butt......

[beermaker]

Having only had the bike on the road for less than a fortnight, I binned it good and proper on the way to Helmsley! Clipped a grass verge on the way up the hill to the viewing area before Chop Gate and went butt surfing at a good 65mph!! I'm fine but the bike's in a sorry way - very bent rear subframe, every fairing panel smashed, every indicator smashed, tail light cluster smashed, screen smashed, mirrors smashed, and I lost the keys to boot!!

On the plus side - just got a rear subframe off ebay for £35 inc postage which has saved it from becoming a zxr400 hardtail ! Will try to save as many panels as I can with nifty use of fibreglass and epoxy and plenty of catty! (had lots of practice on my boat!)

Cheers
Phil

[Neosophist]

Gutted

L or H model?

[beermaker]

Was a bit miffed Neo! You'd think I'd have learned to slow down a bit after the last time or 5!! Mine is (was!) a H model. Managed to get a rear subframe for £35 including the postage which was a relief as mine is bent to hell! The clocks survived thankfully and I think I can repair the headlight frame. Bodywork is pretty much paggered though and I'm particularly niggled that I took the keys out of the ignition and then promptly lost them in the undergrowth!! New locks all round!!

Stripped all the back end off last night and managed to straighten out the steering, think I escaped bending the legs! Will keep you all updated on the rebuild still strangely tempted by the idea of a zxr400 hardtail chop!!

Phil

[Neosophist]

Haha lol.

I had a subframe kicking about you could of had but it's for an L model!

Least your ok, thats the main thing!

[beermaker]

Cheers anyway Neosophist had a productive evening - stripped whats left of the fairings away, straightened the steering, straightened the clock bracket and the headlight brackets. Took the front mudguard off ready to fibreglass up, and having looked at the nose fairing, even though it's in a bad way I think I can probably fibreglass most of it from the back and then work some magic with catty and a respray to make it look acceptable again. Still mostly annoyed at losing the damn keys after the accident!! Don't suppose anyone has a set of locks/keys they want to sell?

Got it up on a borrowed paddock stand and it's all starting to look more promising now very very pleased that none of the engine casings got scratched or damaged! even the bar ends survived unscathed!

Cheers
Phil

[masterofinsanity]

check out the classifieds, i've got a rear light and rear indicators if any good to you?

[Jamz]

Bugger! Well at least you survived - hope you get it up and running again soon!

[alanh]

i have L model seat panels, not sure if they're interchangeable, drop me a pm if theyre any good.

[beermaker]

sorry been so quiet everyone - family bereavement. be back to normal operation soon though

cheers
phil

[Mori Man]

Sorry to hear both

Good you walked away at that pace though so your quids in there

Certainly have a full lock n key set - maybe two in boxes somewhere. Got all panels if you struggle repairing any but only one front fender and that's a keeper until i sort outmy projects

Do have other bits n pieces about so if there is anything else just PM me with what your needing and we will get something worked out

At a stand still with my 2nd H build just now Got to get some inspiration going and get a plan in my head of what I want to do or I'll end up just building one the same as my 1st

Keep us posted,

MM!

[beermaker]

I'm back again - things went kind of south so took a few months away from everything to sort life out but hopefully back on the up again.

Hope to get the ZXR running again before summer, even if it means getting rid of my other project (1984 CB650 Nighthawk - don't think it'll ever live again so it may be chop chop with the grinder and weigh it all in unless anyone wants any bits?). Should give me more room and a couple of quid to buy ZXR parts! Managed to salvage some bits with judicious use of aluminium plate, epoxy and fibreglass matting! Rear end is all rebuilt now which is good!

Still in the market for an ignition block and key if you still have them Mori? Will PM you about it and some other parts before I hit the vipers den that is EBay!!

Happy new year to everyone!
Phil

[Daniel.p]

:I how do you straighten up your steering i had a nock 3 month back and my front wheel nearly touches my plastic

[beermaker]

Hi Daniel )

I checked the forklegs were straight first. You can do this three ways: 1. squint down them and use your judgement! Not very accurate but OK for crappy bikes and it's remarkable how accurate your eye can be! 2. Strip the legs down and use a good straight edge and some feeler guages (better) or 3. if you have the luxury (as I did) strip the legs and set them up on a milling machine in Vee blocks, attach a Dial test indicator to the quill of the machine, zero it on the leg and run it along the leg watching for any variation. Rotate the leg 90º and do it again. If it's straight (luckily mine were!) you're ok. If not (my last bike wasn't) you can either scrap the leg if it's properly paggered (i.e. kinked or really bent) or if you're canny you can straighten it with a hydraulic pipe bender or a PortaPower but it's chancy.

Anyway, assuming all is ok - reassemble everything back onto the bike. Leave the top yoke clamped up but slacken the bottom yoke off. Sight the alignment up, and if it's out, grip the wheel between your knees and pull the steering straight. It's a bit heath robinson but it'll get it somewhere near. I then aligned the front wheel with the back using a long straight edge, and then took measurements from the bar ends to a fixed point on the frame, such as the corner of the bend (OK on the boxy H model) but you can use any point as long as it's easy to measure and the same on both sides. If both measurements are the same, nip the bottom yoke up. If not, adjust, realign and remeasure. If you're still worried, get a good garage to check the alignment afterwards.

Hope this helps and isn't too blethery!!
phil

[beermaker]

Thought I'd best post in here seeing as it's a rebuild! Been mega skint lately for various reasons but my good lady is letting me use the credit card to buy bits for the ZXR so long as I stick to a budget and I'll be selling my GS500 afterwards to pay off the bill!. The build is coming along nicely now, all the steering is straightened out again, got the new subframe on and everything reassembled at the back end. Got a black rear side panel for a song off ebay which was a bit scuffed but will T-Cut up a treat. The other side panel was cracked at the back but managed to fibreglass it back together and catty'd the outside. Just on respraying it now. Not the best job in the world as the break was difficult to align and certainly won't win any prizes in show but it'll look ok as I whizz past and a damn sight cheaper than buying another fairing (£35 plus post!) Have also repaired the light frame using epoxy and aluminium from a kick strip off an old fire door

Ebay and bike breakers are being kind - sourced a front right side panel for £30 inc post which is a bit knackered but fixable. Managed to get a job lot of ignition barrel, filler cap, rear seat lock, keys, two rear indicators, one front indicator and a couple of other bits for £50 - total bargeen! Think all I need now is the nose fairing and screen, a front indicator, two mirrors and some time in the man cave to put it all together! Have taken some pics as I went along so will post up when I work out how to get them off my 'phone onto the laptop!

[beermaker]

Thought this was in rebuilds and showcase but just realised it isn't so apologies - will open another thread in the correct part of the forum!