KX USD + KZ650 wheel x 2 = this

KZ650 16x3 rim mounted to KX USD forks. I have bought another such wheel off e-bay to mount to the back as originally planned. Aluminium rims painted red, hot-rod style. This is the result. Tyre options are 130 or 150 wide rear and 110 or 120 wide front in Bridgestone BT45s. Black rims look pretty 'tough', really monochromatic.

Vented drum-brake cover plate

As I am using a rear wheel on the front the cush-drive area that is normally covered will be exposed (bottom pic). It looks quite ugly as has all the casting marks etc left in as you would not normally see them with the cush-drive in place. So I am going to make a brake cover plate with an air-scoop like classic racing motorcycles running large diameter drum brakes (top pic). I have already bought a new Enfield brake plate ($15 incluing postage) as a starting point. Stay tuned for more concepts.

16 x 3 inch wheel to KX USD forks

This is the kind of thing that happens when you have lots of time (too much time) to think about a project and how you can utilise a whole bunch of bits. I stated earlier that this 16x3 inch rear wheel has a giant 180mm brake drum, which would be much better used on the front end. It is in no way compatible with the existing skinny Dr400 forks. So I got to thinking how about fitting the 16x3 wheel to the KX USD forks! Winner!

The pros: KX axle fits perfectly, enough room for a 120 wide tyre. The cons: need to make custom torque arm & cable mounting, the width of the forks at the axle is a about 6mm too narrrow to accept the wheel hub and additional mods needed to centre the rim in the forks.

Three parts not meant to work together

Take Suzuki DR400T forks, Honda CB175 front hub and Yamaha YZ250F front rim (and spokes from something else) and this is what you get. There are actually no major issues with this set-up. Just need to bore the fork holes to accept the larger axle and make a bracket to accept the torque arm. New spoke calc says 146mm long spokes.

Patio Work Area

I really like this layout. I am also servicing my ZX12 as well!

Twin-leading shoe front brake hub

Picked up this front wheel today after work. I bought it for the hub and brake assembly as it is a 160mm diameter drum to exactly match my rim and is also a twin-leading shoe type which offers superior stopping power to the single leading shoe. Its got a 15mm axle rather than a 12mm so its also a little bit more durable too. So I will have to modify the forks to accept the larger axle and brake stay bracket. This particular wheel is from a Honda CB175 road bike of early 70s vintage. Also need to source a brake cable as well.

Sun rim 2.75 x 17 to DR Hub to Front end

After I mocking up this wheel with 146mm spokes, I fitted it to the front end to check for clearances etc. Its a good fit, and will allow fitment of a 110 wide tyre and leave sufficient tyre
to fork clearance. Still looks vintage, but now a little bit-of-hotrod going on!

Sun rim 2.75 x 17 to DR Hub

Amongst all those old wheels I bought some time ago I found some spokes that were the right length to allow me to lace the rim to the hub. You can see by the close up photo that the rim appears to be drilled to suit the hub fairly well. These spokes are too small in diameter, but at least I know that the length is correct.

Sun rim 2.75 x 17

Another rim for my collection! No wait! Its for the front of the VinSumo! Ex YZ250F!

Wheel mock up take 2

Last night I fitted the 16x3 inch rear wheel and 17x2.15 rim to DR front hub as pictured. The rim needs to move to the left by 10mm to sit in the middle of the swingarm. To achieve this I am going to machine about 10mm off the face of the cush drive and redrill to suit DR sprocket.

In and Out of the Cold

Due to a-lack-of-space-issue Crispy No. 1 has lived outside (under a bike cover) since we moved into this house. The combination of darkness and a particularly wet winter means I have not been able to do any work on the bike for months. And now because we have a new storage space my better half agreed that it would be ok to bring the bike into the patio area where I can work on it at night and in all weather. Excellent, now I can actually get some work done! Here is a pic of the ol' girl as it sits right now. Will be great to be finally be able to bolt some parts on!

KX front end bits arrive

The lastest arrivals from the USA include KX front hub, brake disc and axle.

Rear wheel surprise (in a good way!)

All of the research I did on the internet said that the 16 x 3 rear wheel that I have bought had a 160mm rear brake drum. Even the kawasaki USA website. Turms out that it is actually 180mm! no wonder it was so heavy (I carried it home on foot). Maybe it would make a good front wheel with a hub that big!

16 x 3 inch rear wheel arrives

Wandered down to the post office today to fetch my rear wheel. Everything is included from brake plate, cush drive, sprocket, axle and spacers etc, its pretty heavy too!

Budget Update 31.08.2011

See above for my total amount spent to date. Hopefully the completed project should come in at under $3000. The major items left to pay are cylinder head repairs, cylinder rebore and some new tyres.

Hot-Rod inspired Vintage Supermoto FINAL

This is the final concept (I promise). Specifications comparing old vs new.

Upside-down Forks are back

Why are they back? It turns out that while I have researched various wheels which supposedly have 160mm brake drums are actually 130mm and hence will not mate with the DR hub. Just seems that utilising the USD forks is the best way to go and for not much more. Can pick up a KX front hub and disc for around $100 off e-bay.

Classified's Goodness

Look at these two! Might be worth getting the RMX front end if I can get it for the right price. The other is a KDX175.....

DR400 VinSuMo, 16/17 wheels 'n' bare metal

A better quality rendering...........

Polished engine

Photoshopped GN400 engine which has natural aluminium finish.
I think this is a little too polished for my liking. Also needs black cylinder ala triumph cafe.

New colour scheme

Seeing as how my vintage supermoto will have aluminium rims front and back I decided to try a scheme with a bare metal tank and side panels. Note also the brown leather belt in the seat. This creates more of a monochromatic look. Maybe the engine should also be a natural aluminium finish?

Purchased a complete rear wheel

Purchased this wheel on ebay this morning, not real cheap with postage, but with the front wheel I will have two motard suitable wheels for around $500 which was my goal. As per my previous post this rear wheel is ex-Kawasaki KZ650CSR of 1981 vintage. The rim is 16 x 3 (aluminium rim) which will allow to run a 130 or 150 wide rear tyre and the brake is 160mm diameter with a 17mm axle which is the same axle size as the DR.

Another rear wheel possibility

After spending lots more time looking at wheels on US ebay, I found this candidate. The rim size is 16 x 3 and is aluminium, which will allow a 130/140 wide tyre. The down-side is that its going to cost around $225 to get it landed here (from Texas) and I still have to buy a brake plate & brake shoes. It also uses a 17mm axle, the same as the DR. Its from a Kawasaki KZ650CSR which appears to be a US only model. I really like the square profile-deep rim.

NOS Wiseco piston kit has landed

Came home last night to find this little parcel. Its a NOS (new-old-stock) Wiseco 1.5mm oversized piston kit complete with rings, pin and circlips. At about $130 including post from Canada its less than half the price of a genuine Suzuki part. Just need to get the cylinder rebored to suit and will probably take it over to Ray Easson Engineering as they have a great reputation for quality work.

Chrome 'n' Aluminium 'n' Red 16 'n' 17

Black 'n' chrome 'n' red