reduce the cantilever forces as it compresses. Almost making it a progressive system?
Not sure if I can get 2" though from the brace.
Not sure I get the last bit; move lower end backwards. Can you help me understand that one?
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
If you put wheel in, you'll see you have some extra 'length' to play with
Cut some plates for swing arm pretty much same shape as top mounts but 'upside down' to move mounting bolt closer to tyre. (and it gives you somewhere to mount a mudguard to keep crap out of carbs)
Cut some plates for swing arm pretty much same shape as top mounts but 'upside down' to move mounting bolt closer to tyre. (and it gives you somewhere to mount a mudguard to keep crap out of carbs)
neevo
Over 1,000 Posts
Father Christmas took an unscheduled trip to give me a selection of gifts, 2 boxes from crazypj and my latest classic bike mag:
Slowly unpacked with growing excitement on the kitchen table until I had a bundle of special goodies including some truly custom parts:
Nearly all these goodies are going on my 400F, so to hopefully rub it in I thought I would go through each part:
* CBR F3 twin disks
* GSXR 750 triple clamps
* GSXR triple clamp stem with custom turned threads and diameter to accept standard 400F head bearings (PJ)
* Front brake pin for my KTM
* Custom made exhaust collars (PJ), these bad boys are going to get a polish
* GSXR steering damper
* Tacho plug (PJ)
* Fuel petcock from an intruder (going to modify it for my tank)
* CBR F3 calipers
* Custom rotor spacers (PJ)
* Custom axle spacers and speedo drive block off plug to fit GSXR forks (PJ)
* Katana axel
* CB400F oil pump (which hasn't sucked 5kg of metal through it)
* Oil pan (without damaged oil drain bolt thread)
* Clutch cover (without a crack like my one and including a custom kickstart lever block off plug - PJ)
Needless to say the girly squeals that came out of me each time I unwrapped another part had the missus looking over with a puzzled look. VERY EXCITING stuff.
I will definitely pee myself a little when the Gixxer forks turn up in about a week too
Slowly unpacked with growing excitement on the kitchen table until I had a bundle of special goodies including some truly custom parts:
Nearly all these goodies are going on my 400F, so to hopefully rub it in I thought I would go through each part:
* CBR F3 twin disks
* GSXR 750 triple clamps
* GSXR triple clamp stem with custom turned threads and diameter to accept standard 400F head bearings (PJ)
* Front brake pin for my KTM
* Custom made exhaust collars (PJ), these bad boys are going to get a polish
* GSXR steering damper
* Tacho plug (PJ)
* Fuel petcock from an intruder (going to modify it for my tank)
* CBR F3 calipers
* Custom rotor spacers (PJ)
* Custom axle spacers and speedo drive block off plug to fit GSXR forks (PJ)
* Katana axel
* CB400F oil pump (which hasn't sucked 5kg of metal through it)
* Oil pan (without damaged oil drain bolt thread)
* Clutch cover (without a crack like my one and including a custom kickstart lever block off plug - PJ)
Needless to say the girly squeals that came out of me each time I unwrapped another part had the missus looking over with a puzzled look. VERY EXCITING stuff.
I will definitely pee myself a little when the Gixxer forks turn up in about a week too
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
Hi Ed, I'm really happy everything got there OK.
The steel baffle plate is back in sump?
Forks should be there soon, fitting is pretty much going to be 'plug and play' 8)
btw, the oil pump is only loosely assembled so you can get it apart easy for cleaning
The steel baffle plate is back in sump?
Forks should be there soon, fitting is pretty much going to be 'plug and play' 8)
btw, the oil pump is only loosely assembled so you can get it apart easy for cleaning
