So... I got these great shiny aluminum intake spacers that bolted directly onto the engine and even included the o-ring gasket to block unwanted air leaks. The Mikuni boots bolted directly to that, and the VM30s slipped right in like everything was where it was supposed to be.
There is one obvious issue that I noticed once this was all mounted up - there is no space between the intake side of the carbs and the fiberglass electrical tray for a K&N air filter. I have a couple of options and am researching alternatives - perhaps a pancake style filter or shorty velocity stacks... TBD!
I've mounted the tank, all the wiring fits under there nicely, also the throttle cable, which is the 1- into- 2 deal sold on DCC for these carbs tucks in under there also. The cable is hooked up to a new Biltwell Whisky Throttle which I like a lot, but I have to say the cable seems to be giving a fair amount of friction - This makes me nervous because it will be ridden by the GF, and the last thing she needs is a sticky throttle. I'll lube the cable and see if that helps - any advice appreciated.
Put on new chain and sprockets - went with a DID 520 X-ring chain - which may be more chain than was really needed for this bike.. and up-geared the front sprocket to 18 teeth so the bike can perform on the highway if needed.
I hooked up the front brake line on Sunday also - the rebuilt caliper works like a charm, and the new braided stainless brake line gives a good solid connection. I'm using a new Nissin master cylinder, which looks good and seems very well made.
It also is clear that the front suspension is way to soft. The forks are the air assisted dampened ones from the CM400c as stock - I don't have any air in there yet but it bottoms out when the brakes are applied under very little forward momentum - I used the specified amount of fork oil from the Clymer manual - I'm going to drain them again and refill just to make sure I wasn't having a vacant moment when I filled them previously.... again any advice appreciated.
So the last things left to do are tidy up the wiring between the alternator and the Reg/Rec, hook up the fuel lines and give her a start!
Fingers crossed on the tuning of the carbs, I expect to go through some frustration there, but hopefully not to bad.
Here she is almost done... it's taken 7 months to get to this point, working weekends only and still trying to have a life.
You'll notice the seat (which I purchased from ebay from a guy in Vietnam who makes aftermarket seats - it uses the stock seat pan shape but is made by him - and it fits perfectly - it's a big improvement over stock - it's definitely café styled, but I'm still not sure if this bike qualifies as a "café racer" it's not really supposed to be one either.. the goal was to improve the stock bike from this:
To this:
Thanks!