doctorcat
New Member
The story:
In Spring/Summer of 2017, I finished medical school and left my home of Oakland, CA to go become a doctor. Where you end up doing your specialty training is a bit of a lottery, but I ranked and ended up in western New York, near-ish the Canadian border and Toronto.
When we rented our house I noticed an old neglected motorcycle sitting in the back. It apparently ran, but then was put away and not touched. Since being "choppered" it hadn't really been used much.
I'm gonna quote my member introduction here for a moment...
I got the house owner to sell the bike for cheapie, and it was in pretty decent condition all around.
It had been chopped up a bit by a few folks trying to make it less plastic clad. It's not a bad idea, as the frame on these bikes was quite pretty and showing it off is great.
here she is when I first got her, 1983 Kawasaki GPZ550
now the other side...maybe you can see that brownish gunk on the top of the tank? That was rust eating through from inside the tank to the outside
I took the tank to a shop to see if they could weld it, but it was far too rusted. There was a hole in the roof and water and snow just dripped away eating the insides and out (gas cap wasn't sealing up right) The shop was interstellar motors, here in ROC, NY. Great bunch of guys!
I looked for another tank, but to be honest I hated the shape of the stock tank. The lines were wrong on the bike. I noticed a member on here JFarhanbod had done up a GPZ550 really nicely (his is an 84) and he fit the 81 style tank on his.
I had to grind off the tabs for my ignition coils and make a bracket to relocate them, but the tank fit great!
Forgot to mention, the wiring was a mess. Lots of corrosion, lots of stripped wiring that when I drove the bike around at first, it sparked and sputtered. I decided enough was enough, and removed the harness.
I picked up an M-unit and some buttons, plus a domino throttle...
while I wait for those to show up, I started to ponder the seat pan:
I need somewhere to stash a battery, and the electronics.
I also need to mount up a seat somehow, and not the awkwardly shaped stock seat.
I want to have SOME room for storage, so a rear hump is in order (though maybe the battery will eat all that space up.)
Here is the template for the seat I've measured several times and tried a few layups... I had interstellar motors (shameless plug for them again i guess? GREAT shop) weld up the rear frame hoop.
now for the ideas about making an undertray: looks like there isn't much clearance towards the rear of the bike with the tire. I can't follow the triangular plates on the frame where the dual shocks used to mount on the prev year model.
(although I think it would look better this way...)
and then up towards the front, where the factory ignition, and regulator rectifier mounted? Not a bad spot, but totally exposed to the elements.
maybe you can't quite see it, but this is a UNITRAC model suspension and the suspension linkage takes up a lot of that middle area. There's still a teeny bit of space, though. I could probably squeeze an electrics box in there, but I wouldnt fit the M unit I don't think, and I wouldn't want the M unit right next to a boiling hot regulator rectifier.
And then there's the issue of the seat shape: It's going to need to be a taller seat height (a low brat seat makes the bike too small for me)
so I got the idea to build the seat base like earlier, and maybe have that be the electronics tray. Electronics on TOP of the frame rails.
Then somehow build the seat on top of the electronics, and somehow have it swivel or click open so I can take a look at the electronics, and maybe have some storage space in a cafe hump for my gloves when I'm not riding.
At this point I was frozen in indecision, and pondering how and where to stash the electronics and battery that wasn't sticking right out into the elements. I also didn't want to keep the ratty old foam seat as it didn't have any support.
The bike was then moved to the inside of INTERSTELLAR MOTORS, a well known cafe racer shop here in town (Rochester, NY)
The bike has been moved into interstellar motors shop where I'm continuing to do some more work on it. I got a seat pan layout made of a sheet of steel.
I ran into a problem though. You can see that the tank mount is kind of tough to clear. I have to figure some way to get the seat pan to cover that bit. I have at my disposal a sheet metal bender, but I can't quite get a tiny little right angle as the minimum length between bends is about 2 inches. Somehow I've got to make another mounting point for the seat pan on the factory tank mount, so I think I have to curve the metal around it? Gonna take some creativity, I'm thinking. I'm kinda stuck right now.
I cant get around that piece. I ended up cutting off the two side "wings" on the side and just terminating the pan at the tank mounting hump.
underside view of the pan. I still need to somehow attach some mounts to the frame so I can screw it down.
At this point I tore into the carbs and found them completely gummed up with crystals and what can only be described as "GUNK"
more close up of the boogers and barnacles attached to the float bowls, and floats themselves
NEXT:
figured this bit out. now I have to decide if I'm going to hammer the "wings" down on top for a narrowing of the saddle as it approaches the tank. Right now it pokes my legs because it's so sharp.
compare to yesterday
so I'm going to rivet the new piece down that I made with the metal bender. that thing is a godsend!
wider shot of the whole seat pan
circles on the green tape are where i'll drill and then place rivets to secure it. I still need to weld cross brackets for securing the seat pan onto the frame.
(gonna hammer the two wide sides down if I can so they dont poke my legs
Actually, I should stop calling it "seat pan" this is just the "undertray"
I'm ordering up a piece of KYDEX Thermoplastic which I will heat form around the metal tray. This will be what the foam and staples for the fabric go onto. I'm going to have a layer of hard foam (like yoga mat material) and then a layer of softer foam on top (maybe even some GEL like from those purple mattresses. I think I have a square of it sitting at home...) I want the seat to have a rounder profile since I've got a narrow arse.
KYDEX is what Gun enthusiasts like to use to make conceal carry holsters. I may be a Californian, but I was raised in Texas and I know a thing or two about firearms! Has anyone here used KYDEX for making a saddle before? It seems to be a good base if it is thick enough?
oh and I'm trying some shapes for a seat hump. I need less space than I thought originally. Going to use a shorai battery. I have two mounting options: 1: use the stock location for a full size shorai, or 2: use the seat hump for a mini shorai.
here's the seat hump design in progress. I may want to make it larger/taller?
right now it's set up to be a solo seat so it's "in line" with the frame tubing. I could push it back further and allow for a passenger... Gotta have the hump though nowhere else to store the electrics! The monoshock takes up all the room.
okay, first post. let me try and write a proper update here then...
In Spring/Summer of 2017, I finished medical school and left my home of Oakland, CA to go become a doctor. Where you end up doing your specialty training is a bit of a lottery, but I ranked and ended up in western New York, near-ish the Canadian border and Toronto.
When we rented our house I noticed an old neglected motorcycle sitting in the back. It apparently ran, but then was put away and not touched. Since being "choppered" it hadn't really been used much.
I'm gonna quote my member introduction here for a moment...
I got the house owner to sell the bike for cheapie, and it was in pretty decent condition all around.
It had been chopped up a bit by a few folks trying to make it less plastic clad. It's not a bad idea, as the frame on these bikes was quite pretty and showing it off is great.
here she is when I first got her, 1983 Kawasaki GPZ550
now the other side...maybe you can see that brownish gunk on the top of the tank? That was rust eating through from inside the tank to the outside
I took the tank to a shop to see if they could weld it, but it was far too rusted. There was a hole in the roof and water and snow just dripped away eating the insides and out (gas cap wasn't sealing up right) The shop was interstellar motors, here in ROC, NY. Great bunch of guys!
I looked for another tank, but to be honest I hated the shape of the stock tank. The lines were wrong on the bike. I noticed a member on here JFarhanbod had done up a GPZ550 really nicely (his is an 84) and he fit the 81 style tank on his.
I had to grind off the tabs for my ignition coils and make a bracket to relocate them, but the tank fit great!
Forgot to mention, the wiring was a mess. Lots of corrosion, lots of stripped wiring that when I drove the bike around at first, it sparked and sputtered. I decided enough was enough, and removed the harness.
I picked up an M-unit and some buttons, plus a domino throttle...
while I wait for those to show up, I started to ponder the seat pan:
I need somewhere to stash a battery, and the electronics.
I also need to mount up a seat somehow, and not the awkwardly shaped stock seat.
I want to have SOME room for storage, so a rear hump is in order (though maybe the battery will eat all that space up.)
Here is the template for the seat I've measured several times and tried a few layups... I had interstellar motors (shameless plug for them again i guess? GREAT shop) weld up the rear frame hoop.
now for the ideas about making an undertray: looks like there isn't much clearance towards the rear of the bike with the tire. I can't follow the triangular plates on the frame where the dual shocks used to mount on the prev year model.
and then up towards the front, where the factory ignition, and regulator rectifier mounted? Not a bad spot, but totally exposed to the elements.
maybe you can't quite see it, but this is a UNITRAC model suspension and the suspension linkage takes up a lot of that middle area. There's still a teeny bit of space, though. I could probably squeeze an electrics box in there, but I wouldnt fit the M unit I don't think, and I wouldn't want the M unit right next to a boiling hot regulator rectifier.
And then there's the issue of the seat shape: It's going to need to be a taller seat height (a low brat seat makes the bike too small for me)
so I got the idea to build the seat base like earlier, and maybe have that be the electronics tray. Electronics on TOP of the frame rails.
Then somehow build the seat on top of the electronics, and somehow have it swivel or click open so I can take a look at the electronics, and maybe have some storage space in a cafe hump for my gloves when I'm not riding.
At this point I was frozen in indecision, and pondering how and where to stash the electronics and battery that wasn't sticking right out into the elements. I also didn't want to keep the ratty old foam seat as it didn't have any support.
The bike was then moved to the inside of INTERSTELLAR MOTORS, a well known cafe racer shop here in town (Rochester, NY)
The bike has been moved into interstellar motors shop where I'm continuing to do some more work on it. I got a seat pan layout made of a sheet of steel.
I ran into a problem though. You can see that the tank mount is kind of tough to clear. I have to figure some way to get the seat pan to cover that bit. I have at my disposal a sheet metal bender, but I can't quite get a tiny little right angle as the minimum length between bends is about 2 inches. Somehow I've got to make another mounting point for the seat pan on the factory tank mount, so I think I have to curve the metal around it? Gonna take some creativity, I'm thinking. I'm kinda stuck right now.
I cant get around that piece. I ended up cutting off the two side "wings" on the side and just terminating the pan at the tank mounting hump.
underside view of the pan. I still need to somehow attach some mounts to the frame so I can screw it down.
At this point I tore into the carbs and found them completely gummed up with crystals and what can only be described as "GUNK"
more close up of the boogers and barnacles attached to the float bowls, and floats themselves
NEXT:
figured this bit out. now I have to decide if I'm going to hammer the "wings" down on top for a narrowing of the saddle as it approaches the tank. Right now it pokes my legs because it's so sharp.
compare to yesterday
so I'm going to rivet the new piece down that I made with the metal bender. that thing is a godsend!
wider shot of the whole seat pan
circles on the green tape are where i'll drill and then place rivets to secure it. I still need to weld cross brackets for securing the seat pan onto the frame.
(gonna hammer the two wide sides down if I can so they dont poke my legs
Actually, I should stop calling it "seat pan" this is just the "undertray"
I'm ordering up a piece of KYDEX Thermoplastic which I will heat form around the metal tray. This will be what the foam and staples for the fabric go onto. I'm going to have a layer of hard foam (like yoga mat material) and then a layer of softer foam on top (maybe even some GEL like from those purple mattresses. I think I have a square of it sitting at home...) I want the seat to have a rounder profile since I've got a narrow arse.
KYDEX is what Gun enthusiasts like to use to make conceal carry holsters. I may be a Californian, but I was raised in Texas and I know a thing or two about firearms! Has anyone here used KYDEX for making a saddle before? It seems to be a good base if it is thick enough?
oh and I'm trying some shapes for a seat hump. I need less space than I thought originally. Going to use a shorai battery. I have two mounting options: 1: use the stock location for a full size shorai, or 2: use the seat hump for a mini shorai.
here's the seat hump design in progress. I may want to make it larger/taller?
right now it's set up to be a solo seat so it's "in line" with the frame tubing. I could push it back further and allow for a passenger... Gotta have the hump though nowhere else to store the electrics! The monoshock takes up all the room.
okay, first post. let me try and write a proper update here then...