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1984 Katana 7/11

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Well if you know me at all you will know I have dreamed of having my very own Kat for a very long time... finally I'm on the way!

It all started with a too cheap to resist front cowl on eBay that needed repairs, then a Jap import 1984 750 frame came up at just the right price and just the right time.

After some extreme generosity from the guys on the Katana Australia forum I have a bunch of bits and pieces already and should soon have a whole lot more.

I'm hoping for a 12 to 18 month project timeline but I'll just have to wait and see how time and funds go.

I also need to build a shed first which should be starting on Monday (2 week holiday from work, yay!).

Anyway, no truth without pic's right?

Some of what I have so far:



Damage on the cowl, but being fibreglass means I can repair it:



I have a seat and tail piece, indicators, and a bunch of other bits and pieces that I haven't got any pic's of just yet, and in the next week or so I should have most of an 1100 motor as well as wheels and more so in theory I'll almost be at the rolling frame point.

As far as plans go, I like the feel/look of the stock Kat so I'll be maintaining that, however I'll probably go for a non-stock paint scheme and maybe some other subtle mod's along the way. That's one advantage of assembling it in bits like this... I have a blank canvas to start with.
 
If it means we see a bit more of you great stuff Pete!I certainly be following along.
 
Good luck Pete. I got to ride one last June and it would nice to have one of mine own. Maybe if I start looking for bits I can do it. An 84 750 frame. Is it a kat frame?

cg
 
Cheers guys! To say I'm excited would be the understatement of the century :D

Tatu, I deal with Mick Hone fairly regularly and I just placed a reasonable sized order with them on Friday for my first round of Kat bits :D

Greg, yep should see me round a little more... maybe not so much immediately as I need to get the shed done, but for sure once I really get stuck in!

Yep Charlie, it's a Kat frame. They kept building the Kats for the Japanese market up until the late 90's I think, and the 750's continued with the same styling as the 1100's. So while this is a 750 frame, I can quite legally and safely stick an 1100 in it. I keep seeing Kats for sale in the US and man you guys get them so cheaply! Should be no reason you couldn't do the same, just keep your eye out and eventually one will pop up at the right price. They are definitely awesome bikes to own and ride!

Dogma, me too! :D
 
Cheers mate!

I have made a little progress over the last couple of weeks, the rear master cylinder was seized but I used compressed air to get the piston out. The bore looks good so a new piston and cup set should get that sorted.



I also made up a spring compressor out of scrap steel and threaded rod:



And the Koni's are dismantled waiting on a seal kit:



Thursday is an exciting day coming up as I'll be getting a bunch of stuff from a mate, but the focus right now is getting the shed done. The timber was delivered yesterday and we picked the tin up so hopefully we can get a good start on that today.
 
That spring compressor is a handy set-up...

I am very much looking forward to this (re)build
 
I do Steve, but they're in an open source CAD program (LibreCAD).

Here's how it is so far, getting close to getting a roof. It's 4.8m long by 1.4m wide and the centre section where the extended bit of concrete is should hopefully be able to allow the shed to expand to give me room to move to paint etc.:



Cheers BigD, that's a Google special :D Only thing I would recommend is adding some rubber where it contacts the springs as I have some marks on them from the metal now. I was thinking of having them powder coated anyway so I'm not too concerned about it.

I received my first big order from Mick Hone yesterday so I took 15 minutes last night to reassure myself that I really am building a Kat...

 
I got some more bits the other day, some are on loan to get me going some I'll be buying, but I haven't had a chance to get in and sort everything out yet due to shed building time.

It's getting close to being done on the outside though...

 
Looks great Pete. You've got this "worn out" Carpenter's approval. Will that roof handle the expected snow load?:cool:
 
Haha cheers Charlie!!! I can 100% guarantee it will take the load of every single flake of snow this city has to offer :D

The roof was completed yesterday as well as getting some tin on the front, so a tidy up of the bit above the doorway and then it's door time. I also need to book in the electrician to come and wire it up, then I can do the inside walls and noise insulation.
 
Got the outside of the shed pretty much done, just needs paint, some trim, and drainage sorted. Gotta book the electrician today to get power and lighting in there and then it's useable at last, and I can do the insulation etc. also.



I'm itching to get going on the Kat but until I get some space cleared out of in front of the work bench I'm a bit stuck.

The forks are apparently here in Brisbane so they should arrive any day now.

Can't wait to get stuck in!!
 
Finally got my forks yesterday, they look very clean and straight. The only marks on the sliders appear to be from the triple clamps and a couple of very small pits above the actual fork travel, so they should clean/polish up pretty much like new.

Hopefully this weekend I can assemble what I have and get a rolling chassis so I can see what other bits I'm missing.





 
Ok finally time for some fun!!!

Got the shed to a point where I can start using it, so I moved the frame in there yesterday and loosely assembled a lot of what I have so I can get an understanding of where I'm at.

Need some wheel spacers, triple clamp fasteners, and so on to start with but I was still able to get this far:





I need some clip ons, not sure if I'll get some genuine ones or go Chinese... these ones look like they'll fit the bill and are very cheap, but not sure how good they are:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291218202490?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Then I started working on the dent in the tank last night. Got a cheap kit off eBay and I think with perseverance it will get the dent out:





The next big thing is finding a spot where I can upend the crankcases and split them so I can check the crank and gearbox out.

Oh, the shed is useable because the drainage is done as much as possible until the electricity gets run to it:

 
Made a small start on the motor last night. First things first I rotated the crankshaft via the chain and it seems to rotate quite smoothly indeed... I take that as a good first sign ;)


Next up the engine number is GS110X-156891 so any clues as to what year that might be? I'm assuming it will be helpful for parts at some point if there's a difference. I still have mucho research to do yet!


Now, knowing I need to split the cases sooner rather than later I figured the clutch cover is the easiest place to start, looks nice and clean in there and I only had to use the impact driver once on the single cheese head screw. All the others are hex heads thankfully. The oil sight glass also looks nice and clean.











I also dug out the box of top end goodies to see what lies therein, I see pistons, valves, valve springs, advance unit... lots of very useful items :D I suspect I won't be re-using the rings though!








And I dug out the ignitor just to double check it's the right one to go with mechanical advance, I'm not sure when/if the Kats changed to electronic advance at some point but at least I know what I have matches up.





Next up for me is tracking down the workshop manual so I don't screw anything up dismantling the motor so it's time to go a-hunting.
 
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