Thumper Club Forum
Technical => Project Progress => Topic started by: johnr on September 13, 2010, 07:29:14 PM
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just doing a dry build on my project, a 250 katana suzuki rolling chassis with a dr big 750 thumper motor in it. long way off being done yet, but i think it will be stunning fun!!
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/76ca610d.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/774d690a.jpg)
trying to figure whether i go for mini kat styling, or go a bit ott with enduro tyres and renthals!!!
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Aye John,
For my pennys worth, miniKat every time.
Happy building, Bill.
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possibly, but as it will be sharing garage space with a 400 kat and 3 1100 kats inc one with a gixxer motor, i fancy something a bit different!
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Cracking stuff JohnR. I would er on the side of mini kat as well, what wheel sizes are they? 17 or 18" rear? You could always fit some goldspeed or maxxis sumo tyres?
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Would SM tyres suit ???
http://www.aaa-racing.com/home.php?cat=88
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ooooh, now im liking them tyres!! might plump for the intermediates instead of the enduro tyres!!
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Much better on tarmac than enduro tyres, but they will work on dirty bits too ;)
Made for lighter bikes, so warm up better than ZR sports tyres :)
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plan change. i decided i wanted sticky grippy road tyres. so i looked about and for not much more than the price of a set of tyres, i got, well, a set of tyres!!
with a set of wheels and a set of brakes as well, so, 17 inch sticky supermoto wheels it is!!
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/stuff%20for%20selling/e03ba2b8.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/stuff%20for%20selling/b58ae6af.jpg)
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ok, so firstly a bit of an explanation. the spoked wheels came with new bearings, but the spindle size was 20mm and i wanted to use the spindles that came with the bike which were 17mm, the bearings ext diameter is 42mm and nobody does 42mm bearings with a 17mm hole in them, so i needed to make up spacers and bushes to allow me to use the spindles i had, also the front spindle is stepped to fit the fork leg, so if i decided to make new spindles up i would need to make the new one to fit the forks i have, so, to the rescue came bobster from the katana club!! with this, which ive always wanted but never got round to getting,
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/a2f5afbe.jpg)
so, now im tooled up, i set about ruining some perfectly good lumps of metal, eventually allowing me to fit the wheels like this,
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/8327a691.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/54441162.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/3bb4db7b.jpg)
front is in and spaced and more or less done, rear is in, but not spaced yet as i cant centraliseit till the swingarm is centralised. the swingarm from the impulse is about 19mm narrower than the 250 one so ie made two spacers to centralise it, and when ive decided what back brake to use, i will make a couple of spacers for the back wheel to hold it. ut, it all lines up chainwise.
next, the motor needs to go forward a few degrees, just so the barrel is canted slightly forward, but not too much so it doesnt foul the downtubes, also tipping the motor forward brings the back edge close to the swingarm which isnt ideal, so i just slackened the ratchet starap a bit to allow it to lean like this which i think looks much more 'right'
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/5201c50b.jpg)
mudguard fits without fouling the tyre, but i think i need something more closely fitted. might try to fit a 400 kat guard in there. notice ive now got the 400 kat shockers which are about an inch or so shorter than the 250 ones so make the back end a bit more level.
next job is dust seals for the swingarm, then headstock bearings, then a cylinder head mount for the motor allowing me to lose the ratchet strap, and then a new set of rear mounings allowing me to move the motor forward just a little to make it easier to get in and out.
small progress i know, but progress all the same.
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Looking good, can we book it for Stafford in October? (no pressure then ;))
Although I suspect the Kat club would like you to exhibit it everywhere when it's done.
Good work that man
GC
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if its done for stafford, you can have it on the thumper club stand. kat club have some pretty uber trick stuff for their stand anyhow, so i doubt they will miss this. besides, a kat on a stand full of kats wont be really noticable if you are passing. but amongst its one lunged bretheren it might make folk stop and stare, which is sort of the point really! besides there are some stunning examples of big kats in the club at the mo, and some of the work in progress machines are very special. this is little more than an assembly of disparate parts, if you want it then youre more than welcome to it, but remembering last year, the thumper club doesnt seem short of machines worth showing!
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Yes we always have lots of interesting kit on show, but a DR-engined Katana is something very special (imho) and we'd be honoured to have it on the stand.
GC
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and i will probably have my gixxer 1100 engined kat ready for the kat club stand anyhow!!
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posty has been with my footpegs, niiice,
a thing of beauty is a joy forever!!
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/05de3f03.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/91f99af7.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/ukkatanapics/baby%20kat%20build%202010/07beabef.jpg)
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Yum, yum, pig's bum ;)
Very nice
GC
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Dem are nice.....cant wait to see the whole project complete. Ive got a 650dr lump in the garage just waiting to be slotted into something a bit trick. ::) ::)
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ok, im resurectng this thread from the depths of the forum, theres not been much actual progress on this build, but thats not to say that nothing has happened. after a lot of faffing and deliberation i came to the conclusion that this isnt going to happen in its present form. the kat 250 is a small bike and the engine is tiny for a 4 pot motor. unfortunately its not very tall either, so the fit in the frame of the very tall dr big engine was a bit uncomfortable. the dr is a very tall lump and required the removal of the lower frame tubes, and even then it was tricky not to run the risk grounding the sump.
so, as the bike sits in its current form still in my shed, ive got hold of a complete katana 400 frame, this is bigger in every way than the 250, which is odd, cos the 2 bikes share all the same bodywork! ive also got the 400 suspension and wheels, which im going to use, due to them looking identical to the stock suzuki spoke pattern but being much wider and capable of taking modern tyres, they also look more stock making the bike look more like something made by suzuki rather than a bitsa. so its progressing, slowly, but it is progressing!
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Aye John,
Mines 13 years! ::)
Frame was squiffy and has just been 'adjusted' in a jig, as has the swingarm.
Regards, Bill.
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this is in a queue of unfinishe dprojects that need completing for various reasons, including an innova125, a gs1000, gs650, dr650, gs550 chop, c15 chop, m21 sidecar outfit and 3 1100 katanas, as well as a triumph 500 and a trike, is it any wonder that progress is slow. but im prioritising now, the easy to complete ones will get done just to create room as they can be sold when done, so dr650 innova gs1000 and 650 will all make both room and finance to allow the dr kat its time on the workbench. although once the engine is in, its a pretty straightforward rebuild of an otherwise stock bike and aside from an exhaust to fabricate theres not a lot to it.
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whats your unfinished project then?
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Aye John,
'74 Duke four fufty. Owned since '76. Sole transport for 3 years, moved house (caravan) on it, daily commute to work/college/home. Thrown up the road, wiped out the right hand side on the kerb. Cut off the obvious bent bits, knocked it 'straight' and rode it on and off until autumn 2000, with 2 engine rebuilds, various rattle can paint jobs and 70K + under the wheels. Italian Smiths instruments are ?!?!? and the digital bike speedo is in a drawer! Pulled it apart that winter and various bits have been renewed/ restored since, but never rebuilt. Blue tit's nested in the 'silencer', life and work interrupt various plans, buy SRX600's, a Funduro, a Skorpion, a Morini 125. Finally, a ruby anniversary/ birthday comes around, not sure if I'll be about for the Golden, so will try to rebuild and set off a few car alarms while the positive side of life is still about. ;)
The idea is to have a clean, mechanically sound bike, but not worry about the 'patina'. £300 for a 'blow job' that disappears under ethanol attack? Nah! A new cam or piston costs that alone these days! Whilst a big end plus fitting will set you back the same. Need a new rod, that'll be £500+. :o ::) :o Maybe some of that POR15 with a lacquer to stop the UV, or Ford 'Rosso' red from Holts! ;)
All the best with the 'Suzy Perry' fleet and good health to see it through.
Slainte, Bill.
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Hi. Hope it all goes well....I still have my dr650 lump waiting to go into something. Not sure weather to build my own hardtail frame or slot it into a frame like you are doing. At the moment,I am building a bobber/lowrider thingy. I have made my hardtail frame,wheels and forks are kwaka gpz1000rx and the engine is a yam diversion 600. Its taken me ages to get this far but its enjoyable and a challenge.
I am a fabricator welder....so my skills come in handy at times...especially tig welding stainless brackets and electrical boxes. Keep up the good work and post plenty of pics.