dr kat

[johnr]

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!!





trying to figure whether i go for mini kat styling, or go a bit ott with enduro tyres and renthals!!!

[themoudie]

Aye John,

For my pennys worth, miniKat every time.

Happy building, Bill.

[johnr]

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!

[guest868]

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?

[el vencejo]

Would SM tyres suit 
http://www.aaa-racing.com/home.php?cat=88

[johnr]

ooooh, now im liking them tyres!! might plump for the intermediates instead of the enduro tyres!!

[el vencejo]

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 

[johnr]

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!!

[johnr]

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,



so, now im tooled up, i set about ruining some perfectly good lumps of metal,  eventually allowing me to fit the wheels like this,







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'



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.

[guest7]

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

[johnr]

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!

[guest7]

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

[johnr]

and i will probably have my gixxer 1100 engined kat ready for the kat club stand anyhow!!

[johnr]

posty has been with my footpegs, niiice,
a thing of beauty is a joy forever!!

[guest7]

Yum, yum, pig's bum 

Very nice
GC