The Silk Purse Project - piccy time..

Post by **MadKaw** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:00 pm

OK I figure its time to put up some pics of what I've been up to for the last 4 or 5 weeks.
With the intention of dabling in a bit of New Era racing next year I bought a zxr750R (note the R

) a number of weeks ago. It was down in Melbourne so Strika had a look at it for me and also brought it up Sydney on one of his trips (thanks mate).
To say I was a little dissapointed would be an understatement as the thing wouldn't run due to the guy swapping the igniter and hacking the wiring in doing so and it really did look pretty average to say the least.
Nevertheless, this was to be a project and the entry price wasn't too high so we immediately stripped it to start the rebuild process.

First pics below..

Click on pic for bigger image...

Nanna10r · Post by **Nanna10r** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:26 pm

Onya Dave 'bout time you got back to the Creek.

Oh did it come with a pair of bedside table lamps I heard Tape is still after some bits

It's not a 9 but i'm sure it'll go ok with the Kaw on board

Post by **MadKaw** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:52 pm

Part 2..
The fairings and tank were dispatched to Damos panel shop for a bit of TLC.. OK, I meant a lot of TLC, I can't believe the way the guy had em fixed and the stuff he used, so all the holes were filled and proper fasteners and fixings were ordered.
In the meantime, the rewireing process was underway.. what a pain in the ass that was I had the carbs of so I could check for spark and after many hours and numerous attempts it was great relief to finally see that little ignition... So it all went back together to see if it would run... It wouldn't... So after another frustrating round of pulling of carbs, chasing power and re-joining all the wires and connectors it finally had spark to all cylinders. With the help of Damo a funnel was used as the petrol tank and she finally kicked into life.. What a relief that was, it sounded great so many beers were consumed to celebrate.
The next process was preping the fairings. Damo had em all patched but I got the good job of sanding them down as the primer that was on em was crap. After hours of sanding they were properly primed, which then meant hours of wet and dry... anyway it finally got done and Damon hit em with a coat of paint at his work.. Unfortunately the hose to the compressor blew just after the last coat was applied so shit went everywhere.. after a quick panic the fairings looked OK as it was a hot day and they had already skimmed.
Many beers were consumed to celebrate.

While the fairings were of, I pulled out the forks and stripped em down, changed the oil and put em back in.
We also added a temp gauge (has a thermo fan but no temp gauge, go figure) with the help of Frank and a housing from Brian. Frank also helped with the patching and spraying of the frame (thanks guys.)..
Damo polished the pipe and I fitted a new bracket and clamp to secure it a little better than the stick of steel there previously.
Numerous other things were cleaned, polished and tidied up. I was shocked at the number of loose bolts on the thing.
I also replace the 5 kilo truck battery with a very light weight one.. I just hope it lasts...

Things were coming together so many beers were consumed to celebrate..

The fairings were test fitted and the number plate backgrounds were sprayed in my garage..
It finally looked like a bike so many beers were consumed to celebrate..

Pics below

Click pic for bigger image

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:01 pm

oh no!!
i hate to tell u this mate, but thats a bloody honda rc 45, not a kawa...hes just badged it to fool u....

hahahaha

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:10 pm

MadKaw wrote:Part 2..

Damo polished the pipe

Pics below

must be a SEXY bike??

god i hope not!!

jpbikeboy · Post by **jpbikeboy** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:12 pm

I got a turbo for it!!

Post by **MadKaw** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:17 pm

Part 3
After spending weeks chasing an oil leak that appeared to be coming out a hose, the culprit was found. It was a crack in the elbow under the rotor cover... A replacement was sourced and duly installed.
The oil was dropped a new filter put in, the radiator flushed and the bike seemed to be running pretty well. A test ride around the block, closed circuit conditions of course, was on the cards. It went really well but those flat slides and that 1/8th turn throttle are going to take some getting used too..

Numerous beers were consumed to celebrate the first ride.
After that, it was time to fit up all the fairings. After about 4 shots at the front fairing I finaly got it to sit in a decent spot, the lower was worse as the radiator is lowered to fit an additional air intake. After numerous attempts to fit it I gave up.
Numerous beers were consumed to drown my sorrows.
A clean start was taken and after attacking the fairings with sand paper for a few hours things started to fit and line up a little better.. Holes were drilled for the Dzus fasteners and a lot of forcing, twisting, swearing and drinking finally got them into place. All looked good until I put the last fastener in. The bloody hole was so close to patched previous hole that as I clippped it into place a chunk of filler popped out... boy was I pissed.!!..
I refilled the hole and tidied it up as best as I can for now, but it will need a little more work to get it up to scratch.. Although as I keep reminding myself, and being told by others, it is a race bike and with my record will end up looking much worse....

That aside all the fairings were finally fitted, a quick clean up and once over were done and it was time for another ride...
All went well and the bike is coming on pretty good without a huge expense.
To Celebrate, numerous beers were consumed...

Next step is to sort out the graphics, Damon wants to put a white stripe on the top of the belly pan like the GP bike. Then whack on some stickers, get the rear shock checked, change the chain and sprockets and get to the track...
If all goes well, many beers will be consumed...

Big thanks to Damon for his help most weekends and Frank and Brian for the help last week.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:32 pm

looks good mate, but i have a suggestion...

do u think the project woulda been decidedly cheaper if u hadnt had so many celebratory beers??...just a thought...

hoffy · Post by **hoffy** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:44 pm

Neka79 wrote:looks good mate, but i have a suggestion...

do u think the project woulda been decidedly cheaper if u hadnt had so many celebratory beers??...just a thought...

Fosters Brewery, I believe, assisted by setting up a temporary 24hr beer tent in his front yard for the duration of the works. If it were not for this the project would not have been such a success.

Looks great Madkaw, very sexy.

RRRRrrrr.........

Post by **MadKaw** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:07 pm

Neka79 wrote:looks good mate, but i have a suggestion...

do u think the project woulda been decidedly cheaper if u hadnt had so many celebratory beers??...just a thought...

Probly, but the motivation just wouldn't have been there.....

Jonno · Post by **Jonno** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:31 pm

Very nice job

mfzx6r · Post by **mfzx6r** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:45 pm

gee Dave I told you it would be all good by the time you finished.

show pics of the BEER-TENT

RG · Post by RG » Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:04 pm

Nice....

Will there be a KSRC paintjob ?

NinjaMoses · Post by **NinjaMoses** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:26 pm

Looks awesome mate, 1000 times better then what it started out like.

Plaz · Post by **Plaz** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:32 pm

Looks schmick Dave....do me a favour and email Tape a how to