Post by: Ruby Racing on 07 November 2013, 12:47:25 am
I finished my first project bike on 1 September 2010. It was a fantastic moment as my vision had become reality and I was very happy with how it turned out.
And then a moment of disappointment. Why? Well, I didn't have a project bike to do anymore. As much as I wanted to finish the build, the process of the build is
the best part. Making things yourself, solving problems, etc. So time to find another project.
It's taken a while, but I got there in the end. I was inspired by the Kawasaki Z1000 (I love old Kawasaki Zeds) that Jon Keeling of Racefit built (see picture below)
using a three and a half grand Spondon frame. In fact I would have loved to have owned it, however I doubt my pockets would have been deep enough. I really like the whole 1980's AMA
superbike racer look, so decided I'd like to build my own idea of one.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RacefitZ1000-s.jpg)
Next thing was to decide on a bike to start the build from. I'd thought about a modern version using the 2003 Z1000 and then discounted it for various reasons.
I already have a 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R and seriously thought about getting another one and ripping into it. They are heavy bikes and trying to get the weight
down would have taken a lot of work. So that idea came and went. There were a few other thoughts, including an original Z1000 and if it wasn't for their values
going up right now I might have gone down that path.
I kept a lookout in the local online classifieds and eventually I saw a bike I thought would work. It was a 1999 Yamaha Fazer FZS600 that had had a front end
shunt bending the forks. I planned on fitting USD forks, so bent forks weren't a problem as long as the frame was straight. The thing that sold me was the shape
of the frame, particularly the bend near the foot pegs as it reminded me of the Spondon frame. Also the fake air cooled look of the engine. The price was also right
as I picked it up for a few hundred quid.
The plan is to build my own AMA type racer. I had intended to do this build just to create a unique road bike for myself, but the
fact I want to base it loosely on an 80's race bike got me thinking. I had raced a 1,000cc sports bike in the BMCRC Powerbikes class for three years from 2007 to 2009.
I stopped because the amount of traveling got to be too much (every race meeting involves two cross channel ferry journeys and lots of charging up and down motorways),
however I still miss it a little and before I stopped I had been thinking of changing class into one a little more suited to my ability, namely Thunderbikes
(or Thunderbirds as I like to call them). The main regulation for the class is a strict power to weight ratio and is aimed at older bikes. All to keep the costs down
and the racing close.
A VERY rough outline of what I'm planning on building:
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacerMockUp-s.jpg)
So I've decided to make it eligible for racing too. Thunderbikes is one class I'm going build it for and also Streetfighters. Now I know that this isn't the bike to
start turning into a racer, a beam framed sports bike would be a much better starting point and certainly in Streetfighters that's what most racers have. So it wont
be a front running bike, but I don't mind. It doesn't matter where you are in a race. If you're having a dice with someone, that's all that matters.
There are a number of race regulations that have to be followed including a catch tank for all vent hoses, a bellypan that can hold a certain amount of fluid,
lock wire of oil filler and drain bolts, etc which I will incorporate in the build. However the main class rules I have to adhere to are as follows:
Thunderbikes
Sports Thunderbikes - 1 SAE bhp per 1.81kg weight up to a maximum of 105bhp
Streetfighter
Up to 600cc 4 cylinder with a maximum horsepower limit of 100bhp
Handlebars must be mounted above the top yoke and mounted so that the bar ends are higher than the bar mounting point
Nose cones and or bikini fairings must not protrude back past the headstock and must fit behind a theoretical template measuring 480mm horizontal and 330mm
vertical when viewed from the front.
As Streetfighters has a power limit of 100bhp, irrespective of weight, then that is the maximum I can have the motor producing to be eligible for both classes.
From a quick internet search it looks like a standardish Fazer puts out about 85bhp at the rear wheel. Someway short of 100bhp so I'll have to focus my efforts on
weight reduction, which is in my plans anyway. Using the Thunderbikes formula that would mean a minimum weight of 154kg. The factory quoted dry weight for
the standard bike is 189kg. So that's 35kg the bike needs to shed. That might be hard to do, so some mild engine tuning may also be needed. I'll concentrate on
a Weight Watchers program first and see where that gets me.
In the back of my mind I realise I may not actually be able to get the look I'm after. So I have a plan B. Back in 1998 I saw a concept bike in one of the
motorcycle magazines that really caught my fancy. It was based on the FZS600 with clip ons, a race seat and modified fairing among other things.
Here's a copy of that article.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FazerFZS600Concept-s.jpg)
I got thinking a bit more and thought that if plan A does work, then my next project could be plan B with another FZS600. Then I thought some more. The majority
of the things I want to do would apply to both bikes, so why not make the two bikes out of one? The only bits I would need to change are the front fairing, the
tail unit, petrol tank and the handle bars. So that's the plan: one bike, two looks.
Project Ruby Racer is GO!
Post by: Ruby Racing on 07 November 2013, 12:57:35 am
Day 1 - 11-1-13 - Bought bike and collected. Involved in a 20mph front end crash. Started motor after charging battery and runs OK.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600Bought1-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600Bought2-s.jpg)
Day 2 - 15-1-13 - Asses damage. Remove fairing which had most of mounting lugs snapped off. A chunk missing. Headlight mount snapped. Front mudguard broken.
One fork leg bent the other snapped just below the bottom yoke. Right hand engine case cracked, cover for starter gear. I got a second hand cover from Fazer Owners Club
forum (FOC) member and second hand forks from later model with preload adjusters from eBay.
Photos of new forks fitted.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600NewForks2-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600NewForks1-s.jpg)
Radiator bent. Fairing bracket looks bent. Fairing lugs on frame bent. Right footrest bent. Left disc slightly warped but decided that by looking at it. Main frame appears
not to be bent, although there are a couple of paint flakes at two weld points on right side of frame near headstock area. Brake lever bent. Front wheel axle bent, so got
second hand replacement off eBay.
Photo of possible crease in frame. I hope not.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600FrameRust-s.jpg)
Although I've bought some parts I wont be using in my build I wanted to ride the bike first to see if it was OK.
Day 3 - 4-2-13 - Replacement forks and axle fitted. Left brake disc removed and aluminium plate mounted between brake pads on left caliper. Right engine cover fitted
with silicone gasket. Battery charged but it's dead. Used battery from Daytona and fired up after a couple of attempts. Went for a ride up the lane only first gear and second.
Has a wine connected with speed. I had a 2002 R1 that was quite whiny from the gearbox, but this sounds worse. Put bike on centre stand and ran in first gear. No whine!
Photo of one of the front discs removed which was warped.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600OneDisc-s.jpg)
Photo of rough and ready repair to engine case.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600CoverRepair-s.jpg)
As it's had a front end smash and the axle was bent, I'm guessing the bearings are damaged. I could get a second hand wheel and tyre for thirty quid, but it's yet more parts
I wont be using in the build, so I bought some new bearings for four pounds! Much better.
Although only ridden slowly the motor felt nice and smooth.
Day 4 - 5-2-13 - As I was waiting for the bearings to arrive I set to on removing the swing arm so I could measure it properly. I had also got ahead of myself and bought
an FZR1000 EXUP swing arm off eBay for twenty quid. Seemed too cheap to miss. I wanted one that wasn't too trick looking to keep in with the '80's look. I also hoped that being Yamaha
it might slot in easier than another brand. It's 10mm wider at the part that attaches to the frame. I can't be certain yet but it looks like most of that has to come off one
side. Will ponder how to get around this.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600SwingArm1-s.jpg)
The axle between the frame is also bigger on the EXUP swing arm so I need to find a way of using the Fazer one. First thoughts are to make up a tubular sleeve to fit tight
inside the swing arm and then fit the correct sized bearing for the axle to fit in. I'll speak to me friendly fabrication expert to see if this is viable or what would be better.
I'd need new dust seals and spacers which shouldn't be too difficult to alter.
Photo of Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP swing arm on left and standard Fazer FZS600 swing arm on right.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600SwingArm2-s.jpg)
Photo of Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP swing arm on bottom and standard Fazer FZS600 swing arm on top.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/FZS600SwingArm3-s.jpg)
Day 5 - 23-2-13 - I fitted the new front wheel bearings today. I did it pretty quickly, which surprised me. I did the old trick of putting the bearings in the freezer overnight,
the theory being that they contract a little so getting them in is easier. Once fitted I put the wheel back in and went for a ride.
I had to take it easy as I only have one front disc fitted, so only gave it a blast in first and second on a clear stretch of road. The noise had disappeared which is good.
However the gearbox does tend to whine quite a bit. This might mean that something inside the motor is damaged from running on its side when crashed, or it may well
be they all do that sir! Not having owned it prior to its tumble I don't know. However it is a similar noise to that of a 2002 R1 I used to own, so maybe it's a Yamaha thing.
From reading on the Fazer Forums the main issue that I may have is from the front wheel speed sensor. Apparently when you disconnect it it causes the engine to run
badly and throws up an error signal on the tacho. As I want to change the front end and the clocks I need to know what will happen without these components, so this is
my first major hurdle to overcome. So with the bike running again I then disconnected the front wheel speed sensor to see what effect it had on the running of the engine.
I was still only using first and second but I couldn't notice any difference. I didn't get an error signal on the rev counter either. So then I disconnected the loom that fits
into the rear of the instrument console. Same again, no noticeable effect on the engine running. If I do encounter problems then my first plan is to fit the CDI from a
YZF600R Thundercat as this uses virtually the same engine. I've looked at the wiring diagrams for each bike and it all looks virtually the same (minus the speed sensor
on the Thundercat), with the same colour wires going to the same places. So I've got a second hand CDI for twenty quid and we'll see if that will work.
I don't really want to push the bike in it's current poor set up so I think I'm going to press on with the suspension and brake upgrades, then ride it again. That's USD
forks and a decent swing arm and shock. I already have an EXUP swing arm and have run into a problem already. I bought it off eBay and it was described as immaculate. Well
it isn't and I have found that one of the adjuster bolts is stuck fast in the thread. I took it to a fabricator mate of mine and he couldn't get it out using various ingenious
methods. I now have to try and drill it out. Not contacted the seller yet, but as it was cheap I may just take it on the chin. Too bad I already gave him positive feedback.
Apparently as the bolt is stainless steel and the swing arm aluminium they basically rust together. It's called galvanic corrosion. So it's a good idea to remove the adjuster
bolts every couple of years to prevent this.
What is nice is how smooth the motor is. I love carbs! Pretty torquey motor from what little I have wrung out of her. Not noticed anything dodgy with the handling,
but as I said not pushed it. Hopefully the frame is OK.
Still trying to decide which forks to go for. At the moment I fancy the FZ1 forks and front wheel, although they're about 20mm too short. Or those from a 2007
onwards Triumph Tiger 1050. They are fully adjustable and about 50mm longer, but better to have something to play with. If I go this route I'm hoping Daytona 675
wheels will fit as I have one of those as a track bike, so that would save money if the wet wheels could be used. Neither are popping up that often on eBay and are a bit pricy.
Day 6 - 27-5-13 - A few months have past since I last did anything. That has been because I've been trying to work out which forks to go for as I want to get the suspension
and wheels sorted first so I know the rolling chassis works before tearing the bike apart and cutting bits off.
Well I've found a pair by accident. I went out for a couple of drinks with one of my biking buddies who I don't see very often. We were talking bikes (what else?!) and
he mentioned he was storing a bike that his friends son had had written off (not his fault). I had a look at it and the fork length from the top of the fork to the centre of
the axle was pretty much the same as the Fazer. Also the gap between the top and bottom yoke was identical. I wanted to get them to be the same length because if
you fit forks from a sports bike you generally end up with shorter forks. This can mess up the handling and it will also make the bike ride a little lower, so reducing
ground clearance.
As a bonus the wheel design was exactly what I had in mind, a thin, square section five spoke design. The donor bike? It's a 2005 990 KTM Super Duke. Time to
trawl eBay for the parts. After my research I found I'd be spending a few hundred pounds for second hand forks, wheels, brakes and master cylinder. So I hatched a plan.
The written off bike had been sitting for over 6 months, so I thought the owner might be interested in selling the whole bike, especially as he had replaced it with
another one anyway. He did want to sell and amazingly the price I was willing to pay was exactly the same as what he wanted. Deal.
Photo of the 2005 KTM Super Duke 990 before taking it apart.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/KTMSuperDuke1-s.jpg)
My plan was to break the bike, take the parts I needed and then sell the rest on eBay. Strip down took a whole day and then another morning to photograph
the parts and list all the items. Fortunately pretty much everything sold which meant I now had the garage space to start work on project Ruby Racer.
Photo of the 2005 KTM Super Duke 990 after taking it apart!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/KTMSuperDuke2-s.jpg)
Post by: Chris on 07 November 2013, 01:18:42 am
Chris
Post by: apage16 on 07 November 2013, 12:57:35 pm
Wish I had the time and the cash for a mechanical rebuild rather than just the cosmetic one I'm doing.
Also really want to get myself on a track for the first time next year!
Keep it coming!
Post by: ChristoT on 07 November 2013, 01:27:14 pm
Post by: limax2 on 07 November 2013, 07:37:57 pm
Post by: Fuzzy on 08 November 2013, 06:47:41 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 November 2013, 04:01:24 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 15 November 2013, 05:05:51 pm
Day 7 - Dropped the forks out and offered up the KTM yokes to see if they will fit. Looks OK, but will need work. First job is to press out the steering
stem from both yokes and fit the Fazer stem into the KTM yokes. I took them along to my friendly fabricator who has an hydraulic press at his disposal. They pop
out easily. I had thought that I would need to sleeve the Fazer stem to fit in the KTM bottom yoke. However by a stroke of amazing luck both stems are exactly
30mm wide where they press into the yokes. This is seriously lucky.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-1-s.jpg)
With the Fazer stem pressed into the KTM yoke I trundle off back to my garage to fit it. All goes well except there is not enough thread showing above the
top yoke, so I can't fit the stem nuts. The bottom yoke needs machining to remove 7mm so that the stem can be pressed in that extra length.
I will also need to make an insert for the top yoke to locate the stem centrally in the bigger hole of the KTM top yoke. I design a simple "top hat" design for that.
Underside of KTM lower yoke:
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-2-s.jpg)
Underside of Fazer lower yoke:
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-3-s.jpg)
Day 8 - Lot of measuring of swing arms, bearings, sprocket offset, etc. Removed bearings in EXUP swing arm. Went to a fabrication company to source
some bearings for the swing arm. The OE ones are 30mm wide with a 28mm ID. I need them to be 25mm wide with a 24mm ID. The nearest is only 20mm wide.
Would prefer to keep as close to standard as possible, but this is my only choice. However there is a lip to stop the bearing going too far inside the swing arm which
the OE bearing did not press up against. So I may actually be able to get another 30mm wide one in there. Will have to check this. That lip is approx 36mm inside,
so after I take off 5mm from the end that leaves me with 31mm to play with, so another bearing with the reduced inside diameter of 24mm, but 30mm width is
potentially doable now. I would prefer to keep the bearing size as close to OE as possible as greater minds than mine have decided that that is an optimum size.
Tried to take some accurate measurements of the sprocket offset on the rear wheel. From a chat on the Fazer Forum with Wraith600 who had installed an Aprilia
rear wheel on his build, he suggested the maximum offset the frame could handle before the chain hits the frame is around 10mm.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-4-s.jpg)
I took two measurements from the KTM and Fazer rear wheel. The first was using the seam on the wheel spoke that was in the centre of the hub to the centre
point of the sprocket teeth. That gave me a difference between the two wheels of 2.48mm. The KTM sprocket being 2.48mm further from the hub than the Fazer
wheel. The second I used a straight edge placed on the sprocket and another straight edge flat on the sides of the tyre so they were parallel. Took a measurement
between the the two straight edges and then subtracted half the width of the sprocket to get the offset figure. Glad to say that this figure came to 2.5mm and so
confirmed my first measurement as being accurate (hopefully!) and well within the limit of 10mm that Wraith600 suggested.
The KTM had a 525 chain fitted and the Fazer a 530, so this will further aid clearance. Although a 2.5mm offset doesn't sound too bad to me, however I've never
done this before so it could all go a bit Pete Tong. I understand from Wraith600 that I can order a custom made front sprocket from Talon to incorporate the
additional offset. This will prevent any dodgy bodging on my part. The upside is that things are looking positive.
Day 9 - 1-10-13 - Fabrication course at college. Finally got the chance to remove some metal from KTM bottom yoke so I can get the Fazer stem to be at the correct
height above the top yoke. The Fazer stem is pressed back in. Didn't get back from College until 2130 and I was making dinner as my wife had been out too doing
Pilates. So first job in the morning is to offer up the yokes again. Fingers crossed I've got my measurements correct. Started on making the insert for the top yoke
on the lathe, but ran out of time. Won't be able to finish that until next week. Blast. Was hoping I could pretty much finish the front end graft on. Never mind it will
give me the chance to double check my calculations for the insert for the top yoke.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-5-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-6-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-7-s.jpg)
Starting work on insert for top yoke. Ran out of time so will be finished next week. How frustrating.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-8-s.jpg)
Day 10 - 2-10-13 - Yoke fits nicely and I can get both lock nuts on. Looks like the KTM yokes are not quite as kicked out as the standard ones, so I hope I don't run
into any tank slappers. A steering damper is on the cards any way, just have to work out how to fit it. There are no stops for the lock nuts to work against so I'll get
some welded to the underside of the headstock once the bike is completely stripped.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 15 November 2013, 05:11:31 pm
Day 12 - 5-10-13 - Made aluminium bracket for standard clocks so I can road test new forks and rear swing arm and suspension. Looked at possible
positions for steering damper. Fitted new front brake reservoir and brake lever pivot pin to Brembo brakes from KTM. Cleaned master cylinder.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-9-s.jpg)
Day 13 - 8-10-13 - Fabrication course at college. Finished insert for top yoke on lathe. Took me all evening! Well, I am learning a new skill. However
most of the time was spent turning down the round bar of aluminium I was using from 50mm to 32.5mm wide. I had to do this 1mm at a time otherwise you run
the risk of damaging the cutting tool. Also put a bend in my temporary aluminium bracket for standard clocks.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-10-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-11-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-12-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-13-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-14-s.jpg)
Day 14 - 9-10-13 - Fit front end: yokes, forks, wheel, brakes, indicators bodged on, instruments, handle bars, standard swing arm, shock and rear wheel,
and bled brakes, (lot of black specks coming out) tightened up the front end. Bodged the brake light to work. Ordered the triangular three way block connector so I
can join up the KTM speedo pickup to the Fazer loom. Hopefully it will work, I'm guessing they all work the same way with some kind of magnetic pick up?
Day 15 - 12-10-13 - One final check that I'd done up everything and it was time for a test ride with the KTM forks fitted. Initially I just went around the
block very slowly. Everything felt OK and tight, possibly a slight bit of play in the headstock. That may be because I wasn't able to tighten it properly, or because
the insert in the top yoke is ever so slightly too big. I plan to make a better one anyway, so not too worried about that at this stage. First impressions of the brakes
are good. In fact they feel really nice, with plenty of feel and progressive braking. After seeing all the black specs coming out in the fluid when bleeding, I'm amazed
they feel so good.
The engine still feels nice off a closed throttle. None of that snatch you get from some fuel injected bikes. Not overly eager to rev, but then it's not a sports bike.
Still have that whine present and it may well be normal. When I finally get to the frame painting stage I'll take the chance to have a look inside the motor whilst
it's out of the frame.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-15-s.jpg)
Came back home after a couple of laps round the block to adjust the handle bars (too far forward) and have a check around the bike to see if anything is leaking.
All seems buttoned up. So I went further afield and gave it a couple of handfuls. Seems OK. Wasn't aware of any pulling from one side or the other, so hopefully
that means the frame is straight. Just aware of some rattles somewhere. Possibly not done something up properly! Only went out for about 20 minutes and wasn't
pushing it at all at this stage. Back to the garage for some more fabrication.
Started designing a new instrument bracket to hold the Koso item I got second hand off eBay. Also started making brackets to hold the ZRX nose cone on. I was
going to incorporate them both in one, but as I plan on doing some racing there will be the inevitable off, so I decide to separate them so that breaking one doesn't
mean the whole bracket is binned. Looking forward to Tuesday as I'm off to my fabrication class and I'll be hoping to cut down on the width of the EXUP swing arm
probably using the same method as for the bottom yoke.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-16-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-17-s.jpg)
How would we fabricate stuff without Corn Flake packets?
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-18-s.jpg)
Day 16 - 15-10-13 - I was hoping for a clean engineering solution to reducing the width of the EXUP swing arm pivot. Unfortunately there wasn't
time available to set this up so I did it the old fashioned way. I measured 5mm in on each side and scribed a guide line on the swing arm. Then
took a hacksaw to it to remove the majority of the metal. Then very carefully filed down the rest to get the desired width.
I did one side pretty evenly, but the other has a bit of a high spot. It's only been reduced by 9mm as well. Not a problem as this is the swing arm that has the axle
adjuster bolts stuck in, so I'm using this one as my test swing arm. Once I know how much needs removing for definite I'll be taking the other swing arm to an
engineers to get it turned down properly.
Day 17 - 22-10-13 - Evening class at college. I was on the lathe all evening and made two "plugs" to go in the end of the swing arm to take the place
of the bearings in the swing arm pivot. This is just so I can mount the swing arm in the frame and check clearances and if I can actually use the EXUP swing arm.
I also made two sleeves that would fit in the rear wheel bearings in the KTM rear wheel, with a 25mm outer diameter and 20mm inner diameter. The EXUP rear
wheel spindle is 20mm wide. Again this is so I can mock up the mounting of the rear wheel without having to spend on wheel bearings unnecessarily.
"Plug" to take the place of a bearing in the swing arm pivot to check the width I've calculated is correct.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-19-s.jpg)
Post by: Fuzzy on 15 November 2013, 05:37:11 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 15 November 2013, 05:38:00 pm
So, it's a YamasakiM front end, eh? :lol
Post by: reddeviljp on 16 November 2013, 12:54:25 pm
Post by: Chris on 16 November 2013, 03:10:26 pm
Chris
Post by: Ruby Racing on 16 November 2013, 06:20:30 pm
So, it's a YamasakiM front end, eh? :lol
:lol :lol :lol Like it!
Thanks for the support guys. I'm not moving along at a fast pace, but I do have a nice bit of momentum and things are going well so far. Should have another update ready in the next week or two.
Post by: wraith600 on 24 November 2013, 07:15:02 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 November 2013, 08:11:26 pm
As for wheels. The KTM one is a 180 and it's miles lighter than the OE, so some weight lost there already. Whilst something like carbon rims would be lovely, I doubt I could stretch to the cost of them. Maybe I'll get lucky with Father Christmas!
Post by: Ruby Racing on 05 December 2013, 01:51:25 pm
Day 18 - 24-10-13 - Not much done this evening. However my good friend Shaun came round to lend his professional help with the electrics. First up was the
ignition switch. I'm using the ignition from the KTM, basically because the one from the Fazer is knackered. It takes about 20 attempts to turn the key on. Also it saves
having to remove the KTM ignition from the top yoke. The wiring on each is slightly different, basically because the KTM does not have a parking light switch in the ignition.
There are 6 wires in total to the KTM ignition switch: 3 power feeds going in and 3 going out, so three pairs of two. The Fazer also has 6 wires, however it only has one power
feed going in, with one wire coming out to the parking lights and 4 other wires coming out for things like the fan, horn, etc. What this means is the wire coming out for the
parking light can be discarded and one of the 3 wires coming out will have to connect to another wire to make 4 coming out. That probably doesn't make any sense as I don't
really understand electrics. Thankfully Shaun offered to re solder the wires into the KTM ignition for me, so when the time comes I will let him do that as he knows what he is doing.
The next item for him to cast his expert eye over was the speed sensor. As I mentioned earlier, from my searches on the Fazer forum it seems that if the OE speedo is not
used in conjunction with the OE wheel speed sensor then the bike throws up a fault code. Some have suggested the bike wont run properly either.
It looks like the OE KTM wheel speed sensor can be used as like the Fazer sensor it has 3 wires coming from it. As I'm using a Koso speedo I would probably not be connecting
back to the loom, but connecting directly to the Koso speedo. This would mean the bikes ECU would not get any signal and possibly cause the fault code to appear and possibly
rough running. When we looked at the wiring for the Koso it also uses 3 wires for it's speed sensor. As the unit I bought was second hand someone had grafted on another
wire to go to the loom. Shaun thought that this was the feed for the ECU to prevent problems in the form of fault codes. If he is correct and I reckon he is, then this could be
the simple cure to ensure fitting an aftermarket speedo doesn't throw up fault codes. Time will tell on that one.
Day 19 - 25-10-13 - Managed to get a couple of hours in after work. Fitted the temporary inserts into the EXUP swing arm pivot, basically they are pretend
bearings so that I can mount it with the swing arm axle to see if I got my measurements are correct to cut down the width of it and then to see if it would fit and not hit anything.
Initial impressions are yes it does fit. The standard shock fits through, although looks a tight squeeze and the tie rods line up nicely. The exhaust can hits the swing arm, but
then it did with the standard one fitted due to the fact the bike went down on the right side and has bent the foot rest mounting lugs. Once these are bent back into place
this shouldn't be an issue.
After that I fitted the rear wheel, again with some ally inserts I made up at college. The KTM rear wheel takes a 25mm axle, however the EXUP one is 20mm thick. So the
inserts have an outside diameter of 25mm and in inside diameter of 20mm. I just insert those in the wheel bearings then pass the axle through them to mount. This puts
the wheel in the correct place so I can get it central. Once it's central I can work out what size spacers and rear brake bracket I need and also what the sprocket offset it
compared to the standard rear wheel.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-20-s.jpg)
I placed the wheel centrally using just my eyes and it looks like it lines right up. The calculations I did a week or so ago suggest that the offset is in fact 2.5mm. I have
some long straight metal bars that I will use to get it placed as accurately as possible and then take some measurements. Have to do some work on the house on Saturday,
so looks like Sunday will be the time for this, especially as the weather forecast is pants!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-21-s.jpg)
Day 20 - 28-10-13 - Trying to align rear wheel with front. Try to remove front sprocket so I can see how much the front sprocket needs to be offset. Couldn't
get the nut off.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-22-s.jpg)
Day 21 - 29-10-13 - Try to remove front sprocket so I can see how much the front sprocket needs to be offset. Finally get it off after bracing the rear wheel
more effectively. Fit second hand exhaust can and link pipe bought off eBay. It's a Quill titanium. Remove chain. Remove right foot rest and brake M/C.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-23-s.jpg)
Day 22 - 5-11-13 - Did some more work on the fairing mounts today. Got the fairing sitting as close as possible to the forks by shortening the lower mount bracket.
Have to work out how to make the top mounts look "nice".
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-25-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-26-s.jpg)
In the evening I was at the college for my fabrication course. I worked on the lathe all evening trying to make some wheel spacers to help with lining up the rear wheel centrally.
Unfortunately I didn't even manage to make one set as I broke one of the tools and had to start again! All part of the learning curve. I'll have to wait until next week before finishing them off.
Not a huge problem as I'm waiting for new bearings for the swing arm. Last week I took the second EXUP swing arm I bought to a engineering firm to have the swing arm
pivot width machined down by 5mm on each side. They managed to do that the day after, however I'll pick it up once the bearings are in so I only have one trip to make.
Day 23 - 8-11-13 - Picked up the swing arm yesterday and today I fitted the new bearings in it. The EXUP inner axle is 28mm thick, but the EXUP is 24mm thick,
so I had to get bearings with a smaller inner diameter. The standard bearings in the Fazer swing arm are 25mm wide, however the only ones I could get at the correct internal
diameter were 20mm wide. I'm hoping that will be OK. Meanwhile I'll keep searching for some the same size as I would prefer to have these sort of things the same size or
bigger, rather than smaller than standard.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-27-s.jpg)
They'll be coming out when I get things powder coated, however that's some way off. As they may well get damaged on removal I'll replace them just in case. Getting
these ones in was a bit tricky on one side as the bearing kept going off centre. I didn't install them in the best way as I tapped them in with a hammer and a piece of wood
to protect them. I did the old trick of sticking the bearings in the freezer overnight and heating up the swing arm before fitting. The idea being the bearings shrink ever so
slightly in the cold and the swing arm expands ever so slightly in the heat, making the bearings drop in a lot easier. Well the first one did, but not the second. Grrrrrrrrr!
Had to trim down one of the spacers that fits between the frame and the swing arm as now each side is 5mm narrower the spacer doesn't sit flush as it hits a weld.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-28-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-29-s.jpg)
Had another look at my speedo bracket and realised that it would be too tight a fit to site the lap timer where I wanted it. So I adjusted the lower fairing bracket by raising it
with three extra nuts as spacers. That makes it sit a little higher and it actually looks better positioned anyway. I wont know for definite until I have all the bodywork done,
as it all needs to "flow". It has however made the design of the upper fairing mounts a bit more complex. Still thinking about how to make them look nice and not bodged.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-24-s.jpg)
Day 24 - 12-11-13 - At college. Made spacers 15mm and 48mm wide.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-30-s.jpg)
Day 25 - 13-11-13 - Fitted spacers to rear wheel. Forgot inner spacer on sprocket hub and as such when I was tightening the axle I heard some unusual noises.
Having once in the past done exactly the same thing I realised I had forgotten to insert the inner spacer. Doh! Once that was fitted the terrible noises went away. The rear
wheel lines up perfectly with number plate mark I made showing the centre of the rear wheel before removing the standard swing arm and rear wheel. Straight edges on
wheels. Seems OK.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-31-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-32-s.jpg)
Day 26 - 19-11-13 - At college. Made spacers for sprocket carrier. Had to sand down at home after. Took wheels in to have tyres removed so I could better line
up front and rear wheels. Pictured below the originals on the left with my custom versions on the right.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-33-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-34-s.jpg)
Day 27 - 23-11-13 - Fitted some LSL handlebars I bought off eBay. They are pretty much the same as the KTM OE ones, just not so swept back. They look like
new, so big improvement over the OE ones. Plus I'm not sure the OE bars are straight after their interface with the tarmac.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-35-s.jpg)
I spent the best part of the afternoon trying to get the wheels in line. Kept getting different readings which got very frustrating. Then I had a brainwave. I'd tightened up
the rear axle, although I hadn't torqued it up to the correct level. So I did that and my measurements completely changed. Initially my measurements showed the front wheel
was offset in relation to the rear. After torqueing up it still was, but the opposite side! Oh dear. I then torqued up the front as well, just in case.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-36-s.jpg)
After this I got more consistent results and it showed the front was pretty much properly in line with the rear as there was only about half a millimetre difference on either
side of the front wheel. Took a long time to get to this point, so felt I'd wasted some of the afternoon. However I was pleased that the wheels seem to be in line based on
my first measurements and the first spacers I'd made. So I allowed myself a pat on the back.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-37-s.jpg)
Next up I need to get myself a rear caliper, then once I have this I can design and make a bracket to hold it in place. Looking at getting a Brembo to compliment the fronts.
I'm after the one fitted to a Ducati 749/999 as it's a twin opposed piston design and is silver/grey like the fronts.
I had hoped to use the KTM one I have from the Super Duke, but it has a cut out in the bracket where the pads slot in and this would be very difficult for me to replicate.
I had hoped to go for an under slung caliper as this makes wheel fitment so much easier. After discussing this with my college tutor I felt it required too much work on the swing
arm and could possibly weaken it. As such I'm going to use the torque arm already in place on the EXUP swing arm and mount it at the top of the disc. Even though I dislike
the look of torque arms.
Once I've got the brake bracket made and reconfirm the wheels are in line I'll measure up how far the front sprocket needs to be offset.
Day 28 - 3-12-13 - I've run out of things to make at my evening class, so I remade the sleeve that fits in the top yoke. The one I made before was fractionally smaller
on the outside diameter and the pinch nut couldn't be tightened enough to grip it. Well I just managed to finish it before the end of the class and now it's fractionally too big! Blast.
I'll get some sandpaper on it and try and make it fit.
Also received a Brembo rear caliper I'd bought off eBay. So next job will be to make a bracket to mount that. I thought it was the same silver colour as the front calipers, but
it's more of a gun metal colour. Bit disappointed with that, so I may sell it and buy another that hopefully is a colour match for the fronts. Actually comparing the two together it's not
as different as I imagined. I might get away with that as they will be well away from each other. I'll see what it looks like when mounted.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-38-s.jpg)
Post by: DaxPlusPlus on 05 December 2013, 09:04:01 pm
Post by: Chris on 05 December 2013, 09:17:45 pm
Chris
Post by: ChristoT on 05 December 2013, 09:49:26 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 05 December 2013, 10:59:34 pm
They should be a bit shorter in length now as I'm bang up to date with them.
Post by: Punkstig on 07 December 2013, 09:54:41 am
Really bad design by yamaha on the fazer as all the crud just builds up meaning you have to look after them more often!
Post by: Hedgetrimmer on 07 December 2013, 09:56:48 am
Post by: Ruby Racing on 07 December 2013, 01:14:25 pm
It's so much better having the rear brake caliper above the swingarm rather than below.
Really bad design by yamaha on the fazer as all the crud just builds up meaning you have to look after them more often!
I have to agree. However I wanted it underslung purely for the aesthetics.
I would like to mount it without the torque arm as I think they look gash. However to weld a bracing bar on the inside of the swing arm would require far too much surgery on the swing arm. That's why I'm not doing it. Too risky as the swing arm may get weakened or distorted. The torque arm will probably be hidden to a certain extent by the silencer, so I may be able to live with it.
Personally, I think he just likes to get spaced out.... :rolleyes
:rolleyes
Post by: Ruby Racing on 21 December 2013, 12:33:28 am
Day 29 - 15-12-13 - Before I make the brake bracket I thought I should get the rear wheel properly sorted, otherwise my brake bracket measurements might be out. First thing to do is purchase some
new wheel bearings. There are bearings in the sprocket carrier which I can leave in as they had spacers in and the ones I made replace them. In order to get the correct size replacements with a 20mm inside diameter,
not 25mm as per the KTM, I needed to get the old ones out. In the past I've used a drift and hammered them out. I wasn't able to do that with these as the spacer that sits in the hub couldn't be pushed aside far enough
for the drift to sit on the bearing.
I had bought a cheap blind bearing puller set off eBay. I tried with that with no success. It just kept slipping out. Took it to my evening class and no success there. Looking at the KTM service manual I saw there was
a special tool to remove them. So I went to my local KTM dealer to see if I could rent the special tool. They didn't have it, but the technician took my wheel away and within three minutes came back with the bearing
removed. Thanks Mark. I felt a right numpty so asked to see how he did it. He had the same blind bearing tool as mine, except it was a Snap On product. I could see the difference in quality and design compared to mine and
understood why my version didn't work. I didn't expect mine to last as long as a premium product, but I did expect it to actually work. I bought cheap as I would rarely use the tool.
Old bearing on left, new one on right.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-39-s.jpg)
I could now see why I couldn't push the hub spacer aside. It had three protrusions running almost the length of the shaft which I assume are there to keep the spacer central when fitting the axle. After some thought
I've come to the conclusion those protrusions aren't really needed as once the wheel is torqued up for the first time it should stay in place when the axle is next removed. I haven't seen them on the other spacers I've
encountered in the past so I reckon I'll be OK. If not I'll get some tabs welded on at each end.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-40-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-41-s.jpg)
Next up I started on the bracket to hold the Koso speedo. My first effort was pants as I got a measurement wrong. So I had to start again with a new design and another piece of 3mm aluminium. Got the second one
correct. Will get it bent on the the huge bending machine at college on Tuesday night. Wanted to press on with the upper fairing mounts, which are causing me a bit of a headache it has to be said, but without the rear
wheel fitted the bike isn't sitting correctly and I need to make sure I get the angle of the fairing correct and therefore the brackets.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-42-s.jpg)
Day 30 - 17-12-13 - Got my speedo bracket bent in the bending machine. Still needs finishing off, which I'll do once I know it fits OK.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-43-s.jpg)
Then I set to on making a new rear wheel hub spacer. This time I had the correct grade of aluminium for the job. I had purchased
a metre long length of 50mm thick round bar made of 6082 T6 aluminium. This is often referred to as aircraft specification so should be tough enough for the job.
It is certainly harder than the stuff I had been using up to this point. You can feel the difference on the lathe. As such it was taking me longer to work the metal. So much so that I didn't get the job finished in time.
I really hate that. When I start a job I like to finish it. As that was the last class before Christmas I have to wait until the 7 January before I can finish it. Well, I have to work over Christmas so I wont get much chance
to work on the bike anyway.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-44-s.jpg)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 23 December 2013, 12:21:53 pm
Day 31 - 21-12-13 - I had a couple of hours spare so I worked on the speedo bracket for the Koso speedo. I tidied up all the edges by making them rounded, so no sharp edges. Once finalised I'll get some sand paper on it to really smooth things off. I'll wait until I've done some extensive test riding first to make sure it's strong enough then it'll be painted probably. Looking at it I'm wondering if it will be strong enough for the job. It's only held in place on the top yoke with a couple of M6 bolts, so may be subject to too much vibration.
Also not happy with where I've mounted the Starlane GPS-2 lap timer. I had planned to mount it in the same place I have done, only with the face on the same plane as the the speedo. Unfortunately the low height of the screen has prevented that. That said I haven't done the top fairing mount brackets yet, so I may find that I do in fact have room. If so then I could hide the power cable for lap timer. Where it is at the moment it would need too tight a bend in the wire and that would just end up breaking.
Next job will probably be to cut off the wires to the Yamaha ignition key and then temporarily fit them to the KTM ignition key to check that works. Actually more to check I've deciphered the wring diagram correctly! The Yamaha ignition barrel is knackered as it takes about 20 attempts to turn the key. Plus removing the KTM ignition would be a pain.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-45-s.jpg)
Post by: Fuzzy on 25 January 2014, 07:06:29 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 26 January 2014, 12:14:44 am
Ooh, missed this last update. The cockpit is looking very neat, the lap timer being further forward does not detract from the overall appearance imo.
Hit the NOTIFY button at the top, then you should get an email when I update.
Thanks for your kind words. It's mainly the dangling power wire to the lap timer that bugs me. Still, early days and I may find a better solution.
Another update coming soon.
Post by: Fuzzy on 26 January 2014, 12:22:31 am
Looking forward to the next installment.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 08 February 2014, 11:52:15 pm
Day 32 - 13-1-14 - My good friend Shaun who is a qualified electrician had given me directions how to connect up the loom to the KTM ignition switch. As my electrical knowledge is non existent I followed it to the letter using some block connectors. I plugged it into the loom and tried it out.
I could see the instrument backlights were on, but nothing else seemed to work. After about 15 seconds from turning on I could smell burning, then some smoke appeared from the connection at the loom. Ooops! That's not good and I immediately turned off and disconnected. Looks like I need to get Shaun back, because I haven't a clue.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-46-s.jpg)
Day 33 - 15-1-14 - After what seems like forever I was finally back at college last night and could finish the internal spacer for the rear wheel bearings. It's not perfect with regards to finish, so much so that my tutor commented that I had a VERY fine thread on the shaft of the spacer. I understood this mickey take immediately, as he was referring to the fact that I hadn't got a dead smooth finish. I would like it to have been perfect, however it will live in the hub between two bearings never to be seen by anyone. What I was pleased about was the fact that my replacement was only 0.05mm longer than the OE one. I can live with that.
You will note that the design is different to the OE one. I couldn't replicate the OE one with my current machining ability, so this is a design that another of my mates came up with. So big thanks to Mike for that.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-47-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-48-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-49-s.jpg)
I also had a go at mocking up the rear brake caliper bracket using a piece of 3mm thick aluminium. At this stage I just wanted to ensure that I got the holes for the caliper positioned correctly in relation to the axle hole, before moving on to designing the caliper. I was pretty much spot on, so was chuffed with that.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-50-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-51-s.jpg)
Day 34 - 16-1-14 -Got the rear wheel bearings in today. Did the old trick of putting the bearings in the freezer overnight and then heating the hub with a heat gun. Previously I've used a hair dryer for this, but still ended up having to hammer the bearings into place. That doesn't feel nice. If you've not heard of this, the idea is the bearings contract in the cold, ever so slightly and the hub expands in the heat, ever so slightly, making bearing insertion easier.
I wasn't holding my breath. Once one side was done I got a bearing from the freezer. I lined it up as level as possible before I reached for the hammer and drift. As I let go of the bearing I expected it to sit in the opening. Nope. It just dropped straight down into position. No way! How happy was I? I couldn't believe it. I made sure it was in position then turned the wheel over. This is the important bit if you are to avoid much swearing. Make sure to put in the wheel spacer before fitting the second bearing. Done.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-52-s.jpg)
Further disbelief followed as the bearing on the other side dropped into place as easily as the first. Result. Now I could carry on with measuring up for the rear brake caliper using washers to space out the caliper to the correct point, as the 5mm thick disc only has a 7mm wide channel to run in. So I needed clearance of 1.5mm on either side of the disc. Not much room for error and obviously critical to get it right. Pretty confident with my measurements.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-53-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-54-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-55-s.jpg)
Day 35 - 17-1-14 - Carried on with the caliper bracket. Now I used the OE Fazer bracket to help me determine where the hole for the torque arm needed to be placed.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-56-s.jpg)
Day 36 - 18-1-14 - Back to the ignition wiring. Shaun had a good look at the wiring diagrams and spotted that the diagram I had given him for the Fazer didn't tie up with the wire colours actually in my bikes loom. He did an internet search and came up with the correct one. The smoking wires was because I had unwittingly given him the wrong information. DOH! He came up with a completely different set up which I'm glad to report worked perfectly. Thanks Shaun, I can now use the KTM ignition switch.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-57-s.jpg)
Back to work on the brake caliper bracket. Confident my measurements are correct I purchased some 10mm thick aluminium plate and made a template to mark out the shape. On some good old Corn Flake packet yet again. Guess what my favourite cereal is? Once done I decided on the lazy cutting out route of the plasma cutter at college. I've only used it once before, but it's a fantastic bit of kit. It literally cuts through metal like a hot knife through butter. Oh the power!
On the day of the evening I was going to college to cut out my bracket I realised I needed to redesign it. That was a bit last minute dot com, however just glad I realised it before wasting metal.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-58-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-59-s.jpg)
Day 37 - 27-1-14 - With a rather rough looking test bracket I found I was out by about 1mm as the disc was rubbing against the caliper. An easy fix, I just need to make the wheel spacer 1mm wider to push the bracket outwards. The mount for the torque arm also needs to be about 2mm further out.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-60-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-61-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-62-s.jpg)
Day 38 - 1-2-14 - I made new wheel spacers last Tuesday at college, taking into account the need to move the brake bracket out by 1mm. I used the 50mm thick round bar made of 6082 T6 aluminium and managed to get all four done just as the class ended. Glad I'm not paying someone to do this work, it would cost a fortune in labour. Well at least at the pace I work at! That's why this part of the job is taking me so long to complete. I make something one week, try it, then find I need to make a change, but have to wait for the following week to make a new part. Very frustrating.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-63-s.jpg)
Speaking of getting someone to make things for me. I realise the brake bracket is not something I can make as I don't have enough time left on my course and there is no time left to teach me how to use a milling machine. Bit disappointed about that. So I may have to look at getting one made on a CNC machine. I think I'll get in touch with Harris Performance as those boys have MotoGP experience and know exactly what they are doing. Hope it won't be too expensive.
Day 39 - 3-2-14 - Some time ago I'd managed to confirm that the front and rear wheels were aligned. Now when I checked they weren't! Was it the new spacers I'd made? Pretty sure they were correct. It was driving me mad, so I slept on it. It dawned on me that I hadn't torqued up the swing arm pivot bolt, so I did that. The front end was all tightened up correctly.
I had the rear wheel just pushed all the way back in the swing arm and tightened up correctly. I thought maybe I should use the adjustment marks cut into the swing arm. I did that and checked again. Now that's better. After much subtle adjustment of the front wheel direction I got it to be be between 1.1 and 1.5mm off centre to the right hand side. I don't know how critical that measurement is, although it should ideally be perfect I would think, but that doesn't seem too bad to me. Lets not forget this bike has had a front end impact, so there is still a chance the frame has a slight bend in it. Once I strip the frame down I should have a better idea.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-64-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-65-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-66-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-67-s.jpg)
Post by: noggythenog on 09 February 2014, 11:12:08 am
ooooooooft!!!
looking seriously nice fair play.
bet you're getting excited now, it is really taking shape.Gonna be a quality looking item me thinks. 8)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 February 2014, 04:34:56 pm
I'm trying to contain myself! LOL. This bit seems to be taking a while, but I need the rolling chassis to be sorted before taking the angle grinder to it! That's when the real transformation will take place.
I'm going to make it the best I can, but hopefully she'll look the dogs. Time will tell.
Post by: Chris on 09 February 2014, 04:49:05 pm
Chris
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 February 2014, 04:56:06 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 09 February 2014, 09:10:15 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 February 2014, 11:11:41 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 09 February 2014, 11:16:45 pm
You're on! :D
The Ruby Racer, the Noggy Fighter, Project Fazer - The ChristoFighter, Wraith's bike, DarthFazer's bike... any other 600s?
Post by: Chris on 10 February 2014, 12:57:48 am
Chris
Post by: ChristoT on 10 February 2014, 07:36:36 am
Post by: noggythenog on 10 February 2014, 03:30:19 pm
Post by: Punkstig on 10 February 2014, 05:13:49 pm
Post by: MarkWales on 10 February 2014, 08:27:13 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 10 February 2014, 10:53:29 pm
Hey Christo are we talking about a customised club or a crashed club here??? ;)
I have no idea what you're talking about!! :pokefun
Post by: Ruby Racing on 10 February 2014, 10:59:20 pm
Looking good
:thumbup
Post by: ChristoT on 20 February 2014, 10:04:25 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 20 February 2014, 10:36:24 pm
Post by: risticuss on 22 February 2014, 04:37:45 pm
Just a thought about the rear brake caliper bracket, have you thought about getting one cast.
I'm an apprentice patternmaker and have been looking for a project to do on my fazer, but have yet to come up with something. Was thinking about changing the foot pegs but not got round to it yet.
Not sure how much it'd be to get it cast, but if I did the pattern work in my spare time wouldn't cost ought and we have an engineering firm two doors down who could machine it.
Just another option.
Simon
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 February 2014, 01:17:15 am
That's a very kind offer and really appreciate it. However I've already got things moving with Harris Performance. They are going to CNC me a brake calliper bracket. However if something else crops up in the future may I take up the offer then?
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 February 2014, 01:20:26 am
Day 40 - 15-2-14 - I've decided to redesign my speedo bracket. Although I've been trying to mount up the bikini fairing, that's mainly intended for the race bike set up. For the road I'm
planning on a large AMA race bike type number board, incorporating a small headlight to keep things legal and for practical night time use, although I hardly ever ride at night unless I'm in Europe. I
need the speedo to be much closer to the yokes, well as close as possible, so the gap between forks and number board is not too great. That would look well nasty!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-68-s.jpg)
I did buy some headlights from a B Whizz scooter as they were nice and small. I was just going to use one of them, however I've rejected them as one light is only 10 watts! I'd be lucky to see
the white line in front of me, let alone the road ahead. So I've bought a single Dominator headlight, which is a dual filament bulb 60/55 watt. It's only 90mm wide so about the smallest I could find. I
didn't really fancy projector headlights for two reasons. First I wanted a more retro look and second, you have to have two, one for dip and one for main. I just want one light. I'm going to have to
fabricate a different rear section to the light as the one it comes with is too deep.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-69-s.jpg)
Last Tuesday I made my new wheel spacers at college. Finally I had the chance to fit them. I had taken off 1.5mm from the brake side and increased the spacer on the sprocket side by the same
amount, so in theory my wheels would now be perfectly in line. Wrong! I kept getting different figures with the worst showing the wheels out of alignment by 5mm! What is going on? I had a think and
realised that my straight edges may not be sitting in exactly the correct position. I rectified this and measured again. Nope, still out.
So I went back to my first spacers and checked again. Much better. In fact heaps better than originally. The wheels were only out of alignment by 0.2mm! That's pretty damn close. I rechecked
three times and kept getting the same result. To further check things I took the rear wheel out and refitted it. Same results again, in fact the alignment difference was now down to 0.14mm. I'm not
going to get any better than that.
The only other thing I did before fitting the altered spacers mentioned in my first paragraph was to undo the front wheel and the yokes and twist the front wheel to the right, as I felt the left handlebar
was further forward than the right. But this shouldn't effect the alignment front to rear surely? Whatever, I'm happy again.
I've been in contact with Harris Performance and they've given me a reasonable quote to CNC a rear brake caliper bracket. Once I've got another set of rear wheel spacers made and check the wheel
alignment is still bang on, I'll get my drawings done for the bracket and get that ordered.
I've borrowed a laser from my mate Shaun and it's looking like the rear sprocket is offset by 2mm. My initial measurements suggested 2.5mm, however since then I've had the tyres removed so I can
get a much more accurate measurement and I've found that the KTM sprocket is 2mm further out than the Fazer wheel. I'm glad the laser seems to back that up, as it also confirms that I've got the rear
wheel central. However I'm surprised it's only 2mm offset as the Fazer has a 160 rear tyre, but the KTM a 180.
What is interesting is that the width of the Fazer tyre (a 160) at it's widest point is actually 170mm, whilst the KTM is 187mm at its widest point.
Day 41 - 23-2-14 - I made a new speedo bracket at college last Tuesday evening. However even before making it I'd redesigned it! Originally I thought I would mount it above the top yoke
using the M10 bolts that hold the handlebar clamps in place. Then I realised this would look very nasty and decided to use the same bolts, but mount it under the top yoke.
When I fitted it it made the speedo stick out too far forward. So I redesigned it yet again! This time I used the M8 bolts at the front of the top of the handlebar clamp. This gets the speedo further back,
however it does make it harder to read as it's closer to the rider. Think I'll just have to live with that as I don't want my number board mounted too far in front of the forks. In fact I want it as close as possible.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-70-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-71-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-72-s.jpg)
There will have to be some compromise as I need to fit the headlight behind as well. The single Dominator light I bought has a very large rear cover. Luckily this can be removed, so I plan to fabricate
a different rear cover that will allow me to mount the headlight as far back between the forks as possible.
I also made a new wheel spacer for the rear wheel disc brake side. Same dimensions as the one before last. After fitting I found that my rear wheel was too far to the left by 0.5mm. I think that's an
acceptable amount. Seems like I've been doing nothing but make rear wheel spacers! Hopefully That's going to be the last of it until after the initial shake down runs. Well it will have to be as I only have
two more weeks left on my college evening classes. I intend to try and get on the next one, but that wont start again until September, so I'm going to have difficulty making certain parts very soon.
Post by: risticuss on 24 February 2014, 11:36:26 am
Hi Simon.
That's a very kind offer and really appreciate it. However I've already got things moving with Harris Performance. They are going to CNC me a brake calliper bracket. However if something else crops up in the future may I take up the offer then?
No problem mate, just thought I'd put it out there. Looking forward to the rest of the build.
Post by: ChristoT on 09 March 2014, 07:51:31 pm
Still making spacers, Ruby? :lol :lol
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 March 2014, 11:47:06 pm
Update coming soon.
Post by: ChristoT on 09 March 2014, 11:49:15 pm
Yeah. Gone on forever hasn't it? But no more as my college course finished last week. :o
Update coming soon.
I had a vision of a bearded hermit leaning over a lather muttering "just... one... more... set!" :lol :lol
Looking forward to reading it. :)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 March 2014, 11:57:25 pm
Add in my own inexperience of actually using a lathe and making spacers.....................
Post by: ChristoT on 10 March 2014, 12:10:39 am
Being only able to use the lathe once a week for a couple of hours made life difficult. But a cheaper option than actually buying a lathe!
Add in my own inexperience of actually using a lathe and making spacers.....................
I don't want to alarm you, but I was talking to Deefer about spacers earlier today, as I'll need some for my Bros swingarm converision. He was saying they needed to be made out of case hardened steel to take the forces, other metals won't take them. And he knows more than a thing or two about modded bikes.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 10 March 2014, 05:56:03 pm
However thinking about it the KTM rear wheel I'm using came as standard with ally spacers and my Triumph Daytona 675 has ally spacers as standard too. Plus the spacers contact with an aluminium swing arm.
Wouldn't the majority of the loading be put through the wheel bearings, axle and chain adjuster bolts?
I'm not saying Deefer is wrong and I am right, just that there are a lot of spacers out there that are ally. I have aftermarket captive spacers on my track Daytona and that has had no problems after 3,000 miles of sole track use.
Post by: lmdtm on 13 March 2014, 06:49:20 pm
Waiting for the next episodes :P
Post by: Ruby Racing on 13 March 2014, 06:59:37 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 12:27:43 am
Day 42 - 2-3-14 - Spent some time getting the Koso speedo temporarily wired up to check it works and in readiness for a road test (hopefully in a couple of months time). I didn't want to cut
any connectors off just yet so have jammed the wires from the Koso into connector for the OE speedo. Also made a note of what wires connect to which to save time in the future.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-73-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-74-s.jpg)
The wiring from the OE speedo sensors shows two wires go direct to the speedo whilst the Black/Blue goes to the pick up coil. It's only a theory at this point, which I've mentioned earlier, but I reckon
that the reason those who have fitted different speedos in the past get error codes displayed on the rev counters is because they lose this connection to the pick up coil by wiring the speedo sensor only to
the after market speedo.
I'm hoping to avoid this issue by maintaining the connection to the pick up coil by splicing in an extra wire, so the wire from the speedo sensor goes to both the pick up coil and the Koso speedo. Only
a road test will tell if this works, which will hopefully happen within a month or two. Even if my theory is correct I may be messing things up because I'm using the KTM wheel speed sensor and this may be
calibrated differently. We'll see, all part of the fun of the custom build.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-75-s.jpg)
Day 43 - 22-3-14 - I don't believe this! I'm onto my third choice of place to mount the speedo. I don't like it mounted on the handle bar clamps. Too high for my liking and also really hard to
get at the ignition key to turn it on and off. So decided (for the moment LOL) that I need to mount the speedo on the ignition switch mounts on the top yoke.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-76-s.jpg)
That means the ignition key barrel has to move. Looks like I'm going to have to mount it like the chopper builders do, somewhere under the top rails of the frame. I'm thinking in the area that the airbox
currently resides. That will be going once I get the pod filters fitted, so nicely tucked away under the tank perhaps?
Need to take the top yoke to a fabricator to get the bolts out so the ignition switch can be removed. The manufacturers use bolts which have no heads to deter thieves. I think the way they normally
get them removed is to weld a nut onto the bolt so you can get a spanner on them.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-77-s.jpg)
Ordered my custom made drive sprocket with a 2mm offset from Talon Engineering, together with a rear sprocket for the KTM wheel. This also has to be custom made as they don't make them with 50
teeth as standard. The OE KTM rear sprocket is (from memory) only a 43 tooth. I've ordered them in a 525 pitch, even though the standard Fazer is a 530, to help with any clearance issues, although I'm
confident there shouldn't be any. Once fitted I'll order a chain as I'll have a good idea how many links I'll need.
My mate Shaun is designing a rear brake caliper bracket on his CAD software at work. Once that's finalised I'll be getting Harris Performance to make me one on their CNC machine. Things are at a bit of standstill
until I get the bike rolling again. This is phase one and once I know the bike rides OK with the new front and rear end I'll be moving on to phase two, which will be fitting a new Venom (cheaper Motad)
stainless exhaust system, pod filters and a carb rejet to match. I've also got a rather nice stubby Gianelli can to fit. It was made for a ZX-10R, but it has the same inlet size as the standard pipe so should
go straight on. If not some modifications will be made!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-78-s.jpg)
Post by: Chris on 24 March 2014, 09:58:16 am
Chris
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 05:28:12 pm
Speedo looks great, wherever you decide to put it. :lol
Chris
It won't fit there! :eek
Post by: ChristoT on 24 March 2014, 10:49:01 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 10:57:05 pm
That Koso speedo looks yum! If for any reason you decide not to use it, please let me know! :lol
Yours for £500! Bargain.
Post by: ChristoT on 24 March 2014, 11:05:03 pm
For £50.00, you're still on.
For £500.00 :foc :lol :lol
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 11:12:25 pm
For £5.00 :finger
For £50.00 :finger
:lol
Post by: ChristoT on 24 March 2014, 11:14:58 pm
Considering the pace of both of our projects, I'm tempeted to run a book on whose bike will be finished first! :rollin :rollin
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 11:31:21 pm
Post by: His Dudeness on 24 March 2014, 11:37:21 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 24 March 2014, 11:49:21 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 14 April 2014, 12:22:07 am
What's the news?
Also - does your Koso speedo have a fuel gauge? I'm still eyeing one up...
Post by: Ruby Racing on 14 April 2014, 12:29:41 am
Yes the Koso has a fuel gauge. Has loads of stuff actually. Here's the lowdown: [size=78%]http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp (http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp)[/size]
Post by: ChristoT on 14 April 2014, 12:32:26 am
Sorry, work has been getting in the way lately. Report coming soon.
Yes the Koso has a fuel gauge. Has loads of stuff actually. Here's the lowdown: [size=78%]http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp ([url]http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp[/url])[/size]
Easy or hard to set up? Can you set it up? (Sorry for the hijack!)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 14 April 2014, 12:37:19 am
Post by: ChristoT on 11 May 2014, 04:20:27 pm
Sorry, work has been getting in the way lately. Report coming soon.
Yes the Koso has a fuel gauge. Has loads of stuff actually. Here's the lowdown: [size=78%]http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp ([url]http://www.digital-speedos.co.uk/rx2-multi-colour-screen-2-p.asp[/url])[/size]
A month and a half sans updates? C'mon man! :lol
Post by: Ruby Racing on 19 May 2014, 12:32:39 am
All went well until the last one at Angelsey when I cocked up, ran wide onto grass, kept it upright and was heeding back to the tarmac when another rider appeared and we were on an intercept course. Rather than take us both out I hit the back brake and went down fast and hard. Engine case hit the high point of the kerb and cracked the case dumping the oil! Still, just me involved. Just got a couple of bruises and a Daytona 675 to fix now! :o
Post by: Ruby Racing on 20 June 2014, 09:39:06 pm
Sorry for the delay. Here's the next instalment.
Day 44 - 3-4-14 - Got the third design of speedo bracket made and mounted using the holes for the ignition key. That's much neater and will allow the speedo to mostly be hidden behind the number board.
Don't take any notice of the finish of the bracket, it's just a work in progress. Once I've nailed the design and location I'll be making one that looks a lot better.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-79-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-80-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-81-s.jpg)
Day 45 - 18-4-14 - Stuck in a bit of limbo at the moment waiting for the sprockets to be made and the design for the rear brake caliper bracket. So I had a look at the swing arm. It doesn't have mounts for
paddock stand bobbins, so I needed to find a solution. I still had the first swing arm I bought that has an axle adjuster bolt stuck in and sheared off, so I used that for practice.
I drilled a hole in the small flat area near the axle adjust bolt hole, then tapped it with the appropriate thread size. It will need a small spacer to be made to clear the weld, but seems to work OK. I don't anticipate having
clearance issues with the axle as that should be mounted pretty much all the way back as this EXUP swing arm is slightly shorter than the Fazer one and also the front forks aren't as offset as far as the Fazer ones, so I'll
probably need as long a wheel base as possible to maintain stability. And a steering damper just in case.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-82-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-83-s.jpg)
I want to mount that under the forks but I don't think it will fit. So I may have to resort to mounting it at the front of the tank like a Ducati 916. Although I'd rather it was hidden away for a cleaner look.
I made an additional bracket for the GPS lap timer. I much prefer this new location as it lines up with the speedo and hides the power cable for the lap timer behind the speedo.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-84-s.jpg)
I have been having a bit of a saga trying to get some rear sets fabricated. I approached Race Spares Direct before Christmas to see if they could make me some, as I saw their rear sets on eBay and I really liked the style: a
very simple and clean look. At about 115 quid they were good value. Plus I like to support smaller businesses if I can. They said they could after Christmas.
To cut a long story short I tried to get back in touch, but my emails wouldn't get replied to. I know they were receiving them as I contacted them using another email address and got immediate responses. I also tried telephoning
countless times and just got the same thing, nobody would answer. I guess they changed their minds about making them. If so I would rather just be told that. Extremely disappointed I looked at my other options.
Looking at other rear sets I realised that those for a Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5/K6 were very similar in set up with regards to the gear lever connections and the brake master cylinder location. I picked up some secondhand OE rear
sets from a race forum I frequent and set about mounting them.
I wanted to have them in the same place as OE, with the option to mount them higher and further back. So made a bracket with four holes in so I could move them around. This didn't work because of clearance of the heel plates
on the swing arm. The brake side was the worst for this. I was trying to use the existing mounts on the frame, however after much head scratching I decided to do away with the brackets and mount the rear sets direct to the frame.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-85-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-86-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-87-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-88-s.jpg)
I will need new mount holes welding on for this. I'll have them about 20mm higher than OE and slightly forward of standard. This shouldn't be an issue as I have dodgy knees! Also if I can pick up some Crescent or Pro Mach
(who I'm pretty sure make them for Crescent) then I will get that adjustability.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-89-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-90-s.jpg)
I've bought a couple of cans. The stubby Gianelli I mentioned before and a Quill that I had planned to cut down, before I got hold of the Gianelli.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-91-s.jpg)
Day 46 - 7-6-14 - The Talon sprockets arrived a week ago and I'm happy to report they fit well and appear to line up perfectly. Always a relief when you get your measurements correct. Had a bit of an issue
removing the rear sprocket from the KTM sprocket carrier. You undo them on the rear side using an Allen head. The sprocket side has a flat edge to stop it turning when tightening it up.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-92-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-93-s.jpg)
I couldn't for the life of me work out how to undo them. I eventually used two old clip ons held in a vice and then slid the sprocket down onto them to stop it turning. This did the trick. But how would I do them up with the
new sprocket as I couldn't use the same method. Then I realised what a numpty I'd been. I just needed to hold two of the mount bolts in the vice and tighten from underneath. I was obviously only thinking in one dimension!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-94-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-95-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-96-s.jpg)
Got some potentially brilliant news on the rear brake caliper front. My mate Shaun spotted a rear brake caliper bracket for a Laverda 750 Formula on eBay and it looks exactly the right dimensions for my build. Fingers crossed
I win it and it works. Will save me about 230 quid if it does as I won't need to get one custom made. WooHoo! I won it. I was the only bidder and got it for the start price of 20 quid.
I was in my local bike shop yesterday and they happened to have a second hand Laverda 750 Formula for sale. Talk about coincidence, as I don't think they are that common a bike. Had a good look and took a couple of photos
and even more convinced it will work.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-97-s.jpg)
Day 47 - 17-6-14 - The caliper bracket arrived and excellent news it fits perfectly! It was designed for the caliper I want to use and it clears the disc. Forgot to check the pads are in the correct place on the disc.
I need to make yet more spacers to make sure it's in the right place. I have no access to the college now, so I'll need to farm the job out.
The bolt for the torque arm only just sticks out the other side of the mounting point, so no way you can get a nut on it. Hopefully the bolt will come out easily and I can either fit a new longer bolt, or just use the thread in the
bracket to accept a bolt from the torque arm.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-98-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-99-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-100-s.jpg)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 20 June 2014, 09:53:14 pm
Glad you like the pictures. Much easier than words and making pictures happens to be my day job.
Post by: MarkWales on 20 June 2014, 10:31:25 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 20 June 2014, 11:04:32 pm
coming along with amazing pace
Seriously? I think I'm dragging my heels a bit. Work does tend to get in the way!
Post by: ChristoT on 21 June 2014, 12:25:18 am
Post by: MarkWales on 21 June 2014, 10:06:55 pm
Post by: Chris on 17 September 2014, 06:07:28 am
Chris
Post by: Ruby Racing on 17 September 2014, 09:11:29 am
And I'm liking your enthusiasm.
Post by: Chris on 17 September 2014, 01:58:44 pm
Chris
Post by: Ruby Racing on 17 September 2014, 09:39:06 pm
I hope you're right and it is awesome. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! And you do have the skills, anybody does. You just have to have a go and learn on the job as it were. I'd never used a lathe before starting this project. I'm certainly not now an expert, but I can knock up some basic spacers. You just have to take your time and think things through.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 18 September 2014, 11:27:37 pm
Day 48 - 27-7-14 - Had a go at making some brackets to mount the front mudguard (from a Kawasaki ZRX1200) to the fork tubes. Seemed to work OK however I am doubtful that they would stay
in place once on the move and I'd worry about the mudguard dropping onto the tyre. As I need to protect the fork tubes from damage I need to make some protectors for them anyway, so I think I'll combine the
two into one item. The protector parts will follow the same design as the mudguard a sort of boxy shape with rounded edges so the whole thing works together.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-101-s.jpg)
I've temporarily fitted the GSXR-1000 K6 footrests using the existing mounting points on the frame, with the lower hole of the footrests in the top hole of the frame mount. The top hole is held in place with
cable ties and is just for a shakedown run of the new front and rear ends. This makes the footrests about 20mm higher than standard and also moves them forward slightly, which will be kinder to my knees!
You may remember I came to this solution as the other positions I tried hit the swing arm.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-102-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-103-s.jpg)
I cut the exhaust mounting bracket from the OE footrest. Not quite sure how I'm going to solve that problem. I may file down this part to make it look nice, or fabricate something myself. Still mulling that
one over in my head.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-104-s.jpg)
The clearance between the silencer and the swing arm is a little close, so not too sure if that is OK or not.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-105-s.jpg)
Got my new spacer made and now the caliper is central on the disc.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-106-s.jpg)
Day 49 - 7-8-14 - Made a bracket to mount the headlight. It's the smallest conventional bulbed light I could find and is only 90mm in diameter. Unfortunately it's a little deeper than I would like.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-107-s.jpg)
I had hoped to fit one light that would work with either the ZRX fairing or the number board. It's fine with the ZRX fairing as you can see, unfortunately it would make the number board sit too far away
from the forks to look right. So I may have to look again at a light from a B Whiz scooter.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-108-s.jpg)
Day 50 - 9-8-14 - Finally got the rear wheel spacers sorted and everything is in line. So time to get the tyres back on and the bike rolling again. Took her outside to have a look at things.
Unfortunately the back end sits very low. Took a couple of minutes to realise I needed to change the length of the dog bone links on the shock absorber. But why?
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-109-s.jpg)
I was sure the swing arm was the same dimensions as the OE one. I still had the OE and knackered EXUP swing arm so I compared them closely. I could see that the EXUP linkage mounting holes were
lower than the OE ones and when I did a rough measure it was lower by about 23mm.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-110-s.jpg)
The bolt hole centres of the standard dog bones are 140mm apart, so I knew I needed to make some shorter ones. I can't remember where I got the figure from, but I went for 115mm between linkage
bolt hole centres. This raised the rear although when on the centre stand the rear wheel sat on the ground. So I thought this was too low.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-111-s.jpg)
Tried again with a distance between linkage bolt hole centres of 130mm. This looked too low again. However with the new forks the front end may be riding a little higher than standard.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-112-s.jpg)
Day 51 - 17-8-14 - It was obviously somewhere between 115mm and 130mm. I tried to work it out mathematically using measurements between the three holes for the linkage and came up
with a figure of 127.5mm. I decided to round that down to 125mm. The rear tyre only just touches the floor, so I'm getting closer. I'll try 120mm next. I should have taken a measurement of the seat height
before ripping the standard bike apart. Too late now. Looking on line and the Fazers seat height is quoted as 790mm, so I'll see how close I can get to that.
As I was using the standard dog bone when fitting the rear sets the swing arm was too high and hitting the rear sets easily. Now that I am close to getting the swing arm at the right height it will hopefully
mean I have a bit more room to play with with the foot rests and so I might be able to revisit my plan for adjustable rear sets.
Pic below is with the 120mm dog bone.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-113-s.jpg)
Day 52 - 13-9-14 - Time to get the bike safe to ride again. I'd bought a used rear brake hose for a fiver so I could join up the GSX-R1000 K5 master cylinder/foot pegs with the Brembo caliper.
It was difficult to bleed it on the bike as it's not properly attached, so I put the master cylinder in the vice and put a couple of bits of metal between the brake pads.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-114-s.jpg)
Whilst I still had my mates laser (thanks Shaun, will return it soon!) I double checked the chain run. All seems good there.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-115-s.jpg)
I had a good once over of the various nuts and bolts I've had undone and with tape holding the wires in for the speedo (not that the speedo part works at this stage!) and the ignition barrel taped to the
top of the fuel tank, she was ready to roll again. I did a couple of runs in my lane to make sure the brakes were working, then it was out onto the open road.
All seems good. The motor is nice and smooth, the front Brembos are really nice and powerful. The forks are nice too, although bear in mind I have to stick to a 40mph island limit, so not really challenging
them! Plus it's just a little shake down to see if the front and rear end work OK. Couple of niggles at this point. The KTM yokes have less offset, if that's the right word, possibly I mean less trail compared to the
OE Fazer yokes. This means the yokes hit the radiator with hardly any turn of the handle bars. That severely limits the turning circle.
Couple of solutions spring to mind. One is to get new yokes fabricated, however that's going to cost a few hundred quid, so not keen on that. I might be able to lower the radiator so the yokes can turn more.
Any thoughts anyone?
The other issue is a loud whine which increases with speed. I put the bike in neutral and it still does it and appears to be coming from the rear wheel. As I have brand new bearings in the wheels I doubt it's those.
There is a bearing in the brake caliper bracket, so it could be that. There is also a massive bearing in the sprocket carrier and I think it's that.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-116-s.jpg)
There are spacers that sit inside this bearing and I copied the dimensions of the OE spacers when making my spacers. They are a tight fit and took some banging to get in. And then a lot more banging with a
hammer to get them out again. So tight was the fit that I actually knocked out the bearing in the process! As you are only supposed to hit the outer race of a bearing I suspect I've knackered it. I've ordered a
new one which unfortunately was forty quid. That'll teach me.
The foot pegs seem a little high and too far forward, so I my need to rethink this. At the moment they are about 20mm higher than standard and about the same distance forward from OE. Doesn't seem a lot,
but feels it. I can either move them around and possibly they will have to move back a little, or when I come to do the seat I can raise the seat height. As it stands the seat seems quite low as I can get my feet
on the floor easily, much more easily than any of my other bikes, so maybe raising the seat height will be OK. I'm just wary of changing the OE set up too much as I don't want a bad handling bike at the end of it.
Another thing to ponder.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 15 November 2014, 01:00:53 am
Day 53 - 19-10-14 - Changed the massive bearing in sprocket carrier for a new one. Test rode and seems better, but a while since I rode it so not sure. Still a whine, however think that is the transmission.
Had another look at making adapter plates for my Suzuki rear sets. After much head scratching came up with a design. So will have a go at making them.
Day 54 - 22-10-14 - This was my idea for a different mounting bracket for the rear sets. I was trying to hide the mounting point on the frame to make it look like part of the frame. The bolts attach from
the back side of the frame, screw into the frame and then into the bracket. This is not an ideal solution as the head of the bolt doesn't pull the bracket towards the frame. Rather that job is being done by the thread.
Anyway even though it's just a very rough mock up I didn't like the look of it. Next!
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-117-s.jpg)
Day 55 - 2-11-14 - Another idea came to me. Make my own brackets and attach the Suzuki foot pegs and levers to them. So I designed this.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-118-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-119-s.jpg)
I've also dismissed that idea as I don't have a milling machine (thinking about getting one though!) and I doubt I could get the kind of perfect finish I like. I thought back to my original brief to have the bike suitable
for racing. Ground clearance is important so the ability to change the position of the foot pegs for road or track appeals. As the OE Suzuki foot rests are almost in the right position I thought some aftermarket rear
sets would do the job.
I used to race a 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and that was fitted with ProMach rear sets. They were very strong and I liked the design, so I set about trying to find some on that well known internet based auction site.
Not much on there, however I found a full set in very good condition and the furthest forward position was right where I needed the foot rest to be, with option of moving them up and back. Perfect. Not so perfect
was the price. Suffice to say I paid a bit over the odds. Preferable to relying on some unknown quality, cheap versions from China though. Plus after checking with ProMach direct I can still get spares.
Day 56 - 9-11-14 - As I mentioned previously when riding the bike there is a loud whine coming from the back end. I slipped off the chain and got the rear wheel spinning at a fast speed with the aid
of a drill fitted with a big sanding wheel working on the tyre. Without the chain there is no whine, so pretty happy the rear wheel bearings are not the problem. That leaves the chain and transmission. Seems quite
loud to be just the chain, so I'm going to try and work out how to spin the drive sprocket with the chain removed to see if the transmission is the culprit. I don't feel it can be the chain as it's brand new with all it's
original wax lube all over it.
I used to have a 2002 Yamaha R1 and that had a pretty noisy gearbox, so maybe it's a Yamaha thing. Any Fazer owners have noisy/whinny transmissions? Also thinking back to when I bought it, it had been involved
in a crash which holed the right engine case allowing engine oil to escape. It's possible there is some damage, although I was told be the previous owner it didn't run for long on it's side. Or maybe it's normal and
"they all do that sir".
I decided at the outset to do this build in stages to try and avoid getting too far in and finding things wouldn't work how I wanted. Stage one was to get the front and rear ends fitted. I've done that now, so stage two
is to fit Venom (by Motad) header pipes, new silencer and individual pod filters on the carbs and get it running properly, or certainly in the ball park before proper setting up on a dyno. Stage three is when the angle
grinder comes out and the transformation proper starts.
So the carbs had to come out so I could fit different jetting and to check what size jets to order. There's always one nut, bolt or screw that causes an issue isn't there? It was the last of the Jubilee type clips on the
carb rubbers (engine side) to throw a spanner in the works. The screw holding the rubber tight to the carb would not budge and in the end I rounded off the screw head trying. Doh! All these intake rubbers were
perished so I was going to replace them anyway and had already picked up some second hand ones. Nothing for it but to resort to brute force and ignorance. Where's my hack saw? I just cut through the rubber
and after much jiggling got the carbs free.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-120-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-121-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-122-s.jpg)
Now to remove the airbox. Pretty sure I've read on the Fazer forum that you have to remove the engine to get the air box out. The engine will be out at some point, but not yet thanks very much. It did indeed look
like a non starter. However I noticed the front of the air box could be removed. So I did that and pulled the air box forward. My that is tight. Tried various angles of air box, but it looked like it was staying put. One last
try. I pushed the air box upwards and forward as much as possible and was able to get the rear right side to go in front of the frame rail. It was very tight and would probably scratch the frame
(it'll be powder coated eventually), but I managed to yank it out. So it can be done. Result.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-123-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-124-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-125-s.jpg)
Day 57 - 10-11-14 - Another screw put up a fight. One of the small screws that attaches the float bowl to the carb body. Only one out of the 16 however I managed got knock it off with a hammer
and a screwdriver. Not pretty and I've ordered a couple of new screws.
Tried to get at the slide needle as I'll need to change the height of it, however I wasn't sure how to remove this white plastic bit that sits at the top of the needle. Anybody any ideas please? I didn't want to get
tough on it in case I broke it.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-127-s.jpg)
The main jets are Mikuni number N102221 size, with 115 size fitted in all the carbs. I haven't got any experience with carbs, but I managed to get some information on new jetting from someone on the Fazer
forum who had got pod filters fitted. He had taken his bike to a dyno for set up and they fitted 125 mains in the outer carbs and 127.5 in the middle carbs, with all four needles moved to fourth groove down.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-128-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-129-s.jpg)
My ProMach rear sets arrived so I quickly mounted them. I didn't have time to check properly, but it looks like they are going to work. Happy with that.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-130-s.jpg)
The credit card got hammered today as I ordered parts to progress with the build. The exhaust is ordered from Motad. They are making another batch of 25 which should be done by 20 November 2014, so I
should get it the following week. Four pod filters with chrome covers (K&N part number RC-1824), the bigger mains jets, float bowl screws and intake jubilee clip are on the way.
Post by: ChristoT on 15 November 2014, 01:22:26 am
Looking good! :)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 15 November 2014, 05:57:56 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 03 December 2014, 12:31:22 am
Day 58 - 19-11-14 - Worked on the carbs today and fitted the bigger main jets and moved the clip on the main needle down to the fourth (bottom) groove. Also had a good look at the new Pro Mach
rear sets I bought and they will do a perfect job. Took some time to get the gear shift linkage to the right length as I didn't want to go mad a make it too short.
Spent quite a bit of time just looking at the bike and working out where I'm going to package everything. It's going to be tight! Main things I'm working on are the ignition switch, steering damper, battery, relays,
fuses, starter solenoid and Igniter box (ECU).
Because I'm using the ignition mount holes to mount my clocks and there's no space left for the ignition barrel, I am thinking of relocating the ignition to the front of the top frame tubes just in front of the leading
edge of the fuel tank, or sunken into it. Going to be a bit of a clash as that's about the only place I can fit a steering damper (Ducati 916 stylee). However looking at the different mounts available it should be doable.
Just have to work out which other bike model I'll need.
Thought about placing the battery at the front of the fuel tank area as well. I'm going to have a carbon fibre fake fuel tank cover over an aluminium custom made fuel tank, so can leave some space near the
front for this purpose. However not sure if directly above the engine and cooling system is a wise place for a battery with regards to heat. Anybody have any thoughts on that?
Another possibility is mount it at the back of the fuel tank, near my gentleman's area. This might be a better option and possibly also means less rewiring as it would be near it's existing location. I should mention
that I'm going to relocate the subframe higher than standard and going for a very clean, empty area under the seat with nothing in it, hence the need to find new homes for things.
One of my purchases arrived yesterday: a Yamaha RD250 fuel tank. It will be too small for the job, however I'm going to use it as a mould for the carbon fibre cover. I'll make a copy then cut it in the appropriate
places to increase it's size, then make the final cover from that. Never done it before, so that's going to be a big learning curve.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-131-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-132-s.jpg)
Day 59 - 22-11-14 - My new Venom system arrived from Motad. I have to say I'm not overly impressed with it. The stainless steel finish is nowhere near mirror like, more of a bare aluminium type finish.
Which on it's own is OK, but clashes with the mirror finish link pipe I have. If you get one of these systems I'd recommend getting the Venom can to go with it so it all looks the same. To be fair I'm pretty sure they
have been built down to a price to compare with the cheep stuff coming out of China so it's maybe harsh for me to have a pop at the quality, it's just that being made in England I expected better.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-133-s.jpg)
The welding is rough and there is quite a bit of splatter which wasn't removed before plating. To be fair it's mostly in areas you won't see, like inside the header pipes and under the engine. I may get it ceramic
coated once the build is finished. They also sent me the wrong size exhaust gaskets (too big), however once I had advised them of this they sent the correct size which arrived the next day.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-134-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-135-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-136-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-137-s.jpg)
Day 60 - 25-11-14 - Got the pod filters fitted and the carbs back on.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-138-s.jpg)
The Venom system has a slightly bigger internal diameter than the standard system, so hopefully that will let it breathe easier.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-139-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-140-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-141-s.jpg)
Did some photos of the bike so I could do another mock up of the tail, fuel tank and fairing set up I want to use, so I could see if I can achieve the look I'm after. Below is my original mock up and below that my
latest mock up.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacerMockUp-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-142-s.jpg)
It's looking like I'm on the right track. However I don't like where I have the fairing sited as I feel it's too high and the tail, fuel tank and fairing don't flow into each other nicely. So I hit Photoshop again and
moved the fairing down. That looks better.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-143-s.jpg)
Day 61 - 30-11-14 - I've relocated the fairing in the lower position for real and feel it looks better as it covers the bottom yoke now. However it may move up a little as I haven't finalised it's position yet,
but it will be very close to where it is now. Moving it down means I had to move the headlight down too. In photo below the picture on the left is original position of the fairing, on the right the latest location.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-144-s.jpg)
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-146-s.jpg)
This has had a benefit in another area, namely the location of the steering damper. Previously I'd thought about mounting it in front of the fuel tank, although I really didn't want to put it there as I think they
should be hidden from view. I realised I could mount it in front of the headstock by welding a bracket to the upper area of the headstock and then mounting the other end to the top yoke using the bolt hole conveniently
located at the front of the yoke, or by using a fork clamp with a threaded hole for mounting of a steering damper.
(http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacer-147-s.jpg)
With the headlight mounted lower I realised I can use the original fairing subframe mount holes on the headstock instead and making a bolt on bracket to fit. So that's probably the next job.
I managed to test ride the bike with the new exhaust and carb set up. It's definitely perkier off the throttle and the jetting doesn't seem to be too far out, certainly above 5,000rpm it flies. Below that there is just a
slight wooliness so I think one of the other jets needs changing. According to the instructions which came with the pod filters I need to change the primary main jet. It also states that when using CV carbs that you shouldn't
change the needle height from standard. So when I fit the new primary main jets I'll put the needle clips back to their original position on the third groove down.
Getting closer to stage three: getting the angle grinder out!
Post by: Nebuchernezzer on 03 December 2014, 10:49:09 am
Post by: Fazerider on 03 December 2014, 11:10:33 am
Post by: Ruby Racing on 03 December 2014, 05:05:13 pm
Good work, Def interested in your pods and rejetting, not many people seem to do it on the fazer and I'm interested :D
Cheers and happy to be your Guinea Pig! ;) [size=78%] [/size]
Post by: Ruby Racing on 03 December 2014, 05:07:22 pm
Regarding battery position: I wouldn't expect the slightly warmer position to affect it, but from a handling point of view it makes sense to have the densest lump of mass as close to the mid-point of the bike as possible.
Thanks for the feedback.
As for the densest lump of mass? Well I do tend to sit close to the mid-point! :lol
Post by: muddybuddy on 03 December 2014, 05:40:31 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 03 December 2014, 05:48:07 pm
Post by: ChristoT on 03 December 2014, 06:05:44 pm
Can you let me know what jetting changes you made to your carbs please?
My old 6 had the Motad pipes too, and when I stripped the carbs, I found jetting was standard.
Post by: muddybuddy on 03 December 2014, 06:59:36 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 03 December 2014, 10:50:07 pm
Post by: Znd93rus on 04 December 2014, 01:36:54 pm
I've just registered and just because of your topic)
I plan about pod filters installition too (additionaly to my Sebring Power Jet slip-on). Can you tell how the bike runs on low speed and low engine revs? Is it still usable for streets?
Post by: Ruby Racing on 04 December 2014, 02:35:35 pm
You're jumping the gun a bit, I'm still in the process of sorting out the jetting. Even when I've got it pretty good it still needs to be set up on a dyno, which will be middle of next year at the earliest. Hope you're patient!
Post by: Znd93rus on 04 December 2014, 04:21:47 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 04 December 2014, 04:24:22 pm
Post by: MarkWales on 07 December 2014, 02:48:02 pm
Post by: muddybuddy on 09 December 2014, 03:44:52 pm
Can you let me know what jetting changes you made to your carbs please?
Standard jets.
Post by: muddybuddy on 09 December 2014, 03:49:48 pm
Is there an echo in here? ;)
Sorry about that both times I posted I got an error message and assumed it did not go, so I gave up. :\
Do you recall what the original rearset frame mount measurement is between centres?
Mark
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 December 2014, 03:51:44 pm
Something else which also needs doing after changing the set up, however small a change, is to re balance the carbs.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 09 December 2014, 03:58:34 pm
Do you recall what the original rearset frame mount measurement is between centres?
Mark
Where the footrests mount to the frame? I've measured it as 75mm.
Post by: muddybuddy on 09 December 2014, 04:09:28 pm
Post by: Znd93rus on 20 January 2015, 08:43:33 pm
No problem at all. That's what this is all about, helping each other.
Hello Ruby!
Std main jet is 115, am I right? And they are all the same in all 4 carbs?
Post by: Ruby Racing on 20 January 2015, 11:29:23 pm
Std main jet is 115, am I right? And they are all the same in all 4 carbs?
That's what were in mine.
I've been trying to change the needle jet in accordance with the instructions that came with the K&N pod filters, but with no luck as Mikuni don't make different jets for those particular carbs.
Had a good informative conversation with a guy at Allens Performance who explained to me why pod filters are not a good idea. He basically told me to throw them away and put the standard airbox back on! He's right. When you open the throttle on a CV carb you don't lift the slide in the carb, you open the butterfly. The difference in pressure between the air box and the engine (I think) then makes the diaphragm at the top of the carb lift the slide at the correct speed. This means you get smooth fuelling. By removing the airbox and fitting pod filters you screw up all the hard work done by Yamaha to find the best size and volume of airbox. That said I have a ZRX1200R I have fitted pod filters too with an Ivans Performance Jet Kit, designed specifically for that bike with pod filters, and it runs like a dream. That's because Ivan spent hours and hours on a dyno with a ZRX to come up with the best solution.
So it's doable with pod filters, but will probably take a long time to get right. And that's if you know what you're doing. I don't!
As I see it there are a couple of options open to me:
1. Measure the volume of the standard airbox and try and create something similar to fit in with my build aesthetics.
2. One of my buddies suggested fitting one big long air filter covering all four carbs so as to create a small pocket of still air.
3. Fit some slide carbs. That's the very expensive option as you're looking at around £700 for a new set.
I will probably do the best I can with what I have and also look into option 1. If the build turns out as well as I hope then I may stump up for some carbs in the future.
They guy at Allens did give me some other people to ask, but he wasn't hopeful of success.
Post by: ChristoT on 21 January 2015, 12:04:36 am
Post by: Ruby Racing on 21 January 2015, 10:21:27 am
I found some posts by Lee on www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk (http://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk) under the user name Leedog. [size=78%]http://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/gallery/browseimages.php?do=browseimages&c=6&orderby=title&direction=DESC&cutoffdate=-1&page=50 (http://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/gallery/browseimages.php?do=browseimages&c=6&orderby=title&direction=DESC&cutoffdate=-1&page=50)[/size]
Don't suppose anyone on here knows him?
Post by: Znd93rus on 21 January 2015, 01:40:28 pm
Std main jet is 115, am I right? And they are all the same in all 4 carbs?
That's what were in mine.
I've been trying to change the needle jet in accordance with the instructions that came with the K&N pod filters, but with no luck as Mikuni don't make different jets for those particular carbs.
Had a good informative conversation with a guy at Allens Performance who explained to me why pod filters are not a good idea. He basically told me to throw them away and put the standard airbox back on! He's right. When you open the throttle on a CV carb you don't lift the slide in the carb, you open the butterfly. The difference in pressure between the air box and the engine (I think) then makes the diaphragm at the top of the carb lift the slide at the correct speed. This means you get smooth fuelling. By removing the airbox and fitting pod filters you screw up all the hard work done by Yamaha to find the best size and volume of airbox. That said I have a ZRX1200R I have fitted pod filters too with an Ivans Performance Jet Kit, designed specifically for that bike with pod filters, and it runs like a dream. That's because Ivan spent hours and hours on a dyno with a ZRX to come up with the best solution.
So it's doable with pod filters, but will probably take a long time to get right. And that's if you know what you're doing. I don't!
As I see it there are a couple of options open to me:
1. Measure the volume of the standard airbox and try and create something similar to fit in with my build aesthetics.
2. One of my buddies suggested fitting one big long air filter covering all four carbs so as to create a small pocket of still air.
3. Fit some slide carbs. That's the very expensive option as you're looking at around £700 for a new set.
I will probably do the best I can with what I have and also look into option 1. If the build turns out as well as I hope then I may stump up for some carbs in the future.
They guy at Allens did give me some other people to ask, but he wasn't hopeful of success.
I didn't open my carbs yet, but what to compare. My carbs seems to me to be virgin w\o any mods.
I contacted to 6sigma carbs tuners from US about correct jets for my Fazer.
They told me that pod filters is a good idea for accelertion but at high speed they suffer from air turbulance and the bike could have less top speed or so.
Also they send me some tips tuning for faster throttle response. I think you all khown it all.
Actually I put "pod-idea" on the bookshelf for now and just order KN filter in stock airbox.
Ruby, you have already driven Fazer with pods. did you touch filters by legs? they should exactly near knees?
Post by: Ruby Racing on 21 January 2015, 05:11:36 pm
I contacted to 6sigma carbs tuners from US about correct jets for my Fazer.
They told me that pod filters is a good idea for accelertion but at high speed they suffer from air turbulance and the bike could have less top speed or so.
Also they send me some tips tuning for faster throttle response. I think you all khown it all.
Actually I put "pod-idea" on the bookshelf for now and just order KN filter in stock airbox.
I also contacted 6 Sigma about the jet kit they are advertising on eBay for the Fazer. They are in the USA and as far as I am aware the FZS600 was never imported there. However they seem to think that is not a problem. Here is their answer to my question of how you can develop a kit for a bike you haven't laid a spanner on:
New message from: 6sigmajetkit
We can use information found on the internet to determine type and sizing for the jets. Just because a bike wasn't imported doesn't mean we don't have access to the jets.
They also have a fair amount of negative feedback which doesn't fill me with confidence. I won't be buying their product.
Ivans Performance actually buy the bike they are making the kit for and do many, many dyno runs to make the best possible kit for the bike. As I said previously, my ZRX runs like a dream.
[/size][/size]
Ruby, you have already driven Fazer with pods. did you touch filters by legs? they should exactly near knees?
[/size][/font][/font]
I've already posted details of what I have done to the carbs.[/size][/font][/font]
Post by: Znd93rus on 21 January 2015, 06:11:24 pm
For Fazer 600 and VX1100.
The kit contains 2 sets of main jets. Will set and check temp balance and a\f ratio.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 22 January 2015, 07:48:06 pm
It will need more than that. Glad I didn't buy from them.
Post by: Znd93rus on 23 January 2015, 08:44:09 am
It just includes mains jets?! :eek
It will need more than that. Glad I didn't buy from them.
No! pivot jets (1set), main jets (2 sets. I asked them for KN+slip-on and podfilters+slip-on sets) and some twist drills and some other parts for setup. Plus brochure with instructions and tips for tuning and faster throttle response.
As for DragStar kit It also contains 2 steps of main jets. We are still thinking about which air finter to use - KN air filter or still ride with OEM one. In this case they advised me to try 2 variants of main jets.
I have thermocouple and wideband oxygen sensor equipment but no moto dyno. Will try to check afr in motion.
Post by: Ruby Racing on 23 January 2015, 05:53:25 pm
Post by: Znd93rus on 23 January 2015, 06:04:47 pm
Any chance of a photo of the kit contents for the Fazer?
Will make some shots in a couple hours.
Sorry for quality.
6Sigma jet kit for Yamaha FZS600 |
Post by: ChristoT on 30 March 2015, 09:09:12 pm
Post by: Ruby Racing on 30 March 2015, 11:49:33 pm
Post by: Znd93rus on 31 March 2015, 06:22:38 am
Post by: Znd93rus on 23 June 2015, 02:55:36 pm
I know, I know! Update coming soon.Ruby, I have read that you installed CDI from ThunderCat. And what for? higher revs? more advanced ignition? Or anything else?
Post by: Ruby Racing on 23 June 2015, 11:58:48 pm
If I do encounter problems then my first plan is to fit the CDI from a YZF600R Thundercat as this uses virtually the same engine. I've looked at the wiring diagrams for each bike and it all looks virtually the same (minus the speed sensor on the Thundercat), with the same colour wires going to the same places. So I've got a second hand CDI for twenty quid and we'll see if that will work.
Haven't got that far yet, so haven't tried it.
Post by: Dave_paxo on 24 August 2015, 10:17:33 pm
I've got a streetfighter that I'm returning to standard as I should never have sold my last fazer
At the same time I'm building a custom based round a fazer engine and there is no room for an airbox, I'm hoping there is a solution to running the fazer on pods as the engine is really good and I'd hate to ruin it.
Post by: joebloggs on 18 September 2015, 08:18:34 am
I finished my first project bike on 1 September 2010. It was a fantastic moment as my vision had become reality and I was very happy with how it turned out.
And then a moment of disappointment. Why? Well, I didn't have a project bike to do anymore. As much as I wanted to finish the build, the process of the build is
the best part. Making things yourself, solving problems, etc. So time to find another project.
It's taken a while, but I got there in the end. I was inspired by the Kawasaki Z1000 (I love old Kawasaki Zeds) that Jon Keeling of Racefit built (see picture below)
using a three and a half grand Spondon frame. In fact I would have loved to have owned it, however I doubt my pockets would have been deep enough. I really like the whole 1980's AMA
superbike racer look, so decided I'd like to build my own idea of one.
([url]http://www.rubyracing.com/RacefitZ1000-s.jpg[/url])
Next thing was to decide on a bike to start the build from. I'd thought about a modern version using the 2003 Z1000 and then discounted it for various reasons.
I already have a 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R and seriously thought about getting another one and ripping into it. They are heavy bikes and trying to get the weight
down would have taken a lot of work. So that idea came and went. There were a few other thoughts, including an original Z1000 and if it wasn't for their values
going up right now I might have gone down that path.
I kept a lookout in the local online classifieds and eventually I saw a bike I thought would work. It was a 1999 Yamaha Fazer FZS600 that had had a front end
shunt bending the forks. I planned on fitting USD forks, so bent forks weren't a problem as long as the frame was straight. The thing that sold me was the shape
of the frame, particularly the bend near the foot pegs as it reminded me of the Spondon frame. Also the fake air cooled look of the engine. The price was also right
as I picked it up for a few hundred quid.
The plan is to build my own AMA type racer. I had intended to do this build just to create a unique road bike for myself, but the
fact I want to base it loosely on an 80's race bike got me thinking. I had raced a 1,000cc sports bike in the BMCRC Powerbikes class for three years from 2007 to 2009.
I stopped because the amount of traveling got to be too much (every race meeting involves two cross channel ferry journeys and lots of charging up and down motorways),
however I still miss it a little and before I stopped I had been thinking of changing class into one a little more suited to my ability, namely Thunderbikes
(or Thunderbirds as I like to call them). The main regulation for the class is a strict power to weight ratio and is aimed at older bikes. All to keep the costs down
and the racing close.
A VERY rough outline of what I'm planning on building:
([url]http://www.rubyracing.com/RubyRacerMockUp-s.jpg[/url])
So I've decided to make it eligible for racing too. Thunderbikes is one class I'm going build it for and also Streetfighters. Now I know that this isn't the bike to
start turning into a racer, a beam framed sports bike would be a much better starting point and certainly in Streetfighters that's what most racers have. So it wont
be a front running bike, but I don't mind. It doesn't matter where you are in a race. If you're having a dice with someone, that's all that matters.
There are a number of race regulations that have to be followed including a catch tank for all vent hoses, a bellypan that can hold a certain amount of fluid,
lock wire of oil filler and drain bolts, etc which I will incorporate in the build. However the main class rules I have to adhere to are as follows:
Thunderbikes
Sports Thunderbikes - 1 SAE bhp per 1.81kg weight up to a maximum of 105bhp
Streetfighter
Up to 600cc 4 cylinder with a maximum horsepower limit of 100bhp
Handlebars must be mounted above the top yoke and mounted so that the bar ends are higher than the bar mounting point
Nose cones and or bikini fairings must not protrude back past the headstock and must fit behind a theoretical template measuring 480mm horizontal and 330mm
vertical when viewed from the front.
As Streetfighters has a power limit of 100bhp, irrespective of weight, then that is the maximum I can have the motor producing to be eligible for both classes.
From a quick internet search it looks like a standardish Fazer puts out about 85bhp at the rear wheel. Someway short of 100bhp so I'll have to focus my efforts on
weight reduction, which is in my plans anyway. Using the Thunderbikes formula that would mean a minimum weight of 154kg. The factory quoted dry weight for
the standard bike is 189kg. So that's 35kg the bike needs to shed. That might be hard to do, so some mild engine tuning may also be needed. I'll concentrate on
a Weight Watchers program first and see where that gets me.
In the back of my mind I realise I may not actually be able to get the look I'm after. So I have a plan B. Back in 1998 I saw a concept bike in one of the
motorcycle magazines that really caught my fancy. It was based on the FZS600 with clip ons, a race seat and modified fairing among other things.
Here's a copy of that article.
([url]http://www.rubyracing.com/FazerFZS600Concept-s.jpg[/url])
I got thinking a bit more and thought that if plan A does work, then my next project could be plan B with another FZS600. Then I thought some more. The majority
of the things I want to do would apply to both bikes, so why not make the two bikes out of one? The only bits I would need to change are the front fairing, the
tail unit, petrol tank and the handle bars. So that's the plan: one bike, two looks.
Project Ruby Racer is GO!
Have read through this thread a couple of times, great work so far. I too love the bike for the frame rather than as a whole, big tube double cradle sort of reminds me of the factory endurance racers from the late 70 early 80's era. A friend brought one of the first I ever saw and I imediately thought it needed pulling apart and modifying, to me it was like Yamaha put a touring fairing on a XR69.
One complaint I have read re working on the bike is how difficult it is to remove the engine as it's such a tight fit, my question to you, or anyone who's modified the bike is has anyone either done or considered wrapping frame tubes above and around the crancase (think Harris Magnum 2) removing the lower engine cradle allowing the frame to be lifted off the engine and maybe looking a little trick at the same time.
I don't remember his name but the owner of tasty nutz did this with an old Z1000 (very similar to Ruby) and it really worked, and Spondons big tube kat was something to drool over.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img538/2102/1h7abX.jpg)
Post by: Ruby Racing on 21 September 2015, 11:45:57 pm
I see that wrap around frame idea as more for a sports bike than an upright. Not sure it would look right on my kind of build. Plus I really like down tubes!
If you were to do it I'd want to take it someone who knew what they were doing as it could seriously affect handling, stability, etc.