Custom See Thru clutch cover NOW WITH PICS! UPDATE 1-11-06

[MODS- I'm pretty sure this belongs here. It's a custom body accenting thing for aesthetics, so I think it goes here. Let me know if there's a problem. Thanks! ]

Skullys bike gave me the idea for this. (NIIIICE RIDE MAN! ) I looked on Klasmo and they want 209 for this part. (Not USD. Put it this way, you'd be getting raped. haha)

I have a spare cover laying here on an extra engine I Have so I pulled it off for this pic set.

Here's the interior cover:



As you can see there are "beams" (for lack of a better term)in here. They are about 1/4" deep and 1/8" thick. I have access to an awesome machine shop so here's the plan. Outer ring. It'll get a cut all the way around it in the center of the "beam" creating a 1/4" or so deep space to embed a 1/4" piece of clear acrylic, which will be held in place by a thin layer of an amazing epoxy paste. lol

Here's an idea of where the chop will be:



The red line illustrates the cut. Here's the section of the acrylic:



I will, of course, update with pics. I'll try to remember to take pics while the cutting is being done and stuff too obviously.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

There's another BIG suprise coming in terms of home fabricated parts that will possibly make a few of you want to poo your drawers! hehe

Post edited by: twowheeledterror, at: 2006/01/11 15:01

Pretty cool! what's the plan for making it flush on the outside? Also, what epoxy are you going to use to seal it off? Also (good project always causes this flurry of questions :laugh: )...Did you figure out if the oil will stain it... or the heat discolor it, blah,blah, blah. Pretty awesome idea..drooling for pics. :woohoo:

ronboskz650sr wrote:

Pretty cool! what's the plan for making it flush on the outside? Also, what epoxy are you going to use to seal it off? Also (good project always causes this flurry of questions :laugh: )...Did you figure out if the oil will stain it... or the heat discolor it, blah,blah, blah. Pretty awesome idea..drooling for pics. :woohoo:

I'll address in order.

1) I'm going to cut it with a bevel so that the outside diameter of the acrylic is 1/16 of an inch clearanced all the way around. I'll just use the epoxy in the gap and clean it up with my finger when it is applied so that it's smooth and flush. This epoxy I use dries suuuuuuper hard and is a really deep grey in color, almost black, so it will just look like a gasket kinda.

2) The epoxy is a two part called PC-7. It dries fairly quickly, has a nice texture when cured, can be ground and sanded, and above all else, won't come loose or be eaten by gasoline or oil.

3) The oil shouldn't stain it as long as it is kept clean... and I'm anal about changing oil regularly and stuff, so that won't be a problem. Acrylic has a pretty quick heat dissipation rate, so it shouldn't discolor. Plus, the way I'm doing it the PC7 will be a barrier between the two parts (metal and acrylic) and PC7 doesn't seem to be a good insulator or conductor of heat really. The acrylic *should* be just fine. I'm gonna go without painting the basket first, and if after a few weeks the acrylic is still looking good, and the oil/heat isn't affecting it I will then go ahead and do the basket bright red to match the frame.

Cool

It may be pricey, but you gotta admit...it looks cool! Don't forget, you need to buy the colored clutch pressure plate too! That's another $60. The price quoted for the cover is actually the price to modify your cover. If yours comes out like theirs, I think you could sell them for a a good price and make some money:) Keep us posted with plenty of pics!

Post edited by: 79MKII, at: 2005/11/28 22:45

79MKII wrote:

It may be pricey, but you gotta admit...it looks cool! Don't forget, you need to buy the colored clutch pressure plate too! That's another $60. The price quoted for the cover is actually the price to modify your cover. If yours comes out like theirs, I think you could sell them for a a good price and make some money:) Keep us posted with plenty of pics!

Post edited by: 79MKII, at: 2005/11/28 22:45

I do concur. It is a sweet touch.

I'm leaving the basket stock colored for now just to make sure everything goes well with the acrylic window. I'm gonna email Klasmo just to be safe and ask them what specific acrylic they use.

As for if it turns out like theirs, I'm not concearned about this being a problem. I have access to, quite literally, an AMAZING machine shop. lol I can't wait till I get some of these things I've got designed for my KZ Cafe done this spring when I have a LOT of time in there so I can show you guys.

I went to school for design prior to this, so I have a pretty decent eye for conceptual design theory... looking at something and envisioning it as a whole and then dissecting it in my head to make the pieces.

Here's an example of some things this bike will have:

--Custom rearset adapters
--Custom mono linkages on the rear, 3 way adjustable
--Deleted center stand, kick only. (home paddock)
--Polished custom kickstand
--Custom headlamp mount
--Custom plate holder/illuminator (swingarm mount)
--Polished covers
--Powdercoated custom frame w/ Commando subframe (done!)

On top of that there's a lot more. I can't really give out details about this cause I want it to be a suprise... but I can say this. The tank, tailpiece, front fender, rear hugger, speedo/tach dash and chaingaurd will be something that I don't think has ever been seen on a KZ before.

I've got access to everything I need to do damn near anything I want for free... so I'm taking advantage as often as I can!

Sounds awesome!! You HAVE to include pictures. You are really lucky to have access to those machines. The sky is the limit. Good Luck and keep us posted!

Cool! Good luck and I hope it holds up.

Not to get off topic but, so the frame is done? I might have missed the posting of pics if you made one.. I'm lazy about checking around here anymore :S

Trav wrote:

Cool! Good luck and I hope it holds up.

Not to get off topic but, so the frame is done? I might have missed the posting of pics if you made one.. I'm lazy about checking around here anymore :S

Yeah, for the most part. I need to get a few small things done on it, but for the most part it's finished.

I can't get to the rest of it until I get in the machine shop sometime.

How's things with you?

If it works out.. sign me up... that would look sweet!... Keep us posted!

KzJim wrote:

If it works out.. sign me up... that would look sweet!... Keep us posted!

Will do.

I would have had some pics from today, but I didn't go in.

Winter has started here in Mpls, snow has fallen, and the cold is going around.

I woke up with congestion, headache, sore neck, sore throat, cough, sore eyes and a sore back. NO FUN.

So.... hopefully I'll be able to go in tomorrow and start marking the cover up for cutting.

I'll get pics.

well take care... plenty of vit C.. ya its cold out... even better reason to stay home and sleep...LOL