The story of one neglected Daytona

Well, depends on who you ask from... to me it is called a car, but according to my wife a "useless f*cking boy toy" I believe was the description All the same to me, she doesn't have a penny on it and I might have reminded her that the Scout is ALSO mine and I pay taxes and insurance from both...

 

(copypaste collection from another forum hence the jumping timeline)

Forays of last night and today:



Decided to locate the keyless ign. module there, probly not the best place but it will fit there and I don`t need to extend the original wiring once I spliced the harness open.



In case someone wants so see that is what`s inside the harness going to the front. A rainbow of wires, a big surprise there...



Last night`s attempts dried pretty fast to the unidentified wires, but some googling during the noon found me just what I needed: the Koso manual slip that I had misplaced albeit in horrid resolution but still readable, and the gauge harness explanation. So with these I was able to connect the new gauge cluster about 90%



Koso harness mated to the original and twisted to compensate for the different wire lengths. I spreaded the joints over the possible window to make them to avoid a lump in the harness. Worked out pretty well, just still need to connect the speedo and the temp gauge(s) as there are too many wires coming from the gauge so I need to figure out what to use and where to connect them.







With great enthusiasm and at the same time fear I twisted the key and it works!!! Still need to figure out the few remaining wires but at least it powers up.



I started doing the headlights after that but apparently someone befor me has F***D up them pretty badly, there are wires of the same color that I have no knowledge about and the wires that should work burn the fuse. So basically I tried testing different combinations until I ran out of spare fuses, I found several that will light the low OR the high beam but either way will snap the fuse when flipped to the other. 2AM right now so tha tcan have an affect to it aswell, tomorrow planning to finish the right side crash cage and if there´s anough time continue with the headlights with fresh thoughts and a bag full of fuses...







Continued the right side crash cage today as no one was home in our side nor the neighbor so I didn`t have to mind the noise (both got little kids that nap in the afternoon)

Should probly clean the table every once in a while...



I meant to put a stainless flatiron in between there but it felt so flimsy I decided to do this instead. Of course all the welds will still be ground down afterwards. A bit unsure will the cage fit out of there when welded together so if it doesn`t I have to make a bolt flange to the middle.



Really like the X the cage makes when viewed from the rider seat. It`s not symmertical cause when I measure the place to be ecatly the same on both sides the pipes weren`t clearing the engine, but doesn`t really matter as I`m the only one that sees both sides at once. I also spread the handlebars back to the widest position, I got some bad feedback about it earlier but been feeling all along they really should be like this, specially now that the cage is finished. I want the riding position to be wide and aggressive. At the lack of a better word the straight translation would be something like "brawly" if you catch my drift... With the cage they suddenly don`t seem that wide at all.



Back to the electrics.

I got the gauge working earlier for most parts, the temp gauge and the speed sensor still needs to be wired as well as the fuel gauge, the problem is how to wire a one-wire sensor into two wires. Connect the gauge wire to the sensor and ground the other? The speed sensor is probly the most difficult as there are three wires coming from the gauge and I have no idea how to connect them to the sensor. probly will figure it out eventually.

The main issue last night and today was the headlights. As you know I have a different setup than the original so I had to change the wiring a little. The problem was that whatever I did I kept burning the fuse. Although I`ve never worked one day as one I still am a trained electrician so this thing was driving me to the brink of flipping out! I back-tracked, tested, re-tested, measured every wire one by one but could not find the cause no matter what! I started to think one of the relays leak or something and measured them too, nothing. I was chasing ghosts for hours and burned a fistfull of 15amp fuses until it suddenly hit me...

what if...

I flipped the multimeter back to the continuity test and finally found the issue!



The high beam base is shorting out to the frame! When I removed the ground wire everything started working perfectly. So I gotta buy some more of that self-adhering rubber mat I frequently use and isolate the light fixture`s legs from the shock pipes. Not really happy with the idea that there`s current flowing on uninsulated surfaces but whatcha gonna do since the current is moving through the screws from one piece to another so it`s pretty dayng impossible to insulate. And since the high beam started leaking I`m sure the low will do the same eventually too.


Front harness slowly tidying up. Can`t bundle it yet cause I have to find a suitable parking light that will plug into the hole at the side of the high beam and wire the turning indicators.

 

Haha yea probly should. I had the garage door slightly open and a big fan blowing at me so the night air got in, my garage fridge is set to near-freezing so the cans condensate quite a lot of moisture. I had just made a helluva mess cause one can slipped from my fingers at knee-height making a beer-geyser, and was looking for a safe place to put it when I saw the hump in the starter motor casing and figured that`ll keep it in place so it kinda got left there...

 

Surprise! I`ve been busy the last few days finishing the bike!

...or not! But got this superb photoshopping from a member of another forum. This is pretty much exactly how the bike will look when I`m done with it, some minor details like a steering shock still missing but you`ll get the idea already.

 

Zero comments. That bad huh?

Well, it`s kind of meant to be controversial and not even aiming to please anyone but me.







Steering damper fitted. When in full lock to the right it does stick out pretty far, but with the crash cage it doesn`t matter. Still gonna weld that lower nut into the crash cage but not gonna do it on the bike to avoid spatter on the engine so for now I just tapped threads to the hole.

Thinking if I opened the damper and painted it could I put it back together... Probly could just mask tape it if I rattle painted it...

 

One more little thing but still a problem that needed to be tackled.



The parking light is required by law here and the projector headlight didn`t come with one so I had to put in my own. Which has proven to be considerably more difficult than at first would sound like. That bulb is the closest I have found yet, but still needed some modification. I cut the pull tab out from between the connectors and shaved down the side skirt to reveal the connectors better.



Wires soldered in and tabs filed down. Not good but not bad either.



Same with a heat shrink tube wiggled on and shrunk. Was a bit of a battle to get all the wrinkles out but came out somewhat decent.







Very dim but then again there`s no wattage requirement to my knowledge so it`ll fulfill the law. Not very happy with the setup in the sense that every time the bulb burns I have to redo this but have yet to find anything better either for an 8mm hole that can take the heat of the hi-beam bulb right next to it. I doubt I`ll be using the high beam a lot but still would rather make things that I know will last...

 

Got a sudden but strong feeling that massive chrome can has to go, so today I`ve been mostly cutting silencers











Off with the insides, I only need the end bits.



hmm... maybe a bit too short... doubt the feds would approve either...



I gutted one half of this to get the CF casing and the insides.



Tiny speedbump, the casing is 120mm while the original can is 125mm. No matter, I`ll just make it fit.



I cut the perforated center pipe out of the CF can...



...and welded it into the front end piece of the original.



Drilled holes and put wingnuts on the bolts so the wings wedge against the bottom, no way to tighten them otherwise.



I sawed a split onto the CF pipe so it can expand the needed amount, and drilled and sawed slots for the bolts.



Front end done, still need to do the same for the tail tip and get a metal strip made that I will blind rivet on the slot to cover the gap, and to make a new hanger bracket. Then stuff the pipe full of glass wool. A bit worried about how loud it`s gonna be, the feds are pretty strict about noise here (and I can`t go to track days if it`s too loud)

 

Thanks man. Unfortunately not going to be able to work on the bike for weeks, maybe for a month now as there is a big staff shortage at my wife`s wofk so she got called in from her mommy leave to do emergency temp shifts at weekends and there`s no such thing as too much money so I`ll be doing what I done this whole weekend, which is play babysitter for the next three-four weekends to come. Not that I wouldn`t enjoy our time together with my son but I got such a good inspiration during my vacation that feels a bit of a waste to not be able to continue. Although I`m gonna need more cash myself as I`m currently looking for a very spesific type of a coolant catch bottle, and doesn`t matter do I build it myself or order a ready unit it`s gonna cost me around 80eur plus shipping anyway which I currently don`t have to spare thants to the Alfa...

 

Half a dozen ruined bikes, grease under my fingernails since the age of 8, thousands of bucks lost to POS doners and doomed builds... not even counting the cars... A "mechanical head" usually has a bruise in the forehead from banging it to the wall... Everything I know from bikes or cars is purely trial and error. Mostly error...

...But I`d do it all again. This is my first really serious build of this scale, I`ve done the CBR that I still have as a rider but that`s mostly just the tail, on this one I`ll be tinkering with pretty much everything else than the insides of the engine (hopefully...) Quite honestly I`d rather ride a slightly older bike that I`ve built from ground up to match exactly what I want than a brand spanking new one I`m not allowed to mod. The same with cars. I`m not exactly trying to be different than the rest, but rather not the same than everyone else. You either know the difference between the two or you don`t but no one can tell it to you...

 

Hey you guys, as you might have noticed I stopped using this forum since I found a few more suited for me but I am a person who likes to follow things through so since I started a build thread here as well I feel the need to fill you in and show you the finished product so to speak. I`ve been riding the bike for a few months now and totally love the low end torque it has, but I am thinking of a few improvements for it, the first thing is that I almost never use the sixth gear and the first gear IMO is ridicukously long, so there are two very good justifications to tighten the sprocket ratio quite a bit. I currently have a -1 front sprocket but that doesn`t come anywhere close to what I want from the bike so first I`m gonna change the sprocket ratio to a point where I can get the front wheel off the ground with the throttle only, and if that takes too much off the top end I`m prepared to go the full monty and add a turbo to it.

Here`s the bike in it`s current form as well as a full mod list:




















-Fairings removed of course, the single seat tail is made by Airtech Streamlining
-Projector headlights with traditional halogen bulbs, modified parking bulb. Twin tail light self made (minus the actual lights)
-Front fender shortened
-Dirtbike handlebars, modified top triple & clamps, adjustable shorty levers, bar end mirrors, brake fluid reservoir, Wezmoto custom length steel brake lines (came out a tad too long, might have to replace later)
-Hands free keyless ignition, lock removed
-Koso RX-2 gauge
-About half of the wiring redone
-Seat re-upholstered (word of caution, orange vinyl absolutely absorbs all crap!)
-Crash cage self fabricated
-Headers polished
-Samco sport blue silicone coolant hose kit modified from 04-> set, custom made stainless T-bit& permaquick type stainless hose clamps for a cleaner look
-Danmoto adjustable rearsets modified to accomodate the original foldable footpegs instear of the ugly rigid stubs
-Danmoto JISU muffler with self made baffle & midpipe, ProJection components lasercut hanger
-Rear mudguard/plate holder self made
-4x Knife type LED indicators, digital relay
-Custom paintjob, orange stripes painted, graphics hydrodipped over silver basecoat and covered with three layers of candy blue clearcoat
-RK Gxw 530 blue superlink chain, -1 front sprocket
-Loobman chain oiler
-12v cigarette output socket near left rearset for navigator and heated jacket ( I like to do longer rides specially towards autumn and the mornings are still cold here long into june)
-Hugger and chainguard hydrodipped in carbon fiber pattern
-Coolant expansion tank modified from a 1kg fire extinguisher (no, that is not a NOS bottle)

As you might have noticed from the last pic I have already entered it in one bike show of which I got the second place in streetfighter class. Am planning to enter it to other shows as well to ride the heck out of it!

Congrats for SteveJ for the Admin status, that is an important yet frowned upon task on any forum! Yall have a great time here, It`s just not for me