Down under, an idiot and a 400F

I like Lester type mags too! But it depends on the look Mr Neevo wants. With mags, you just jumped from the 70's to the 80's.

Looks like that last picture of a 400f had other pricey goodies too! Alloy swingarm and Yosh exhaust!

Swivel said:

I don't tell anyone what to do,I just illustrate options.

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Sorry if it sounded like I implied that. No. I feel the same, giving suggestions. These are all good suggestions. We'll see what Mr Neevo ends up with.

I like the black Lesters. Sometimes, I feel torn between vintage and modern. Some bikes blur that line. Also, I spy some old Koni's on that bike. They are NLA and now called Ikons.

That's a 550, clutch cover is different on 500f
BTW, Isn't it PETER Williams? with the 'W' on helmet
http://www.peterwilliamsracing.com/book.html

"Peter’s engineering designs gave him advantage on the race track and set the trends for what motorcycles are today. He was one of the first to design and race with disc brakes, the first in the world to design and use cast magnesium wheels and tubeless tyres. Peter won the 1970 500cc class British Championship and was the first in motorcycle racing to benefit from tobacco sponsorship. The 1973 John Player Norton 'Monocoque' incorporated all his previous experiments and the first twin spar frame. The pinnacle of his career came on this machine when he won the Formula 750 TT in the Isle of Man with record race and lap speeds."

Heh... Heh
You said Peter.

The plan is definitely spokes, I just prefer the look. I know I could do cheaper than Buchanans but the quality is there and I am not sticking to stock sizes. At least they will look good a last ages.

So the plan for this weekend was to redo the bump stop section to get rid of the extra long flat bit and also tidy up the tank holes in preparation for welding in the panels. I have signed up to the Sydney Cafe Racers Facebook page and found someone with a TIG welder that is going to help me get the seat and tank finished.

Had 2 goes at the bump stop today... the first ended up in the rubbish bin, the angles weren't working as I was keeping one side straight and curving the other for each leaf as per the original version. It turned into a shit fight so I came up with a more mathematics based solution:

1. Cut out sheet metal and mark up 10 leaves (2 of these will be cut off at the end leaving me with a fully curved rear section):



2. Cut a curve on each leaf side. Didn't have a compass so ended up using a length of masknig tape stuck to my pen, it worked out ok):



You can see the difference in the leaves between the old version and new version:



3. Carefully bend them and mount it on the bike to get a look:







I think it looks 10x better than the old one

I also mounted the engine (now with studs removed ) and thought I would test fit the motor and carbs to get some thoughts around how I am going to get fuel out of the tank (as I have cut the original tap mount when I cut the knee scoops):

Here's my plan for the tank, let me know your thoughts. I am going to weld on 2 x 1/4" nuts to the outside of the tank, pointing out, one higher than the other. See below for rough placement:



Get a couple of these off eBay so that I can get 2 x 6mm barbs facing towards the rear of the bike:



The upper one will be the main fuel feed and the lower one will be the reserve as it will pick up fuel lower. Run some braided 6mm fuel line to the rear and find a 2 input/1 output fuel petcock/tap. Run a filter on the output into the carbs.



What do people think? Are there 2 input/1 output fuel taps that I can mount and look nice?

There were several bikes in the 80's that had remote fuel taps.
Last bike I remember 'recently' having remote with 2 inlets, one out is Suzuki Intruder.
Should be able to find one of those as they were made up until a few years ago plus, had a 22yr (?) production run
The last ones had tap mounted in tank, this is from earlier one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-VS1400-VS-1400-INTRUDER-FUEL-PETCOCK-COCK-VALVES-1987-2009-44300-38B02-/120857282066?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c23a7c612&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/88-Yamaha-FZR-1000-Good-Working-Petcock-Fuel-Switch-/300638475247?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45ff7313ef&vxp=mtr

crazypj said:

There were several bikes in the 80's that had remote fuel taps.
Last bike I remember 'recently' having remote with 2 inlets, one out is Suzuki Intruder.
Should be able to find one of those as they were made up until a few years ago plus, had a 22yr (?) production run
The last ones had tap mounted in tank, this is from earlier one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-VS1400-VS-1400-INTRUDER-FUEL-PETCOCK-COCK-VALVES-1987-2009-44300-38B02-/120857282066?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c23a7c612&vxp=mtr

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That external tap looks spot on! I will keep my eye out for an intruder tap then, looks pretty too and even has a mount hole! Perfect, thanks PJ. What about the plan for getting the fuel to the tap, any issues there?

Just put up FZR 1000 link.
The Suzuki one looks nicer as it's for a 'cruiser'

Yeah your right, Intruder one is waaay more aesthetic. Its going to be visible with such an empty rear frame so I will look for a decent one of those. Cheers for the PM.

it just took me over an hour to read up on this whole build!
ADDICTED.
great stuff so far for a first build.... im in sydney too.
dont stop with this until you're riding it!
keep it up.
ps.....my fuel tap was leaking the other day.......so glad i noticed it when i did.
i dont think i wouldve been able to tell if it was at the front....
plus it would suck to go up a steep hill and be runnin dry....choking....
front mount fuel tap would be great downhill......but downhill you can always roll.
plus easier to gain reserve whilst riding

peace.... james

Didn't think about how the placement would be affected with hills, thanks for the heads up gents.

Swivel can you explain your suggestion about extending the knee cutouts a little bit more, I don't 100% understand.

Good point re the braided fuel lines too, they would rub the crap out of the tank... so will go for the normal stuff. Will look out for the brand you mentioned.

Get some 1/4" steel tube, drill couple of holes about mid way along base, 90 degree bend, weld in and connect fuel lines to tube then to remote tap.
I wouldn't use screw in fittings, too bulky.
Just use all metal automotive style inline filters (they are about $10.00 US around here, probably similar in Oz as they are all made in the same Chinese factory ;D )
Get some heat shield off eBay, cover entire base of tank

Hoosier Daddy said:

Heh... Heh
You said Peter.

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I was catching up on this thread and got this far and spit my drink all over..... subscribed

PJ would a single bead of weld be enought to hold the tube into the tank? The wall is not that thick.

Some of you may remember my tank was a little dented, this was discovered when I cut the sides and found a huge dent pushed in. I punched it out with a hammer and knocked a huge chunk of bog out.





You can see the big dent on the side and also a smaller one on the top corner. Now for some reason I don't want any fibreglass or bog on this bike, I think metal is a bit more durable and seems more "proper". This is probably why I am trying weird techniques to build my bump seat.

Well today I had an idea to minimize the amount of bog required to fix the tank based on plumbing. I went to my local hardware store and bought some flux and found some special solder for automotive fixes. I got the technique pretty quick and was able to build up layer after layer of solder, hitting it with a bit more heat every now and then to get it to flow.

I am sure Swivel will show me where I went wrong but fingers crossed this is an acceptable fix. A quick once over with the air sander and it's as smooth as a babies bottom. Will take a super thin amount of bog to get rid of the bubble holes and finish it off. Here's the pics:

Will do Swivel, got to weld the side panels and fuel outlets first, then will get it pressure tested before applying bog and getting it painted.

Stock tanks have just single bead holding pipe in, some are soldered in (I found out when welding on a Suzuki tank ;D )
Some have a brace on standpipe for reserve (just a thin piece of sheet to inside of tank to prevent flexing)
You can fit pipes before doing sides

Frankenfe said:

Hoosier Daddy said:

Heh... Heh
You said Peter.

Click to expand...

I was catching up on this thread and got this far and spit my drink all over..... subscribed

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My wife hates it when I do that shit. I even do it in the conference room here at work in those long ass boring meetings just to get a rise outta the Plant Manager.