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Thread: The Motorcycle Modifications Thread

  1. #551
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    Quote Originally Posted by kildareman View Post
    Brings back memories
    Z1000, pretty sure it was an A2 but open to correction. Was a long time ago, like 1987-8!

    Looks to be a slightly later Z1000J.

    Finally got the engine/frame of the Z650/1170 back home today, so started to test fit parts, to see how it all looks.. when I hit another unexpected problem, this time the lovely upholstered seat - with its fibreglass base which was made on the frame - it doesn't fit on the frame anymore, not by a little, but by a lot.

    Took a few seconds before I realised what had happened.. it'll have to go back to the upholsterer to be completely redone. My fault, as I'd made an assumption, which wasn't the case.

    Can you guess why the seat wouldn't fit the frame??






  2. #552
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    I think you’re right, the z1000 on the side panel gives it away (and the shape of the side panel, the mk2 pantos were larger IIRC).

    At a guess, I’d say you did the seat before widening the frame?

  3. #553
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    I think you’re right, the z1000 on the side panel gives it away (and the shape of the side panel, the mk2 pantos were larger IIRC).

    At a guess, I’d say you did the seat before widening the frame?
    Good guess, but no, the seat base was made on the frame, after it had been widened, had to make one as a standard seat wouldn't fit on the widened frame.

  4. #554
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    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    Good guess, but no, the seat base was made on the frame, after it had been widened, had to make one as a standard seat wouldn't fit on the widened frame.
    There’s definitely something amiss with the tank/sest/side panel interface, I’m not sure if it’s the tank, it doesn’t look like a z650 so could be sitting higher than it should.

  5. #555
    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    Can you guess why the seat wouldn't fit the frame??
    Damn, I was hoping you`d give the answer away on here so i could guess correctly on Brit Chopper and look all cool and clever!

  6. #556
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    Quote Originally Posted by kildareman View Post
    Brings back memories
    Z1000, pretty sure it was an A2 but open to correction. Was a long time ago, like 1987-8!

    That is a Z1000J with Eddie Lawson style seat. I had the same bike in the same colour and yes, I bought the same style seat for it. Great fun.

  7. #557
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    Quote Originally Posted by E_2_Right-Force View Post
    Damn, I was hoping you`d give the answer away on here so i could guess correctly on Brit Chopper and look all cool and clever!
    Very cunnning..

  8. #558
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    There’s definitely something amiss with the tank/sest/side panel interface, I’m not sure if it’s the tank, it doesn’t look like a z650 so could be sitting higher than it should.
    The tank, tail piece and side panels arent from a Z650, but from a Z1/Z1000, as I prefer the Z1 bodywork.

  9. #559
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    Not a huge modification

    Bit of bling for my F700GS . Sargent World Performance seat. I think the red piping brings out the frame.











    Steve

  10. #560
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    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    The tank, tail piece and side panels arent from a Z650, but from a Z1/Z1000, as I prefer the Z1 bodywork.
    Well that explains why it doesn’t fit a Z650 frame! Even a widened one!

  11. #561
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    Well that explains why it doesn’t fit a Z650 frame! Even a widened one!
    Nope, the mounts on the frame have been modified to fit the different bodywork, the seat pan fitted perfectly before it was upholstered...

  12. #562
    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    Nope, the mounts on the frame have been modified to fit the different bodywork, the seat pan fitted perfectly before it was upholstered...
    My guess is the upholstery wraps around the bottom of the pan and makes the seat sit higher than you designed the pan for thereby no longer fitting the frame. The joys of modifying motorcycles eh?

  13. #563
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    Quote Originally Posted by Groundrush View Post
    My guess is the upholstery wraps around the bottom of the pan and makes the seat sit higher than you designed the pan for thereby no longer fitting the frame. The joys of modifying motorcycles eh?
    no, I allowed for that when making the seat pan. The problem is more fundamental ..

  14. #564
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    You forgot about the extra height of the battery terminal bolts once connected to the loom so you’ll short the battery terminals with the seat base?

  15. #565
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    When you sit on the seat , it moves under your weight and sticks out. Or you didnt have the fuel tank fitted when you measured .

    Last throw of the dice , its too tall for your wee legs!

    Steve
    Last edited by higham5; 14th June 2021 at 10:43.

  16. #566
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    You forgot about the extra height of the battery terminal bolts once connected to the loom so you’ll short the battery terminals with the seat base?
    Nope

  17. #567
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    Quote Originally Posted by higham5 View Post
    When you sit on the seat , it moves under your weight and sticks out. Or you didnt have the fuel tank fitted when you measured .

    Last throw of the dice , its too tall for your wee legs!

    Steve
    I made the seat pan with the tank and tail piece in place, with enough clearance to take account of the thickness of the foam/vinyl.

    Have you all given up yet??

  18. #568
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    Are you running the airbox or pod filters?

    If you’ve hit an airbox, have you covered the inlet?

    Or have you forgotten the ability to fasten the seat down or release the seat?

  19. #569
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    Are you running the airbox or pod filters?

    If you’ve hit an airbox, have you covered the inlet?

    Or have you forgotten the ability to fasten the seat down or release the seat?
    No airbox fitted, will be using pod filters. The seat is bolted to the frame via four studs bonded to the base of the seat base, they go through brackets in the frame and are fastened down with nuts from beneath.. access isn't a problem.

  20. #570
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    Well the problem with my freshly upholstered seat is that.. its been done back to front! I'd assumed it was clear which end was the front and which the back, but it seems not. Its gone back to be re upholstered now.

    Made and fitted a stainless undertray and splash guard, the latter may have to be cut down a bit once I know the upper chain run..



    At which point I hit yet another problem.. the frame seems to be slightly twisted, as the swingarm spindle wont go through both sides of the frame. It did before it went for powder coating. No idea what's happened, but now got to find a solution which doesn't involve stripping the bike down and putting the frame back on the frame jig... Never had a project give me so many problems

    - - - Updated - - -

    Well the problem with my freshly upholstered seat is that.. its been done back to front! I'd assumed it was clear which end was the front and which the back, but it seems not. Its gone back to be re upholstered now.

    Made and fitted a stainless undertray and splash guard, the latter may have to be cut down a bit once I know the upper chain run..



    At which point I hit yet another problem.. the frame seems to be slightly twisted, as the swingarm spindle wont go through both sides of the frame. It did before it went for powder coating. No idea what's happened, but now got to find a solution which doesn't involve stripping the bike down and putting the frame back on the frame jig... Never had a project give me so many problems

  21. #571
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    The Motorcycle Modifications Thread

    You could potentially make up some bushes for the frame with smaller, offset holes for a smaller swingarm pivot. You’ll also need to either make bushes for the bearings in the swingarm or replace the bearings with smaller I/d ones to suit the thinner swingarm pivot.

    It’s not ideal and you’d still be better off getting it on a jig.

  22. #572
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    You could potentially make up some bushes for the frame with smaller, offset holes for a smaller swingarm pivot. You’ll also need to either make bushes for the bearings in the swingarm or replace the bearings with smaller I/d ones to suit the thinner swingarm pivot.

    It’s not ideal and you’d still be better off getting it on a jig.
    An interesting idea. One reason for all the welding in that area of the frame, was that the swing arm pivot was changed from the original 16mm up to 20mm, a more up to date size, same as the ZRX12 from which the swing arm was sourced.

    Having spoken to a couple of people who know about such things, we're going to use a big old steel bar, with one end machined down to 20mm.. followed by brute force and ignorance, to tweak the frame back into alignment. Seems that how it was done in bike shops back in the day.

  23. #573
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    The Motorcycle Modifications Thread

    It may seem a bit heavy handed but it’s always best to get it straight!

    I drilled out one of my GPz750 frames from 17mm (with m16 on the end, was the z650 the same size?) to 20mm to fit a zxr400 swingarm. I’ve since had a pair of bushes machined so I can put the standard swing arm back in if I want to.

    On the others, I decided to keep it standard and modify the swing arms to fit. I’m just finishing off an RC36 swingarm to go in the green one. The only real modification are the lower plates, bushes to fit the swingarm pivot and lower link, and an 02/03 fireblade shock.
    Last edited by Dave+63; 22nd June 2021 at 08:41.

  24. #574
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    The Motorcycle Modifications Thread

    I’ve picked up a shock from an 02-03 fireblade for the Vfr rear end but it’s still 60mm longer than I ideally need in order to use the standard lower mounting plates.

    I’ve started to make up some new plates out of 5mm alloy.



    I know they’re completely different but I’m confident that they’ll work reasonably well.

  25. #575
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    It may seem a bit heavy handed but it’s always best to get it straight!

    I drilled out one of my GPz750 frames from 17mm (with m16 on the end, was the z650 the same size?) to 20mm to fit a zxr400 swingarm. I’ve since had a pair of bushes machined so I can put the standard swing arm back in if I want to.

    On the others, I decided to keep it standard and modify the swing arms to fit. I’m just finishing off an RC36 swingarm to go in the green one. The only real modification are the lower plates, bushes to fit the swingarm pivot and lower link, and an 02/03 fireblade shock.
    Plan A to fix the swing arm pivot on the frame failed. Used a length of 20mm steel bar and a big hammer to tweak the frame straight. Had zero effect on the frame.. we did a good job on bracing it.

    But we did manage to bend the 20mm steel bar

    Plan B was attempted today with success. I used a 20mm flap wheel in my hand drill to carefully alter one of the pivot holes to allow the spindle to line up. Took over an hour of slow work and careful checking, but it worked and the spindle is still a good fit in the frame.

    Got confirmation today that the exhaust I ordered will arrive on Monday, never seen one in real life, only in pics, so hope I like it on the bike.

  26. #576
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    The Motorcycle Modifications Thread

    The old and the new.


    Loosely fitted with the new shock.




    Surprisingly, it allows me to keep the centre stand which is useful.
    Last edited by Dave+63; 3rd July 2021 at 10:46.

  27. #577
    How do you fix a tank full of rust?

    Conventional wisdom says vinegar does the job, just fill the tank and leave it overnight. I tried that with 4 gallons of white vinegar last night and it didn’t do a thing. So this morning we’re going for the nuclear option. Harpic 10x. This will go one of two ways, either it will be a rust free tank or it will be a colander.


  28. #578
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  29. #579
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    The vinegar treatment takes a couple of weeks in my experience.

  30. #580
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    Quote Originally Posted by Groundrush View Post
    How do you fix a tank full of rust?

    Conventional wisdom says vinegar does the job, just fill the tank and leave it overnight. I tried that with 4 gallons of white vinegar last night and it didn’t do a thing. So this morning we’re going for the nuclear option. Harpic 10x. This will go one of two ways, either it will be a rust free tank or it will be a colander.

    My 61 Beezer tank needed the original badly applied liner removing. After removing it and the residual loose rust using the bag of nuts and screws squirled in white spirit method, I discovered a pin hole on the top of the tank!

    Apparently this is common as condensation forms there when the tank is part full.

    Can I suggest after the 10X Harpic treatment you flush the tank out with two rinses ( each of 100 mls ) of Methalayted spirits ( IMS) this will stop the inside of the tank flash rusting. It also gets into the seams and chemically attached to any residual water. If you plan on using a tank sealant they are iso cyanate based, and the water kicks of the iso to CO2 reaction to cure, if theres water in the seams the sealant will bubble and not through cure.

    I rinsed mine with IMS then popped it in the airing cupboard for a couple of days before I re sealed it using POR15 .

    Good luck its a labour of love and suprises!
    Last edited by higham5; 9th July 2021 at 12:47.

  31. #581
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    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  32. #582
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    After a long wait, the stainless steel ceramic black exhaust from Delkavic arrived for my Z650/1170 project. Cant fit it yet as the bike is still sitting on its sump.

    Made up the dyna leads to fit the engine, then decided the billet yokes would look better black rather than polished. Took a lot of work to do, as had to round off all the sharp edges of the yokes before they could be etched primed and painted. Because paint doesnt like sharp edges, it tends to chip and flake otherwise.

    Finally got the home made wheels finished, and the fronts R6 discs mounted. Cant fit them yet as the forks have gone off to be rebuilt and the lowers powder coated.










  33. #583
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    New inboard disc brake on my 67 Li Special.


  34. #584
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    A lucky escape!!
    Last time that happend to me, I rebuilt with some undersize rings that I had laying about, then swapped back to the originals after a few hundred miles. Bit tricky to do if you're running std bore though!!
    I really miss the simplicity of the old days....sure bikes leaked, wore out prematurely, rattled and smoked...but they were nearly always fixable without too many headaches.
    Newer bikes?...Well, they're ok I guess, but I've come to hate canbus with a passion!

  35. #585
    Despite the arrival of the GS and it being my `sensible` bike i still can`t resist doing a bit of footerin`and fabrication - sensible mods only, though...
    This one came without any engine bars so i`ve fabricated some out of 25 x 2mm stainless tube utilising my trusty Hilmor pipe bender. The grey hue of the bare SS doesn`t look out of place on the bike and should remain blemish and corrosion-free. I will not be painting them yellow.







    I also knocked up two satnav mounts (one in ss tube), i couldn`t decide which one to use so have used both, one for satnav the other will mount a power supply;





    I will resist the temptation to add any additional lighting.

    .

  36. #586
    Really nice job that!

  37. #587
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    bonneville t120 1970

    hi All,not exactly a modification more recommisioning my old bonneville.i am 66 in November but have been semi retired since i was 57.ihave owned this bike since 1978.last used it in 2000.since then its been in storage in one of my outbuildings,sprayed yearly with a WD40/Waxoil mixture.its been tiresome removing said mix but it has preserved it nicely.have serviced the carbs,checked the valve clearances ,has a good spark.changed the oil[mineral 20/50].and run it briefly.its sounds really nice.i had forgotten just how good these old triumph twins sound.one unexpected occurrence was the blasting out of a unoccupied mice nest from the right hand exhaust.needs new front fork gaiters and silencers and the brakes overhauling,then she should be good for a little test ride.i have to say the s/h bradbury hydralic lift i bought for the asking price of £40[thanks Rick] has makes working on the bike a pleasure.i dont think i could have done it on my knees.there still a way to go before its "done".the paintwork on the fuel tank has seen better days but i am tempted to leave it patinated.i am not a fan of immaculate restorations,its an old bike after all.just a quick photo now of the bike after its initial cleanup.
    Last edited by greasemonkey; 23rd July 2021 at 09:17. Reason: spelin

  38. #588
    ^^That bike looks absolutely fantastic, definitely leave the tank as-is, `let your motorcycle wear it`s visual history with pride`.
    You just cannot immitate that sort of age-related patina and i think it suits that bike perfectly.

    Mice/nests problems arn`t too common over here but i know that they can be a huge problem in the states where critters can cause extensive damage to stored vehicles.

    Looks like you`ve got yourself a nice spacious workshop there.

  39. #589
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    thanks for those kind words,just waiting on parts now

  40. #590
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    Quote Originally Posted by Groundrush View Post
    How do you fix a tank full of rust?

    Conventional wisdom says vinegar does the job, just fill the tank and leave it overnight. I tried that with 4 gallons of white vinegar last night and it didn’t do a thing. So this morning we’re going for the nuclear option. Harpic 10x. This will go one of two ways, either it will be a rust free tank or it will be a colander.


    Here's Edd China doing the same job on a very rusty Range Rover tank. The fist video has a comparison test of rust treatments (including Coke and White Vinegar). Ultimately, he puts a load of nuts and bolts in the tank, and fixes it to the front of a cement mixer.

    Part 1:

    Part 2:

  41. #591
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    I removed rust from a key I'd lost in the garden for two years using a solution of white vinegar, lemon juice and salt. Worked surprisingly well.

  42. #592
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    After a lot of headaches, the Z650/1170 is finally on its wheels the the first time..


  43. #593
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    Finished wiring up the Z650/1170, got the exhaust altered to how I want it, and bought a couple of Radial master cylinders, made my HEL in Exeter. Clever bit of kit, they have variable piston size, and can be used a either a brake or clutch master. Bodywork went off to the painter today, so have a couple of months to finish off a few details..




  44. #594
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    A quick update on the Z650 / 1170, now painted and almost done


  45. #595
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    That is stunning!

  46. #596
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    Cracking Kwak Merch....

    Cheers,

    Adam.

  47. #597
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    Quote Originally Posted by greasemonkey View Post
    hi All,not exactly a modification more recommisioning my old bonneville.i am 66 in November but have been semi retired since i was 57.ihave owned this bike since 1978.last used it in 2000.since then its been in storage in one of my outbuildings,sprayed yearly with a WD40/Waxoil mixture.its been tiresome removing said mix but it has preserved it nicely.have serviced the carbs,checked the valve clearances ,has a good spark.changed the oil[mineral 20/50].and run it briefly.its sounds really nice.i had forgotten just how good these old triumph twins sound.one unexpected occurrence was the blasting out of a unoccupied mice nest from the right hand exhaust.needs new front fork gaiters and silencers and the brakes overhauling,then she should be good for a little test ride.i have to say the s/h bradbury hydralic lift i bought for the asking price of £40[thanks Rick] has makes working on the bike a pleasure.i dont think i could have done it on my knees.there still a way to go before its "done".the paintwork on the fuel tank has seen better days but i am tempted to leave it patinated.i am not a fan of immaculate restorations,its an old bike after all.just a quick photo now of the bike after its initial cleanup.
    Looks like TT100s on there! Nice looking bike Kev, I'd leave the paint and see how it looked.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  48. #598
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    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    A quick update on the Z650 / 1170, now painted and almost done

    So nice. Wish I still had my old Z650 when I see that. The Z series incarnate!
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  49. #599
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    I have 2 other Zed projects, one is a Z1000 MKII, which is getting a 1400cc engine out of my old drag bike, sans turbo.. the head is off being ported now and when thats done the engine will be complete.. the rolling chassis is getting modern wheels and brakes from an R1. Meanwhile a side project is a 81 Z650F2 that I was given, so I work on it when I can. Fixed up some crash damage to the frame, fitted R6 discs and calipers to the original forks and wheels.. not at all easy. Want to get the rolling chassis done soon, as it makes life easier being able to move it around. Might rebuild the standard engine, or maybe fit a 750R1 motor.

    Been ill recently, so have to take it easy for now.

    In this pic the wheels and shocks wont be staying..


    Instead its getting these 5 spoke wheels in ZRX1200 forks / swingarm


    The side project
    How it started, and how its going.. powder coated frame, new seat, all new fasteners etc etc.. dont like the tank badge though





  50. #600
    Quote Originally Posted by Merch131 View Post
    A quick update on the Z650 / 1170, now painted and almost done
    Superb bit of kit

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