Airscoop, finally a wheel.

After this mornings ride (see the previous post) I did some, with the emphasis on some, work on the Suzuki. I've finally gotten one of the wheels this week and it looks great. To make it a bit racyer I decided I wanted to install an airscoop on the drumbrake. I know it won't make a difference for the brakes, but I just wanted one :)

Started of with a rusty bit of steel:

which was quickly changed into a scoop:

Been riding on the beemer

Did an early morning ride today. Cold, but nice and quiet, even in the city center.

This seems to be not a very special photo, but in a way it is. The BMW is standing on top of the south gate of a roman fortress. Lot of history in this town...

I added these, and some more, to the album (on the right)

Exhaust

Didn't want to wait for the wheels any longer, yes, I'm the impatient type. So I fitted the engine (temporary), the carb and started working on the exhaust. I deliberately let it go through the 'triangle' below the seat. I'm not planning to put anything else there and it will make the tailpipe stand out more.

Fitting all this made me aware that the handlebars and revcounter are sticking out too high over the tank. I will change that, not too sure yet how. I'll probably go looking for a revcounter that's a lot smaller (5cm's max, anyone any tips?) and mount that either on the side of the tank/frame or more to the side and lower on the handlebars.

Still waiting on the wheels

I'm eager to mount the engine and the wheels so I can start work on things like the exhaust, but they haven't arrived yet. The weather isn't really cooperating either. Whenever I have time it always seems to rain. Managed to make a bracket for the revcounter in between the showers though. I'm only going to use a rev counter, I won't use the speedometer. I might use a small, detachable bicyclecomputer when I ride it because of all the police radars, but I'll have to get it on the road first :)

Suzuki update

I found some time to make brackets for the headlight. I already had this headlight, I bought it a few years ago because it was just too cool not to buy. It's too small for either the Beemer, the CX or the virago, but it'll fit (the style of the) Suzuki very nicely. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Suzuki update

Absolutely fantastic weather today, so I had another go at the Suzuki (and spend some time on the Beemer aswell).

The mailman delivered me an upper triple tree and the swingarm of a GN250 last night. The triple was a straight fit, the swingarm was to wide. I've cut the swingarm in half, removed a bit and welded it together again. I'll later add an extra frame to increase the stiffness and strength, but I'll need to know the clearances of the chain first.  Other things I did: Tidy up the frame and took original CX500 handlebars and made the into something I think looks good on the bike. I fnished by doinga  mock up to see if IO still like where the bike is going. Don't worry, I wont use tat wheel, it's a BMW frontwheel that is bend.

And this is what happens when you get bored on a rainy day like yesterday :)

I'm really looking forward to receiving the wheels (I've already bought them, just waiting for the mailman to deliver them to me. 

Paint experiment

Today I finished the mesh cover for the other site of the rear end. It was a bit of a struggle because of all the time I had to stop due to rain. The frame had also developed some rust in the mean time. I decided to try something with Hammerite, if it works, I'll leave it, if it doesn't work the frame is at least protected against rust for the time being. I tried to mimmick (gold) metal flakes seventies style. It worked out pretty well I think. I'll have to see what it looks like when it's all dry (Hammerite takes a looooong time to dry).

Hardly an update

I made some mesh to cover the rear (like on the BMW) so you can still see the exhaust. Wish I could do more, but the weather sucks. :(

Suzuki update

I started work on the rear end today. It's only tagged, I'm not sure yet if it will stay this way. The stainless cup you can see will be the end of the exhaust. The damper/muffler will be mounted under the engine, probably in a bellypan.

Suzuki update

Why wait :)

I started grinding today and just had to fit the tank. The tank is fine with me, I'll have to be carefull not to make the seat too large though. It's very hard to do much more than tightening up the frame untill it's on two wheels, so don't expect too much progress until I've found wheels and a upper triple tree.

Birthday present (to myself :))

Here it is, my new project. As you can see, I'm almost done, but I think there's enough work left to get me trough this winter :)

It's an (incomplete) Suzuki SP370. I'm going to make it cafe-ish.

Swap meet

The swap meet of Hardenberg was today. I think it was even more crowded and more expensive than last time..... It's unbelievable to see what some people want for junk. It was hard to find anything worthwhile, but it's still fun to walk around.

 

The last photo is what I managed to find today. The tank and grips will be used on an (soon) upcomming new project.

Virago update

F*ck it, we´ll just do it. Famous last words? We just couldn't resist.

before:

after

If you really don't see it: we raked it and we like it!