New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Retro, Wild, Cafe, etc. The stuff only your imagination can come up with.

Moderators: oldjapanesebikes, H2RICK, Suzsmokeyallan

old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

Just realized too that many project pictures have also featured Sadie. Sadie's been a great companion in the garage---simply content to curl up beside the heater, or stretch out now in the April sun. She turned 13 in March, is slowly losing some hearing and we think some eyesight, but her ears perk up EVERY time any motorbike rolls into the driveway.
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

Coming together, i think.

Last week the young lad and the daughter's boyfriend helped me hoist the engine back into the frame.

Image

Image

With that done, continued working on the cockpit. New clipons carry original switchgear, levers, and grips.

Image

And started tackling the routing of the wiring.

The goal for the wiring is to not cut up the OEM harness----yet. Maybe someday I'll tackle that and build up a new harness, but there's acres of space under that fuel tank that I'm using, and everything will fit under there.

That said, I decided though to cut away the original plastic sheathing from the wiring runs...the stuff is (maybe supposed to be?) hard and brittle, and has 42 years of 'muscle memory' built in. Picked up several sizes of generic black wiring wrap.

Wrapped the generator wiring from the engine.

Then and set up the left hand switchgear wiring. It runs up the clipon to the speedo bracket, then turns towards the hole in the frame under the tank. The hope was that the other connector would meet it there somewhere.
Image

Image

Time then to attack the main harness. The voltage regulator sits horizontally under the frame's vertical rail between the two top rails, attached to a little bracket hanging off one of the coils' rear mounting bolts. The rectifier and signal relay were then clamped to the vertical rail. A small 4cell Ballistic LithiumIon battery will mount behind all that. From there the harness runs rearward down the left side, loops back towards the front where the ignition, coils, and horn connectors meet up with their respective connections.

From there, the harness splits - a few misc wires needed out front run that way, and the rest loops over the top vertical rail, and heads back down the left side slips downward and finds the left switchgear connector, as well as the connectors for power to signals, dash lights, etc. Had make up two or three wires to get from here back out to the front. The pics were taken a little prior to final placement of wiring---it eventually tucked in closer in places.

Image

Image

The generator wiring now runs almost straight up between the carbs to meet up with the harness.

Everything is wrapped in new sheathing, held closed by (hopefully not too noticable) tie wraps.

Made up a short wire to come from the rectifier mounting bolt that ties to the ground wire from the regulator, that ties back to the harness ground wire that grounds to the original tank mounting bolt hole.

Still need to make a couple of wires to get from the harness (near its rear loop) down to the rear brake light switch once it's installed.

Temporarily connected a headlight, plugged in the oem tail lights and plugged a battery in (that two prong OEM connector there is so handy!!!). Had horn, hi and lo beam, taillight, and brake light (from front brake switch), and most importantly----spark at the plugs!!.

Couldn't resist then.....the bike and I have been cooped up in the garage/basement all winter, so rolled it into the driveway, sat the tank and seat on the frame. I know it comes down to taste and the beholder's eye, but I'm looking forward to getting some paint on the tank, and the rest of the big bits on.

Image

Image

Image
sbaugz
To the on ramp
Posts: 337
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:14 am
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500, S32-2, GT185

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by sbaugz »

lookin good.
User avatar
Jimroid
To the on ramp
Posts: 309
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:32 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT500 T500 GT750
Location: Pisgah Forest, N.C. USA

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by Jimroid »

Nice work, looking good. Two thumbs up!
User avatar
water cooled
Yeah Man, the Interstate
Posts: 704
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:23 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 1974 Suzuki GT750
Location: Medina OH

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by water cooled »

That looks fantastic. A lot of love and care went into that bike....! Nice job!
rngdng
AMA Superbike
Posts: 1769
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:47 pm
Location: Blythewood, SC, USA

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by rngdng »

I like it. Nice lines.



Lane
If you stroke it more than twice; you're playing with it.

Too many bikes, too much time, ENOUGH SPACE, FINALLY! Never enough money.........
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

Thanks for the kind words.

For sure, style and form come down to personal tastes. I kinda had a loose image of what I would end up with, and getting that KZ400 tank certainly then dictated the seat. There will still be a little bit of structure hanging off out back for tail light and plates, that will fill in some space visually directly above the rear axle.

The conversation with my painter has started, and will be chatting with him hopefully this week about what to do with the tank. Kinda want the paint to carry forward the horizontal line formed by the seat's seating area, and as well to visually "shorten" the height of the tank, and perhaps even draw the eye out to the headlight. That's what I'm seeing in my mind anyway.....

Having never torn a bike down to frame before, let alone reassemble it...am amazed at how few moving pieces there really are. Not much to these old gals eh?

And I fully well know that most of these pics are of stuff that most of you fine folks have seen umpteen times!! But it's been really fun sharing the last 7 months of work here.

Couple more tasks finished:

Carb boot clamps being cleaned up....one prior to and the other afterwards.

Image

Carbs then reinstalled. I will be running stock exhaust, but really want the pod type air filters. I think what I've soaked up so far is that this set up would call for one or two size up main jets. Picked up a pair of 100's and 102.5's and installed the 102.5's as the starting point.

Image

Image

Also visible in that last shot is the oil tank I picked up.

Bolted on the headers and pipes as well.

Image

The stock mirrors are also on the bike....desperately want to use them (they are in really good shape, and they're just one more original part reused....) but not sure they look 'right'. We'll see....

It feels like I'm gettin' close though!!!
User avatar
Jimroid
To the on ramp
Posts: 309
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:32 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT500 T500 GT750
Location: Pisgah Forest, N.C. USA

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by Jimroid »

The RZ350 and Yamaha Banshees run extremely well with the 1 into two air filter setup. Not sure what the center to center distance is on those compared to the Titan, but that might be pretty slick on your bike. There are a zillion different manufacturers and different sizes for different carbs. Toomey makes great stuff and here is just one example of another.https://www.economycycle.com/wp-content ... /Yboot.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Just a thought!
rngdng
AMA Superbike
Posts: 1769
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:47 pm
Location: Blythewood, SC, USA

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by rngdng »

You want to use the stock mirrors, then use them! It's your bike, MAKE IT YOURS! If you're doing this to please someone else, forget it. As to filters, some classic UNIs will work well, and if you need to re-jet at all, I would bet on one main size larger. Starting at two over is a good choice.



Lane
If you stroke it more than twice; you're playing with it.

Too many bikes, too much time, ENOUGH SPACE, FINALLY! Never enough money.........
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

Thanks for the link and suggestions on the filters....that 1 into 2 type does look interesting. Will have to do some "googling".

And as much as I (we?) all enjoy others complimenting us on our efforts, this bike is not about pleasing others. When I got back into biking in the fall of 2004, I was hell-bent on buying that RZ350 I could never have/afford/rationalize as a younger lad. Later that year, my wife surprised me at Christmas with the ownership of a brand new left over 2003 Buell XB9r that had totally had me smitten. Another story for another time.

Always said though "someday I'd have that 2-stroke", and believe me.....this is MY 2-stroke-cum-cafe-racer, and it will reflect MY taste and resources (for better or worse!!!). The fact that it is perhaps(?) a slightly lesser known bike -than the RD's and the KH's- makes it even more special to me.

And speaking of being smitten, I'm bringing this home on Wednesday. Right place, right time. A project in a year or two.

Image

:D
MikeD
On the main road
Posts: 100
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2015 11:17 am
Country: United States
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 74 GT750
Location: NorCal

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by MikeD »

I have one of those ^ with 1600 miles on it in the garage, rough shape from being barn stored for years. But like you I'll get to it "soon"
User avatar
jabcb
Moto GP
Posts: 4240
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:32 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 69 T350 thru 75 GT750
Location: southwestern Pennsylvania

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by jabcb »

Looking good. :up:

But you might want to flip the oil tank around so that you can add oil when the bike is on the sidestand.
BAS (Bike Acquisition Syndrome) - too many bikes but have room for more

Suzuki:
GT750 2x75
GT550 72 & 75
GT380 72
T500 69 project & 73 project
T350 69 & 71
Honda 85 CB650SC & 86 CB700SC
09 Triumph Bonneville SE
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

jabcb wrote:Looking good. :up:

But you might want to flip the oil tank around so that you can add oil when the bike is on the sidestand.


Valid and good suggestion. Planning on running only the centrestand.
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

slower progress these days.....(riding season in Canada is in full swing now!!!). But that's OK...there's no real hard deadline.

Image

Down to a small handful of to-do's now.
old t500
On the street
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:43 am
Country: Canada
Suzuki 2-Strokes: T500

Re: New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

Post by old t500 »

Haven't posted here in ages. Progress during the summer slowed down a little, but kept poking along.

Got the other moving pieces all on---chain, sprocket cover, sorted out the rearsets (finally found a shifter shaft that I should have in the next few days so that I can replace the original as the splines that the shift lever bites into are all messed up). The shifter/rearset works now OK, but I will put the new shaft in for sure.

And in sort of an anti-climactic way, got it safety checked, insured and plated a week ago!!!! Have put 70 some miles on so far on a a couple of short little runs. Seems to start and run well, it's certainly a rougher ride, and the handling is not "current sport bike-ish" at all, but that's exactly what I was going for !!!

Hoping to get some nice "posed" shots soon, but here it is folks!!!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Build thread "officially closed"???? Now on to ride reports and ongoing maintenance!!!!

Cheers all!
Post Reply