Project Retro Racer

[masterofinsanity]

got any further with this mate?

[deviant]

I had a flurry of garage activity in Jan/Feb, built myself a workbench and did a bit of work on the bike. But then I ended up having to swap the engine in the ZXR and get the track bodywork to fit, then doing trackdays, getting the road kit on, doing a 700 mile round trip to france the other weekend...so basically I've done nothing for a few months.

I've decided that because I'm making such a radical change to the riding position and the pegs, the tank needs to be the best part of 6" longer. Not having the facility to make any sort of nice shape in metal I've decided to make a basic ally tank to hold the fuel - flat sided, simple folds, and then I'll make a fibreglass cover to fit over the top and give the shape and finish I want. I've made a pattern for the tank in cardboard, I just need to source a filler and fuel tap/outlet, then I can get on with folding the metal. I've found someone local who can weld it up for me.

I've sourced a new seat - i'm using a ZXR pillion seat. I was using the one off my bike when I was designing the tank just to give me something to sit on, and it fitted pretty well, so I've bought another one for a couple of quid from eBay. I'll probably try to source a complete ZXR lockset at some point - I need a fuel cap anyway, I'll be making basically a complete new loom so I'll use a new barrel, and then I'll have the key opening for the seat as well.

Oh and I've finally finished cleaning the carbs and put them back on the bike. Obv they will need some setting up once I actually get to the point when I can run it again.

I've not got very far with sorting out the rearsets and foot controls - the money I spent on swapping the engine in the ZXR was the money I was going to spend on a milling machine, and I'm a bit skint at the moment after the trackdays and everything else. I'm going on holiday next week which will swallow some more money, then on another trackday in August, so don't expect much activity on that front till the autumn. I'll probably be focusing on trying to get some of the cheap bits sorted out (cleaning mainly).



Overall, not a lot of progress. Certainly not as much as I'd hoped at the start of the year - but on the other hand I've just about kept the ZXR running and had a lot of fun on it.

If I can get the tank sorted, I think that will kickstart a few other bits. Plus it will allow me to actually get the thing running again (I last rode it 15 miles when we moved house nearly two years ago and it was running like crap). It's a 25,000 mile, 30 year old engine, so obviously I have some concerns about it. We'll see.

[will#224]

Please update this.

Looks great!!!