1984 Katana 7/11

[Charlie G]

Looks great Pete.

[steve murdoch]

Very tidy, Pete.
Which tape did you use on the harness? Heat resistant?
For my SuperHawk this tape was recommended.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Self-Fusing-Silicone-Rubber-Electrical-Tape-70/?N=5002385+3292437112&rt=rud

I bought the 12 mil. version and it was easy to use. Pliable, seems to be holding up and the colour was almost a dead match to the Honda oem covering.

[dorkburger]

No personal experience, but I read somewhere that if one shoots the flame resistant paint inside of the headers at the exhaust ports, it can help prolong the paint on the outside by reducing the heat on it.

Suppose it's one of those "can't hurt" items, but seems like it would require a lot of cleaning, and one heck of a strong paint.

[pete]

Looking good, Pete. I painted my pipe with VHT almost 9 years ago and it still looks great.

Cheers Larry, good to know! Did you do anything special prep wise? From what I've discovered so far I just sand back all the old coatings with 120 grit then on with the paint, no need for primer. I've yet to get to the auto store and actually read the can though.

Looks great Pete.

Cheers Charlie!

Very tidy, Pete.
Which tape did you use on the harness? Heat resistant?
For my SuperHawk this tape was recommended.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Self-Fusing-Silicone-Rubber-Electrical-Tape-70/?N=5002385+3292437112&rt=rud

I bought the 12 mil. version and it was easy to use. Pliable, seems to be holding up and the colour was almost a dead match to the Honda oem covering.

This one isn't quite so fancy Steve. It's not got that sort of heat rating, which is why I've not used it for anything close to the motor and I stuck with PVC or cloth type insulation there. I do know this one's been used successfully for this sort of wrapping, so I'm happy it will last well enough.

I didn't see that Scotch brand one when I was looking though so it's good to see it exists. The only one I saw with a decent heat rating was about 5 times the price of what I pad for the ones I used which are Fixman brand. This one is 19mm wide and comes in a 10m roll and I'd say it goes on the similar to how you've described the Scotch, very pliable and easy to wrap with.

No personal experience, but I read somewhere that if one shoots the flame resistant paint inside of the headers at the exhaust ports, it can help prolong the paint on the outside by reducing the heat on it.

Suppose it's one of those "can't hurt" items, but seems like it would require a lot of cleaning, and one heck of a strong paint.

They don't say quite the same thing on the Speco (VHT) website, but they do say spraying a full can's worth of the white flameproof paint down each header tube will reduce the bluing of chrome and will stop ceramic coating turning brown, so I suspect that might do something for paint as well? That's a lot of paint though! I think I'll stick with just a can for the outside and it's easy enough to take the headers off and repeat in a few years if necessary

http://www.speco.com.au/vht_faq.html

[nvr2old]

I didn't prime mine, Pete. I can't remember seeing a Very High Temp primer available, so yeah, I sanded mine with 180 grit and just sprayed the black right on the bare metal and it's stood the test of time really well. After you spray it and let it dry, take a blue paper shop rag to it, and it smooths the paint and gives it a nice sheen.

[pete]

Cheers Larry, good to know! They do have a primer available as well as a clear coat, but I've not seen any directions saying to use either so far, and it looks like straight on to the bare metal is the way to go.

I need to service the 450 the weekend after next, so I expect I'll have the paint done in a few weeks which should be good timing to run the motor for the second time with the intake sorted and an AFR metre on the weekend after I paint the headers.

[pete]

Ok, update time finally!

I've been doing stuff, but tidying up the harness has taken forever, trying to get it neat enough around the fuse box and relays etc. and I didn't get all that finished until last night.

So aside from where the Acewell has yet to be factored in on the right hand side, the rest of the harness is complete and installed.

I was planning on using the stock rubber strap for the battery but couldn't quite figure that out, and found out quite conveniently that stretching out a rubber coated P clamp I had lying around was exactly the right length.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The stock rubber velocity stacks are mounted up with the Ramair sock filters on.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also ordered an oil cooler which arrived earlier in the week which I'm pretty sure I've figured how to mount. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to keep the oil lines tidy and away from the headers.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The horn should end up in almost the same position as it is now, just mounted on the bottom of the oil cooler.

The only catch is I can't leave my indicators where they were mounted on the front subframe parts of the frame downtubes.

I figured I can use the same brackets but mount them from the front subframe itself between the two rubber grommets that hold the side covers on, and they will work quite well there. There will be more clearance than the photo shows as the bottom mount of the side cover isn't completely in the rubber grommet.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The 450 needs a service this weekend so I can't see me sorting much more just yet.

[dorkburger]

Looking great. The details really can make or break a job, and clearly you have it covered.

[Carter Turk]

A 1150 oil cooler mounting bracket that fits on the Kat frame might work.
Not sure if you're adding the plastic spoiler above, that spans the space between the mid fairing panels.

[pete]

Cheers Glen! Pretty happy with it

Carter, I've seen those mounting brackets in the parts fiche when I was working out how the 1150's have them mounted, but I don't think it will help all that much as I'd need to modify it a fair amount. Being an imported 84 frame, this has different cooler mounting spots to the earlier Kats. For instance there are no mounting spots on the frame down tubes at all, just two up the top, then the two for the plastic fake cooler, and then two in the centre of the cross tube where the horn is currently mounted.

I do have the plastic one, but won't be mounting it up again as this cooler will take up most of that space.

[pete]

I got some time to sort out the oil cooler and indicator mounting after finishing the 450 service.

I'm using an offcut of square section steel tube for the bottom mount and bent up a couple of 2.5mm thick aluminium offcuts for the top mounts. They're a bit agricultural but a tidy up and some satin black will make them look just fine.

I've got some 6mm thick rubber here which I'll use between the cooler and the mounts for some vibration dampening also.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The cooler sits pretty neatly between the side covers.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The new indicator position should work well too.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

One thing left is to relocate the horn, if it goes below the cooler it will meet the front mudguard, so it definitely needs a new home.

[pete]

I had to put the tank and front cowl on to figure out a suitable horn location, and figured I might as well chuck everything together to give myself some motivation to get moving.

Yeah I gotta get her done!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I managed to find a suitable location for the horn and got the bracket made up also. It's a snug fit but it'll work.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[Skinner]

Very nice Pete! If that doesn't motivate you to get it done and on the road then nothing will!

Cheers!

[zuluwiz]

Cheers Pete, you sly devil. Do you know how many of us are now drooling over the pix of that beautiful Kat?

[pete]

Hahaha cheers guys! I'm extremely happy with how she's turning out!

Yes, certainly motivating seeing her all together, although I've resisted doing that up to now as it was frustrating knowing how close she is yet how far there is to go just getting the $$ together for the final push and on road costs etc.

Fingers crossed the first ride won't be too much further away, I can't wait!