My Suzi T500 Project *It's Alive Video*

Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Ok guys ,originally I was going to use my spoked Supermoto wheels but I am leaning more towards the wheels in the attached pics which are from a Kawi 650 ninja. The Kawi rear rim is narrower at 4.5" than my spoked wheel which will help with the chain alignment (hopefully).

I wish I had photoshop to do a mock-up.
 

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Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Those are the same wheels that I used on my h1 build...
I have pics and measurements if you need them.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

not to get off subject, but what is the bike with blue forks in the background of your frame gusset pics?
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Those wheels look nice. Until something different comes along I like I will be using 3 spoke GS500 wheels at 3.00 front and 3.50 rear. Don't really want to over tire it. On my GT750 I am using 3.50 front and 4.50 rear.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

LOCKARD666 said:
not to get off subject, but what is the bike with blue forks in the background of your frame gusset pics?
That bike is a 1960 Greeves Scottish (250cc) trials bike. I restored it many years ago with my dad back in England. He had it it shipped over here to California for me. It has leading link forks and a cast "aluminium" frame section.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project


squirley said:
Those are the same wheels that I used on my h1 build...
I have pics and measurements if you need them.
That would be great and would help me a ton. Incidentally I have looked at your h1 build and that is a sweet bike.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

zooke581 said:
Those wheels look nice. Until something different comes along I like I will be using 3 spoke GS500 wheels at 3.00 front and 3.50 rear. Don't really want to over tire it. On my GT750 I am using 3.50 front and 4.50 rear.
I agree that it will be far more tire than is optimal but it will not be to much of a hinderance. I think it'll look good with the wider rim and tire considering the swingarm I am using.
I have a question for you; the rear motor mount in my crankcase is wallowed out and the bush that goes in there just falls out, have you heard of a way to repair it? I assume the case would have to be machined out and a special bushing made to suit.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Here are the sa pivot brackets welded in.
 

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Re: My Suzi T500 Project

johnu said:
I agree that it will be far more tire than is optimal but it will not be to much of a hinderance. I think it'll look good with the wider rim and tire considering the swingarm I am using.
I have a question for you; the rear motor mount in my crankcase is wallowed out and the bush that goes in there just falls out, have you heard of a way to repair it? I assume the case would have to be machined out and a special bushing made to suit.

I would fill weld it (T.I.G.) then re-bore it to original size with new bushing.
Cheers, 50gary
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

johnu said:
I agree that it will be far more tire than is optimal but it will not be to much of a hinderance. I think it'll look good with the wider rim and tire considering the swingarm I am using.
I have a question for you; the rear motor mount in my crankcase is wallowed out and the bush that goes in there just falls out, have you heard of a way to repair it? I assume the case would have to be machined out and a special bushing made to suit.

I will be using GT750 bushes in my T500. It will drastically cut down on fibration. You will need to push out the old bushes and drill the holes larger. The spacing will also be somewhat wider but easy to overcome.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Gary, your idea sounds like the way to go but if, as Zooke says the gt750 bushings are bigger I would just use them and bore the hole out to suit.

Zooke do you have any size info on the 750 bushings? Are the motor mount bolts a bigger diameter as well as the bushing body?
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

johnu said:
That bike is a 1960 Greeves Scottish (250cc) trials bike. I restored it many years ago with my dad back in England. He had it it shipped over here to California for me. It has leading link forks and a cast "aluminium" frame section.

that's what caught my eye was the cast downtube... cool.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

johnu said:
Gary, your idea sounds like the way to go but if, as Zooke says the gt750 bushings are bigger I would just use them and bore the hole out to suit.

Zooke do you have any size info on the 750 bushings? Are the motor mount bolts a bigger diameter as well as the bushing body?

Bolts are the same size but I will get a measurement on the bushings for you. Might take some pics and post them up on here for you.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

It is now decided that I will be using the stock steering headstock. With the rear end mods and the shorter fork and smaller diameter front wheel it brings the rake angle to a desirable 24*. However this does mean I will have to make a new steering stem as the headstock bearing dia. is 48mm and the Kawi steering stem on the 636 fork is 35mm and no bearing of that size exists. I have a couple of questions about the stem before I get one made though.

1. I know that the bearing that goes on the bottom of the stem has both the inner and outer race as a light press fit to both the stem and the headstock. What about the top bearing? I realize that the outer race is pressed into the headstock but I assume the inner is a slip fit, what kind of clearance is typical here?


2. My bearing seats in the headstock are just about 12.2mm deep as far as I can tell, if I use a 12mm wide tapered roller bearing will this work?

3. What type of material is typically used for the stem? The Kawi stem is some type of tubular Aluminum but with the 5mm reduction in diameter that I am going with maybe this isn't the best choice.

I would appreciate any help you guys can offer.
john.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

John, I would use aluminum it's lighter and most sport bike stems I've seen are aluminum. However a 5 mm reduction in diameter is a huge amount therefore I would also reduce the lightening hole in the center of the stem to 10 mm diameter rather than the 16 mm in the OEM stem. That would replace the lost material and strength of the stem. 7000 series is a bit stronger than the more common 6061 T6. As for the height of the bearing I would make a spacer, it could act as a dust seal anyway. Rule of thumb for press fit is .001" per inch of diameter should be pretty good for pressing your new stem into the lower triple clamp. Oh yeah the upper bearing would be a close clearance fit. I would be interested to hear what others have to say, my two cents.
Cheers, 50gary
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Thanks Gary. I was thinking maybe it would be better (cheaper) to find a stem from another bike with a 30mm diameter that I could use by pressing a a bushing over the stem which would then press into the bottom triple clamp. Tough part is finding the correct stem with both the right diameter and the right length.
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

No real progress to report, just that I ordered by 48x30x12 steering bearings from All Balls. Now to find someone to machine up my steering stem for a reasonable price. I hate paying for stuff that I can do my self... but I don't have the machinery available to me at this point in time so I have to pay!

My mind has been wandering to the color scheme I'm going to use, I know I need to worry about finishing the build first but hey color is fun. At the moment (and this will likely change) I plan to do the crankcases, cylinders and heads satin black with possibly polished clutch and ignition covers. Expansions I intend to leave unpainted with just a clearcoat. The 636 forks are silver so I will probably go with silver swingarm then the frame in candy orange powder. Wheels will be gloss black. Tank and tail unit to be off white (creme) pearl with candy orange stripes down the center. I would like to get the original Suzuki "S" in there somewhere also.... I need to stop dreaming and get on and do some work!!
 
Re: My Suzi T500 Project

Seems to be a bit quiet on here regarding the T500 projects, I guess not much progress is being made then.

i don't have much to report, I did get the drawing done for my steering stem which I have included in this post. If anyone can see anything wrong on the drawing please let me know. Also posted pics of the original stem and triple.

I assume that the old stem can just be pressed out of the bottom triple clamp?

Any guesses as to how much one would have to pay to have this stem made?
 

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Re: My Suzi T500 Project

I know a guy in Toronto who might be able to lathe one up. He's been doing some work for me on my hubs. He can make axles etc. too. I'll point him to this and let him get in touch.
 
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