TOPIC:

So I studied the shapes of a bunch of tanks online and went out and reshaped the front and sides , the forks now clear , took Doc 's advice and shaved the bottom up to clear the motor a little more . I'm happier now with the shape overall ... Nowhere near as clunky . What do you guys think ? I appreciate your input

In hindsight i would not use this foam again , my friend buys 2 part polyurethane and forms up fibreglass moulds with it ...its easier to shape ...this stuff shows all the imperfections and is hard to sand .

That does look a lot better......(if it were my tank) I would scallop that bottom edge even more so it became as angular as the tail unit. Unfortunately I am not as good as Doc in adding those red lines to illustrate what I mean. Cool project

I've grown to love the stock MKII bodywork, but if you're going for the Rickman / cafe look, this latest version is looking really nice. It's come a long way since you posted the first picture.

By the way, don't toss that MKII tank...they are getting rare and expensive. Just let me know if you're ever going to get rid of it.

mixstup wrote: So I studied the shapes of a bunch of tanks online and went out and reshaped the front and sides , the forks now clear , took Doc 's advice and shaved the bottom up to clear the motor a little more . I'm happier now with the shape overall ... Nowhere near as clunky . What do you guys think ? I appreciate your input

In hindsight i would not use this foam again , my friend buys 2 part polyurethane and forms up fibreglass moulds with it ...its easier to shape ...this stuff shows all the imperfections and is hard to sand .

Yeah the foam to use for this type of thing is that green florists foam. sands like butter.

The front looks loads better, the hard edge is helping alot. I still think the knee dent could be taken up a bit more, that transition still seems a bit awkward to me. What tail piece did you order from airtech?

here's the version i edited



leon

I'm with Leon and Doc, if you continue that rear lower surface to the tip of the knee indent it will better define both features separately.

You guys are killing me with those red lines !!!!
The pics aren't great but I sanded off quite a bit of material around the base behind the knee cut outs and made the arcs deeper to accentuate them ... Maybe it needs a little more? Flatted off the top of the tank a wee bit too . You boys have a keen eye for lines ! I found this Guzzi pic online the other day ,its pretty similar to the look I wanted . Got this Dresda chain guard from Dave Degens a while back ... Going to have to reinforce it where it clears the shock and make some brackets . Still no tailpiece and its only been 3C so no thrashing the duke yet !
More to come !

The front looks great. I like how the hard line at the beginning of the knee dent matches the front profile of the tank. I still think you need to go in and up farther with those knee dents. If you look at the Guzzi you will see the knee dents are quite deep. I think you could go in another 10-20mm easily, maybe more. Just don't change the placement of the hard edge that defines the knee dent, that is spot on. Hers some more red lines for ya.. I also drew up a top view. You're getting close to a very refined shape. nice work.

oh yeah!
i agree with doctorot just a lil more ...

you've about got all the nits picked off of it

keep us posted,

leon

I got the tank back last weekend . I'm pretty happy with it ,there's an internal baffle in case I race it , it fits nice and snug on the rails . Got them to scallop out a bit more on the knee cut outs too ! Spent a few hours roughing out the bondo ... I have a paint scheme in mind . Next job, finish off the battery box and see about getting an exhaust .
Bottom bearing cap machined

that turned out nice!

coming right along,keep us posted.

leon

mixstup wrote: I got the tank back last weekend . I'm pretty happy with it ,there's an internal baffle in case I race it , it fits nice and snug on the rails . Got them to scallop out a bit more on the knee cut outs too ! Spent a few hours roughing out the bondo ... I have a paint scheme in mind . Next job, finish off the battery box and see about getting an exhaust .
Bottom bearing cap machined

When I got my Z1 in 75, my uncle by marriage, Pedro De La Vega, (I call him Pedro De La Verga) said "it's all engine". He was wrong. Yours is ALL ENGINE.
Steve