1984 Katana 7/11

[pete]

Yep that's very true Larry! The 450's not going anywhere soon and the Kat will be the same I reckon. The Kat's basically my dream bike so I can't see me getting rid of it any time soon after she's done... possibly not until I'm too old and senile to ride any more

Second gear's all welded up!

The job ended up a little... chunkier... than I anticipated and it did encroach on the bearing surface, but the guys who did it are auto restoration guys and this sort of work is not their forte. They just did two opposite sides to avoid overheating it, and they let it cool naturally to prevent it going brittle as well. They're certainly good solid welds!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

About 45 minutes taking care with a file got it all sorted and the bearing goes on properly with just finger pressure as it should, so definitely no screw ups from the welding job or my filing which is excellent.

I haven't forgotten the wave washers either, it's only a test fit with the bearing and I'll get those on once the bearing on the other side is pressed on.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

As best I can tell without the other bearing on, the two shafts seem to line up and sit nicely so I should be good to go once the other bearing is sorted.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I've chucked the countershaft in the freezer and will leave it there until tomorrow night, then I'll sneak the other bearing into the oven for a bit so it expands and in theory it should be nice and easy to install.

[nvr2old]

It'll be worth the time, effort, and money that you've invested, Pete. This bike is probably going to be with you for a long time. When it's all done you can take a moment, stand back, remember what went into it, how many times you laid your hands on it and then cruise off on it with a smile on your face knowing you did it right.

[pete]

That's the approach I took on the 450 Sam, got the engine done before the body work. The issue I found with that method was I was so excited to get it on the road I started cutting a few corners... not painting or tidying bits I probably should and so forth, and now she's showing up all those spots I didn't pay attention to.

I promised myself no rushing or short cuts on the Kat and so far I've kept to that as far as funds allow anyway, hopefully I can keep it up!

Mind you it didn't help the 450 had been off the road for nearly 10 years by the time I was done and I had no other bike... I was getting pretty desperate to ride again!

I did some sums with the stuff I have to procure yet (tyres, gaskets, chain/sprockets, dash, etc.) and it looks like the project's going to stall sooner rather than later while I wait for some $$ to build up. I can only put so much aside each month for it and that's really going to hold me up once all the time and effort bits are done.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Looks like we took opposite approaches to our builds... We both started by getting a rolling chassis, but then I finished up the engine while you finished up the chassis.

Now you're working on things I finished up awhile ago and vice versa.

I think you'll have the engine buttoned up and in the frame, way before I have my tank in paint, and everthing back on the frame though.

I'm almost as anxious to see your bike done as I am my own...

[pete]

Cheers Daryl thanks for the tip! Yep, a very light touch up with threebond ought to sort that nicely, and yes that crank is purdy indeed!

I got a little done yesterday...

I met a mate who took me out to his mate's place where we pressed him into action and got second gear on.

We reached a consensus not to do the welding though as he only has a MIG and wasn't comfortable he couldn't do it in such a tight area without adverse effects.

I have to work from home on Wednesday for something else so I'll take the opportunity to take it up to an engine reconditioning shop as they'll likely be able to take care of it.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also took some timely advice and swapped out the cheese head strainer screws for some cap heads.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The shift drum stopper arm is in as well and it looks and feels right to me, but the black and white photo in the manual makes it almost impossible to see properly, so let me know if anything's not quite right.

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The cam end of the shift drum is all sorted as well, and I stuck the shift shaft in temporarily to make sure it seemed to shift well which it did. One screw head looks a little dodgy, but it's actually ok with the correct fitting screw driver.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Not much I can really do bottom end wise now until second is finished up, but then I should be able to test fit the cases together to make sure the gearbox is all smooth before buttoning it up ready to invert for the rest of the build.

[Fjbj40]

That's the one Pete. Every engine I have been in has it bonded to one of the halves, just go light on the adhesive.

That crank sure looks purdy!

[pete]

Cheers Daryl! Are you referring to the O ring between the case halves? I have it ready to install but didn't realise they stuck it in place, will do so for sure!

Arron, that is one tasty Kat, I like it! Don't stress on posting in here, I'm not averse to more Kat pic's in my thread and in fact the more the merrier

Have you got any details on your voltage/temp gauge? Not sure if you saw but someone's put an oil temp sensor in my pressure switch cover, haven't looked around to see if it's worth the effort to utilise it yet or not, but I haven't made a final decision on which dash/gauge setup I'll go with yet either.

[Arronduke]

one thing which is cool is the engine temp / voltage gauge ... uses the sump plug for oil temp.

http://cubeupload.com/im/Arronduke/ccc.jpg

http://cubeupload.com/im/Arronduke/4.jpg

sorry to interrupt your great thread.
cheers

[Arronduke]

Hi Pete good work... dont want to post a picture of the 1230 as this is your thread... but OK, lots still to do. It will be getting stripped and black frame some time soon.

http://cubeupload.com/im/Arronduke/20180422173100.jpg

[Fjbj40]

Don't forget the oil pickup o-ring either Pete! Use three bond and glue it on there, like the factory did.

Looking just fantastic, as all the other work preceding this.

Cheers,
Daryl

[pete]

Yes indeed Larry! Pretty on the inside is a definite must have also, as long as it's functional pretty of course

Just don't don't get so excited when you have everything "ready to go" and forget all about the cam chain... I almost put the halves together before I realized...

I already got a bit excited yesterday thinking that's it, crank's in, no need to move it again! Then I realised... so I've actually sat the cam chain in it's packaging on the top case so I have to move it before I can do anything else

[Sam 78 GS750]

It needs to come back out to get the cam chain in but I'll unpack the chain closer to when I'm ready to put the two halves together.

Just don't don't get so excited when you have everything "ready to go" and forget all about the cam chain... I almost put the halves together before I realized...

[nvr2old]

Everyone loves "pretty on the outside"..but it's also refreshing to see "pretty on the inside", too...

[pete]

Ended up having a pretty successful day today.

Most importantly I picked my crankshaft up, complete with a like-new tapered end on it! I loaded all the bearings up with fresh engine oil and sat it in place, spins all nice and freely and the taper spins nice and true.

It needs to come back out to get the cam chain in but I'll unpack the chain closer to when I'm ready to put the two halves together.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The starter clutch and rotor sit on nicely too.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also picked up a set of all the case cover gaskets etc. from him. I'm happy using Cometic brand, and for $35 the price is good too, and he'll be able to sort me out for the rest of the top end gaskets once I'm ready to. He uses these on drag and racing motors so there shouldn't be any quality issues.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Back to the lower case, and I got the right hand shift drum bearing in today. I heated the case up much more than last night but it still didn't want to just drop in, so I used the bolt, steel, timber, and old bearing I prepared earlier and got it pressed in nicely, no damage and spins nice and freely.

Both bearings loaded up with fresh engine oil also.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Oil splash plates, cam chain guide holder, shift drum and forks are in.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Flipped it over and got the strainer(?) and neutral locator in.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Getting very close to the bottom end being done!

[pete]

Following some tips, I froze the two shift drum bearings when I got home from work yesterday and last night broke out the heat gun and heated up the case, but I think not quite enough.

The left hand shift drum bearing needed some drifting in but that was ok as it's not so fragile and I didn't have to use much effort.

The right side dropped in but only a couple of mm's before it got stuck, but I wasn't even thinking about trying to drift that the rest of the way! I managed to gently get it back out without damage, so I need to give that another shot yet. It's back in the freezer and next time I'll heat even more.

I've also got a piece of steel and a piece of timber with a bolt and the old bearing that I can use to pull it in if it's still a tight fit. The old bearing should protect it from damage I hope, although hopefully I'll get the case hot enough this time I won't need it.

I'm also picking the crankshaft up today!