Broken bike? Won't start? Give me a shout, let's get it on...
Cracking blast today!
I'll digress at the start of the blog today. I'm having a great day! We all met up early for a fastish blast this morning and the 2002 R1 got to pit itself against a much-too-loud 2014 S1000RR (running 196BHP at the wheel). We also had a ZX14R, Diavel, CBR600RR, CBF13000, and an MT-07. She, the R1, limped home on three cylinders in the end but really did herself proud.
The original shock on the FZ, as could be expected, was well and truly past its sell-by date. I would have loved to use the original but I also want this bike to handle as well as possible without the costs associated with Ohlins etc.
Finding another original shock in good condition has been challenging so far but you never know what might turn up one day. So, to allow me to carry on reassembling, I again spoke to Paulo at Motogenn and bought one from a low-kilometre 2018 Ducati Monster 821. This one was chosen as it is the same length so hopefully not too many alterations needed. It's made by Sachs and should be far superior to the original anyway, not to mention lighter.
It looks absolutely mint, and now requires a slight rejig to fit the original mountings of the FZ. No easy task as the shock has rose joints to suit an M10 bolt, whereas the FZ has an 18mm pivot pin running through the lower mount. The top mount is an M12 bolt but, with spacers in the top rose joint removed, the FZ bolt is a perfect fit. It just needs some spacers to maintain its central position.
I pressed out the lower bush in the vice, and started measuring.
The bushes in the original FZ shock appear to be Teflon-coated, like fork bushes, so I made a puller to remove them for inspection. They look great so I will make a steel bush to fit the lower shock eye, fit the bushes inside and finish it off with some spacers to keep the shock central and prevent any wear occurring against the aluminium bracket that the shock is mounted to.
This is the steel bush that will go through the bottom of the shock. The original bushes will be pressed inside. I'll probably fit a grease nipple to the pivot pin so I can grease the bearings to keep dirt outside. More on that later.
The bushes were drawn in using the puller I made earlier and worked a treat. I also made end caps to fully support the thin bush when the pivot shaft is fitted. These will also prevent any wear to the aluminium bracket.
There is the new main shock bush with Teflon bushes inside. Those are the two end caps to keep everything central.
That's the puller for removing and refitting the bushes with no damage whatsoever. Worked perfectly.
The Frame is Back!
True to their word, less than a fortnight later and I got the call that it was ready to pick up. I was slightly apprehensive due to the fact that the rust was pretty bad, with heavy pitting. When you don't get to see what's left after blasting, it's always a worry. It's not cheap either.
Would I have been better off with a wire brush in a drill and using aerosols? 😟 That would have taken forever as it's a big, complex frame. And the results are never the same when spraying a frame, overspray always dulling one side etc.
The powder coating on the BSA frame is still superb after thirty years, so I'd pretty much made my choice.
First, a wee recap. She was looking a little worse for wear...
Carlsberg don't do projects, but if they did, they'd probably be the best projects in the world. Quite frankly, if a restoration project could be ideal, this one could well be it. Admittedly, the plastics are a bit rough, but mechanically she's proving to be pretty good.
After getting the engine running, the bike was quickly stripped and put into boxes. From here I will take pics, and start on individual components. If I get a bit fed up with doing one thing for too long, I'll move on to something else to break up the monotony. It's easy to get overwhelmed when stuck on a time-consuming part.
Anyone who has pulled old machines apart would be familiar with stripped heads on screws and bolts, especially when some of the bike is as rusty as this one. But, as corroded as every fastener is, everything came apart like it was put together last week! It's been surreal.
I had noticed play in the front wheel during the strip-down and was pretty shocked to find this.
Shut it! I can't...
Before I start, I love quiet pipes, and wish I had the standard can for the R1. Better for my ears and attracts a lot less attention when you're bouncing off the limiter. The Bandit has quite a nice deep tone with its db killer in, but the R1 was a little more raucous. Time to repack it.
With a little research done, I've been hearing good things about Acousta-fil fibreglass packing. Not cheap, but worth it if it lasts a few years.
Here's the Australian-made Screaming Demon can that was fitted to the bike when I bought it. A little long by modern standards, and takes me back to the Hindle pipes of the nineties. It's good quality, but I want rid of the main badge and will rotate the can so the small maker's badge at the bottom is hidden around the back.
Tidying up the wiring...
So far, the most painful part while knocking up the streetfighter has been the wiring or, more importantly, where to hide it. While also making it look tidy and functional. Where the manufacturers have loads of room within a fairing to put everything neatly, we need to move it somewhere else.
Traditionally, the headlamp shell would hold a fair section of wiring, but my LED light is pretty chunky and I'm guessing it's going to run quite hot with the huge heatsink on the back of it - I'll keep an eye on that.
There seems to be a fair bit of room under the airbox (above the engine) so I'm putting what I can in there. I'm also moving two relays under the seat along with the fusebox, purely for ease of access. The fan relay can stay under the airbox. I'll keep the headlamp fairing loom intact with all plugs so it can be put back to standard at a later date.
The Tailpiece...
Finding a secondhand tail for the R1 was becoming a pain. Cheap enough in the States, rocking horse shit out in Oz. I decided to give repairing it a go. It was cracked in several places, missing a chunk of plastic just under the seat, and both mounting brackets were broken off and missing. Not a good start, but not impossible.
I'm not a huge fan of plastic welding on fairings — I haven't come across a really strong weld yet — but am open to it if someone can prove the join is stronger than the original section. I am going to superglue the cracks shut, then fibreglass behind them. Yes, fibreglass is messy, but extremely strong and durable. With a light skim of filler, I'm hoping to get away with it.
The pointy bit under the seat will have to built up first in fibreglass, then shaped with filler. I consider this to be skill-building, and I need the practise with filler anyway.
I love a bargain... or punishment!
Gumtree and Marketplace are taking up my life. Both sites are out of control! Where commonsense once led the way, I keep asking:
1) Do I need another project? No, I have too many, walk away now.
2) Do I need another project? Of course, one more wouldn't hurt.
After all, I could sell something to make more room...
Streetfighters.
I've always wanted the genuine sportsbike version, with all the proper kit from the period - suspension, brakes etc. - but never felt like ripping the fairing off a perfectly good bike. So I kept my eye out for something that maybe didn't matter. Something that hadn't been looked after in the first place and either needed new fairings, or a new look altogether.
So what is it about the older sportsbikes?
They're old school cool, and aggressive. Making good power, proper suspension, with handlebars and no fairing. What's not to like?
