saving a 1980 KZ750 twin
- Thread starter doc_rot
- Start date
That engine looks amazing. Love your build.
Hey, seen this one?
http://thebikeshed.cc/2015/08/04/the-pacific-motorcycle-co-n-zed/
Hey, seen this one?
http://thebikeshed.cc/2015/08/04/the-pacific-motorcycle-co-n-zed/
Thanks dude. thats the bike that made me consider the backbone to subframe brace. its very nicely done. particularly like the primaries of the exhaust, I think the one I make will be something like that but with longer mufflers.
redwillissuperman
Keep it simple- engine, wheels, bars
doc_rot said:
How did you sand and buff the swingarm?
I appreciate the concern. Yes, 6061 does loose its temper when welded. I am planning on doing some artificial aging to help return some of the strength. I am aware that this is less than ideal, however, I am not terribly worried because the early aluminum swing-arms from Suzuki were not heat treated post weld (this is off a '82 GS1100). Furthermore, Its fairly common practice to lengthen aluminum swing-arms and no one heat treats. The guy that did the welding has done loads of aluminum swing-arm mods over the years and has never had an issue. Once I start riding the bike I will be scrutinizing the welds for cracks. If any cracks appear I will probably build a new swing-arm from scratch so I can use the appropriate filler rod so it can be heat treated. In retrospect I should have done that in the first place, as it wouldn't have cost me much more money but it would have been substantially more time.
Mate, what an amazing set of skills! Really loving your work. I dont know many people that can weld like that AND throw together a seat cover like that. Kudos.
Wheres this project at now?
Wheres this project at now?
in storage for the moment. unfortunately, hopefully i will have a chance to pull it out in 6 weeks. I have been building the skill set to make some trick headers in the interm. fun on the bridge port, and a too hot fusion weld right here
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Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
I like the blue 1/16" tungsten for Ti and if you can flood some argon under the welds you want to look nice
I never seem to have any free time to work on the bikes these days. I did make a little progress this week and started assembling everything. The motor is in the frame, the new motor mount bolts are super snug and made getting the engine in there a challenge. I still need to make the mount plates.
I put new bearings in the swingarm, added a grease fitting, and I started the chain slider. After a couple failed attempts I got a sheet of Delrin to melt over a piece of the tube I capped the swingarm with. It ended up being a bit thinner than i would have liked but it turned out pretty nice. I need to mount it to the arm next. Should I rivet it or drill and tap for some counter sunk screws?
I put new bearings in the swingarm, added a grease fitting, and I started the chain slider. After a couple failed attempts I got a sheet of Delrin to melt over a piece of the tube I capped the swingarm with. It ended up being a bit thinner than i would have liked but it turned out pretty nice. I need to mount it to the arm next. Should I rivet it or drill and tap for some counter sunk screws?
Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
maybe just some removable plastic push rivets, if the wear just replace them
Its a ROLLER.
Also got the body work in sealer.
I couldn't find any countersunk rivets and the push rivets i could find locally were way to big, so i got impatient and ended up counter sinking some 3mm allen screws for the chain slider. I sunk them below the plastic height so hopefully they'll be protected a little bit.
Much to my chagrin the new wheel is 3 lbs heavier than the stock wheel and tire - which was bald enough that the new wheel probably is more like only 2 lbs heavier than the stock. Its a push on overall weight though because the swing arm made up the difference. The geometry is a little more aggressive than i would like as well.I didn't account for how much height the mount on the swingarm would add to the "shock to axle" length. With both these things happening it seems like the perfect excuse to swap for something like a aluminim 17" rim with a 130/70/17 tire and a stainless spoke kit. Hindsights a mofo
I pulled the dual disk setup off my roached KZ650 that some asshole torched a couple months ago. The fire burnt the MC but everything else was untouched. Its funny, This dual setup was on my first KZ1000, that i then put on my second KZ1000, then on my kz650, and now its going on this bike. At least a little bit of a phoenix will rise from those ashes.
Also got the body work in sealer.
I couldn't find any countersunk rivets and the push rivets i could find locally were way to big, so i got impatient and ended up counter sinking some 3mm allen screws for the chain slider. I sunk them below the plastic height so hopefully they'll be protected a little bit.
Much to my chagrin the new wheel is 3 lbs heavier than the stock wheel and tire - which was bald enough that the new wheel probably is more like only 2 lbs heavier than the stock. Its a push on overall weight though because the swing arm made up the difference. The geometry is a little more aggressive than i would like as well.I didn't account for how much height the mount on the swingarm would add to the "shock to axle" length. With both these things happening it seems like the perfect excuse to swap for something like a aluminim 17" rim with a 130/70/17 tire and a stainless spoke kit. Hindsights a mofo
I pulled the dual disk setup off my roached KZ650 that some asshole torched a couple months ago. The fire burnt the MC but everything else was untouched. Its funny, This dual setup was on my first KZ1000, that i then put on my second KZ1000, then on my kz650, and now its going on this bike. At least a little bit of a phoenix will rise from those ashes.
Glad it's coming back together Doc.
