QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Issues

kwazykid

kwazykid

Been Around the Block
I'm sure you are wondering, what the heck are you doing? A moped cafe? Yes, a moped cafe.

Cloudrider and I have been scheming for about a month now to convert a Yamaha QT50 into a cafe racer.

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This is what we've got to start with. Cloudrider's got it running very nicely. He rejetted it and took the battery out of the system for now. It will have to go back in for the lights to work though.

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This tank is from a CL175. It's got a few bumps but it's in good shape. It should work well for this build.

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These are the forks we found for the build. The frame mods we've got planned should make this work just fine.

We got started on the build this afternoon. We got the frame torn down and cleaned up the engine a bit. The modifications we have planned are to stretch the downtube 4 or 5 inches right around where it says YAMAHA, extend the tube at the back up to the subframe, add a top tube, build a subframe, and relocate the shock mount. We figured out that the headtube is a bit too long for the forks so we will have to cut it down and reseat the top cup.


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Here's a very rough sketch of what it might turn out like.

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We chopped the frame at the back to start the modifications but the tubing we got to extend it is too large a diameter so we ordered what we need and will have to wait for the material to come in.

Hopefully we get to work on it more soon. Busy weeks coming up, but it was good to get a start on it.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Awesome project! And may I say, that is the biggest damn moped seat I've ever seen.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

I didn't sell you that tank, did I?

Either way, this is a pretty crazy little project. I'm signed up.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Thanks guys! Yeah Tim, that seat says "it may take me 3 weeks to get where I'm going, but at least my butt will be comfortable"

Cloudrider found that tank on ebay, so I dunno who he got it from.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Oh yes. Now we are cooking on gas :)
Subscribed.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

I must have sold it to somebody else then.

Have you checked out www.treatland.tv yet? They have all sorts of moped stuff. Maybe nothing for that particular scoot though.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Treatland has all sorts of stuff, you pretty much have to know what you want before you buy because their descriptions leave a little to be desired sometimes but their prices are usually reasonable. Not a lot there for the QT50 but some. I don't think Ben showed a pic of the front wheel we are using but it's off a Honda XL75 (the forks are from the XL75 too) and is a 16 inch rim. I actually found that our local motorcycle shop gets tires in cheaper than any place I can order from and we found a Pirelli ML75 2.50 x 16 that has a great tread pattern. Treatland wanted $33 and I got it for $22, and Treats is out of stock anyway. I got an IRC 70/90 x 14 for the rear and the tread pattern is similar to the Pirelli, I think it was only $19 for the rear. Treats wants $30 for it.

Treats does have some stuff that you just can't find elsewhere and it's a funny site to cruise around.

The PW50 uses the same engine and peeweecycle.com has replacement top end kits for only $99 bucks that are a chinese copy that actually has bigger ports. I may have to get one to try either on Ben's or our other QT50.

Motion Left Mopeds makes a very cool side bleed expansion chamber for the QT that really bumps up the power, another cool part to try.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

It's nice to have more than one person working on a project. Things get done much faster.

At first I was thinking about putting clubmans on the build but tubing is cheap and Cloudrider talked me into making clip ons. We've got several stock handlebars lying around so we chopped some of them up.

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Since the moped is already very low, clip ons will make the stance even lower. With the bend in the bar it should put the grips up just a little higher.
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Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Cloudrider mentioned the wheel we got for the front and I forgot to get pictures of it. I'll get some up soon. We were lucky enough to find a decent wheel, with break, and speedo gears! Actually, with all the parts we've won on ebay for it, we might have two full wheels. I've got a mini speedo from dime city that I plan to put on that should fit in well with the size of the whole project. 8)
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

What about a little bicycle speedo? Would be even smaller and lighter.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

That is wrong in all the right ways - I love it!

You should get about 1,000,000 miles a tank with the new tank :) - what was the original fuel capacity? A gallon or so? I'll be eagerly watching this build!
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Worst cb650 ever said:
That is wrong in all the right ways - I love it!
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I agree with this statement.

The original tank was around half a gallon and the new tank is something like 2.5 gallons. I've not tested it but it should get between 80 and 120 mpg. I'll be able to ride forever!

Rich, I had thought about a bicycle speedo but the hub's already got all the gears and such for a real speedo so since the parts are there I'm gonna use them.

I did find out some unfortunate news though. I'm moving to Ohio in a few months and the laws for mopeds, or as they define this - "a scooter", are a bit more strict than in Kansas. I'll probably have to register it as a motorcycle and put turn signals on, which wasn't originally part of the plan. Oh well, adapt and move on.
 
Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Here's the wheel from an XL75 and the Pirelli tire. The wheel needs a little TLC but its still in good shape otherwise.

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Re: QT50 Yamahopper Cafe - Might hit the 1/2 ton

Again, advantages of a team build. My brother is an excellent welder whose services have been taken advantage of.

Got the rear frame extension on. Next step will be lengthening the down tube.
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We also came up with a better solution to the head tube issue. Instead of cutting down the head tube on the frame, we decided to lengthen the internal head tube on the fork.
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