Hi,
I think this image officially marks the beginning of my project. I've been inspired by one part FunJimmy's "Interceptor" and one part "OMG these brakes are gonna kill me". So, here's what I picked up today.
That's a 99-02 Yamaha R6 front-end, with one caliper. I'll be looking to follow Jimmy's lead as far as I can on the front-end. I take night classes at the local CC machine shop, so I'll be milling and turning things down myself. I might do my own triple clamps as well, if I don't like the geometry (it will turn more slowly than the stockers due to reduced offset).
Here's the bike as I got it. As they all seem to do, it looks worse in person.
If you are wondering, the flames have been there since 1975. The previous owner has had the bike since 76 or so. It last ran 1.5 years ago. When I got it, I replaced all the ignition components and cleaned the carb. Runs now. However it has over 45,000 miles on and has really poor compression, as well as a lot of clatter. Generally running badly.
My plans:
* new front end primarily for braking enhancement (and fun machining projects)
* engine rebuild (might try that cheap Japanese 466 kit).
* some sort of resto-mod aesthetic.
* blast and powdercoat the very rusty rims (assuming they are sound)
* re-lace the wheels (new spokes)
* rear-end? who knows. Maybe a disc. Maybe a monoshock.
I'm just trying to have fun with the bike as a series of projects. I'll do all the work myself, except for boring out the cylinder. I think I try my hand at painting, too. Powder coat will go out to a shop. Welding in house. Yada yada yada.
Enough BS for now. Stay tuned.
Dave