DR800 Big single thumper

[lchris21]

Managed to score a nice set of used Ohlins shocks............but all that glisters is not gold :....they are a bit worse for wear, but with few hours elbow grease should clean up ok? First things first was to take the springs off so I could confirm they were actually damping !!..........Fabricated a small set of puller out of what was lying around.
All good with no leaks or any mechanical damage. The reservoir on one shock looks worse than what it is. It had a throw away bush where the spring rubs on it, this had cracked allowing rust to eat away over the years ....i'll sort that out, for the price I cant complain...

[lchris21]

Time to get some of the other bits precariously balanced on the frame, just to see what it will all come together like........was running out of G-clamps at one point

[lchris21]

Next up is to mount the tank and fabricate the seat hoop. Before this takes place there were a few "lumps" under the powercoat where I'd be welding in some brackets etc which needed further investigation!!!

So out with the wire brush and flap wheel.....................

believe it or not this bike, as I bought it was "only needing a few bits to finish" type of project. Purchased from a supposedly reputable mechanic who was running his own business and "had worked with a lot of the top British riders" in his past 

say no more 

Looks like a few bracket removal jobs went horribly wrong in the past 

Time to get the TIG out methinks 

[Popeye SXM]

Great build. Reminds of my old super moto that had a big Rotax single, a fun bike. Have you checked your ground clearance since you fitted tyres? In the pics it looks it like rides a little low. Thanks for posting

[lchris21]

Yeah....she's going to be slammed a bit. Will have to keep the rearsets up out of the way and make sure the sidestand is tucked up...

[lchris21]

Just a quick few pics on the repair jobs to the frame. I went to town a bit and ground back all the suspect areas, filled in where needed and re-dressed. The frame looks to be in decent condition with a no obvious major damage which was my main concern. Abandoned the TIG and got the big guns out with the mig .....I've sorted the suspect filled holes and bad de-lug jobs. Took the opportunity to remove a few extra lugs while I was at it. I'm confident its not going to collapse underneath me and spit me into a hedge now 

[doc_rot]

nice work on the repair

[Coopacoopacoopa]

The previous de-tabbing "fix"...oh my! 

Also...just went and read through the hole tr1 build. Excuse my language, but holy shit! The before and after of that is massively impressive.

[Mr.E]

Following along. I'm loving this so far

[Mr.E]

Just now finding this, I like it!