KRBobber Project.

[vwgulfguy]

i was thinking about striping down my aspencade, but the fairing and tank cover blend together. do you want to part with your tank?

[Roady]

KMR -- How the progress on the nude beast?

PM your address to me and I'll fire off the rear master to you.

I'll be offline for two weeks starting next Wednesday (7/8 to 7/23) so it would be nice to get it to you now.

[KMR]

So you're not really going naked ... more like bare bones.

BareBones,...that's it! BareBoneBobber,

KMR -- How the progress on the nude beast?
PM your address to me and I'll fire off the rear master to you.
I'll be offline for two starting next Wednesday (7/8 to 7/23) so it would be
nice to get it to you now.

I'll make sure the address is on your seat when I send that out, that will make sure I get it out of here in a timely manner.

And sorry for the lack of updates, haven't had any fun pictures to show, just been tinkering.
One of the cam wheels was off when I got the bike, timing was non existent, so I had to go through and reverse engineer the timing placements, think it's good now, and the good news is that there does not seem to be any damage to the valves or piston heads.

I did discover that whoever had removed the cam wheel had conveniently lost the key, I had to order up a whole bag of 4mm keys, so if anyone needs a key, I am now in possession of a lifetime supply.

Now the motor is timed and turns over smooth, I think it's time to sort out a short-list of stuff to get it running!

Thinking I will just get new Dyna coils, plugs and wires, just do things right from the start.
Are the ignition modules sturdy on these things? I've never had a bike with an ECU, looks simple enough. The ceramic ballast on the coils has no wires on it anymore, think the mice chewed them off.
I think you can usually just splice those wires together and go, but wondering if the ECU needs the resister in there to work?

Also worked on the carbs a bit, they are a mess and one whole bank of the butterfly linkage is just seized up.
I am seriously considering running a dual Weber set-up rather than having to spend hours and hours and $ and $ to baseline the OE carbs.

Also been trying to sort out the perfect tire as well, I want to run a bit more aggressive tire than normal (cant help but bomb down dirt tracks every chance I get) and at the same time I to run a classic looking bobber style balloon profile tire.
I'm actually thinking that a set of Kenda Dual Sports might work real well on there, about the right look, nice lateral stability and cheap enough to replace if they don't work out....


I'm loving the bike though, this motor is a great little piece of engineering, can't wait to run it.

i was thinking about striping down my aspencade, but the fairing and tank cover blend together. do you want to part with your tank?

Most likely, I will mark your name down on it for the time being. Want to hang on to it for thinking purposes, but don't plan to use it.
If I run a "tank" it would be the early shape anyway.

cheers,
KR

[Hoosier Daddy]

Been keeping an eye out for updates on this thread... you and I are in the same boat. Between working on the bike in the garage and this forum I'm, not getting much sleep Keep up the good work.
I do have a question as to what you are calling the ECU. In my automotive experiance the Electronic Control Unit is commonly called the "computer" that is the heart of the engine management system, it rely's on inputs from various sensors such as the oxygen in the exaust (O2), thottle position (TPS), manifold air pressure (MAP), or air flow threw the intake (MAF).... and set the spark advance, fuel delivery accordingly.
I didn't see the year of your project, probably missed it, but my '81 doesn't have those type of sensors...
OH and one more thing, has anyone claimed your rear fender? I want one to extend just past the frame horns but, don't want to cut mine up so a spare would sure be nice, I could hack up which ever is in worse shape

[KMR]

Good call, I took another look at the wiring diagram and it looks like the black box I was referring to as an ECU or CU is actually only sharing an ignition signal with the coils.

There are two Spark Units (so named) that I am assuming are basically capacitors signaled by the Pick Up (so named). Actually, the coils are basically a capacitor, these must be more of a transistor, that would work like a relay I think to trigger the coil......
I know just enough about electrics to get myself into trouble.

When I was disabling the bike I thought that the wires from this pick-up (back of the motor, next to the generator, has what appears to be a vacuum spark advancer diaphragm on it) went to the little black box labeled Control Unit, but they actually go the the Spark Units, that is much nicer.

Apparently this CU is for the Air Pressure Warning Lamp, switch and indicator???? No clue what that is, but I don't need no stinkin warning lights.

Thanks for the heads up, I mistakenly took this CU for a pared down version of an ECU that was just monitoring crank position and dolling out the spark signals.
Nice to see that it looks like it is actually analog, haven't ever had an vehicle with an ECU and don't want to start now.

Rear fender is yours! (especially if you have anything I need to get my wing running...... )

[Hoosier Daddy]

Rear fender is yours! (especially if you have anything I need to get my wing running...... )

SWEET! I'll keep watching for items you need, I do have spares of other things, like fuel pumps... I got 3 with a choice of with and without tach drive.

[Powerholic]

That is the coolest bike lift ive ever seen. Is the base a barbers chair

[KMR]

I would be more than happy to trade for a proper lift table.

The parts were on hand, and it works well for what it is. The monster wing is asking a bit much of it though. And yup, dentist chair base.


Been playing with tank options a bit, I'll make/modify something out of copper or aluminum, relocate the battery and section out for the rear wheel.


Playing with bars a bit as well, these aren't right, but they are the right direction.



I've not been doing any work on the wing though, have some other more pressing stuff to take care of. Will be out of town in a week for about a month, once I get back then work on the wing might progress a bit more.

[Cookie]

Gee I have a wing that looks a lot like that so far.

[ditchbanker]

Great build. The only part not way over my head is the tires. Most of my miles are on a DR650, so I've figured a little bit out about dual sport tires. Which Kenda are you looking at? k270 or k761? I would probably vote against either on this project. The 270 has a tendency to roll the outer row of knobs on tight corners with heavy bike/rider combination in tight corners (read almost all KLR650s and Even my DR650 when I put on a set of panniers, and I was weighing about 170 at the time). I know you're going bare bones, but I don't think you're going to get below 650 thumper weight. I also ran the much more street oriented 761 for a while. Very long lasting tire, good profile, but the rubber was so hard it was slick and I low sided it around a corner with the power from my meager little engine. Also very low profile and if you do tire changes with spoons like me, it's a pain in the butt. Very glad I never got a flat when I was running them. They're also very "exciting" on wet pavement. Long lasting too a fault, almost.

They're more expensive, but the guys running the big twin adventure bikes (KTMs, BMWs and even the v-strom guys) seem to really like TKC 80s as aggressive tires. There's also a lot of less aggressive options. I'd steer clear of both of the Kendas I mentioned before on that bike. Too much weight and power. They work reasonably well on 650 singles, but you're a long way from there.

[Roady]

Hey KMR,

Haven't heard from you in a while.

Are you still working on this project or didja get distracted?

[KMR]

Great build. The only part not way over my head is the tires...

Thanks a bunch banker. I was thinking the 761, but the more I have looked into the Kendas, nobody has anything good to say about them.

When it comes to where the rubber meets the road with a motobike, I am of the opinion that cost is not the issue, I just want the best tire for the job.
I have had great luck with Pirelli and Avon tires, the distanzias on my supermoto are great, and the MT60s & 90s from Pirelli are on the top of my list as well.
Where are you in Idaho? I plan to bomb this thing up roads like ArrowRock Dam road, or the access road from Riggins, French Creek, ect. That, and the highway in-between is the range I want the tires for. And of course they have to look great as well... :-p

Hey KMR,

Haven't heard from you in a while.

Are you still working on this project or didja get distracted?

Distracted!?!! Hell No! I've been thinking about this thing non-stop. Been on a road trip for the last month, one day away from home now.
I did get too distracted to get your seat out before I left though....

Had lots of road miles to think about the wing, ready to get home and get this thing running.[/quote]

[ditchbanker]

I'm in Nampa, about 20 miles west of Boise.

How fast you want to bomb up the roads may make a difference on your tires. And your suspension may dictate how fast you really want to. I did a little over a mile of washboard dirt last night with my wife on the back of my GL1200 Standard and I wasn't really wishing for anything better for tires. Suspension would have been nice, but the rubber held fine for the kind of speed I was doing. Also, the 1200 has tiny wheels (16 front, 15 rear). Normal sized tires would make it even easier.

When in doubt, bring a compressor and just air down for the dirt.

Let me know if you get into town, I may have to get out and ride. New baby this year means I haven't gotten much riding in and I'd like to do something about that.

[Roady]

Glad you're back, I'm anxious to see how this thing turns out.

And, looking forward to that seat too

[Roady]

Haven't heard from you in a while, Kevin.

Then yesterday, out of the blue, the UPS truck pulls up and there's my seat!

Looks like it'll need a recovering but man, is it comfy.

Thanks, and I owe you. PM sent.