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Classic Bike Trackdays

The "Rural Cafe Racer" project
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gagster55
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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Location: West Yorkshire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:56 am    Post subject: The "Rural Cafe Racer" project Reply with quote

which started with this drunken ebay purchase from DK.......





its whats left of a USA spec TS185K - a 1973 trailie for the street.

I didn't want the hassle of a full-on, back-to-standard resto, so decided to build something diff'rent............

these TS185 clocks were a left-over from a TS400 resto I did a while ago......



and these ace bars were just cluttering up my garage....


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gagster55
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Location: West Yorkshire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

back to the clockset - I only need a speedo so set about modifying the bracket that came fitted to the bike. Here's 2 standard brackets...............



the top one I have cut to size and measured and drilled 3 holes for the clock rubber-mounts and speedo cable connection. This is whats left..................



and with the speedo mounted............





and fitted to the bike...................



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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

my new seat wouldn't fit, as expected, without some minor surgery to the frame. First to go - the rear frame loop..........





then the cross brace...............



and - oh the irony of it - the seat mounting brackets..........



even then, it didn't "sit" right, so time for some major surgery.............





ah - thats better ;D



the race seat - I didn't have one in my garage, so had to buy one off t'bay................



I chose this one as it has an undertray.............



which required a bit of trimming..............



as did the seat unit....................



bit of tidying up required............



which allows it to fit like this...............



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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

filed a notch in the side of the seat unit to clear the exhaust mounting................



with the leg-warmer fitted...............



off with the bash plate - it's off-roading days are over (I hope!)..........



the alarming lean angle afforded by the standard sidestand.............



a rummage in the toy box ellicited an aluminium Cagiva Mito stand - and the TS185 stand bolt is an exact fit - lucky me!.................



ah - thats better..................

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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bought a new pair of shocks - these "Rarelins" make Ohlins look like Hagon economy shocks Cool





My error - I forgot to specify the diameter of the mounting bushes so I received the default 12mm upper / 10mm lower bushes fitted. The mountings on the TS are 12mm upper and lower, so I pressed the lower bush out and, on a very slow speed (necessary when turning Titanium), bored-out both lower bushes to fit.





Here's some technical spiel from the spec sheet.......................
"the body is milled from a billet of Hastalloy (melting point 2417 - 2498 degrees celsius, with a density of 554.98 lb/ft). The damper rod is Inconel 625 grade which has an unsurpassed shear strength of 220,000psi. The remote cylinders are charged with a degenerative quantum gas of the Fermi family of high density, super-cooled atomic gasses. Springs are of Titanium and made to customer specification with regard to rider weight and intended use.













£80 a pair off ebay..........................
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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

another ebay bargain - new 7" headlamp unit that comes with 17mm mounting holes but no hardware.............





so, I turned a pair of these 17mm top-hat spacers, drilled with an 8mm hole to accept the mounting bolts............



fitted to shell.................



and, with a subtle tweaking of the original headlamp brackets, to the bike...............





more from the rummage box - Cagiva Mito throttle-side switch gear, modified to suit left-side operation..............



kill switch, lights off / lo / hi and the starter switch becomes the horn button - simples

I needed a heat shield for the hi-level exhaust, so snaffled this one off ebay USA...



Then this NOS baffle tube appeared (briefly) on ebay UK - so I snaffled that too.



new swingarm bushes from Thailand - £12 including delivery. Probably wont fit...........



new oil tank to oil pump hose and banjo fitting from the USA.



a used air filter housing - I already have one but it has no lid. And its the lid thats the hard-to-find bit.
a sweet bargain at £6 - although the £23 postage soured it somewhat............



and some warning lights - on the TS's they are housed in the tacho, and my bike doesn't have one.
So - retro cool idiot lights to be mounted in the back of the headlamp shell.

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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The new rear frame brace / mudguard mount



and the front brace / seat mount



the custom 2T oil tank bracket and strap



rear mudguard extension so taillight can be accomodated





like so



I made a pair of front mudguard brackets out of some alloy sheet



I'm thinking of drilling some holes into the parts of the brackets that show either side of the fork legs to reduce the "solid" look they have now.

Then I fitted the fly screen



modifying the brackets to prevent the screen from being blown back at high speed Smile



with no bracketry for mounting the electrics, the rectifier now sits atop the air filter box



and the CDI lives under the seat



the battery will be housed in the seat hump.

and everything loosely fitted in place







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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

the freshly built motor - re-con crank, all new seals and bearings, rebore and new piston.
Crankcases were de-greased and attacked with various Scotchbrite pads whilst the head / barrel / outer casings paid a visit to the powdercoaters to have a coat of satin black applied.







I drilled a hole in the 2T oil tank bracket for the outlet



so I could mount the 2T oil tank



then I drilled 3 holes in the headlamp shell



and fitted the idiot lights - neutral /main beam / turn



whilst the drill was out, I attacked the front mudguard brackets too



and as the heat shield had arrived from the USA, I test fitted that too

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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I asked Image Works to replicate the standard TS185K fuel tank graphics, as shown below.....





but to change the colours so as to emulate the early Suzuki racing bikes scheme..........





The colour is a bit dull as they still have their protective outer film applied, but powder blue with a black outline on a gloss white tank it is. I'll have a matching stripe painted onto the seat hump.

Well pleased

oh! the joy of working on little bikes - bikes you can lift the engine out of without calling for help or inducing a hernia Cool

2 hours of spare time reduced this.......



to this.......



pile of [s]S**T[/s] bits ready to go for powder-coating next week.

the frame has to stop off at my welders to have these open frame ends plated



there is also a box of parts to be zinc'd.

great ideas that never caught on #1



the swingarm grease nipple - why would you want to do that?

Unsure that the standard-fit TS185 front brake compliments the cafe racer look I am trying to achieve, so a quick trawl of everyone's favourite auction site elicited this..........








a period Yamaha front wheel, replete with twin-leading shoe front brake.

power brace..............






just got to find the power now.......

having collected some zinc plated items , I set about re-building the rear wheel and finally got it all in place...........



I then started assembling the twin-leading shoe front brake plate but after twatting my thumb with a rubber mallet, decided to go and have a cry in the house...........

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The Cameraman



Joined: 22 Aug 2015
Posts: 608
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 2:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Gagster55,

I've really enjoyed reading this post today. How many projects have you got on the go at the moment?
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Top-shaggy
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Location: Derbyshire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another fantastic post, almost a months worth in one night Smile
Please keep it up !
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arlurt
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Location: North Yorkshire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A really interesting project.

I do hope it's not real-time, just three hours work!
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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Cameraman wrote:
Hi Gagster55,

I've really enjoyed reading this post today. How many projects have you got on the go at the moment?


5 - not counting the RG's I've just agreed to purchase.........
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gagster55
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

arlurt wrote:
A really interesting project.

I do hope it's not real-time, just three hours work!


once I get going, there's no stopping me...................... Wink
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Howie



Joined: 18 Oct 2009
Posts: 511
Location: Kwaksville

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brilliant stuff, I like the way you do the write ups for your rebuilds.

Given me some ideas for my Dt125lc too. I don't have enough of it to rebuild to original, so plenty to think about.

Quote:
so I could mount the 2T oil tank


What a cracking idea Clap
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