TOPIC:

Thanks guys. Just a few more little things to do on the frame (finish welding the upper shock mounts, weld in the relocated brake light switch tab, weld in the battery tray, smooth all of the rough factory welds, sand all the tab grinding spots, etc) and the frame will be ready for sandblasting and powder coating.

The new pop up gas cap should be here by the end of the week, so I hope to have that done and the repair panel welded in the tank this weekend as well. Then comes TIGging the remainder of the seat/tail, bodywork on it and finishing the bodywork on the tank and they'll be ready for paint.

Then the project will slow down, basically to a stand-still, til around mid-winter when I'll pick it back up again, rebuild the motor and have the bike ready for spring.

KZCafeChickNJ wrote: Then the project will slow down, basically to a stand-still, til around mid-winter when I'll pick it back up again, rebuild the motor and have the bike ready for spring.

Really liking this build. I don't think I can wait until Spring...

ThatGPzGuy wrote:

KZCafeChickNJ wrote: Then the project will slow down, basically to a stand-still, til around mid-winter when I'll pick it back up again, rebuild the motor and have the bike ready for spring.

Really liking this build. I don't think I can wait until Spring...

Thanks! I don't know if I can either...

nice to see someone do a proper job its coming along nicely ,im sure she will look great when you finish her ,keep the pics coming

Kwaker2000 wrote: nice to see someone do a proper job its coming along nicely ,im sure she will look great when you finish her ,keep the pics coming

Thank you! That's very nice of you to say. Stay tuned.

Just a very small update.

1. Old gas cap area cut out
2. Patch panel rough cut and rough bent
3. Battery tray cut, bent and fitted
4. Holes drilled to spot weld a support piece under the new gas cap panel
5. Hole drilled for new pop up gas cap
6. Steel bung welded from the underside and soldered to repair panel
7. Panel massaged and fitted
8. Side view. I like this so much better than the clunky stock cap that stuck up so high. I just have to weld the panel to the tank and do some light body work to complete it.

How did you clean out the fumes from the fuel tank before welding?

davido wrote: How did you clean out the fumes from the fuel tank before welding?

Empty the tank and let it vent for a couple days.

Looking good!

Another 'lil update.

Photos 1-3 show the shocks installed in all 3 positions. Everything is a nice, tight fit, so I can call that precision fab job a complete success.
4. Battery/electrical components tray welded in. (I still have to order the Boyer Bransden ignition kit, lay out all the components, the Li-Ion battery, the solenoid, etc, then fab and weld some brackets for all of it)
5. Patch panel w/new pop up gas cap welded and lead soldered in. Pressure tested, no leaks.
6. 2 of the 4 seat hold-down tabs welded in
7-10. The tank patch panel and pop-up gas cap installation is finally done, after a coat of short strand fiberglass filler, a coat of regular filler and a final skim coat of polyester filler, with a whole lotta sanding in between. (Ugh!) I wanted the tank a little flatter up top by the cap, which I accomplished by shaping the fiberglass filler, and blending a nice curve up to it.

congrats on the progress!

all the fab,and body work is killer ,

keep us posted,

leon

531blackbanshee wrote: congrats on the progress!

all the fab,and body work is killer ,

keep us posted,

leon

Thanks Leon. The majority of the fab is finally done. I have 255 hours of labor into the bike so far. I have a little more welding to do on the aluminum seat/tail combo and then I can do the bodywork on that, make a seat pad for it and get some primer and paint on it and the tank. I'm just dying to see it as a roller. I have my colors picked out as well as the paint design and I think it's going to look just incredible!

I was planning to have the frame, center stand, swing arm, etc powder coated, but in keeping with the cafe theme of keeping it cheap and doing everything yourself, I might just go with paint instead. We've had things powder coated in the past and generally haven't been all that thrilled. Everything looked great, but if a big enough rock flies up, it's going to put a scar on powder coat just as much as it will on paint. And since it's not a dirt bike, I think powder coat might be overkill anyway. I'd rather put that part of the budget into performance upgrades like the Boyer Bransden ignition system, stainless shorty mufflers, etc.

Anyway, stay tuned. Much more to come!