Recent content by Earlysport

Hey guys, I've been away OS for a month, but I have some updates ready to go.. Will post progress in the next few days. The project is nearing completion, and has been for a gentle test ride :-) Earlysport

So you're the other guy building a twin cam XS400. I'm pretty sure that makes two of us in the world lol. I'm hoping I might be the first Seca to get a feature on BikeExif. Don't do anything too crazy and beat me to it OK :-) Earlysport XS400 DOHC build...

The engine has come in for some detailing and is wearing it's final colour coat. High temp satin black with a coffee brown satin urethane cam cover. Gives some idea as to the final colour scheme of the bike too. carbs have also been sorted and finally assembled. The engine has also been fitted...

I"m in the middle of a mono shock conversion and hence have done quite a bit of research. I've also played a lot with car and mountain bike suspension in the past. You can check my thread XS400 Cafe Modern for my approach, which was to implement the full 05 GSXR linkage and factory shock along...

Here's a quick example of some detail stuff I tend to waste too much time on! The fuel cap is another item like the triple trees that I really want to look right as I'll be staring at it a lot! Rather than switch out the factory cap (which would have needed me to weld in a new bung I think?) I...

I think I missed this key pic which should have been further up - the key and challenge to getting the late model swingarm to work was not just width, linkage, and geometry, but chainline, particularly with a 180 tire. I have gone with a 525 chain and sprocket set to narrow slightly from the...

You might have noticed the engine looks a total piece of crap. Years in the weather and who knows what has meant it's corroded and nasty. I started with a full high pressure degrease and then wire wheeling as much as possible, including inside the fins. The goal is a satin black finish -I...

Thanks for the positive comments guys - it's appreciated! I had in my head that a bike build relative to a car would be way way less time consuming, and I guess no doubt it is, but the hours keep adding up! Here in Australia our rules regarding noise output are fairly strict, and I don't want...

I gotta be honest - the actuation angle to your bell crank and the leverage ratio to the shock makes me uneasy. The amount of vertical force you're going to put into the tube that has your bellcrank pivot will be huge. I'd be worried about it failing. One weld fails and your ass is on the tire...

Fabrication on the frame continues - this time the rear loop and cowl. I think the cowl really needs to match the tank so it began by taking a fibreglass mold off the tank. I tape off the tank to stop the glass sticking. I then sectioned about 3"out of the centre and trimmed the rest to get...

How I cleaned up a lower GSXR triple clamp. Cut off brackets, file finish, drill and tap for headlight bracket. Fab headlight bracket with exact shape to match trees contour, dab of filler to smooth it in. Finished product will be satin black with gold titanium bolts for the headlight bracket...

And lastly for now rider position testing! I think this is a good compromise between full on sportbike pose and a tourer - still aggressive but not too heavy on the wrists and feels comfortable! You might have also noticed how poor the condition is of the engine / carbs etc. I'm hopeful...

Work on the custom rear subframe progresses. Step 1 was to get the top tubes in place and sets the line of the bike. Then a lot fo measuring and work on shock and linkage positioning to get the main support tubes in place for the upper shock mount. Cross tube is thick wall and the shock...

Some very nice work and I'm very jealous of what seems like a very well equipped workshop! Laser/water jet cutter? I wish! Regardless it's nice to see such quality work put into details that the less informed wouldn't even notice. Looking forward to seeing the final result :-) Earlysport

With me confident I'm going to get the modern rear end in place getting a front end to match is easy and has been done many times before. A set of all balls races and a spacer for the GSXR triple trees and these bolt right up. The factory top triple tree has an ugly igntiion key set into it -...