'78 KZ1000 makeover

531blackbanshee wrote:

burnin vacation,time trying to get my shops arranged to get some winter projects done.namely the zx12r to z1r frontend conversion dealio.i still need to purchase some zx12r rotors and then it is up to me to build the rest and make it work out .fun city :evil:
oh i have drooled over as much ti as the next guy.
the difficulty of machining it is what has kept me away.oh yeah and the price.i used to race quads with a guy that had a titanium lonestar chassis with a honda motor in it.super cool looking but cost like $7500.00 for the bare chassis.
so far i have been able to satisfy all my needs and wants with cro-mo stainless or aluminum.
one of these days i will take the ti plunge,maybe after you show me how easy and cool it is to build custom parts from perhaps .
i will be watching,

leon

Yes, please hurry the hell up and show us!

porchev914 wrote:

At the risk of getting flammed for an unpatriotic purchase, I picked up an Everlast Powertig 250EX
www.everlastgenerators.com/PowerTig%20%20250EX-381-pd.html

I chose this welder over a similarly priced Miller because of the preflow and postflow adjustments on the unit. I needed those adjustments specifically for working with the material in the next post.......

if you dont mind what did you pay, and does it do alumininumnumnum?

$1500 shipped and yes, it does aluminum

Wow Leon, you've been a busy man. Are you still planning on making sheet metal gullwing triples? You ride your bike so much, it will be enlightening to hear your take on the differences between stock and zx suspensions.

On the Ti, cool yes....easy? Not for me at least. Its probably easier for you Leon than for me. You've got far more experience fabbing than me, I just dumb enough to try it :laugh: I'm really only doing it for the experience, and I got the Ti for $50. Why not, right?

Good luck, welding Ti is sposed to be a bitch. :woohoo: I've machined it before, but no welding.

sheetmetal triples are on the to do list.first tho i am building a set of height adjustable triples.so that i can get my ride height dialed in,and then build the non adjustable triples later.
i am very stoked to get the front end conversion done to see how well the modern stuff does in comparison.

how bout ti sheet metal triple clamps,mmmmmmm.i love the coloring that ti gets when welded(or heated).

as long as i am building one off parts that may or may not work :silly: i will stick to some material i know and don't mind wasting :blush: .

leon

I bet that seat smells good!!

dvrpilot wrote:

I bet that seat smells good!!

I have no idea what what seat you're talking about :laugh:

From what I can find, the actual welding of Ti isn't much different than stainless. The difference comes in the form of shielding gas, and the need to protect both sides of the weld until the temp drops below the minimum reactivity of the metal.

Leon, how much material do you need for the triples? I'd be happy to pick up a few more pieces of Ti for your project :woohoo:
Probably 3 pieces........ whaddya say buddy, give it a shot?

you are bad adam,very bad.
just because you like hair pulling trash can kicking projects doesn't mean we all do .
i appreciate it adam but i have to get the adjustable ones done and shook down first.
there is no need tying your money up when i wont be able to get to them for a while anyways.
i have a tig welder,but it takes some dedicated stuff to do ti and i am not ready to tool up to weld it yet.
thanks tho,your all heart :lol: .

leon

I should ammend my previous statement, CP grades are (allegedly) easier to weld than alloyed types like the common 6AL4V.

It's a long winter Leon, I'm sure you could find some time to play around with some Ti :ohmy: I bought a lot of 40 .015" Ti equiptment ID tags (unknown composition) to practice with. I didn't use filler rod, this was an autogenous lap weld

It was a pain in the ass, but more because I am inexperienced, the material was fairly thin and I didn't have any filler rod. Oh, and metal that thin warps awfully easy, even with a tig welder :laugh:

I had one spot on that weld (the blue/purple spot) that did not recieve adequate shielding. Not too bad for a noobie, but without shielding the backside with argon, the weld goes to hell

Most of the weld is covered by a white, flakey coating, and this is the worst contamination of the parent metal that can be had with Ti. If this were a structural weld, it would be grounds for immidiate rejection. So the biggest hurdle is going to be protecting the backside of my welds, and the contraptions/devices that must be conjured to accomplish this.

I'm pretty sure this is well within your abilities Leon. And with free material, how can you say no? :woohoo: