F5’s first ever brand new bike!

[imdying]

the masses who can't understand why the heck I didn't just buy an R6

What? They started putting real motors into R6s? I thought they were all four strokes...

[F5 Dave]

So last night fooling around having sorted the speedo sensor I fitted the flywheel & side cover. I then figured I could jam some packer in the adapters I made up for the old pipes & bolt them in place to see what it would be like if I had to fit the old pipes for a while.

Erm, why not start it? Ok says I wondering why I'm talking to myself & more than a little concerned how easily lead I am. So check for spark. Check. Check Kill switch works. Opps, hmm, turn off ign switch, kick, blue spark, ok hmm, that's right there was another kill wire on the CDI, plug that in to a temp switch & resolve to fix that later. Ohh, better put in some gearbox oil. Decide not to fit radiator, will only run for a few seconds.

Pour in some gas, choke on, 2nd kick sounds interested. Fires on 3rd kick. Waahooo!

BWAAAAA Sounds like no powervalve Elsie. Sounds. . .Bigger. Scary even.

It's at this stage of the project one needs an encouragement. Oh yeah the tacho works but jumps around a tickle, I might put a filter in.


But the evil bit is on the radio this morning I heard that from Jan they will be emission testing all imported vehicles. This donor bike I brought in from Aus in July & I haven't registered it yet as it needs certification to get a VIN. But that means it needs to be fully functional. Oh dear the time pressure has gotten very real else this whole project is for naught!

[imdying]

Oh dear the time pressure has gotten very real else this whole project is for naught!

Not at all mate, you can always sell it to me... I've absolutely no problem at all running it around on plates that don't belong to it... if the pen pushers wanna be dicks about it, then that's fine, they'll get no money from my rego and vin cause I won't bother

[F5 Dave]

Yeah but if you got caught they'd probably charge you with a special Crimes Against Sue Bradford act.

[gijoe1313]

Excellent! Another two-stroker lives and breathes and will be able to damage the ozone layer of the Earth! Sounds like you'll be working on it even more to get the compliance details done ASAP!

Piccies?

[imdying]

Let them charge away... it wouldn't stop me doing it, and it wouldn't stop me doing it again either! Basically, am I willing to risk chalking up a grands worth of fines in an arvo for riding a 2 stroke monster, yes, yes I am

[F5 Dave]

Yeah well in the local rag the Police were doing a Drink Driving Blitz & there was some chap picked up twice over the limit & was Ninth time?!! Another his 12th!!

But I'd be more of a target. More likely to pay the fines.

[imdying]

To be honest, I can't see any cop figuring out that I wasn't riding an RGV like the plate says it should be on I'd take that risk

[F5 Dave]

Well only just.

As the dusk slowly overtook the preceding day, it was with a brave but weathered hand that the pilot approached the machine in question.

Nah. . .it was more like had dinner & went to see if it was still holding water. Hmm, bit of a dribble, but that could have been from filling it. Add the gear oil again. Hmm, maybe I could ride it. You know just in case there is something to learn. . .

The Left pipe had gotten hotter than the right the first couple of times I started it & the R1 tacho was dancing around erratically (erotically?). I cleaned the plug & swapped it from left to right side.

So with the old 350 pipes which are really too small & would be dangerous to the pistons (stinger is 21mm) if caning it, I attached the fairing front & put the tank on. Hmm, instruments, would be good to see if they all work. Cable tied them on in a hurry. Opened door, getting darker, hmm, wheel bike out, clutch cable bashes instruments, oh well don’t do any u-turns.

Can’t reach choke with tank on, have to make a cable & a pull ring. Started bike anyway. Very rich off idle which probably helped. Both pipes heat up the same.

& we’re off!!

Off out the drive & to the very tight & twisty roads behind my house that connect 2 suburbs. No one drives this way, it is really an afterthought of 1 & 2nd gear corners. But ideal for just pottering along. As long as I don’t have to turn back as I can’t turn around. Never thought of that, oh well.

Tacho is working fine as is speedo. Lights on, dark visor up. Riding pos seems ok, maybe a bit taller than expected, footpegs a bit far back, erm, no maybe ok. Bike blubbing like a 20 a day smoker underwater. Pilot jets obviously not even in ballpark. So much for prejetted big bore carbs.

Finally got to the more open area, but never got out of 3rd. Didn’t want to cane it, this is just a shakedown, or more likely a shake up run to see what else needs attn. Front brakes start to work. New dust seals made a big diff, but still have new genuine pads to go in. Seems to turn properly now steering angle ok. Good. Feels like a small light bike. Also good.

Temp goes up to past 70 pretty quickly, but that is the std 70 something deg RZ thermo so expected. RZ500 is 65 deg so will find one of those unless I can get a 60 in the same size. I know you can get them for RG500s, not sure if same. Never goes much past 80 deg. First time run in slow area with restrictive pipes.

Bike seems smooth on the needle but blubbers so much on the way up there it never really clears out for more than a sec in this environment, never get on the mainjet. Vibration doesn’t seem like an issue, a bit vibey on the closed throttle but not intrusive. Hope stays smooth up the rev range.

Back home. So impressed? . . . Erm, no not really. There is no way it is running well enough to see what it goes like. The only time it came close was for a brief second on the return when it decided to clear out momentarily when it found a dip in the road & ‘Yumped’ off it with a hint of the violence it should be capable off. Just as well, the back brake stopped working properly.

Back in garage. Close door & start planning the rest of the job before the next ride.

This is not really a ride report. This is how many specials get finished, a mish-mash of dangerous half way bodges & never running properly. But this is not where this one finishes. This is merely a step along the way.

[F5 Dave]

Well the plan was to be ready for November. Predictably it is almost Christmas & it is not all done yet. Mainly I am waiting for the pipes. The mufflers will be done soon, but there is no chance I will be riding a completed bike before the end of January. Glad I haven’t sold the YZFSP so still have a sportbike. That only leave 2 months of summer.

Obviously the pipes are just hung there for trials, too small to really use. Footpegs are mounted on temp plates so I can re-drill & move if I want.

But there has been some good progress. I think I can finally say the wiring is complete. I have mounted the dash, (although I will weld some captive nuts when I have some time to take the fairing off).

The indicators now go again. They stopped working after I fitted the legal indicators (instead of the nasty faux carbon ones). This was due to the small flasher relay of my old RG50. A $6 car one fixed the issue. Although when I tried it they were a bit dim. Hello why are 3 going? Oh that’s right; Andy ‘helped’ yesterday by plugging the indicator in (to both L&R feeds instead of an earth) while I was doing up the fairing mounts. Quick replug & the proper amount on the correct side & illumination was restored.

I have been emailing back & forward measurements & templates for the headers/D1 so we have that nailed. Now it is just the rest of the Diffuser/dwell/baffle to sort & make

Quick list of tasks to do:
Reweld upper fairing stay & mount mirrors
Replace chain
Make a speedo healer or get lazy & buy one
Route wiring a bit neater around the front.
Get pipes as kitset & mig in place then get a decent welding job.
Replace tyres.
Get certified & then rego’d.
End of part 1

Longer range:
Redo paintwork.
Make fairing stays & subframe out of ally. -Man the original RGV stuff is heavy. Ideally I would like to get carbon fairings & junk the heavy std headlight.
Make footpeg hangers
Alloy kickstarter
Various odds & ends, ally frame bungs etc
All sorts of stuff I can work on instead of watching TV.

[Paul in NZ]

Wow - thats looking very ring-a-ding-bling.

Very cool....

[F5 Dave]

The very slow progress is largely down to the lack of pipes. It is getting a bit depressing with summer ticking by. Other projects & Dirtbike & racebike maintenance have had to be addressed. I’ve even been pruning trees so the lovely wife has some more sunshine. Some of this has been due to slow progress making motivation harder. This is how some projects falter & stall a lot earlier on.

Ok so some more pleading calls to pipe guy, but it has given me some time to evaluate the bike with the 350 pipes on it.

The urge has taken me to lower the seat unit some more, it got jacked up when the rear ride height was raised. I lowered it but I still found myself sliding forward on the test ride + it felt a tickle high.

Out with the saw & welder. Ok now it feels lower, but as I assemble the bike I realise it looks like the tailpiece has been sat on & the bike looks bent in the middle. Hmm, but form should follow function. Erm. Can we have both? The frame at the end supporting the redundant pillion section could be bent up & the seat unit would rotate & only the rear of the RGV seat would have to bend to meet it. Out with the long bar. Yes, it works.

The bike now feels much lower & so I now have to move the bars down from their elevated position.

Quick change of the size down pilot jet & advance the timing back to std position.

Time for a ride. As it is getting to dusk I set off again. Bike starts to warm. It is running crisper but still too rich. No point going for perfection as the new pipes will change everything. Riding position is now right in the ballpark, clipons need a tweek (fully adjustable) & will reserve judgement on the footpegs until a longer ride.

The bike steers well & feels smaller & more flickable. This will be great fun.
R1 Dash reads super low & it feels eerie to approach corners at 34kph & it is too fast. Must make a cct to adapt input pulses.

Maybe I can pop over to a mate’s to show it off? Nah dumb idea. Finish it first.

Burble back to home. A good night’s work.


As an aside I’ve just ordered a programmable ignition from it from Zeeltronics. This should make the midrange stand out even more.

Here is a pic of the cockpit. Oh yeah the upper fairing mounts are just cable tied at pres. I need to straighten up the fairing mount block attached to the frame, needs a bit of metal removed to align straight. (Pic taken on bench so appears a bit far from ground). Oh dear I’m seeing the odd bracket that needs a clean up & paint. Details to be finished.

Maybe I’ll have the pipes next? Maybe.

[yod]

great write ups mate - following this with interest

[FilthyLuka]

very nice man, very nice. Are you gonna keep the chrome tank? I don't think it suits the bike...

oh man, my 2c its gone

[F5 Dave]

Pipe kit arrived after a long & arduous wait. Question is how will they fit? May try to take the arvo off & go try them on the bike. Then off to get them welded up better than I could hope to with my dodgy welder.

There is a bit of surface rust that will scotch off & to the uninitiated the welds look funny, but the headers are seamlessly hydraulically formed & the rest of the cones have flat welds & are impeccable on the inside join. Nice!

There are a couple of options on the left for fit.

I will probably get them HPC coated.