Making a Silk Purse out of a Sow's Ear...

[Kai Ju]

Now I understand what you meant. Thanks for clearing it up.

I actually have something planned for that area on the tank, just haven't decided which route I'm going to go.

[bmwpyro]

Really nice build Kai Ju! very sharp, very clean !

did you machine the logo or did you do that by hand or both? up close it reminds me of wood carvings we had in the family...

i was wondering about the fender and finally saw it on your other thread. nice and functional :)

[Kai Ju]

The roundel was made by hand, other than cutting the circumference out with a band saw.
The lines were made using dividers (compass ) and the pattern that replaces the blue was made using a small rectangular faced punch and a small hammer.

[jc55]

I like how you made the wooden buck for the tail pans.

[Kai Ju]

I was perusing your build last night. I'm actually a little jealous because not only did you do a nice job design wise, but you also put hammer to metal yourself. I 'helped' on my cowl, and learned a lot, but the cowl was made by Lee Kay.
Because of you taking hammer to metal, you might appreciate this:

[Kai Ju]

New front brake lines.


I was not really happy with the look of the two lines coming from the master cylinder down to the calipers.
Now it is one line coming from the master cylinder down to the right side caliper and, through a double banjo off that line, across over to the left caliper.
I added some retaining brackets from the rear mounts of the front fender for a cleaner routing.

[Kai Ju]

Here are a couple of detail pictures of my Custom (home made) rear sets.
All the rear sets I've seen for the K Bikes bolt to the two rear most stock foot peg plate mounts. That was too far back for my taste. (old'ish knees )
I played with location quite a bit and finally realized that the swingarm pivot location was perfect for me. So that became my mounting plate, if you will.
I drilled and tapped both sides and cut the levers out of 10mm plate. I added brass bushings for the pivots, ordered some metric heim joints and this is the result.

[jc55]

Thanks Kai Ju, and you have a real nice bike to be proud of. Lots of great work there like the rearsets too! Brass bushes too! 

Thanks for the video. I have a huge piston pin from a 2000 hp Ingersoll Rand that I form metal on too. Actually, anything can form it. Once again, nice work.

[Kai Ju]

A few more detail photos.


from this





to this






K1200 exhaust modification to fit the k100 transmission. The sidestand mount had to go as well.

[Kai Ju]

Above I showed the rears sets as they are now.
Here is where I started.


Brake side.








Shifter





I wasted several pounds of aluminum to arrive where they are now. I still want to give the levers an I-beam type profile but haven't quite figured out yet how to do it without a mill. I refuse to just drill a series of holes...

[Martin]

I have milled aluminium with a drill press fitted with a cross slide vice and a morse taper milling bit. I bought a set of bits and morse adapters from a local shop that specialised in suppling hobbists who made functioning  miniature steam trains. I think they cost me between $100.00 to $150.00. Set drill on the highest speed feed slowly and use plenty of cutting fluid and don't try to remove too much material use multiple passes. I have been told it probably doesn't do the drill press a lot of good due to the lateral pressure involved but as yet I can detect no harm but probably wouldn't set up a business doing it.. I have also used a electric router still fitted with wood bits to mill aluminium set to a medium speed go slow and cutting fluid. I  screwed the aluminium I was working on to a piece of laminated chipboard from the back side, I then made up guides and stops out of more scrap chipboard. You need to be careful if milling a large recess to keep the depth the same on each pass, otherwise you will end up with an uneven recess. I bought a reasonably cheap set of router bits and it did not appear to do any harm to the bits cost about $40.00.  I have thought about trying to make a mill by combining the router with the proper milling bits and the cross slide vice but don't do enough milling, maybe one day. Due to the high speed nature of this procedure you need to wear full safety gear and practice on some scrap to get a feel for feed rates, speed and material removal.
Regards Martin.

[Kai Ju]

Oddly enough, I used a hybrid version of your method to adapt the K1100 calipers to the K100 fork legs. Except I didn't like the appearance of the finish. Since that side bolted up to the fork lugs I didn't mind all that much, but with the rear sets being in plain view, I do care.


I used a 1/4 flat wood bit, as seen here:

[Martin]

I was cutting right through and shaping 5mm thick aluminium with the drill press. Did you have it on the highest speed and use cutting fluid it helps, also I had to adjust out the free play in the vice to stop chatter. It is possible that more solid mounting of the job might of helped, it might of flexed a bit causing chatter. The Router did a better job on recesses, practice also helped finding out the correct speed feed rates etc. At the time would have loved a real Milling machine but could not warrant the expense still can't. :dunno
Regards Martin.

[Kai Ju]

Like you I would love to have a mill, but cannot justify the expense. Not to mention the space it would need.
I guess I need to belly up to the bar and give my drill press another chance.
Thanks for the encouragement.

[Kai Ju]

More details.


Here is where I stashed the horn, and you can see the temp sender for the Trail Tech Vapor gauge.





Speaking of the Vapor, couple more photos of that installation.
I used a mash up of different kits, especially the warning lights. Normally they come as a set of four but I ordered extra bulbs and combined them in a 9 pin connector. This allowed me to get all the warning light functions in one place.
From left to right: Oil pressure light is actuated by a stock sender.
The Neutral light is actuated by an R1100 neutral switch modified to work on the K shift drum. I don't mind not having a gear position indicator as long as I have the neutral light. I do have to pull the clutch lever to start the engine though.
The turn signal indicator is in the middle. I had to solder diodes into the leads so the right turn signal wouldn't also actuate the left and vice versa.
Highbeam ended up in the headlight bucket, just above the gauges.
Low fuel was a bit tricky. I ended up buying a 2 kohm thermistor from the local electronics supply and wired it into the stock circuit in the 4L position. Works like a charm.
The Gen light was wired up stock as well.


The Vapor indicates speed, rpm,trip and odometer, clock,water temp, elapsed time, max speed/rpm/water temp and ambient air temp.
It also has shift lights, as well as high water temp warning. They are programmable for low and high, actually high and higher.
I've had one on my XR650R for at least 8 years, so it was an easy choice to make.





Thermistor





Any questions, feel free to ask.

[jc55]

Nice, that's where I'm putting my horns too. I really wanted the vapor but I sold out and got an Acewell. I wish you had posted earlier on the install, it looks really really nice!

[Kai Ju]

I was doing laps around the bike trying to find a location for the horn. If I had a couple of the Fiamms I might have gone outside, but once I stuck the horn behind the radiator I was a happy man. The threaded boss is already there, unoccupied, and it's already threaded with an 8mm hole.


Gauges for a K are truly a challenge. I know it's been made easier by rbm, but I didn't know about his device when I started my build.
My initial plan was to use one of these http://tinyurl.com/zmsgl2c but $369 was more than I wanted to spend.
The Vapor has so much functionality, for the price that it was an easy choice.

[Kai Ju]

Another quick update.


The bike is 95% done. Now it's the iddy biddy details.
I did install a different set of footpegs. What was on there was quite short and extremely buzzy.
Got these off eBay, less than $10 shipped, but it took a while.
I had expected them to be drilled out, but they were solid save for the 8mm threaded hole on one end and a larger hole for the plastic cap one the other end.
Having said in the past that I wish I had a mill, well I would like a lathe as well.
Due to the design of my rear sets I cannot install a bolt from the mounting plate, since there isn't one. The swingarm pivot bolts are the mounting plate.
A stud could have been used but there was no way to tighten the peg securely without first filing or machining flats on the peg for a wrench.
So I drilled the length of the peg to allow the installation of an 8mm Allen bolt from the peg side.
Here is the end result. Oddly enough, these pegs are less buzzy, possibly due to their more substantial mass. They are also 20mm longer than the previous ones, even with 12mm cut of the inboard side of the peg. In other words, they are more comfortable.

[Kai Ju]

Here is one of the toughest areas to deal with on 'naked' K100s. The area between the radiator and the front of the fuel tank.
I actually own the stock radiator shroud that comes on the standard K100, but wanted to limit the amount of plastic/fiberglass to a minimum.
Here is what I came up with.
It's made from perforated aluminum, about 2mm thick.
I'm torn between black and aluminum, so here are both versions.








And one overall shot in aluminum. (Didn't think to do that before I stripped the paint...)

[bmwpyro]

Silver looks good on the closeup. but the black looks better overall. at least to my eye...
keep going...

[Kai Ju]

I'm torn myself about the color. The aluminum continues the theme of aluminum as a color, but the black just looks 'right' for that piece.

The stock I'm working with is painted black and I still need to make the other side, so that'll give me a chance to compare the two colors at the same time.

[jc55]

You did nice work. There's no question there. I did a lot of mock up too. I was going to make the same with either sheetmetal, aluminum, or fiberglass. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the raw naked look of the tank is one of the things that makes the K endearingly ugly.


I'm partial to the black myself if you do decide to add them.

[Kai Ju]

I like seeing the mechanicals as well, but I do not want to leave the mounting hole for the radiator shroud open. I've already painted that whole area black, and had a plug in the hole, but it still looks somewhat unfinished. I also don't want to cut it off, just in case.
The right side is used to hold the bracket for the ignition switch, but I've yet to find the perfect fastener for that task. I'm currently using a button head Allen, painted black, but it still doesn't look like it belongs.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I like the way that piece helps define the line of the bottom edge of the tank.

I like the silver best because it does the best job of highlighting the line.  But...it would be interesting to see the part made with non-perforated metal.

Also, something there is screaming for a shark mouth with lots of sharp teeth. 

[Martin]

With you Gryph but would look more like a Piranha.
Regards Martin