1980 z1r front end conversion

Tap Magic, gross! I cant stand the smell of that stuff, particularly when it gets hot, smells like burning garbage. i started using Tapmatic cutting fluid recently i like it better for the smell alone.

DoctoRot wrote: Tap Magic, gross! I cant stand the smell of that stuff, particularly when it gets hot, smells like burning garbage. i started using Tapmatic cutting fluid recently i like it better for the smell alone.

vic , i live to far from town to be any kinda of cutting oil snob :laugh: ...

leon

Holy shit Leon, your bike is looking sweet with that set up! Be keen to see how you mount up the top fairing now.

531blackbanshee wrote: 750R1 thanks for the reply.
while i'm not here asking for anyones opinion.
i'm merely showing off the work i have done.
the clamp is perfectly rigid and will be observed for any signs of flex or shifting.
of which i expect none.
i am literally betting my ass on it.

doctorot thanks for the kind words.
hit me up anytime and we'll chat all about chromo swingarms :evil:

leon

Hi Leon, not trying to be a smart ass mate, but its a forum, peoples opinions are what you get my friend, thats how it all works, I'm sure if you didn't want opinions you wouldn't be here... I'm not so sure I worded my post correctly but there are bending forces front to back, and twisting forces side to side, thats why you never see top clamps made like that, adjustable offset clamps are completely different, In my opinion, you of course are free to ignore it, that clamp will only ever be rigid if you weld it all up as one piece.... Don't take it personal mate, its not in any intended to be personal... I think Anders is alluding to the same thing...

750 R1 wrote:

531blackbanshee wrote: 750R1 thanks for the reply.
while i'm not here asking for anyones opinion.
i'm merely showing off the work i have done.
the clamp is perfectly rigid and will be observed for any signs of flex or shifting.
of which i expect none.
i am literally betting my ass on it.

doctorot thanks for the kind words.
hit me up anytime and we'll chat all about chromo swingarms :evil:

leon

Hi Leon, not trying to be a smart ass mate, but its a forum, peoples opinions are what you get my friend, thats how it all works, I'm sure if you didn't want opinions you wouldn't be here... I'm not so sure I worded my post correctly but there are bending forces front to back, and twisting forces side to side, thats why you never see top clamps made like that, adjustable offset clamps are completely different, In my opinion, you of course are free to ignore it, that clamp will only ever be rigid if you weld it all up as one piece.... Don't take it personal mate, its not in any intended to be personal... I think Anders is alluding to the same thing...

I have to admit I thought it was a fair assumption 750R1, I had the same feeling. Again don't take it the wrong way but two bolts either side with no studs or weld might be an issue- maybe not now but after a time, I'd hate to see a great looking bike like that down the road. Keep going I love the build.

i appreciate everyones concern.
but in the immortal words of tony foale,
" you learn nothing by overbuilding something.so build the lightest flimsiest design that you like and see where it fails.then you can re-design it to address the failure.possibly while you convalesce:whistle: "i may have paraphrased :silly:

i didn't post the day by day thinking,designing,machining and fabbing on this forum (of which i have been a member long enough to know what to expect)because i truly did not give one whit what anyone else's thoughts concerns opinons or assumptions are.
i wanted it to be what i wanted and i'll see how it works out.
so if you feel compelled to offer your .02 it is an open forum.

my whole intention is to build an experimental piece to be able to dial in my ride height and then fab a new one piece set of triples once i am satisfied.

if you gentleman don't think i have thought of this from every angle you have surely misjudged my talent.

leon

I respect you and your talent Leon.

Im sure the final product will meet your high standards

DaveB)

Street Fighter LTD wrote: I respect you and your talent Leon.

Im sure the final product will meet your high standards

DaveB)

dave ,
thanks so much for your kind words and your vote of confidence.

leon

Guess some of you dont know Leon yet.....lol

Great job on that experimental design....sure the final piece will be a success.

thanks for the confidence spdygon :evil:

leon

Leon, That is a great idea for an adjustable upper triple. Plunty strong, most likely. Most air head BMW use a stamped steel plate for the upper triple. There's more than one way to skin a catfish!

Yes your right, I don't know Leon, reading his threads from front to back though, is one of the reasons I joined this forum, I am an intelligent 54 year old thats been building and modifying bikes since 1979 when I bought my first 750 Honda. I won't carry on any further about myself as this is the internet and I could say anything I wanted, I'm not here for the high fiveing or back slapping either. My focus has always been on motorcycle suspension, within 3 feet of my computer I have 3 custom front ends and 3 alloy swingarms, 2 for my 750/4's and one front for my 750 Kawasaki, all have modern right side up, cartridge fork, front end conversions and all have custom triple clamps built to my specs {fork spacing and offset, as well as fork size}, I don't have the luxury of a mill and lathe, both of which I can use myself {champagne taste, beer money !!}, so I design and have friends both in the US and UK make parts for me, its far cheaper than having them made here, although I know a couple of very talented engineers local to me that build race bikes here in Australia. One should never assume that everyone else is "uninformed" simply because they reserve a different opinion. Whilst I respect Leons fabrication skills, or anyone else capable of making or designing their own parts, it doesn't mean that everything they make is correct {we do learn from our mistakes right ?}, I'm sure Mr Foale, Mr Rob North, Mr Egli, Mr Bakker, spondon, or any other well noted frame builders never tested "experimental" parts on the street, especially suspension related... I stand by everything I've said, no malice or bad will was intended.

80B4, if you read my posts, it doesn't matter what the top clamp is made from {within reason}, as long as it is in one piece top to bottom excluding the bar mounts, the more joints you add, the more prone the part is to movement, I found this out years ago building make shift suspension parts on home made go carts {for riding on}, thats why all top clamps are made as I've stated, whether they are cast, mild steel, aluminum or whatever other fancy metal you wish to use, no need to reinvent the wheel... You will NEVER see a clamp of Leons design on a race bike, for all the reasons I've alluded to, One piece drop clamps can be bought for this very application, just google "drop top triple clamp and have a look., They were standard on some early fireblade 929/954honda's for example..