Wednesday, May 29, 2013

On the way to work.

Here's a quick shot just before I rode in to work. I've put a tad over 100 miles on it and she's doing great.


Here is what it looked like the first day I got the bike.....


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Ok so here's a quick pic I just took during my lunch walk at work. I plan on having more detailed pictures taken later when the electronics tank is painted. I just haven't completely decided on the finish yet.


Friday, May 17, 2013

Let's try this again...

Well after wasting time and paint on the brake disc, I realized the other day that the one I put on the bike is actually a rear disc. It's about 1.25" smaller in diameter than a front disc. Sooo, back to ebay to purchase a used rotor. It came in yesterday and I got it painted last night. I am planning on registering the bike today, putting the brake disc on, and hopefully getting it out on the road!


Monday, May 13, 2013

Almost done! Wrapped the exhaust pipes with 1" wide DEI titanium heat wrap. Should compliment the high temp exhaust paint well. Riding it around the yard I didn't notice the heat from the pipes that much with just the paint unless I actually touched them, so this wrap should make it even better.



I was also able to finish the speedometer bracket and the wiring. The green LED is the neutral indicator and the blue is the high beam indicator.



Only things left are to finish sanding the gas tank then I have to paint the e-tank. Still not 100% on the paint I bought for it though....

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Just about finished mounting the handle bar switches. The left side has a horn push button and high/low beam toggle, the right side is an ignition kill switch. The mounting blocks were machined for me by a buddy Gabe back in CT. Didn't have time to drill and tap the screw hole for the left block.



Monday, May 6, 2013

Rode the bike around the yard some more on Saturday. Worked out some kinks, adjusted the carbs, and some other tweaks. That means that I did finish sanding the left side engine cover finally.
I also had to make some adjustments to the e-tank; like moving the voltage regulator off of the battery terminal and onto the accessory terminal on the key switch, and also enlarging the holes that the battery cables pass through to minimize rubbing. I finished off the night with completing the wiring for the tail light to both the front and rear brake switches. Here's a pic how I've been making all the harnesses on this bike. Terminals are crimped and soldered and the heat shrink is adhesive lined which makes it semi-water proof and adds structure.


On Sunday I didn't get a whole lot done, I drilled/filed the hole for the kill switch that will be on the right hand side of the handle bars. That was a TON of work trying to precisely file a square-ish hole in stainless tubing! I'm also kinda stuck because I need some more of the sheathing to make things neater in the front end and I don't want to run wires without it.

Up next...

  • Wiring up the kill switch harness.
  • Headlight harness to the left handle bar grip where there will be a high/low beam toggle switch and a horn button. 
  • Make the speedometer bracket, then it will be wired along with the high beam and neutral LED indicators as a unit with harness. 
  • Ugh, almost there.

OH - and you know you live in farm country when a local accident involves a John Deere!


I took this picture at the end of our driveway. I didn't even hear the accident until traffic had backed up to the driveway. Looks like the white Impreza hit the tail end of the plow knocking the wheel sideways.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Got the electronics tank back in last night. Had to charge the battery over night because there wasn't enough juice to crank over the engine. The ignition would still run as low as 6V, so I could just kick start it. The bike now starts with either a key or kick. I have some minor adjustments to make on the tank and then paint it. I would normally leave it bare metal but there's just so much done to it that it needs paint. I'm going to look for a metal-like silver. Also finished the connector from the alternator so it can now charge itself, key start, and power the main harness that I ran from the back to the front. Next up is finishing all of the remaining electronics (head/tail lights, switches, indicators, etc).