Another Kawasaki Project !

Loz said:
Some lovely work going on here.

Sure, you could get this done in a few months with off-the-shelf bits but how much more satisfying is it to build it yourself!
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Cheers Loz, obviously it's the sort of job you start & ends up taking way longer than you imagined for various reasons.
Quite possibly, I did spend some time trawling the World Wide Web, in particular the Japanese site WeBike, but I couldn't quite find exactly what I wanted & couldn't be certain of fork, brake disc size fitment bearing in mind translating from Japanese to English. I find WeBike's web site is not the easiest to navigate around to find what you are looking for although they do have various yoke kits available & caliper adaptor brackets & their parts that I have bought have always been top quality & their service is brilliant. However, they all appear to assume you are fitting standard size discs & USD forks, albeit the forks might be Ohlins. Also, there didn't seem to be a front axle to suit what I was planning.

I've got 10mm larger discs, (not that I need them, but ...... !!) so all the WeBike caliper adaptor brackets were unsuitable, plus the yoke kits altered the fork off-set, (again not that I would notice handling wise) which may in turn have affected how the ignition switch, steering stops, steering lock, headlight, etc mounted.
I wanted all the standard Kawasaki front end to mount so, to a passerby the bike looked completely standard. A simple bolt off, bolt on conversion.
 
shopping
 
ABS sensor cable routing is now sorted. Found a P-clip that fitted the existing Kawasaki grommet so just drilled & tapped a hole in the left-hand bracket. The cable will then be held in place along the brake hose using Panigale clips, which were quite cheap & very neat ! (y)
I made a suitable spacer to get the correct air gap between the ABS sensor & the sensor ring. Once the whole cable routing is sorted, up into the headlight shell, I'll cut off any Kawasaki grommets/rubber sleeves that I don't need.

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While the bobber is off the work bench & getting the exhaust made I took the opportunity to get the RS on & removed the front end today so that I could try the mock-up new front end.
Once the lower yoke was off I realised just how little grease Kawasaki apply to the steering bearings, just a hint of grease is all that was in there & the bike has only done just over 5000 miles !!

This is the lower race in the frame, the upper race & bearings were no better.
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New, mock-up front end fitted. Everything seems to work OK & line up like the steering stops, steering lock, etc.
Just need to syphon some house-keeping money off now to pay for the machining !! :ROFLMAO:

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CAT3 said:
While the bobber is off the work bench & getting the exhaust made I took the opportunity to get the RS on & removed the front end today so that I could try the mock-up new front end.
Once the lower yoke was off I realised just how little grease Kawasaki apply to the steering bearings, just a hint of grease is all that was in there & the bike has only done just over 5000 miles !!

This is the lower race in the frame, the upper race & bearings were no better.
View attachment 122581

New, mock-up front end fitted. Everything seems to work OK & line up like the steering stops, steering lock, etc.
Just need to syphon some house-keeping money off now to pay for the machining !! :ROFLMAO:

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Feck me, I’ve got to go back to the beginning to now to remind myself what’s happening here. Fecking Kawasaki builds - why do they take so long 😆😆
 
West Cork Paul said:
It’s been over 2 years so far - are you sure 😆
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He's changing his wheels and it's taking years - I built a whole bike from scratch in 18 months 🤷‍♂️ if I was as slow as him it would have taken me a billion years (similar to his OCC chop replica is taking) as my wheels were fitted in an hour!

What's he do when he needs new tyres FFS!




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Exige said:
He's changing his wheels and it's taking years - I built a whole bike from scratch in 18 months 🤷‍♂️ if I was as slow as him it would have taken me a billion years (similar to his OCC chop replica is taking) as my wheels were fitted in an hour!

What's he do when he needs new tyres FFS!




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I think I can detect some lefty , wokie feelings showing.

Totally inappropriate for this forum.

You need to lie down for a bit till it passes

TB
 
On the way back from getting the bone-shaker measured the other day I got a tyre fitted to my new front wheel. I was going to fit the wheel at the same time as I changed the front forks, but I've decided to just fit the wheel now rather than it roll around the garage floor any longer & before it get scratched !!
I'll just have to make some spacers for the calipers as the new discs are 10mm bigger.

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I wasn't going to bother fitting the new front wheel until I changed the forks, but I've got fed up of the wheel kicking around the garage so today I swopped the wheels over. I had to make some spacers for the calipers because the new floating discs are bigger than the original ones. It was really nice to be working in the sun for a change !!
I made a couple of plastic spacers first as it's easy, fast & clean to machine & saves time if you have to alter anything. Sizes were spot on so I made four alloy spacers. I'll get them anodised when I get the anodising done for the Métis. I've also had to order some longer bolts as there didn't seem to be enough threaded length engaged in the fork bottoms. Hopefully they'll be here in a day or two, then I can go out for a quick bimble in the sun while it lasts !! :ROFLMAO::cool:
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Can I ask? I notice the brake lines are the original rubber type, will you be putting braided hoses on later?
 
Noobie said:
Can I ask? I notice the brake lines are the original rubber type, will you be putting braided hoses on later?
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Oh yes, Goodridge hoses, but only the ones I need to change for my fork conversion, i.e. the flexible from the frame joint just at the front of the fuel tank to the joint on the lower yoke & the two hoses from that joint to the two new calipers. I've also got dry-break connectors for the calipers. I might get round to replacing the flexible from the brake lever to the frame joint, also at the front of the tank, but on the right-hand side.
 
Picked up the 3D print of the modified top yoke the other day. The first version needed altering slightly because the ignition switch was sitting too low for the steering lock to engage correctly & the angle that it was sitting at made it off-centre in the mounting boss. Hopefully those two little issues have been sorted & once I have trial fitted it to check I'll be able to get the final part machined 🤞
The lower yoke is currently with the machine shop to be made.

The picture below shows the original top yoke in the foreground with the new, modified version behind it. When both the yokes are machined I'll have them anodised black & then you'd have to look hard to spot what has been changed. The idea is to make the RS look a little more like my '76 A4 version, people will think something is different, but it won't stand out straight away, subtle !! ;) Also, if I ever sold the bike it will all unbolt & the OEM front end can be refitted without any cutting/welding/etc.

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Got the two front caliper mounts fitted today together with the front wheel spacers & front ABS sensor spacer after collecting them from the anodisers yesterday.
Just waiting now for the machinist to make the two new yokes & once they are anodised it will be on the road to getting finished !! ;)

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I've been to collect the lower yoke today prior to having it anodised. The lines you can see in the surface, where the cutting tool has been running are just "visible" lines, once the yoke has been vapour blasted you will not see any marks at all & the yoke will look just like the original Kawasaki part.
The top yoke will be ready in a couple of days, it just needs the two clamping slots cutting & polishing prior to anodising.

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The only difference on the underside is the position of the right-hand mounting boss, which is slightly further back than the original, necessary because the Goodridge brake hose fitting is slightly different to the original Kawasaki part.

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