CAFE CREME - BOARD.....TRACKER

Well - the deed is done. Would have collected it this week - except the UK has ground to a halt with the freezing snow blowing in from Siberia ! ::)

Anyway, a rough tot up of unwanted parts to sell of comes out at over £500 - and that's being conservative. Oh yes and only 13 K miles !
 

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Anyone know about the "Big Bore" [ ha, ha ] conversion ? A whopping 285cc's or something ? Also - alternative cams from another Yam.
 
I've been concentrating on the Glemseck project for the past 8 weeks. The Virago's been collected. Got it back, new battery and 3 prods later it burst into life and settled down to a purr. It had been stood for 2 years without being started - but only done 13K miles with an obscene amount of money spent on Yamaha official outlet maintenance :eek:! It really is a little jewel.

At least I can now take some proper measurements and get the POC idea going.

Latest thought is to sell everything bar the engine and ancillaries - that should return me about £400 - £500 more than I paid for it ! ;) That will more than cover the cost of a bespoke frame - without taking compromises.
 
Funny how life get's in the way of your plans ? For several reasons the Yam based Boardtracker had to be sidelined - work still continuing on the KZ 750 Cafe Racer though.

Then a major blow, a "pal" offered to get the La Diamont Francaise tank soldered up and ready for use..... 4 months later when I went to collect it - it can't be found anywhere in his workshop. Hmmm.

However, things are looking up again and what should come up on E-Bay but a VF400 complete bike with another for spares [ both with V5's ] for a measly £350 ! The main bike is more than tidy and had loads spent on it already, including new clutch, rebuilt forks and brakes.

That will make nice little runaround - maybe with Flat Tracker [ XR ] seat and Renthals, and should be worth around £1000 if I come to sell it on.

So maybe third time lucky - as I now have all the bits and pieces [ off the shelf Boardtracker tank purchased ], It's now just making up the main frame to the Bantam headstock etc., and knitting all the bits together.
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Just dug out the modified BSA Bantam forks to double check where we were at !

We did a POC 2 years ago when it was shelved and everything worked as it should.

I wanted to get the look of a period [ 1900's ] fork but with the practicality of a modern suspension. The OEM Bantam forks have been completely overhauled [ bushes etc ], but the actual suspension will be handled by the RAM shocker I designed. To make life easy I have a Bantam headstock that will be knitted into the new frame.

The "CAD" pattern on the top of the Bantam top yoke will be made in Brass and primarily cosmetic. I want to introduce as much Brass and Copper - without going OTT. As the motor is water cooled there'll be scope for copper tubing which will be made as a feature. It's going to take a bit of lateral thinking to "lose" the radiator, but what will be on display will be polished alloy - although I have a contact who makes bespoke brass radiators .........

Currently the colour scheme is still Coffee and Cream [ hence "Cafe Creme" ] and wheels / engine will be painted as well.

The saving grace with this project is that I already have the majority of the parts bought and stashed.



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Exciting times ahead. Can't wait to see it develop.
How will those forks hold up against the VF400 engine?
 
Hi Brodie,

The weak link in the OEM Bantam set up is the potential flexing of the inner sliding legs - adequate for the lightweight Bantam [ 220lbs 'ish ]. The innards of the Bantam fork tubes are simply sliding elements and in place of the 2 internal leg bushes, I have fitted four ! There will be internal lube for the bushes, but dampening and suspension will be handled by the RAM shocker.

We now have in-house welding facilities courtesy of my pal Brian, so no more waiting months for that - "oh I'll do that for you".

The top yoke / plate will now be welded with a reinforcing plate underneath to accept the RAM top mounting. A Brass / Copper top plate cover will hide all the fugly.

The front hoop is going to add massively to the strength of the inner legs to resist flexing and is constructed of thick wall CDS tube. I've done a lot of research into forks of the period and this setup is quite robust by comparison [ see original pic ]. I don't think the Honda XLR125 front brake will be placing any undue strain on the legs !

Add to that the weight reduction over a stock VF400 and I'm quite happy the forks will be up to the task. In fact I'm aiming for a total kerb weight similar to the original Bantam - 224 lbs. . The biggest lump of weight I have no control over is the power unit !

Now that the KZ750 is past the design and POC stage, this project will give me something to exercise my brain !

Not a Boardtracker, but Willow was my original inspiration to go down the minimalist route ...... however you can only be unique once - I'll leave that accolade to Willow.

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Willow is a beautiful bike in pics, even nicer in person. Haven't talk to Troybuilt in a few years, I really should give him a call if his number's still the same. He went off-grid on the farm and kind of off internet as well. Great inspiration bike for sure. I was 4 other bikes before this final version too.
 
Here's a question for all you Honda freaks ........ which way does the engine rotate viewed from the alternator side ?

Stupid question maybe [ I don't yet have the bike ] but I got caught out assuming [ wrongly ] the rotation of my KZ750 twin !!!!
 
Here's a question for all you Honda freaks ........ which way does the engine rotate viewed from the alternator side ?

Stupid question maybe [ I don't yet have the bike ] but I got caught out assuming [ wrongly ] the rotation of my KZ750 twin !!!!
Counterclockwise as you look at the alternator.
 
The Yamaha DTR125R radiator arrived today ..... it's tiny ! Shouldn't be a problem to "lose" it.

I also checked out the Eaton blower for the VW / Seat / etc. range ... also small and pumps 435cc per revolution.

Drive is not an issue and I would use an olde worlde SU for period looks. Thanx for the headsup on that Greg ! The rad might go up in the Boardtrack style tank cover [ pattern emerging here !? ], and the fuel could go in one of my 2 gallon vintage fuel cans. I've already got one cut down to 1 3/4 Imp. Gallons [ 2 US ? ] . The minimal electrics can be lost under the tank cover - same as KZ Cafe Racer.

Got quite a collection of period brass and copper "Automobilia" to play with for header tanks and etc.


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BTW - the Brass pump with the black handle is a 19th Century ENEMA pump !!!!

I have cleaned it out !
 
I like the brass levers. Are they for bar internal cables?

Yes, they're from the company that makes the Royal Enfield stuff in India, very good quality and not expensive. I'll be making my own bars to suit. Not sure on the exact style yet, has to be rideable though !

Good old E-Bay - just bought this little gem for £80 delivered - only done 25K miles.

My build buddy Brian has a pair of SU's in his garage that I can have - not certain about the size, but I'm thinking 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" should be a good starting point. Weber would be ideal, but not the correct era.

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Just scored this VF400F - 1984 vintage. It's all up and running well and has a V5 [ title ]. £150 !! I'll get this one sorted into a good runner and then break it for the running gear for the Boardtracker. I've already got the tank sold for £60 and the fairing for £40 - almost a free bike already. It has the later wheels with external discs / calipers, so I might swap those onto the Blue resto bike. I'm thinking mild Street Tracker as I already have Renthals and an XR750 seat / lights that were originally going on the KZ750.
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I was thinking about making a manifold for an SU carb., when I remembered an old [ 30 years ? ] Turbocharged AlfaSud hillclimb engine I had. I sold the engine 25 years ago, but the guy didn't want the Turbo. Guess what was on the Alfa intake system .......... Two hours of searching in my garage and I found it. ALMOST a straight bolt on. Just needs a small adaptor plate and it will put the SU in parallel with the bike. The plan is to sit the blower over the original intake plenum that the OEM carbs bolt to. POC plan is to take the blower drive from the Alternator.


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