Starting On My Cafe Racer Now :-)

With the Trident finished and looking splendid I thought it was time to get on with the Cafe Racer. I have stripped my Trophy with the knackered big end and have separated out the parts I need and the parts I can sell to help fund this madness. Most of the parts are in really good nick but I have uncovered more evidence of bodgery and bad practice eg no threadlock on caliper bolts etc. Anyways I have decided on the colour scheme. When I was 17 I had a Kawasaki KH250 that was in blue but it had a tank bag on it which had ruined it. A mate of mine resprayed it in lovely gloss black and it had a thin gold pinstripe. I adored that bike so much that I am going to go with the same colour scheme. I'm going to do the wheels gold, the fork bottoms have already been turned black. The tank will be black with a gold stripe, seat will be black. I have some other ideas that will most likely evolve but I have a picture in my head. I am not skillful enough to make my own tank and I don't have the kit so it may be a while before I really get started - I know what I want I just have to find it. I want the bike to be quite low so I'm looking at dropping the back an inch or so. The clip ons are on order as I know what I want there. I'm also looking for a suitable Chrome mudguard for the front, it's Newark on next week so I will take some stuff to sell and have a good look round while I am at it. Piccies coming soon.

 

Hadn't had much time to do stuff recently but I have got the engine in so I can have a better look at lines and things to see what sort of tank I want. My clip ons arrived so I bunged them on, Bit of a bugger that the clutch and brake masters hit the clip on clamps unless they are at a very particular angle but it works out quite well. Had to make some spacers for the engine as it's a 92 engine in a 98 frame. I need to get a shorter brake pipe for the master to the splitter - the one I have is too long. I'm quite pleased with how the wheel looks, the brake calipers have been cleaned with new pads. Word of warning here- I bought some cheap conical air filters off ebay, they were exactly the dimensions I wanted. Tried to put one on and discovered that they had razor sharp jagged edges on them - absolute shite! Made a right bloody mess of my hand. Still gathering ideas, I know what I want, just need to make it happen. By the way, she's called Black Betty.

 

Sorry about picture quality, it was rather late when I took the second one.

 

LOL, well you must be a mind reader As I was fitting them I thought - How's this going to work then!! That has saved me an awful lot of work so thanks for that.

 

I know, I've been at it for a whole week and a half now

 

Here's a couple more pics. I bunged the tank on to see if it was possible to modify it to what I want and if that would be easier than finding another tank. I thin k I have a cunning plan.

 

Why is life so complicated? I have spent most of the last week putting things on hen taking them off again. I have swapped my Kei Hins for Mikunis - the link that Oldyam provided above told me what I needed to know about running cone air filters but it was based on Mikunis so I did the swap. They now have 150 mains, raised needles and 3 turns on the mixture screws, I will see how it runs like that when it's all together. I swapped the headers, I had 2 sets and the ones on there now polished up a bit nicer. They also don't have the test points so I think they look a bit cleaner. The engine is pretty much together now, still needs a filter, oil and wiring. I have to order a few bits so will take the back end to bits, clean it and do the painty stuff. Still umming about the tank and seat but have in my mind the sort of look I am going for. Also need to look at footpeg / brake / gear change arrangements. Anyway: piccies.

 

Done quite a few bits but nothing that really shows much. Fitted a new oil filter and filled her with oil, bled the clutch - absolute nightmare until I got a vacuum bleeder on it. These things are superb, I had been messing about for ages trying to get it to bleed, put the vacuum job on it, 2 minutes later it's done. Used it again on the front brakes, similar result. Well worth the investment. The tank is now black with 2 stripes down it, as I was masking it up I suddenly thought 2 stripes would look better than 1 so that's what I went with. I have found an early Trident wiring loom that will make the electrickery bit easier as the connectors for the fuse box and igniter are already more or less in the right place. Now comes the difficult bit of working out the seat support frame and the side panels. I will get a few sheets of card and mock them up first, I will do the same for the clock support bracket. Anybody know where I can get covers to go on the back of the speedo and tacho? I have tried searching ebay but can't find anything and don't want wires exposed. Cheers.

 

Forgot to say the tank isn't flatted yet, I am giving it a week or two to dry thoroughly before I attempt to cut it back.

 

I made the bracket for the instruments today, the clocks are 98 Trophy, the light panel 92 Trident. I'm making another panel that will blank off the unused holes near the ignition switch, it will also change the shape so the clocks blend in a little better. Probably doing the wiring loom next, depends what bits I find I have and what bits I need to buy. It's getting there though.

 

Made a fair bit of progress - I have had the engine running, it sounds sweet, which is a big relief after the Trophy engine fiasco. I have scrapped that engine, it was way beyond help. Starting to do the body work now - there's not much of it just two side panels and a wrap around panel to go round the seat. There needs to be a support bracket made for the rear light and number plate, I have ordered a replica Lucas rear light that I particularly liked the look of. When that comes I will make the bracket to suit. I have to make loads of small brackets to weld on to the frame to accept fixing bolts. It's tricky as I don't want visible bolts but need to be able to put it together and take it apart without too much hassle. I have mocked up the wiring - there is no standard loom that allows me to place things where I want them. My design at the moment leaves the battery and solenoid where there are, the igniter sits behind the headlight, the fuse box moves to under the seat. I have made a first attempt side panel, I'm quite pleased with it but think I may change it slightly. Can't find the photo for some reason but here is one from where I was working out the sub frame detail.

 

Here's a photo of the first go at a side panel. It's the look I'm after, I put a roundel on it made out of card just so I could get the full picture.

 

Well it looks like it's been 3 weeks since I posted anything but the job has been coming along slowly. I keep getting held up having to do other stuff and haven't had anywhere near as much time on the bike as I would have liked. I have done the side panels now and built the rear unit round the seat. I bought a rear light off ebay but it was only fit for the bin so I had to get another one, much better this time. I have taken the wiring off as it was just getting in the way, it's all tested so I know where I am going with it but one job at a time is the order of the day. The Trident still defies me every time I decide to take it for an MOT, this time the carbs pissed fuel in to the cylinders. Found that the Mikuni carbs had bad seals on the float assemblies and for good measure the fuel tap is knackered. I hate these bloody bikes Anyway - foot peg brackets now.

 

Foot peg brackets now done but the pegs I ordered off ebay turned out to be useless. They were supposed to be universal but weren't - blooody useless, now I have to find some that are adjustable as I thought these ones were. Oh well. Here's another photo anyway. I bought a Kawasaki ZZR1100 the other day so I've got plenty to do while waiting for parts.