My next never-to-be-finished project...

[makenzie71]

We'll call it the NTBFPTSIMY for short.

Well a while back I dug out one of these from my random collections of otherwise worthlessnesses...



I decided to do something with it.  The CB900 lump in it had been burned up...the #4 was nice and charred...the rest were getting there.  So I tossed it out of the frame.  In it's place will be a 1978 model GS750E block.  This motor has like 21,000 miles on it...not a spring chicken but they're virtually bullet-proof if you do the most basic of care.  Going to run her to get everything setup and flowing good then hopefully grab a Bandit 1200 block to drop in...but I'll probably be happy with the results of turbocharging the GS750 block...lol.  Going to build a draw-through setup...I'd like to do blow-through because I have all the plumbing and an intercooler, but I'm afraid my floats won't really hold up to it.

Only real issues I've been faced with are suspension and wheels.  I wanted to run a 180 in back and a 130 up front on TL wheels...but that's proving to be costly (I like to do as much as I can for...well...umm...free).  CBR components are much cheaper and the front ends are actually straight bolt ins...so I swiped the Ohlins setup off my EX500 and slapped it on the CB.

A big issue I had though was setting up some sort of suspension in the back.  As most of you might know, the TL isn't conventional shock friendly.  My solution was...



I cut the dogbone tabs off an old steel EX swingarm I had, drilled holes in the TLS swinger, and bolted the shocks up that way.

Those are showa air shocks, btw...I LOVE them!  45lbs...nice and cushy...62lbs...holds up like glue...

CBR 6-spokers on TL swingars...I was told it couldn't be done...what losers...





I machined a bit too much off my washers but oh well...I have to make adjusters anyway.  I also need to find a caliper hanger...the tl piece has too big an axle.

[Jake D]

What is your vision for this thing?  Drag bike?   

[makenzie71]

just a mean little cruiser.  Nothing too dramatic.  More or less something to tinker with.

[Jake D]

It is starting to take the shape of a power cruiser.  A la the V-Max or Warrior, et al.

If you can pull the body work from a V-max, you'd be pretty spot on.

[scratch]

That swingarm and the dual shocks give it a neo-modern look.

[My Name Is Dave]

Hey Mak, what do you do for a living? I'm a little envious of how you can just take a pile of crap and make it into a killer project.

I'm not trying to get personal about money, I'm more wondering if you do something moto-related. Possibly a mechanic? I'm just wonderin...

[Jake D]

That is what he does for a living.

And he watches cows the rest of the time. 

[makenzie71]

That is what he does for a living.

And he watches cows the rest of the time.

essentially...yes.

[My Name Is Dave]

Cool, can I come study under you? And at the end of my tenure, can I bring home a project of my own?

[budget speed demon]

what happend to the SSSA TL1000?  did you ever finish that?

[My Name Is Dave]

I thought the TL was his current ride.

Why in the hell did I even answer? I should have just let him do so. Stupid.

[makenzie71]

Yeah I finnished the single side swinger...then went to Houston and put about 400 miles on it.  It's re-disasembled right now, though, because that yellow paint was a stupid, stupid idea.  Stripping it all back down and going with something else...