Unfinished Business

The rear wheel is airtight at last having been welded, the tyre went back on, then I had to wait for the blank Renthal 48 tooth sprocket to turn up which replaced the original 50 tooth sprocket. This in turn then needed to be machined and drilled to fit the wheel.

With the rear wheel back in the bike, I could fit the chain and the rest of the clutch and torque up the big pulley nuts which hold everything together.

Once everything torqued up, I found a problem with the primary belt alignment which hadn't been evident till now. The front pulley (Which is bolted to the splined end of the crank) is 3mm out of line with the rear pulley. Turns out the belt drive kit includes a spacer to fit behind the front pulley in case its needed. But in the years since I've owned the kit, its been lost. Normally it wouldn't be a big problem, I'd just machine a spacer and problem solved. But I really didn't want to remove that front pulley, as the steel pulley insert needed to be heated to get it to slide on to the crankshaft. It wouldn't be easy to remove it.

Because the belt overhung the edge of the front pulley by 3mm, the alloy guide plate which bolts to the side of the pulley wouldn't fit without fouling the belt. I couldn't just leave it off, as it ensures the belt doesn't run off the pulley.
 

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Fortunately there was enough meat on the alloy plate to allow me to machine a 4mm step to the inside edge of the pulley guide, that way it could be bolted on and not foul the belt.

After all the hassle with getting the rear wheel airtight, we didn't take any chances with the front wheel. We machined a bevel in the top edge of the wheel centre where it joins with the rims to make it easier to apply the sealant. While the rim edges were checked and double checked for any burrs etc before we bolted them to the centre using plenty of good quality gasket sealant.

The Suzuki GSXR 750 K8 disc I was given needed an adaptor making to mount it to the hub, its not very pretty but it will do for now, it can be drilled / lightened / shaped later. The disc bolts aren't anything special (far too expensive), they're just standard hex head bolts which have been 'tickled' in the lathe.

I'll wait a few days for the sealant to fully cure before getting a tyre fitted and polishing the rims, then fingers crossed the bike will be on its wheels for the first time. That said I know there's a problem with the front spindle which needs some machining at a real machine shop to extend its M18 thread a few mm..
 

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Still waiting for the coil and tacho to arrive, till then don't want to start making the wiring harness. I really want to get the bike running and on the dyno before mid December, so I've been scratching around for the final bits to get it running asap. For example, I didn't have the correct size HD throttle cable, so I modified an old cable I was given to work with the Mikuni carb, it works fine, pity about the colour, beggars cant be choosers :)

And the adaptor to mount the S&S velocity stack to the Mikuni carb is done too.
 

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The front wheel turned out to be airtight thankfully, with a used (free) tyre the bike was finally on its wheels, so I could push it outside and make brmmmm brummmm noises when nobody was looking. But not before I had the local machine shop extend the M18 thread a few mm to match the slightly wider than standard yokes. This didn't come cheap.. cost me a box of Mr Kiplings finest Mince pies

Also made a simple hand change and finally got the clutch adjustment right.

Picked up a tired ZZR1100 caliper which fits the ZXR750 forks on the bike. I've ordered new seals for it, and a trip to a bead blaster would clean up the grotty body.. think I'll need to buy another box of Mince pies ;)
 

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Not been able to do much work on the bike over xmas, except for a couple of small jobs. The frame down tubes are thicker than those on a standard HD, so we made a couple of frame clamps to hold the clutch cable in place.

The second job was to machine out the centre of the clutch/pulley cover. This exposes the clutch, so the pressure plate and push rod adjuster nuts can be accessed quickly without having to unbolt the cover each time.
 

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I stripped an old front caliper, cleaned it up with new fittings and seal kit, now needs a couple of spacers to centre it on the disc. Not sure yet if I'll leave it as is, or perhaps paint it if I can find a good match for the rear Brembo..

The single fire coil finally arrived, it'll need a bracket making to bolt it to the top motor mount

Also the one-off three piece fork brace that came with the forks will probably need a new centre section, as it was originally made to fit a different set of yokes which were a few mm wider than those on the bike now.
 

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Its snowing here so I didn't spend too long shivering in my unheated workshop, just a few small jobs done, wont be long now till its running... famous last words..

First fitted the little spacers we made to centre the front caliper on the disc. Next I then fitted the coil via a simple bracket I cut out from some scrap 6mm alloy plate, still need to do something with the choke cable, and finish making up the ignition leads.

The rear brake peddle works as it should, now its pivoting on a phosphor bronze bush that we made.

I've been assured I can run the bike on my mates dyno any time I like, so the pressure to finish the bike over the new year when the dyno wasn't busy is gone now. There's no racing or sprints till April, so that's when it needs to be ready. I think the first outing may well be at a classic sprint, which takes place up the entrance road of a castle.
 

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Almost ready to put the bike on the dyno, though hit an unexpected problem with the starter pinion... in that there isn't one. Its a non standard part which comes with the belt primary kit, but its missing. I suspect someone 'borrowed' it without asking me some time ago, will have to order a spare from the states, in the meantime its possible that the bike could be started via the dyno drum, not sure if its powerful enough.

I fitted a Tacho with a built in shift light, ideally I'd want one which red lined at 5 or 7k, but this one will do, and I'm tempted to program it to read double since max power will be made at not much more than 5k.
 

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Been too busy to make much progress the last few weeks, but now I can get back to it. Finding a home for the idiot lights and ignition has been causing me a headache. There's nowhere obvious which will keep the wiring neat and keep everything away from the heat of the engine. First things first, I needed to make a bracket to hold the idiot light pod..

Took a small scrap piece of 10mm plate, which already had a small hole drilled in it, and cut it roughly to shape, before boring a big hole in the other end. Then carefully machine out the hole until its an interference fit for the instrument pod. Next mark out the shape of the bracket and finally hand file it until it looks reasonable.
 

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For the ignition switch, I used a simple on/off switch, as there was no need for a key on a race bike. I made a simple mount for this switch, but again couldn't find a location for it on the bike that worked for me. After some thought and many cups of tea, I made a new card template for a new mount, which Geoff the welder made for me in 1.5mm stainless.

With a bit of luck it'll also double as a mount for the choke cable too, though I'm still not happy with how the idiot light pod looks. I may try using a bevelled spacer to angle it back, or perhaps just forget it and try using a few LEDS set into the stainless bracket instead.
 

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Had a go at covering the seat with foam, its a bit rough as it was tricky to cut the foam to shape neatly, but I tell myself its a race bike not a show bike and so it will do.. for now. Its not comfy, but it doesn't need to be.
 

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Jobs still to do are finish the electrics, make a belt and chain guard and brake lines and finally get it run in on the dyno. This is how its looking this evening when I rolled it outside to give the garage a spring clean..
 

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It wont be much good at canyon carving, not much in the way of ground clearance, and its not road legal..

The wiring is all done, bar sorting out the kill switch which is part of the air shifter, cant do that until I make a mount for it. In the meantime I'm waiting for some 5/16 unc bolts to be delivered, which will be needed to make a start on making a guard for the primary belt.

I had another go at making a video of the build, still cant get the sound right, spent a long time matching the video perfectly to the length of the song, but Youtube fades it in and out when there's background music on the workshop radio, weird. Anyway here it is.. bonus points if you know the song :)

https://youtu.be/Upg_TTC5YTA
 

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The new lithium battery arrived today which at £130 plus VAT was an expense I could've done without. On the bright side my local bike shop gave me a couple of gallons of fully synthetic oil for free. I'd feel guilty about using it straight away, as the oil will be changed after the first 50 miles .. say an hour on the dyno, which would be a real waste of the synthetic oil. Plus it may be too good to allow proper bedding in of the bores etc. I'm on the look out for some cheap 20w/50 to do the running in. Cheapest I could find at the local motor factors was £16 for 4 ltrs, which is still too much, or maybe cheap oil just isn't cheap anymore?

Also the Lithium battery only weighs 1020 grams (just over 2lbs in imperial) which is 5kg lighter than the equivalent Yuasa, its much smaller too and fits with room to spare. The box it came in includes sticky backed foam pads to make up the difference in the battery box. Best of I got some nice stickers too :)
 

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Also had to dismantle the clutch and lock tight in the six stubs which the pressure plate slides on, as a couple had come lose. Wasn't difficult and didn't take long, one of the advantages of running an open belt drive. The one thing that needed a little care was making sure the springs which hold the clutch plates together were all equally torqued down to the clearance given in the instructions.. in this case 0.350 inch proud of the pressure plate. By compressing these six yellow springs a little more the clutch can take more HP without splipping, at the expense of a heavier clutch pull.
 

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With the oil tank filled, I turned the engine over on the starter with the ignition off to get some oil through the engine, then put a few litres of petrol in the tank and prepared to start it for the first time.

The starter has its own push button which overrides the solenoid, so to simplify the wiring and for other reasons too, the power to the starter bypasses the ignition switch. This means I can turn the engine over with the plugs out in this case without any power going to the electronic ignition system.

With the plugs back in, the ignition was switched on and I pushed the starter button... result not much happened. I could hear the starter trying to work but the primary belt wasn't moving. I released the button but it didn't feel right, it didn't spring back out as it should. It took a second or two to realise the starter pinion was jammed and power was still going to the starter. The one circuit which isn't fused.. not good. I quickly unbolted the leads from the battery, after which the battery didn't seem to have any power.. double not good, I'd only bought it a couple of days ago, if the lithium battery had totalled drained, it could be knackered. I lifted it out of the bike to check it over, and nearly dropped it.. it was too hot to hold on too. Not just warm, but ouch that hurts hot. Those Dreamliner 747's had the same problem..

Once it had cooled down, I tested it, and all seemed well..

Back to the starter problem, I removed the pinion cover and found the pinion half engaged with the ring gear. I've seen this before, sometimes happens particularly with new parts which haven't bedded in yet. There's a spring inside the starter pinion which should disengage the starter when the button is let go, I think it could do with being stronger. I'll try again tomorrow. Back indoors, I consoled myself by ordering the custom brake lines from HEL.
 
While I'm waiting for help before trying to start the 127, its really a two man job. In the meantime Geoff the welder is making me a bike stand as I'm tired of having to prop it up with bits of wood, and the stand offs for the belt guard are finished. Think I'll use 1.5mm stainless plate for the guard itself.
 

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I weighed the bike today, including oil and a full tank of petrol... came to 94kg on the front tyre and 118kg on the rear, giving a total of 212kg or 467lbs. Not exactly featherweight but not bad considering the engine and transmission weigh in at a hefty 300lbs on their own.

The frame is 65lbs and with a new chrome moly frame I could lose 20lbs from that, at the expense of £1200. So I doubt I'll go down that route, though the axle adjuster on the current frame are cast and look to be quite heavy, so that's an area where a pound or two could be saved in the future, along with machining a bit more off the rear wheel. Its heavier than it needs to be, more than the equivalent modern sports bike wheel, though its staying as I like it.

A cheaper option is for the nut holding the handlebars to lose a few kilos, so that's in (slow) progress now.
 
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