Time to build another bike

[cruuz]

Cheers for that. Yeah I already have it taken apart completely, been like that for like a year I was originally trying to rebuild the starter but the effort was half-hearted at best. Maybe hearing it run will light a fire under my ass to knock out the chaindrive conversion part

[Capt. Obvious]

You'll need a whole new engine (from an XV920R) for a chaindrive conversion. The case on a shaft drive model would need extensive machining, and then even if you could handle that part of it, the output shaft spins the wrong direction, so you'd need all new transmission internals from an XV920R anyway.

[cruuz]

hmmmmm very interesting..... I guess i'll have to do some digging about once I get to that point. I converted my xs750 years ago without too much trouble and I have a few resources for machine work but if I can't chaindrive the 920 semi-economically i'll finish it up and sell it

[Capt. Obvious]

Organized chaos:


The wiring harness is built from scratch using all new components. I have eliminated all of the safety features, such as the kickstand and clutch switches, along with all of the dummy lights.

I have three main circuits:
1) Headlight low beam
2) Brake/tail/turn/horn/high beam
3) Ignition coils, C5 Ignition, starter relay trigger, gauge (the gauge was supposed to be on circuit #2, but I forgot that wire in the bundle, so it ended up this one instead of having to redo everything)

The Motogadget M-Lock gets it's own dedicated 1-amp circuit straight off the battery. When I swipe the key over the receiver, that sends a signal to the main relay, which supplies power to everything else.

I used 18awg wiring for most everything, though I probably could have gotten away with 22awg for most of the harness since all of my lighting is LED.

Now that the harness is mostly done, it's time to get the bike torn down for the final machine work and some additional fab work on the frame and tank. Then I need to make a final decision on how I'm going to paint the damn thing.

[chayden]

Im loving this

[Capt. Obvious]

My new lithium battery finally arrived. I love how far battery technology has come the last few years.



Original battery vs. new. The new battery is barely a pound, but puts out 240cca, which might be a little on the wimpy side for these bikes, but should still get the job done. Total amperage draw for the entire electrical system (minus starter, of course, but including high and low beams) is under 20amps.

[Capt. Obvious]

Final stretch! I've got a pile of parts at the powder coater right now, and I'll be dropping off the tank/subframe/fairing off for paint in just a few days.



While I'm waiting on those bits to be finished, I worked on cleaning and painting the engine.




The engine covers are coming off now to get stripped and cleaned up, then they will be getting a brushed finish and clear coat.

Assuming I get everything back from powder this week, I can start final assembly this weekend. Then comes the fun of getting the bike to run for the first time with all-new custom electronic/fuel/ignition/exhaust systems...

[Capt. Obvious]

Alright, final stretch! I should have a completed, running, riding bike within the next two weeks.

As usual with any build on a bike this old, you're going to run into problems when you need to use parts that are 30+ years old. One big issue I ran into was the tank. I drilled into it to add a bung for fuel sight gauge and went through over 1/4" of friggin' Bondo that was covering a big dent in the side. So, out came the stud gun. The metal is really thin on this tank, but I managed to get it back into proper shape without tearing any holes or overstretching the metal. Once that was done, I lined the tank with Red Kote to seal up any possible pin holes and let it bake in the sun all day to cure.



My powder coater just moved to a new shop and is super backed up with moving-related projects, and he was taking too long to get to my stuff, so I went over there after hours to get everything stripped and media blasted since that's the most time consuming part (one of the perks of being friends with the owner!).




Now that I have everything back, final assembly has begun. Bearing races are pressed in for the stem, bearings for the swing arm are in, and the frame is mated with the engine finally. Once I have the bike back on its wheels I can pull those side covers off the engine and get them polished up (or maybe powder coated, I'm still going back and forth on what I want to do).



I also refinished the brakes. Decided to go with a dark silver for these since there was already enough black on the bike.



The big thing I need to do now is re-lace the rear wheel. I've never laced a wheel before, so this should be interesting...


(cleaning and polishing all those little bits was not fun)

The only thing I'm waiting on now is for the tank and subframe to get back from paint, and I should have those by end of week.

[i3oricua]

Looks good man. I'll be waiting to see the finished product. Loved how the last one turned out.


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[hinrichs]

Cant wait to see it when its all back together, love your bike builds.

[Capt. Obvious]

Laced my first wheel last night. The idea of doing this was a bit daunting for some reason (tear down the engine? Noooo problem! Put 36 spokes in the correct order? Oh shit! LOL), but it turned out to not be all that bad. Only took me an hour or so, which I'd say isn't too bad for a first timer. Now I need to true it and then seal it so I can run it tubeless.

[BuFFyZA]

Looking awesome! Cant wait to see the finished product!!

[storey618]

really dig the way that wheel is laced!

[Capt. Obvious]

It's starting to look like a bike again!



The stock rear wheel is currently on the bike because I need to get the rear wheel trued still, and the factory front end is on the bike because I'm an idiot and ruined the lower bearing while pressing it onto the stem because 12 ton press + me not paying attention = cracked bearing and tweaked stem.

Luckily, there was a Speed Triple lower yoke on Ebay for cheap, and that should be here in the next couple days. In the meantime, I can start getting everything else bolted on and finishing up the electrical.

The most time consuming part about the electrical is hiding everything. I want as few visible wires as possible on this bike, so everything is run as stealthily as possible, with the majority of the wiring hidden in the frame and under the tank.

The rectifier is hidden underneath the bike, where the center stand used to be.



The coil packs are hidden in the frame where the carb boots used to be (the frame on these bikes is the air box, it's actually a pretty slick design, but I went to a single carb setup for easier tuning and low end power).



Also, now that the engine is hanging off the bike, I was able to take the side covers off the engine to get those powder coated, and to inspect the innards a bit. As it turns out, this engine looks pretty much brand new inside.





As long as I don't break anything else while installing it, I should have the bike running by the end of the week.

[Capt. Obvious]

And this is exciting.