FT500 Supermoto Hellride

[irk miller]

I will be watching to see what you do up front. When I built the Phat Trakka, I used a pair of driving lights for low and high beams but to be honest, they could barely generate enough light see the front wheel and even then it looked like a film noir streetlamp seen.

So then I tried LED bulbs. Much whiter but still no depth of beam - hardly surprising. Then I went through a basket load of small LED lights and in the end had to fit a 5.75" LED headlamp without a shell but using a mounting ring.

That provided a great beam pattern and lights up the road effectively but looks like crap with the original front race type number plate. The current solution is a small "screen" above the headlamp but it looks a bit odd to my eyes - not like a tracker at all.

I did try a dual sport aftermarket number plate with small square light but it didn't look right either.

So I am hoping you come up with something that looks right that I can adapt for the fat gurl.

Big reason why I am going with an XL250r headlight. It's a rectangular, hi/lo beam street headlight. The XL250r shroud is unobtainium, and why I am playing with the XR650 shrouds. The XL600r and XR650 basically use the same shroud, while the 250r is different. I was originally planning to use DR stuff, but it's pretty pricey and lesser in design for this build, imo. I have DR350S ears, so I should be able to build a custom mount pretty easily to match the front end.


As far as front brake, I think the dual piston DR caliper will be plenty, but we'll have to see. Shouldn't be a huge gap in weight between this and a street-titled DR350 or DR650. There's an aftermarket 320mm rotor kit available through ProCycle. When this rotor goes out of spec, I will likely swap to that rotor.

 

[pidjones]

I'm good with no number plates. Sorry, but personally they look a little silly on a non-race bike.

 

[irk miller]

Body work is finally finished on the seat, so I’ll get to paint today or in the next day or two. It’s exam week, so my Xmas break has basically begun. Colonoscopy Tues, though. Yay.

Tracking down the front shroud has not been as easy as I hoped. The red one I cut down continues to develop cracks, so it’s out. I bought an NOS white one that I don’t hate as white, but it will get matched or I will find a good enough red one.

 

[wozza]

Hehe the white shroud reminds me of the flying nun

 

[irk miller]

 

[Brodie]

Damn that tail section blends in perfect now it is red. Good effort.

 

[Maritime]

turned out awesome. Now the tank needs a polish to shine like the plastics.

 

[Rider52]

Wow! Nice job blending the paint.

 

[Hurco550]

This is rapidly becoming one of my favorites.

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Fuck yeah, man! I can definitely dig it.

 

[irk miller]

Adapted to kick only and the DR350S rear wheel and brake. Nothing a little torch forging some 3/4” tubing and a CB650 brake arm couldn’t handle.

 

[Maritime]

Nice

 

[irk miller]

Been a while since I posted. The build stalled for a month, until I finally got the jug out to bore. 92mm JE piston installed to bring displacement to 530cc. 38mm Mikuni. Swapped for an non-American XL fairing modified for a light o had laying around.

 

[Luugo86]

Did you have to modify the head at all to suit the new piston ?

 

[irk miller]

Did you have to modify the head at all to suit the new piston ?

Not at all. Just a bore and copper head gasket to fit.

 

[Luugo86]

Awesome; I dig the new fairing also

 

[JerryAssburger]

So much nicer with the round headlight and fairing! The whole "Rectangle Headlight Because We Can Thing" was an UGLY styling period with both cars AND bikes.

 

[irk miller]

Took a few nicks to finish, but aside from a clear coat, we’re done and riding.

 

[ridesolo]

Pretty much what the FT should have looked like from Honda. Nice job, Eric.

 

[doc_rot]

nice work. looks fun.