GR650 anybody?

Big Rich · August 14, 2015, 07:47:16 PM

Now, I know the headlights look low in this picture..... because they are. I drilled upper holes and lower holes in the mounts when I was fitting everything, and I ALWAYS put the lights in the lower holes by accident. So those will need moved to the upper holes.

Cleaned the windscreen, and don't have the tank installed for the pic. But just an idea of the end product:

Big Rich · August 14, 2015, 07:54:19 PM

Now that the pictures are out of the way, the other good news: I got to fire up the engine today!! It made an unholy racket since I only had headers bolted on (made some nice fireballs too.... haha). One of the last wires I need to hook up is the tach sensor, which is why I fired the engine up. Good news: it purrs like the day i parked it a couple years ago. The bad news: the tach isn't accurate yet at ALL. In all fairness though, I could only test with what little bit of gas was in the carbs at the time. And the exhaust was so obnoxious that I didn't want to keep revving the engine.

Hooked up the gear indicator, and it works just fine too. That's it for now!

dB-tje · August 15, 2015, 05:45:49 AM

Great work Big Rich, love it.
Can't wait to see it finished.

peteGS · August 15, 2015, 02:01:17 PM

Great stuff Rich, that's awesome!

Are you using really thin wire for the run to the dash or something? Losing 0.7v sounds way wrong... I haven't been able to measure a drop at all in that run... but you know I just have to have it right don't you? Haha

Are you planning to put some automotive trim around the healight holes to neaten them up a bit or something along those lines?

Great to hear the engine is still purring along and man I'm itching to see her start going together again!!

Big Rich · August 15, 2015, 03:22:44 PM

Well, that measurement was.... sporadic to say the best. I saw what the volt meter read and thought "Great!". Then started doing something else for a while, them remembered to check the voltage at the battery. I can say that while the engine was running the volt meter was reading around 13.2 volts. Can't be that far off, right?

And there are some plans for the headlight surround, no worries. It involves fiberglass, plexiglass, etc....

peteGS · August 16, 2015, 12:36:36 PM

If it's reading 13.2v at idle that's pretty good!

And I'm keen to see what you do for the surround in that case... sounds interesting!!

Big Rich · August 16, 2015, 04:34:06 PM

The headlight area is towards the bottom of my "to do" list for a little while unfortunately. Right now I'm trying to get the bike in a slightly rideable condition so I can start working on any bugs that come up. Speaking of which, I did work on a turn signal / license plate mount last night:

Those plate lights were needed since the tail lights didn't illuminate much.... still have a bunch of work ro do on the mount and wiring, but that's the direction I'm headed.

Big Rich · August 16, 2015, 04:36:44 PM

I rolled the bike outside for a good picture, and you can see how the rear signals / license plate will sit when finished:

That's it for now.... ordering exhaust components tomorrow though.

peteGS · August 17, 2015, 01:03:50 PM

I like it Rich, looking good already!! I like the stance and the lines should flow nicely once that seat pan is finished up.

Do you have regulations regarding the plate mounting? Over here I'd be pulled over and fined in about 30 seconds flat I reckon... it needs to be readable from 20 metres away I think so that would be on too much of an angle to be legal here.

Big Rich · August 17, 2015, 01:47:19 PM

Cheers Pete! Right now the angle is at its extreme, so it will be tweaked before it is all finished. But here is what Pennsylvania's inspection code says about the license plate:

Inspection will be rejected if:

(B)   The license plate is hanging loosely from its mounting bracket.

       (C)   The license plate is obscured so that the numbers cannot be identified.

       (D)   The license plate lamp, if so equipped, does not illuminate the license plate.

Pretty slack, huh?

GS500Schultz · August 17, 2015, 01:54:38 PM

Quote from: Big Rich on August 17, 2015, 01:47:19 PM
Cheers Pete! Right now the angle is at its extreme, so it will be tweaked before it is all finished. But here is what Pennsylvania's inspection code says about the license plate:

Inspection will be rejected if:

(B) The license plate is hanging loosely from its mounting bracket.

(C) The license plate is obscured so that the numbers cannot be identified.

(D) The license plate lamp, if so equipped, does not illuminate the license plate.

Pretty slack, huh?

you want slack? Illinois requires no inspection.... buy it, chop it, ride it....

Just needs a headlight, brake light, speedometer, and 1 mirror...

No turn signals required either..

peteGS · August 20, 2015, 01:01:27 PM

Wow you guys get it so easy!! We have minimum front/rear mudguard lengths, license plate visibility, indicators must be a minimum distance apart, handlebars must be not too high (no big ape hangers here!), and the list goes on and on and on... and while a lot are good things from a safety perspective, some are just ridiculously pathetic and make customs difficult...

Big Rich · August 20, 2015, 02:19:16 PM

Yeah, we can't really complain. And a lot of the small stuff can kind of be ignored as long as you're not being a jerk. PA requires an annual inspection of vehicles, and motorcycles can pass really easily. When I did my 450 last, the mechanic walked outside, looked at my brake pads and tire tread depth (literally looked, not measured.....) and gave me a sticker. He even said "you rode it here, so it can't be that dangerous".

peteGS · August 21, 2015, 01:30:29 PM

The days of that here are pretty much all gone... the guy I got to do the safety certificate on mine was great, but his hands are tied on some stupid things.

Big Rich · August 25, 2015, 07:07:53 PM

Woot! Most of the exhaust tubing came in!

I want to get the "mid exhaust" fitted up before the rear of the exhaust due to the angles & length.

peteGS · August 26, 2015, 03:11:07 PM

Nice Rich! I really wish I could weld well enough to make my own exhaust but I can't see that happening any time soon! There's still Tranzac here who did mine though so I can't complain

Big Rich · August 26, 2015, 06:15:55 PM

Wish I could weld as well as the lads at Tranzac! Seriously Pete, you have the best 450 exhaust I've seen. I actually want to work on my 450 exhaust a little, but it needs to wait for obvious reasons....

But I did start cutting and welding the tubes tonight.... gonna push to get the mid section done sooner rather than later....

peteGS · August 27, 2015, 01:36:52 PM

Well... he did do a damn good job on mine! Still love lookin' at that pipe... and listening to it... haha

Keen to see how yours turns out!

Big Rich · August 28, 2015, 09:06:40 PM

Ok, the mid section of the exhaust is done. I took the pipes shown above and made this:

For anybody interested in cutting their own pipes (exhaust, roll cage, etc), this tubing calculator is freaking awesome: http://metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi

Big Rich · August 28, 2015, 09:11:08 PM

Left side of the exhaust has the 90° bend, clearing the kick stand and the shifter:

Right side of the exhaust:

I need to order 2 more sections of tubing to get the muffle where I want it, so it will be over a week before those come in. While I'm waiting, I will end up powder coating the pipes I have though.....

News:

GR650 anybody?