Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: MrFluffy on March 16, 2007, 11:00:28 AM
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Hi, just wandered in here and registered as my interest in thumpers seems on the up once more as my xt is actually starting to come together. S'only polite to say hello and is the usual etiquette so here goes.
Ive got a SP370 (well, 400 with a GN motor this time round after the DR400 grenaded the crank, yeah theyre all the same motor except the gn isnt painted black) that Ive had for years n years, and over the years its mutated into this, I still use it for pottering around on most weeks too. Electrics are a tiny alarm cell battery mounted directly under the seat base hidden from view, and most of the lights are led's, and a 55W halogen 6v headlight courtesy of paul goff :-
(http://www.turbomoto.com/images/sp400house.JPG)
Ive been just using it for the past few years now, only job pending are the exaust valve seat is receeded and the usual service items on a sp (swingarm bearings/welding up the kickstart/changing the rear sprocket bolts).
Im also building a XT500 motard with husqvarna (are they wp's rebranded?) usd forks and monoshock conversion, dr600 wheels (18" front 17 rear) with a 320mm floating disc up front gripped by a two pot caliper off a gpx6. Monoshock is a bit of a weirdy as its using a rd350 (I think!) swingarm and a adjustable gas shock from a gpz turbo direct with no rocker linkage, which means the shock upper mount can be right at the back of the main top tube and push its loading into that properly, as otherwise Id end up having to remake half the frame for the loads and I can adjust springrates with a suspension pump. And it has a 94mm piston and probally needs a lumpy cam conversion with a bit o porting on it (I have a photo of the piston under my pillow at night mmmmm). I plan to do a sr 12v conversion on it as Im sick of 6v electrics in general, and I supposed Im going to have to use a bigger carb and exaust, but thats not the end of the world.
Ill drag a photo of it off the camera when I can get my cheapo camera to take a decent pic.
Ive had quite a few thumpers over the years, xl500, xl250, FT500 (never again!) and a dark period of britishness had a few tiger cubs. Besides the thumpers I also have a unholy passion for big jap 4's with far too much power (well, you cant actually get TOO much but you know what I mean), I have a fairly unmodified by my stds kawa 750 turbo, another K turbo project in a homebuilt tubular spaceframe with a 810 motor and a garrett t3, a gs750/850 hybrid project bike with a blower on it, and a Bimota YB8 (the one with the 1000 exup engine). Theres also a xl125r that Im currently boring to 160cc so Ive got something light to chuck on the back of our camper van and theyre exceedingly fun little dual purpose trialie bikes. I do all my own work/modifications/fabrication and have a decent workshop to play in as a result.
Anyway, before it drags on much longer, hello!
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hello mate!
welcome aboard- projects look good!
where are you roughly?
cheers...
a
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Welcome matey :-) Quite a garage full there! I feel a shed meet coming on.
Get your camera up and running, we'd all like some piccies.
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Im a bit nomadic as per location, I work in the uk, but my workshop/mrs/kid etc is in central france. I just rent a place where the current contract is in the uk, throw a couple of bikes and some tools and bedding and some computers in the back of my old renault and move there for 6 months or however long with the odd weekend home when I can, meanwhile the stuff left at base is carefully oiled up so its ready for when I get back. Ive just finished a stint in east anglia, near woodbridge to be exact, but that ended about two months back so Im back in the workshop till the money runs out again. Could be often seen plodding up the a12 on the sp, or with my own personal vapour trail on the turbo. Im originally from cheshire too. Still its a nice remote location if anyones passing on a tour of central france in need o emergency repairs. Midway between chateauroux and limoges...
Ill try get some decent pics outside this weekend, my camera doesnt work inside too well, and every time I go in there I think "Ill just do this first, hmm Ill make that for it now" and before you know it its another 2am finish and I get shouted at by the missus for waking her up coming to bed smelling of cutting fluid, shes bought me a workshop clock now after too many "I just lost track of time dear" statements where I managed to spend all evening in the workshop instead of watching crap tv with her, but sadly it seems to have gone inaccurate already, I tried lubricating the mechanism with chain lube but that just seems to have made matters worse and now it runs really really slow ;-)
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Welcome - and it is nice to know that there is a friendly face in France should we be passing - I am sure there are down sides (like I would not see my kids as often as I like) - but your nomadic lifestyle sounds fantastic.
Covered in cutting oil - sooooo more than a few bikes in the workshop too. Could call you a rude word - but I wont , Mr Microsoft does not like it.
Funny about the clock mind - maybe needs boiling in Lynklyfe?
R
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Tonight Im forgetting to reset the workshop clocks...
Heres a crap shot in the workshop for now, its pee'd down all weekend again as usual..
(http://www.fluffycentral.com/images/xt500_bench_crapquality.jpg)
Im hunting down where I can the missing bits o the jigsaw but without all that hurry that makes sellers sniff a killing, tonight I "won" a 38mm del-orto carb from a 600 ktm lc4 complete with choke etc. As I dont have a stock carb anyway (the "XT" carb that came with it is off a SP370 which is handy as mines getting a bit worn) and its got a 94mm piston in it now making it 600, so a few more mm's and a bit of porting seemed in order, Ill leave the ktm jets in for now and see how she is. I have to make a exaust anyway so might as well make that large bore too while Im at it and Ive got some ally drainpipe left that Ive made really nice silencers out of in the past. Far too tight to buy anything ;)
Now just got to work out which end I need to buy a custom sprocket for, since the DR and XT use different pitch chains, so they can be joined together properly...
Should I post this in projects? I have some q's about mixing the 12v sr parts into the mix, I think ive had enough with mag lights where the light comes out and falls on the ground in front of the wheel with my sp...
Yes I have access to a few machine tools when needed, but most of them are poor abandoned rescue ones too :)