'78 KZ1000A2A (now a hardtail bobber)

doesn't the direct sunlight(heat)run the battery down quicker?

i know if i leave my phone in my tank bag in direct sunlight the battery will be dead in 45 mins.

i have seen iphones in direct sunlight on boats shut there selves off and say overheat on the screen.

can't wait to see how it turns out.

keep us posted,

leon

Good thought. I haven't had any issues so far with it shutting off in direct sunlight. As far as battery power, the GPS runs it down in a couple hours so I am planning on installing a power source for the phone.

Got a little time tonight to work on a few thing. I decided to relocate the license plate mount. It was part of the tail light but dropping the rear cause some interference there, so I fabbed a mount/chain guard.



Then I went to work on the seat. This task was haunting me as I have never done any upholstering at all, but after reading through Ramtough's build, I thought I would give it a try before dropping it off at the local upholstery shop. I got it to the basic shape I was after but covering with vinyl will still be left to those who know what they're doing.



I got some pictures of the turn signals in the mirror stems. In the first pic it's hard to see the LED but it shows well in the second pic...





Then, from the back side I mounted indicator LEDs...

Here's the exhaust mounted.

And here's a shot of the tail light. The top red lights that are illuminated is the tail light. The brake light is the row of 5 LEDs below that. They are not lit in this picture, it is just a reflection from my flash.

I am not satisfied with the brake light yet. I ordered a bunch more LEDs. I am going to add a second row of brake LEDs. I want to grab driver's attention when I hit the brakes.

Quick update.

I happened by the thread on East Coast Relay run and discovered I am right in line with Leg #1! And, as fate would have it, the flag is at my back door! So, new vigor in getting the bike on the road. If I can have it running by this weekend, I can do a portion of moving the flag from FL/GA line northward towards Macon/Atlanta.

So, I have recently:

Prepped and painted the tank
painted front wheel
Removed, cleaned, lowered, painted, installed forks with new seals
relocated ignition switch to left side just behind air pods
r&r, painted entire front headlight area
ordered emblems
took seat to upholstery shop

And I removed the aforementioned tail light (and tail fin). I am playing with the idea of a fabbed mini fender back there to show off more tire from the rear. And I just couldn't come up with a light arrangement I liked using the stock fender. So I may ride Saturday without a rear fender and my lights zip tied to the frame.

Emblems are ordered from doityourselflettering.com. Good experience in the past with boat lettering and he is close to me so fast shipping. I am going with a somewhat 'military' look of satin and flat colors with a stencil font for the badges. I guess you would say it will have a rat and bobber look.

Sorry no pics just yet. I honestly didn't take the time to snap any due to my new time restraint.

I'm nervous about a big road trip on an untested bike. FL line is only 40 miles from me but taking the flag north and meeting jydog in Macon will require a 4-5 hour round trip. Can you say "ibuprofen"?

good job man I am getting the blues haven't had a chance to work/play on my bike for couple weeks it's affecting my mental state I need some therapy. keep it coming cant wait to see the transformation

Ok, Ram, this one's just for you. Only one photo for now but some eye candy nonetheless.. A shot of the side mounted ignition switch. Even the bracket is Kawasaki iron, an old fender bracket from my Bayou four wheeler.

Awesome!

Been working hard at getting everything done enough to ride and today was the day! woo hoo.

Got a cig lighter outlet mounted behind the headlight for power to phone charger.

Finalized wiring to some additional brake lights up under the rear of the seat.

Mounted side covers.

Then turned the key, hit the button and....crank, crank, crank.....hmm. Crank, crank, crank. dang.

The next 6 or so hours were spent retracing all the wiring changes I did, along with relocating the key switch, etc. Long story short, I checked for gas in carb bowls, cracked the drain screw and a little ran out. Ok, check for spark. First time I did it,I got no spark but I must not have had it connected tight, because the coils were getting power and grounding while cranking. I checked again at the plug and got spark. So, why ain't it running? I finally got the idea of running a little gas into the vacuum line, hit the key and immediately it fired and revved up. So, the issue was gas delivery in the end. the bowls were dry and it took a bit to get them filled. Since then, it fires on first turnover.

So, now for a test drive. I mounted up,pulled forward, clutch is close enough for now, hit front and rear brakes one at a time. Good stopping power on both. So I head down the road. Things were going ok for a few miles. Not great power but it was running ok. I think the carbs need sync'ed. I pulled into a school to stop and look things over. As soon as I stopped I noticed a spray of oil by my left knee. The front cam plug was barely hanging in it's hole. I reached down to get it and it fell off into my hand. Now I can't run the bike, brought zero tools (dumb). Called son to come get me.





SO I have it opened up and rtv on the back side of the plugs drying. I sure hope they stay in this time.

The emblems came today. One of the tank KAWASAKI emblems was not right so they are shipping a new one. But here she is in all her 'hurry up and get it done' glory. Definitely rat. Oh, I am not done. The seat will become a single and some frame and passenger pegs are getting eliminated. And maybe lower, a little.

pretty neet rat for sure wheres mel gibson :woohoo:

The emblems I ordered are cut from reflective vinyl. I figured it would be good to have some reflection in case I loose all lights on a dark road or the worst happens and I end up dropping it at night.

Here's a photo without flash:


...and a picture using the flash...

Nice work! Sorry about your first ride...