Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Fantastic, can't wait to see "The Beast" in action

Mate mate mate mate maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate .

First twist of the throttle and that front wheel is never going to touch the ground again, should never have to buy another front .

Can't help but think there'd be better contenders for a base for an off-road bike, but if you've got the time, skill, inclination and money then why the hell not?

Kudos (and kudas) to everyone concerned!

Mick

Can't help but think there'd be better contenders for a base for an off-road bike

Im sure there are many,

but then the completion of the monster wouldnt be as much of an achievement would it

but then the completion of the monster wouldnt be as much of an achievement would it

No, if you've got the time, skill, inclination and money then indeed why the hell not?

Mick

OK punters, here are the latest photos of progress on Laurie's bike so far.......these are mainly of the build of the fuel-tank.

Because he is using a completely new design for an under-seat tank, this part of the overall build has taken a couple of weeks to complete, but he nailed the remaining job today, so here are some photos and words from Laurie.....

"....Finished.Well that part anyways. Its not the prettiest thing but should do the job. Next is the not so fun job of digging the clay out. Then check it internally and i will probably do an internal coating of epoxy to ensure a good seal. For the seat i am thinking of laying a thin skin,using the tank as the mould to ensure a perfect fit,remove it and use it to attach the seat foam/covering......"






"....No water was harmed in the making of this fuel tank.
Turned out ok seems ok internally.Has that dull thud of hardness/strength when i rap on it. Tops....."

All the modelling clay used to make the mold, is now removed from inside the tank using water pressure.....





Here is the now-empty tank sitting on the bike....




"....Just finished machining up the fuel tank filler cap and its insert,insert just needs holes drilled radially around the circumference of the flange to help lock it in when i bond it into the tank......"




".....Got the fuel filler done,except for a breather valve,should have the tank finished by the weekend in time for Gos to do the electrics...."

Yes, I spent a few hours last Saturday, modifying the wiring harness for the ZX10, so that both ECU units could be connected in the mounts that Laurie has made up - the battery and both ECU units now sit right up in front of the top shock mount, directly behind the back of the airbox. I still have a few hours left in modifying the rest of the harness, shortening or lengthening certain parts, so that everything is centrally located under the seat. There will be no electrics mounted in the old positions at all, apart from handlebar controls........and when its all done, that bloody tacho better spin around when he turns the key !!!

Here is the newly-machined tank filler mounted up in the tank......









".....Almost done,Fuel pump inserts machined up and then bonded in. As pictured got some fuel surge foam to go in. Then just need to rig up a breather in the fuel filler cap and then sealup the rear of the tank. Weight is looking to be around 2.9kg compared to 5.5kg standard zx10 tank.fuel capacity close to 13 litres. The fuel tank reminds me of a giant turd from a dinosaur thats eaten too much fibre ....."





YES HOFFY - thats what Tank Foam really looks like mate !!!


"....Right its done.Finished sealing up the hole.I initially filled the hole with clay,preped it with release wax,then did the layup. I then layed a sheet of peel ply over the layup and pulled it tight using masking tape,this ensures a tight interface of the carbon with the shape of the tank. Once its cured i peel the peel ply off which incidentaly is simply polyester shower curtain,same stuff. Then pop the plug off,remove the clay,prep and clean then reglue the trimmed plug back into the tank and finished. I have had the tank full of petrol all day and no leaks.Takes exactly 13.6 litres and finally weighs 3.2 kg incl fuel pump and surge foam. Next step is to completely cover it with a seat......"

















So thats where the build is up to at this stage. There is a bit more work to do to complete the tank/seat unit, basically shaping the foam and getting the upholstery completed. It sure is looking good now with the fuel pump and filler cap all completed......

Next stage after this - is making linkages for the rear suspension. Laurie is also looking at shortening the MX forks that he has fitted, in order to obtain a nice balanced ride height - this may also mean machining up a set of triple clamps with a different/steeper rake - but these mods are down the track a bit.....

My part in this build will all be done and dusted when the electrics are completed and everything is working *exactly* as it should......

stay tuned for the next instalment......

Farking amazing Gos, keep them coming!

Mick

Awesome stuff, this should go in the Rapid bike mag as a project build up.

Sitting on the tank like that..... no more Mexican food for you

Excellent

seiko1 wrote:....Sitting on the tank like that..... no more Mexican food for you ....

- its just the base mate ... - Laurie will be doing a full foam seat from behind the steering head to the fuel-filler cap........so it will look like a current style MX bike - just a bit longer.....and wider.....


In some late-breaking news......after all my modifying of the wiring harness.......Laurie turned the ignition on the other night......and everything worked just as it should, *and* with no FI light coming on !! - so that's good news.

This weekend, I will be completing the remaining job with the harness near the battery, and then its on to the *immense* amount of wiring that sits up forward of the steering head......there is so much up there, most of it can be shortened considerably.......

More pic's to come next week....

Hey Gos, What is he doing with the orig wheels.?????

Gosling1 wrote:
In some late-breaking news......after all my modifying of the wiring harness.......Laurie turned the ignition on the other night......and everything worked just as it should, *and* with no FI light coming on !! - so that's good news.

Well done Gos

MadKaw wrote:......Hey Gos, What is he doing with the orig wheels.?????.......

would you believe me if I said.........SuperDuperMotard ??

Yeh Baby !!

(actually that is the plan..... )

Time for another update on this project....

I spent some more time on Saturday, tidying up the rest of the wiring loom......its basically all completed now at the battery end (ECU etc) - all that remains is to shorten up the excess harness up to both switch blocks, although this will need to wait until Laurie gets the new triple-clamps made up, and the bars are mounted properly.......I can then finish off the wiring side of things.....

Laurie has spent most of the weekend working on the new rear shock - here are the updates.....


"...Ok got the rear electrics all sorted,gos has done an awesome job as shown by the fact that when i turned the key,it made all the right noises,no FI light came on and it started first try.Thats a relief....."

(it sure is !! - probably 80% of the harness from the airbox back has been either shortened or lengthened.... )

New position for battery and ECU.






"...Presently fitting up an ohlins rear shock,theres bugger all room behind the shock when the swingarm is in full bump,so the piggyback reservior will fit in under the frame cross member next to the gearbox.....just...."




"...Refitted the standard sidestand and cutout switch,just needs lengthening once the suspension is finished...."




"...Relocated the exhaust valve motor up behind the rad...."




"...Next job is start forming the seat base for the seat attachment..."

The seat will be quite long, and allow plenty of movement on the bike..... - like leaping up onto where the 'old' tank used to be, screaming "OMFG"..

The next set of pictures are the modified rear shock that Laurie is using on this baby......

"...Just finnished the rear shock. Picked up a second hand ohlins out of an sp1 honda. Chose this because it has a pivoting piggyback reservior so i can fit it into the tightest of tightspots. Also the shock has a long shock body so that i can extend the shaft travel too 100mm. To do that i used a 16mm shock shaft from a yz250 MXer,shortened and rethreaded to length,then fitted a suitably modified lower mount from a 99 cbr600 shock,just stuff i had lying about.

So finished length is 366mm with 100mm shaft travel compared to the standard zx10 of 338/65 and sp1 shock of 326/63mm.
Next is to design and make the lower link which should give me a wheel travel of 250mm....."








So thats where the build is up to at this point.......coming along very nicely.

Once the rear shock linkages have been made, that will complete the mods to the rear suspension. It will be the only ZX10R in the world with 250mm of rear axle travel I would think.....

Next major part of the build will be the triple clamps.

Stay tuned........

Mmmm, Ohlins

Looking good mate, keep them coming.

Mick