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xa-mont
26-01-2013, 04:35 PM
Hey guys.

Some of you may know i picked up a very corroded XZ550 from pete at the drags in Dec. It's for a mate who lives in Darwin and i'm going to be doing a fair bit of the work for him.

Here is what i brought home
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20121209_131234.jpg

Within the space of about 30 minutes it looked like this:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20130126_165618.jpg

Plans are to first get it running (just to make sure it does), so i whacked on some new carbs that Tully (the bikes owner) had send from the UK
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20130126_165630.jpg

I gave her a shot with my bikes battery... no joy there. after a bit of searching around i found that the starter was sluggish as feck. After pulling it apart it was pretty obvious that that fucker was full of oil. a rebuild kit is on its way for the starter then hopefully we'll get some fire in it's belly.

while i wait for the rebuild kit i opened up the shaft drive to see what i can do about converting it to chain drive so we can put a more modern rear end on it (and a normal sized 17" wheel)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20130126_165657.jpg

Seeing as it's just a normal output shaft front the tranny (goes through a pinion gear to the drive shaft) i reckon it should be pretty easy for me to make/buy an offset front sprocket or some sort of shaft extension or something.

I hopefully will have an 06 CBR front end on the way for it shortly, then we have to decide what swing arm will work. any suggestions would be helpful. the shaft drive on on there currently kind of has 2 prongs with a space in the middle where the frame is, kind of like the VFR800 units, so it would ideally be something similar. Also the shock top mount is almost above the engine, so something with a high up shock mount would also be a good thing.
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=4U6I5X1pz-raKM&tbnid=V8mB7tGMDxAJuM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kawiforums.com%2F2005-2006-zx-6r%2F131328-swing-arm-swap.html&ei=rHgDUb7HD4TykAWN5YGgCw&bvm=bv.41524429,d.dGI&psig=AFQjCNHAF2bzADCGOyVEcell_R2nTPbW3Q&ust=1359268396826734

That's all for now. I'll try to keep it all updated.

BANDITROD
26-01-2013, 04:39 PM
whats the measurement at the swingarm pivot mate i mean how much room do you have i can measure up on some of the swigarms here if you like

wackyrider
26-01-2013, 04:49 PM
I can check on the Bandit s/arm too Trav if you want. And see if you can make use of a Busa shock too.

Also for the front sprocket let me know if you need and I can get Bruce to get one made for you. We have a mob we use for gear cutting for work. I'm sure we'd be able to make one for a bike. I had a set done for Glen a while back for a lathe.

xa-mont
26-01-2013, 05:05 PM
bit hard to measure with it all together but from what i could see the swingarm pivot part of the frame is about 110 wide and is offset to the right (so there's more room on the left for the shaft drive)

here's what the whole swingarm setup looks like:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls XZ/image_zpse163d829.png
http://p1.bikepics.com/2009/09/22/bikepics-1786416-full.jpg

BANDITROD
26-01-2013, 05:18 PM
fuck 110 wont give you much options mate

wackyrider
26-01-2013, 05:21 PM
You need to rip the fecker out and measure the frame

xa-mont
26-01-2013, 05:26 PM
the 110 is between the bits of the swingarm... like this...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls XZ/KGrHqUOKpoE3wrtBFUBN-RSO7JDQ_35_zps741fd644.jpg
The frame goes between the swingarm, not the other way around like most swingarms.

BANDITROD
26-01-2013, 05:32 PM
ahh so maybe an old fireblade swingarm might work or a vfr arm

Hillsy
26-01-2013, 05:35 PM
They are a fucking weird looking bike with the trailing axle up front, but apparently they can be made to go alright.

How does that front worm gear spin? The XJ ones spin backwards, so a chain drive conversion isn't possiblel (although the XS1100's spin the other way, so they are easy).

xa-mont
26-01-2013, 05:41 PM
They are a fucking weird looking bike with the trailing axle up front, but apparently they can be made to go alright.

How does that front worm gear spin? The XJ ones spin backwards, so a chain drive conversion isn't possiblel (although the XS1100's spin the other way, so they are easy).

shit... good question.

edit: just checked... it goes the right way!

wackyrider
26-01-2013, 05:45 PM
You may have a bike going decently fast in reverse Trav. lol

wackyrider
26-01-2013, 05:48 PM
However if it does spin backwards you can get around the problem. Set a 2nd gear up to mesh with the primary gear to reverse the rotation., Then mount the chain off a sprocket mounted on the same shaft as the secondary sprocket.

Wouldn't be cheap as you'd need to get 3 sprockets, but more than likely you'd be able to find some standard sprockets to avoid having custom sprockets made out as it would cost a bit of coin.

xa-mont
26-01-2013, 05:57 PM
maybe an 03-4 cbr600rr swingarm would be the go? looks decent, frame attachment is offset to the right, shock mount is up high... now just to find some measurements.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/03-04-HONDA-CBR600RR-SWINGARM-SWING-ARM-suspension-cbr-600rr-600-rr-2003-2004-/00/s/Mzc1WDUwMA==/$(KGrHqN,!iUFB6)JG7+VBQn!ZYhoB!~~60_12.JPG

xa-mont
08-02-2013, 05:31 PM
well i have had a bit of luck, after a fair bit of fucking around, rebuilding the starter, then having the relay shit its self, i've got some action!

It starts, It runs, it doesn't blow smoke. WIN. I don't have an idle really yet, but i don't really care, that can be sorted later on. (probably with a new set of plugs and a good run i reckon)

If i get the permission of the owner i'll be stripping it all down shortly so that i can get the frame blasted, chop the shit out of it, and clean up the engine.

This seat unit is on it's way. should look pretty nice i reckon.
http://www.motolanna.com/ourshop/prod_1910098-Seat-Cafe-Racer-v30.html

RevHead
08-02-2013, 05:35 PM
when i bought it myself ,it wasrunning ,just it would rev ,wouldnt idle as the carbies were stofed!

xa-mont
08-02-2013, 05:46 PM
got some tidy carbs on it now. didn't clean them out but they looked close to brand new. I'll probably rip them apart for a clean before it goes back together as well.

xa-mont
08-02-2013, 05:47 PM
here's a little vid.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/th_VID_20130208_174010_zps5bcb018a.jpg (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/VID_20130208_174010_zps5bcb018a.mp4)

RevHead
08-02-2013, 05:51 PM
that sound good, great work Trav ,

xa-mont
12-03-2014, 06:54 AM
SUSPENSION!!!!

Not sure if the rear end will fit, but it was free so i'll chop the shit out of it and see what i can do.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/xacoupe/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20140312_073238_zpschntfw1d.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/xacoupe/media/Tulls%20XZ/IMG_20140312_073238_zpschntfw1d.jpg.html)