Z650 - from standard to...?

I pulled out the standard battery box to see how much room I was going to have to fit a new (larger) battery.

And then went for a wander around t'interweb to see what kind of battery would suit my needs. I wanted a bigger battery as the standard acid battery (as per the original Z650) wasn't really man enough for the 1100 engine when I ran it before, it'd kick back on the starter, so I wanted something that not only had the potential to spin the starter a bit faster, for a bit longer, but also one that would have no issues with continually running the oil pump I'm going to use to lubricate the turbo. And that oil pump was (temporarily) mounted here...

Although I'm starting to think twice about it sitting there, given that I have to fit the oil tank somewhere as well, in a place that the turbo oil can drain into it efficiently...

I'd had a look at various battery sizes on line and, having chosen one with a nice fat output, decided to mock up a cardboard version to see if it's fit. Although it didn't go according to plan at the first attempt...

Fortunately, the second one was a bit better, so I could see how well it would fit, firstly longitudinally...

Which, quite clearly, wasn't going to work, so I tried it crossways...

Which is better, but it's clear that it could only go so far forward between the frame rails, and that the plastic mudguard (one of the few original Z650 parts) would have to be altered.

Zedhead,going back to your rear wheel clearence problem. I had the same with my project and it was doing my head in for ages.People reckoned that I could offset the wheel but that just didnt sound right to me,so I percy veered.
The best way I found was to center up the back wheel (with the right sized tyre on it) and run a straight edge along the tyre as far as the frame down tube by the gear pedal. Measure the distance twixt said downtube and the tyre.Subtract the chain thickness and this will give the clearence youre going to have either side of the chain. If thats acceptable (I Think I had about 7mm either side of a 530 chain) Then you can calculate how much to shave of your sprocket carrier.
I just got mine back last week and am well chuffed with it. I still need an offset front sprocket but thatll come later.
Anyway,hope this helps and good luck with your build.

Thanks Davido, at the very least that'll give me an idea as to how much room I'll have for my chain, thanks!

Oh, and while I remember, I have a Dyna 200 ignition for this bike. Well, I have all the Dyna kit apart from the actual Dyna 200 box itself. So I have loom, coils, ignition backing plate but need the box itself. I know that the newer boxes have a programmable function and can be plugged into a laptop, does anyone know if I can buy just the programmable box rather than a full kit?

zedhead wrote: Oh, and while I remember, I have a Dyna 200 ignition for this bike. Well, I have all the Dyna kit apart from the actual Dyna 200 box itself. So I have loom, coils, ignition backing plate but need the box itself. I know that the newer boxes have a programmable function and can be plugged into a laptop, does anyone know if I can buy just the programmable box rather than a full kit?

I think you would probably have to contact Dynatek directly www.dynaonline.com/

Thanks Puffin, although I managed to get a second-hand Dyna 2000 (from a helpful chap on the Z1 Owners Club forum, thanks Pigford!), so that's been stashed somewhere safe while I carry on with the battery box.
The battery turned out to actually be pretty close to the cardboard dummy that made, which was surely luck and/or coincidence more than my accuracy with cardboard.

So after some judicious measuring of the frame area and the original steel battery box, I chopped up some more cardboard and made a faux battery box before I started cutting aluminium. as the new battery is wider (and taller) than the original, it's going to have to sit further back in the frame so, as I want to use the standard battery box mounting points, there was going to have to be a certain amount of offset in the box. which is why the cardboard one is too big from front to rear.

And sliding the carboard battery box between the frame rails shows that some of the plastic rear mudguard / undertray thingy is going to have to be cut out to allow it to fit.

Now to go and cut some 3mm aluminium...

Ally cut to size / shape and put in the el cheapo folder thaat I had stashed under the bench...

And tried for size in the frame. Quite clear that the rear mudguard needs to be relieved...

So it was marked up thus

And with the help of Charlie Dog, my faithful workshop companion...

... had a chuffin great hole hacked in it, using my Dremel-a-like and rotary saw blade.

Although the saw did take a liking to a finger too. It's tasted blood now...

And a trial fit showed that a bit more had to come out.

Looking good so far your going to need to go down a few more centimeters, lets hope you have enough Blood

every workshop needs a foreman :laugh:

I tacked a couple of pieces of ally plate to the front and back of the bent piece, with the back being bigger so as to hopefully cover the battery from any crap thrown up by the back wheel and going through the new hole in the undertray thingy... I'll add another piece at some point to hold the battery in place, although as it's going to be close to the underside of the seat, it'll not being going anywhere. I hope.

And then I welded up the joins. It's not very pretty, but better than my last attempts with the TIG. I'm using a foot pedal now, and I think that's helping.

I think strapping the battery in is not only to stop it going anywhere but also to stop it rattling around and shaking the cables loose. Also if youre going to have it close to the underside of the seat watch out for possible shorts.
Looking good with those welds though.Wish I could do that.Good luck.

Davido - there's going to be some rubber mat / padding in pace that'll hold the battery tight, and the top of the new battery sits at exactly the same height as the original, so there shouldn't be any chance of any earthing. Besides, the terminals on the new one are of a slightly different design so should be below the top of the unit itself.
So, battery box welded up with brackets added to hold the Mosfet all-singing regulator/rectifier, and the Dyna 200 unit (which will be held on with rubber straps / o-rings against a vibe-absorbing rubber pad), and ready to be slid into the frame once more...

Buggeration. I'd measured up for the brakcet for the reg/rec, locating it neatly behind the right hand side panel. Completely forgetting that if I made the battery box any wider it'd not fit between the frame rails.

What a prize prick! Hey-ho, back to the grinder again to chop off the offending bracket. The reg/rec will have to be located somewhere else, probably hanging below the battery box yet still on the right hand side.