My first 440 "cafè'ish" build.

Man I hate being busy and have nothing to show for it except grey hair? Sorry for the late update..omg!
I literally didn't get to pulling the motor out and checking the counterweights till the sunday after Turkey day. I got out to my garage around 11 in the morn to start the tear down but It also didn't help when I turned the tv on in my garage, there was a street outlaws marathon playing. Finally get into it and I have to assume the vibration from the motor was so violent that several bolts I know for sure i tightened, were not so tight anymore, so after splitting the case I went over all the bolts to make sure they're not gonna cause a problem later. As suspected the counterweights were 180 out exact. The main bearings still looked exactly how they did when I had the motor completely torn down. So all said and done, fired her up and....ahhhh just beautiful. Idled nice and the bike didn't move while on the kickstand. Oh and this was at 930pm now. Too tired to go for a test ride and still had to clean up my mess a bit plus I was cold too!

Ride to work in he morn, and the bike runs fucking beautiful!!! The exhaust sounds great at part throttle, between shifts, full throttle and down shifting. When you twist the throttle, the revs follow as they should, no flat spot or hiccup. Rides fantastic the whole week, Friday had rain in the forecast. I was ok with that, wasn't scared of getting a little wet except that someone forgot to mention a FREAK downpour is imminent? about 4 miles into my way to work was dry, then I could see the haze of rain in the near distance. Finally got under it and I swear it was hailing!? I never got so wet in less than a mile, I was dryer during a 3 mile ride in rain on an LA freeway heading to Laguna seca many years ago. The rain came down so hard that it made its way into my carbs. SMH..so that's what I'm fixing at this very moment..

DoctoRot wrote: nice exhaust! im gearing up to make a stainless 2 into 2 for my 750twin. What settings are you using on your tig? amps? gas? do you purge? any tips for the process of cutting and fixturing pieces to be welded? i have been practicing on stainless and can get some nice beads but generally running a little too hot.

Doc, sorry so late, my settings are as followed using a Thermal Arc 185.
Amps start 20 max 90
Not sure if your welder has a pulse setting? (it's new to me also being that this welder is new/used to replace my old maxstar 140, so I'd probably end up giving you shit settings for that atm :whistle:)
100% argon with the reg set to about 12cfh.
I build off of too many different jigs to be able to not slice, crush, pinch, squish or tangle any hoses then finish fabbing anything in a timely manner with the worry of babying the hoses to back purge any welding. So instead I use solar flux type B for all the 304 stainless. Id really only back purge 321 ss and Ti.
Best tips to get ready to weld would be,
1. keep your amps low. Set your machines max to 55 maybe lower. You'll have better control of your puddle, less chance of burning and stil have sufficient penetration. Adjust your "puddle push" accordingly with the amount of amps you're using to keep the beads consistent with each other. Hold the torch in a way that is the most comfortable to you (as you get more practice, you'll figure out your optimum grip thatll also allow you to follow a line as long as possible without feeling like your arm is getting tangled)
I use to have to hold my breathe just before welding so my hand sold be as steady as I can get it. now a days, I have conversations with people behind me or on my Bluetooth.

As far as prep goes...
Make sure your material(stainless you're gonna weld) is clean. Wipe away all the oil and dust before welding.
cut your pipes however you like, before a weld though, square up the cut on a belt sander, then deburr the inside and outside with a round file or grinding bit on a Dremel or air grinder. The inside edges of two pipes to be welded together is where you'd wanna apply that solar flux I mentioned above.
when cutting in the radius of a U-bend, one side will be out of round, just squish the widest part in a vice the best you can before sanding and welding so the joints are uniformed to each other. When judging how much to cut, add extra! just like they say for wood except it starts getting tricky when those cuts are from a Ubend.
hold the bend up to a straight you have and aim it towards the direction you need, then make a few sharpie marks across both pipes so you'll have a rough idea. Get your torch ready, hold the bend up again with the marks and zap a few spots opposite of eachother to hold it I place so you can move onto the next piece.
Hope this helps you out.

Any more questions in regards to tig welding, I'll be more than happy to answer!!


ed

Wholly crap?! I let my thread sit all the way to page 3 :ohmy:
Just wanted to give everyone an update of how the KZs doin. Few weeks ago had a run in with Mother Nature dumping a record amount of rain on my way to work that ended with water making it's way into the fuel line. A good samaritan gave me a flat head so I could drain the floats to try and make it to the shop, but just draining the floats wasn't gonna be enough as I found out later after getting my bike back to the shop. Long story short, I've gotta get a new tank cap seal or service my cap cause it isn't air tight. Bikes been great after draining all the old gas and water. Filled it back up with 91 and added a half gal. of 110. No change in how the bike ran from what I can tell, but smells nice so might do a half/half.
Lately my front brake has been (or hasn't been actually) releasing 100%, more like 96% (if that makes any sense) resulting in some rubbage during rides. I'll have to get into the caliper again to relube the slides and rubber boots. I'm itching to get a front wheel that has dual rotors. I'm guessing the 650csr should be the ticket right?
Other than the rain problem and brake, I haven't had any other issues what so ever bike wise. As for me, my riding gear (minus my jacket) isn't up to cold riding on the freeway. Just got my gauntlets and waterproof riding boots in today from UPS so get to put those to the test to and from work tomorrow. I'll get some update pics posted as well here in the next few days. I still need to send my phone into apple to get the cam fixed.


ed

Good to here you got it running again. thank you for the pointers on welding stainless. I somehow missed your last post until now. I have a couple more questions about building a header if you don't mind. Do you make your own slip fits? Im thinking about making a 2>1 now and need to make a collector, any tips? Do you ever use stainless steel wool for the baffle? thanks.

DoctoRot wrote: Good to here you got it running again. thank you for the pointers on welding stainless. I somehow missed your last post until now. I have a couple more questions about building a header if you don't mind. Do you make your own slip fits? Im thinking about making a 2>1 now and need to make a collector, any tips? Do you ever use stainless steel wool for the baffle? thanks.

No worries doc. I do make my own slips 90% of the time except when I need a dual slip application for a few products my shop produces! then I call burns stainless. I've got various diameter slugs I turned on the lathe in relation to the slip. Wish I could make a slip on a leg of a U-bend but mine have to be done on a straight using a press up to 36" in length.
Takes some practice to get it right but the hardest part is getting the the angle cut right on the two pipes so when you weld them together, the splay is right or at least close to where you need it in accordnance from where the headers are coming from. (Make sense?)
I have a various templates made from a manilla folder for 2-3way collectors. I just place it on the end of the pipe and trace it, cut as straight as possible on the bandsaw, then sand evenly on a belt sander. De-burr the inside and apply solar flux prior to welding.
When I made my collector, I had to press the slip first then do my cuts. Looking down through your pipe, divide it into 2 using a sharpie or something. Now the distance you want the 2 inlets to be from each other is how much angle you cut on the pipe starting from the half mark you made. The longer the cut, the closer the ends will be, shorter the cut results in the opposite. Get the idea? I'll draw something after I eat and post it. I'm sure that'll be way more helpful. I suck at verbal explanations :huh:
Ive used stainless steelwool for other things like oil catch cans. I would've used some for my exhaust but the wool I found seemed way to fine for my deal. The courser it is, the better it should hold up to heat and carbon buildup I'm assuming. Also, my exhaust is the FIRST ever muffler I made from scratch? When I do exhaust systems on cars and such, I'll have a performance exhaust can to put in along the line.
it's a crude drawing I did on my ipad.
A front and side view. The shaded gray would be the slip area.


An easier way to do it without the hassle of making a die or having a place make the slip for you would be to use the next size diameter up from your headers pipe. For example, if you're gonna use 1 1/2" for your header, use 1 5/8" for the collector.



ed

waaaaaay overdue update. Still have plans on dual disc up front, just need a twin disc hub and spokes or a whole 18" wheel? I already have a rotor and RH caliper. Cosmetically I've been hella slacking! I'm tossing around the idea of running a whole instead of a solo? I'm also gonna go back to dual exhaust after I finish making the other exhaust and U-bends come in.

fixed my 72+mph speed wobble with a knock-off adjustable damper. Made the fork and frame mounts.


Replaced my 7" plastic lens and bucket H/L with a 5 3/4" glass w/ a metal bucket.
Bad shot sorry...


You can sorta see my new tach/speedo gauge mounted. I'll post better pics later hopefully. I fab'd a mount that clamps onto the fork tube.


The gauge is actually pretty cool cause it also has a 1-6 gear indicator(which I'll have some brain storming to do cause I don't have the sending sensor. Any input on that matter woud be fu%#ing fantastic!!) Along with a fuel level that needs more than my brain power to incorporate as well. :whistle: Although it did come with a wiring diagram that was 90% accurate, it seemed to still read in Chinese even though it was printed in engrish.

If you had a 72 mph speed wobble something is still wrong with the bike and the damper is only masking the problem. I guarantee you that the bike didn't have a speed wobble when it left the showroom floor. #1 suspect would be tires, but bad shocks; worn swing arm bushings; bad steering stem bearings; wheel bearings; untrue rim; etc. are also possibilities. I highly recommend you identify and correct the problem. My KZ650 had a wobble at 90 mph and after replacing all bearings, bushings, shocks, etc. it turned out to be a bad tire (Michelin Macadam) even though both tires looked perfect. After replacing the tires the bike is now as solid as a rock up to top speed (120 mph). Ed

I started riding on a KZ440 LTD from 82, those are really sweet little bikes and love just how zippy and nimble they are. You've done a great job on this build and put in lots and lots of time, blood sweat and tears keep it up! You are nearly there and so close to the finish line, push it across and make it 100% right! Looks really good and love the styling on it, nicely done

Brett

Good looking bike!!
Nice!!! :lol:

650ed wrote: If you had a 72 mph speed wobble something is still wrong with the bike and the damper is only masking the problem. I guarantee you that the bike didn't have a speed wobble when it left the showroom floor. #1 suspect would be tires, but bad shocks; worn swing arm bushings; bad steering stem bearings; wheel bearings; untrue rim; etc. are also possibilities. I highly recommend you identify and correct the problem. My KZ650 had a wobble at 90 mph and after replacing all bearings, bushings, shocks, etc. it turned out to be a bad tire (Michelin Macadam) even though both tires looked perfect. After replacing the tires the bike is now as solid as a rock up to top speed (120 mph). Ed

Before the first wobble, all the items you mentioned had maybe 400 miles on them from new. AB bearings everywhere except the swinger which is a NOS set. I trued the wheels myself then had them OK'd by a few buddies at Trophys. Followed the directions on kz400.com to the T to rebuild and fill the forks. I pressed the new top and bottom AB races on but I didn't re-torque the stem after putting some miles on them.

BUT now I have an old (New) problem!..FFS!! Practically the exact same spot as the last, Tuesday morn on my way to work, ROD KNOCK!!.my first thought...WTF!?! Wasn't hot outside at all. Oil was slightly more than half on the window. Since the first time around, used GTX 10/40 for start up. Rode maybe 50 miles, drained refilled with another round of GTX, put about 600 miles, then switched over to RP 10/4. Put another 1k miles, then another oil change of RP. Wondering if riding the bike 15 miles with the counterwieghts 180 out on the new con. bearings had an effect? But the was about 2k miles ago? Not gonna fuck around this time, on the hunt for a crank with cons attached.

ed

Ed,
That really sucks. Rod knock again? Is there any chance the cylinders aren't tried up right the the lower crankcase, maybe causing side wear on the rod journals? Otherwise perhaps the crank is just out of spec as far as the parallelism of the Mia s to the rod journals? Just spitballing. I read your whole buildup from start to finish last night and I feel for you bud. You put a lot of work into this!

Hope you figure out this problem..,,good luck!

Thanks Stazi. I knew I was gonna be getting into the motor at some point, just didn't anticipate it happening so soon..again. It is what it is and I'm not letting it discourage me one bit. It's a 30yo motor, and well...shit hapens.

I should be ashamed of myself!! 5 weeks, not one peep from me!?. Well, I am still working on the bike...sloooowly. I'm getting bummed and depressed that I haven't been able to work on it for more than an hour or so on certain days in the past 4 weeks?! I've lost sleep, I tinkered with it during shop hours, canceled a vegas trip, ignored a few girls and a couple other things here and there, but..I'm ok with all of that! Cause I know once I'm finished, it'll be a real head turner in my neck of the woods. I can't fuckin wait!!! so excited!!! :woohoo: I'm crossing my fingers that I get her back on the road this Sunday at the earliest or the following.

sneak-peek

Since Im not using a cable driven speedo, out with the axle gear, made a pretty spacer to fill in the gap.

Fits nicely on the hub..

machined down a 7/8od tube of chrom to spec and I shit you not, the dust cover is a spare washer from my bench grinder that would normally hold a wheel being ninja'd to your face

Cleaned up the leftover bushing holes on the underside of the triple clamp for the bar risers and the stock gauge mount holes..


I'm considering going to a single carb in the near future, so I've been machinin new flanges and keeping an eye out for a VM or the likes.
I'll try to get more pics up soon, been swamped at work getting our new TT kit for the new mustangs dialed in so it can be added to our production line.


ed

some progress..it's tough as shit to drop the frame onto the motor alone..but I did it. that's all I had the energy for 2 nights ago..



Last night threw the front end together a bit..


Damn sorry for the shit quality of pics..I really need to get the camera fixed on my phone..at least it's covered under warranty.