FZR750 Cafe Racer

Thanks for the comments rundown.

I finished the registration today and it's 100% road legal now

The inspiration:



The result:



yup, close enough for me.

Yeah, not traditional, but it was never meant to be, just a scruffy plastic fantastic that I thought I could save from being broken for parts, give a dose of personality and make into a budget back road blaster, and with a total of $2500 including purchase price of $1500, I think it's mission accomplished.
Originally the 750 made 105hp and even with a few kms on it's belt, it feels like there's most of them still kicking around, plus after racing the 750 for a couple of seasons I know these motors well and they're just a sweet motor with linear power and hard to hurt, but I still look sideways at the other big motor every time I go into the workshop....then again, I could bore the 750 to 836, or put a 1000 top end on it to make a 911 or....there are a lot of options with these.

There's a bit of rain over the next couple of days, but after that it'll be out on the road with my riding / racing buddy on his speed triple - can't wait

It's been a frustrating few days as I've been battling a leaking fuel tap on the bottom of the tank.

After several goes I thought I hade it sorted so I headed out for a shake down ride the other day.

First off to the petrol station to top up and then onto the motorway to run the bike up to speed. As I've only ridden around the suburbs, this was the first time over 50kph.

So, sitting on 100ish kph I was pleasantly surprised at the smoothness and quietness of the bike and enjoying the cruise.

About 15kms down the road I decided to pull into a petrol station and check the tank - just in case, and it was pi$$ing out from the tap mounting again.

Into the shop for some sealant - nope, that didn't work, so back into the shop for a 10 litre can and some screw drivers, and I drained the tank (by this stage about 1/4 of a tank had emptied onto the forecourt parking area, causing just a bit of excitement with the staff - who were actually a brilliant help).

I called International Rescue (aka a good riding buddy) and got him on the way with a trailer and started draining the tank.

One guy who pulled up in his BMW convertible scored 10 litres of free gas as I needed to empty the can to get the rest out of the tank (made his day ;D )

And finishing draining the tank and a pleasant 20 minutes in the sun, help arrived and with the help of a couple of burly lads we had the bike on the trailer and headed back home.

Close inspection of the mounting point seems to have identified the problem, seems the o-ring is sitting right on the edge of the worn hole and slips in after a while, resulting in the flow of gas.



So, I got a piece of 4mm ali and made up a very neat fitting mounting plate, removed all the JB Weld that I had applied, mixed up a fresh batch and have it held in place with 2 bolts and large washers for the next 24 hours or so.



27 hours later, everything's looking as it should and the JB Weld is well and truly cured, so I took the bolts and washers of and blackened the plate with a marker.



A gentle rubbing with 400 W&D; wrapped around a lathe tool to keep it flat, showed it was pretty close to start with.





A few minutes more with 1200 W&D and I ended up with this.



I thought a quick check to see where the o-ring on the fuel tap would sit was worth while so I inked it up and bolted it on, this was the result.



This is a lot more reassuring than sitting right on the edge of the over sized hole like it was before.

A light smear of Hylomar, 20 minutes for the solvents to evaporate off, and it's all bolted back together again.

I'm are heading out for a ride tomorrow and I'll head to my mates place first, that way if it springs a leak we can deal to it there and then, not on the side of the road this time

Nice fix, and the kind of lateral thinking that will help a lot of us out when we run into a similar problem in the future.

Ok, it's New Years Eve and I've had a few too many Bourbon & Cokes to allow me to head out, so here's the latest instalment.

After finishing tiling the kitchen this morning (I had to earn this ride..) I got the tank fitted, fuelled up and headed over to a mates place - guess what - no leaks!!!!!!!

Right then, gear back on and off for a ride.

80km's later stop for lunch and - no leaks!!

Gear back on, another 30 or so kms of twisty back roads, and another stop - still no leaks!!!

Back home and after 180kms guess what - no leaks!!!! :thumbup:

We just may have identified another factor in the saga, it seems that the new fuel cap wasn't allowing the tank to vent, so it was building a vacuum, which would have sucked the o-ring off the edge of the hole and that may have been a part of the problem.

So, after 180kms, what do I know about the bike:

1. The seat turns into a plank after 150kms resulting in my ass falling off when I get home, solution, shorter blasts.
2. The warped front disc really is an issue and has to be sorted soon - solution, blag one until I can buy one after New Year holidays are over
3. The carbs need to be sorted out for the pipe, especially in the mid range, - solution, follow the factorypro guide lines for carb tuning.

Otherwise I'm well pleased with the bike and can't wait to get back out on it again after a bit of workshop fiddling.

There's other areas that will get attention as time and $$$ allow, but that's another story.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE & All The Best For 2014

kiwi60 said:

The inspiration:

Click to expand...

ahhh...my eyes..nice forms, but those colors...

but those colors...

Click to expand...

With you 100% there caferay - a little too much of the 70's for me, that's why I went black on black ;D

Been quite a few months since I've posted progress on the bike, but there has been some.

Following a 250km shake down ride in January there were a few things that needed addressing:

1. One slightly warped front disc
2. Not a lot of stopping power, and a very wooden feel to the front brakes (typical for the std braking set-up)
3. The clip-ons are too low and after a couple of hours, my wrists and back were ready to call it quits.

So, I bought a set of new replacement SSM discs, found a good used set of 2003 R6 calipers and front master cylinder, and fitted some Honda CB600 bars above the top triple clamps.





Unfortunately, a mounting screw sheared off in the hydraulic clutch master cylinder, so I took that as a sign to fit the factory replica cable clutch unit I had sitting around along with an R6 clutch perch and lever.





I took it out for a few hundred km's of back road blasting on Friday and am jazzed with the result, it runs really well (with about 100hp - it should...) stops like a modern bike, and I could still walk at the end of the ride.

I want to reposition the clutch actuating arm to make it a bit lighter, and maybe a 4 into 2 pipe with reverse cone mufflers, but that can wait for a bit, I'm just lovin' riding it for now.

It's always going to be a work I progress, but that's what I'm enjoying about it, tinkering away on it in the man cave when I feel like it, and having something that stands out when parked up at the pub

It's been a long time since I've been on here and life as we know it has changed quite a bit, new house in a new area and new business keeping me busy 7 days a week, but...life is good 8)

The poor old FZR has been put out to pasture for a year or so as my buggered back couldn't take riding it for more than 45 minutes due to the clip ons.
In the mean time I restored a 1991 Kawasaki 750 Zephyr and really enjoyed the upright riding position.



I got to thinking, the FZR has more than enough power (for now), great brakes, superb handling plus a lot of potential for further engine mods, so the Kwaka got sold and I've started work on the FZR.

I've always liked the Aprillia Tuono and the BMWS1000R, and as the FZR also has a beam frame I knew I could transfer this style to it.
Superbike bars are now fitted and I ordered a Honda Flat Tracker seat from Airtech (great people to deal with!!!) and got the seat and tank painted in matte silver then had some dark grey graphics put on before another coat of matte clear.

While that was happening I cut off the sub frame and fabricated a new one to suit the seat and the new Motogadget M-unit and wiring.



Here's the general vibe of tank & seat



A Koso digital speedo / tacho is now fitted



and I've just got the seat unit back from the upholsterer.

Not too far to go now before it's back on the road and ready for some serious back road blasting.

I'll get some pic's up when it's all together.

Cheers