It has begun

[Guest]

I have some good cases and tachs..just missing the speedos. If theres anything I can do, let me know. maybe if you find a speedo I can throw the best of what I have and build ya a set. Youll have to repaint the letterings for the indicators, but thats just cosmetic stuff.

Thanks Chuck, I may take you up on that offer. Not sure yet. I have some options for this build, and the other Skunk has a set of gauges on it, not sure of the condition though. Although that bike has been stored under cover in a dry basement since 88' over all looks really good . Some one replaced the tank from the original black with the white stripe , to a Blue one off a 78 c model so it is the right tank just the wrong color. I does have the indent on the sides. I will need to source some side covers, as I only have 2 and they are not a set.

 

[chuck hahn]

The two tone European Blue is how I am gonna paint the second C model i have...someday when i win the lottery and can afford to start the redo.

 

[Guest]

Do you mean these colors;

 

[Guest]

Do you mean these colors;

Does the trip meter knob look correct on these gauges?

 

[chuck hahn]

yes on the colors and yes on the knob.

 

[Big T]

Do you mean these colors;

That blue is the stock American colors

The European one is light blue body

 

[Guest]

Ok so it has been awhile since I posted on this build. I have got a few things done , so I am making progress, just not a full bore build.
So as of now I have cut the rear foot pegs and frame section from the frame. [ I know it was difficult to bring myself to do this but for what I am looking to build it must be done] and cleaned it all up.And then I have pre fit my 600 Bandit swing arm;

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I have welded on the rear shock mounts, so I can keep the original look but still be able to run the larger better rubber, I will be running a 170-180 rear tire. When I made the shock mounts I raised them some so I could retain some of the ground clearance which you loose with this conversion. I set it up with the Bandit rear brake assembly and am converting to a 530 chain. I am going to have to get a off set front sprocket, but I also took a spare rear carrier and chucked it up in the lathe and shaved it down 3/16 " where the sprocket mounts.. I have removed the original foot rests and have a set of rearsets off a ZX6 that I have made up plug mounts , so I can bore the frame and weld them into the frame. I am not keen on tab mounted rear sets.

I have some better pics of the rear sets but need to upload them. I have not installed these into the frame as of yet. Maybe this next weekend.
As far as the front goes I have removed the stock front end and installed the triple tree from the 82-GK and used the front forks from the 96 Bandit. I had to do some mixing and matching of the wheel spacers , and will have to have a longer axle made as this one is about 1/2 " to short. It goes in and everything tightens up ok for mock up but not actual use.

oh and I have the brakes on and bleed and the handle bars are on along with a adjustable lever clutch handle.
well that is my up date I'll try and be a little more frequent on my updates.

 

[Guest]

OK a few better pics of the rear sets and swing arm work

And the shock mounts , raised a bit to salvge some ground clearance;

This is all mock up obviously . So there is still alot of work to do to individual items, clean up sanding , removing bracket's that are not needed. Also need to make/ adapt some passenger pegs . Once I have a more clear plan of attack . I will then break the bike back down to do the pretty stuff. I am still thinking stock [Skunk] paint with white wheels . :-k

 

[Guest]

Well a little update, I haven't done a whole lot , but I have made some progress. Since my last post, I have had Dana[ Oldpara] make me a custom front axle as the one that came on the Bandit front end was to short to work with the Gk triple tree's it was 3/4 of an inch to short all together, plus it needed to be able to thread into the lower fork tube . So now I have the front end on the bike , got the calipers all shimmed to fit the wider stance . I had to make a custom fork brace as the width is odd. So it has been alot of custom work putting this together. I also have gotten the ZX6 rear sets mounted, I made threaded slug inserts and bored into the frame and welded them into place where I wanted them to be positioned. I also have the rear brake up and working just waiting on pads. Also have an extra large parts order that I am waiting for. I ordered Racetech 1.0 springs, and Racetech emulators for the front, new seals and dust caps for the forks. New brake pads front and rear, stainless brake lines front and rear, complete gasket set, won a set of side covers on ebay, got a set of gauges on e-bay, got my duel Busa exhaust , just waiting for my 2" mandrel bends so that I can complete the custom exhaust . So progress is being made just not in leaps and bounds. Oh and I ordered the stripe kit this evening so i can now send the body work out for paint. I try and post some up dated pics in a day or two.:dancing:

 

[Guest]

OK as promised some pics of the progress;

A head on of the fork brace and the 41mm front end, with the SV front fender;

another of the fork brace. I still need to finish sanding and polishing the brace.
now a couple of the rear set mounts;

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I welded the threaded plug into the frame , then I only had to ad 1 frame tab for the rear sets;

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And 1 of the exhaust cans I am going to be running;

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;
well I'll try and keep up posting better.

 

[Guest]

Well I made a little progress this morning. Iwas able to get out to the shop and work on the exhaust . I got it pretty well done. Just need to figure out what I want to do for passenger pegs and exhaust can mounts.

I think it is going to look pretty decent. I really like the look from the rear. It should sound pretty sweet also. I used the stock head pipes to be able to retain some ground clearance. When I cut the old stock mufflers off the pipe was a perfect fit for a 2" mid pipe to be welded on , so I got a couple pieces of mandrel bent 2" pipe with 18 degree bends. made up some flanges and welded it up where I wanted them . Going to work out nice . Not bad for about 5 hours on a Sunday morning. And was done in time to come in and enjoy a holiday meal with the family. Also I wont be running those directional s

 

[Frank Z.]

Very nice work. (Jealous)
Good inspiration for a project some day, i hope. Following along here.

 

[Guest]

Well I tried to build the front forks using the Bandit 600 tubes and the cartridges from the ZX600E and it does not work. So I ended up spending some money a purchased a set of Race Tech gold emulators , and a set of race tech 1.0 springs . That will help improve the front end of this bike. I also bought a gasket kit so I can re gasket the motor. , and got new brake pads. The tins are out to be painted , and the frame and swing arm are already painted. I have the forks off for rebuild and am painting the triples while they are off. I have also glass bead blasted the battery box, electrical panel and a bunch of other smalls and they have also all been painted and are just waiting for re assembly . So I have to decide on a wheel color . I am thinking they would look pretty sweet in white. As the bike is going to be painted the stock Skunk colors . I also have the exhaust done in ceramic coat paint . I have a friend that works at a electric motor company and he is going to bake the coating for me this coming weekend. The stuff I used , has to have a 3 step bake to cure the coating properly . VHT makes it we'll see how it holds up.

 

[Guest]

Well I am horrible about keeping up on the posting of this build. So as of now a update,
I have gotten the motor out of the frame , the bike was all torn down and the frame was sand blasted and painted. I then started re assembling the bike , as it sits now the frame and suspension are all done, the swing arm has been cleaned up and painted. The triple clamps were sand blasted and painted with new bearings installed. the wheels got 3 coats of VHT white wheel paint. The rear sprocket carrier has been polished up .
Now the motor has been torn down for a regasket job, [ which turned out to be a good idea, as I found that the PO had ,had the top end off and it appears they failed to install a circlip on the #4 piston.] Thus scoring the cylinder. Rings were not damaged, and a flush with the oil pan removed didn't produce the missing clip so my best guess is it was not installed. Also I realized the the top end had been changed when I got another set of cylinders from "Frankenzuki" for the 78 and they didn't have the extra bolt in the front of the cam chain as the head does. So i finally got through these stumbling blocks and will be putting the motor back in the bike this week. My next stumbling block will be the paint, as I sent it all to my brother to be painted and he put his back out last Sunday and I am not sure when he will be back on his feet. I'll post some pics tonight

 

[Guest]

So here are a few pics as of now;

The motor all back together;

the chassis , a few;


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And a couple with the motor back in the frame with the Exhaust installed, she is on a down hill run now. As long as my paint gets done I figure I should be riding it in a week or two;
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I don't really like the black handle bars so I ordered a new set of chrome superbike bars.

 

[Guest]

Well I have been busy getting the bike done mechanically. I am going to fire it up later tonight, or tomorrow morning. Got the electrics all back together today. I had to take all the handle bar switches apart and clean them up . Don't want to have problems down the road so , nothing is going untouched.Now all I have left is install the Dyna ignition and put fuel to it . Then I will just be waiting for my paint.

 

[Guest]

Well I fired the old girl up , and it sounds awesome with those dual Busa cans. I am not sure on the jetting as of right now because I can't ride it . still waiting on painted parts to come back. Also I need to find a seat still. If anyone has a 1000E or a 1000C seat that is decent and wants to part with it drop me a pm PLEASE. I would prefer the C seat for this bike. I have 1 seat pan and bought a cover but when I removed the old cover I found that the pan was completely trash.

 

[Flipr78]

great job.... love this project.

 

[Guest]

Your bike is coming along nicely. I'm not sure I could do that to Suzy(shes my first). Are you sticking with the stock colors? Mine is the same color scheme and I think is the nicest.

Those white wheels might over power the rest of the bike. The color on your lowers might look nice. If you want to part with those black bars send me a PM. I could use them for my Cooley project, that I'm gathering the parts for.

 

[Guest]

Yes I am sticking to stock colors , as mine is an E it was black with the white strip. The bike I have pictured with the tank the same color as yours is the second, 1000 that I picked up. I am going to do a actual full restore on it. It was also an E but the tank had been changed on it.