Aussieflyer's Cafe Racer - part 5

[Seabee_imp]

Aussieflyer love the look of your bike. You really nailed the cafe look with a clean simple overall look but as many people have mentioned the proof is in the details and craftsmanship. Top notch, one of the nicest bikes here.

[Christopher_imp]

Hey man the bike looks great! What handle bars did you use and where did you get them? Do they hit the tank at all when fully turned ??

[MikeD_imp]

Wow. I don't know how I missed this post.Your bike is beautiful! Nice Work!

[the Ferret]

Wow. I don't know how I missed this post.Your bike is beautiful! Nice Work!

Well you probably missed it because the post is 2 years old and the original poster hasn't been active in over a year

[MikeD_imp]

Wow. I don't know how I missed this post.Your bike is beautiful! Nice Work!

Well you probably missed it because the post is 2 years old and the original poster hasn't been active in over a year

Well you probably missed it because the post is 2 years old and the original poster hasn't been active in over a year
Yep. that would be why. -glad I got to see it.

[Aussieflyer]

Hi all thanks for the nice compliments. Yes I've been asleep on the project for quite some time but getting inspired to do a little more now ... the wire wheels are ordered and some powder coating of a few brackets is underway. I'll be back in a month or so with an update for anyone that's not sick of it by now.

To answer the handlebar question ... no they don't hit the tank but only miss by 1/8th of inch. The specs for the bars is provided earlier in this same thread but I cannot remember the brand.

[the Ferret]

Hey Ausssieflyer..welcome back! Good to hear you are still out there and riding that beautiful bike.

[Cormanus]

Glad you're still at it AussieFlyer. I'm looking forward to the next posts.

[JF Coastal_imp]

Wow, this is great looking bike Aussieflyer. !! I sent you a PM...

[Aussieflyer]

Here's the next update for anyone that's interested ...

Samurider (Mr T.) had a set of spoked wheels which fitted my budget, a simple click of mouse initiates phase two of the project. Great service from Mr T. the wheels were sent with the rear axle, necessary spacers, plus a rear brake hose, washers and new calliper carrier. An included cushion drive was not needed as it was the same part number as the unit used on my mag wheels ... so now I have a spare. All the parts arrived very promptly and well packaged, Mr T is the best!

I decided to go tubeless and reuse the same tyres from my mag wheels ... yes I'm a tight arse but an overall lighter wheel weight and the wider range of tyre choices appealed to me ... we'll come back to the wheel weight later on. The Outex tubeless kit from Webike arrived at my door within a week from ordering and now that I have all the parts the fun begins!

First step was to trial fit the front wheel complete with new discs. An absolute breeze. A straight swap from the original mag wheel and no modifications required ... phew!

Now for the rear. My bike has a 25mm rear axle and the spoked wheel uses a thinner axle so a set of sleeves are required to soak up the space in the swing-arm and the chain adjuster blocks. My good mate Mick came to the rescue manufacturing two perfectly sized stainless steel sleeves on his lathe. Mick test fitted the rear wheel and after a small amount of fine tuning of the sleeves they now fit and the rear wheel is accurately aligned in the swing arm.

Attention now directed to the rear brake. The supplied new calliper carrier moves the whole assembly rearwards hence the need for a longer brake hose ... this is where things get a little tricky. The spoke wheel bikes must have a slightly different rear calliper to my model so we had to cut off the locating tag from the hose banjo and route the line directly forwards rather than slightly inwards towards the wheel per the standard 2014 bike. This is because my calliper has a machined slot where the hose fitting must run. No problems though, it all works perfectly and the hose has clearance from the shock absorber.

With the dry run installation now complete we're satisfied that the wheels are perfectly aligned and rolling sweetly on the axles. Time to remove everything from the bike, polish the wheels then tackle that Outex tubeless kit. I spent about 4 hours installing the kit and the next few days wondering if it was successful, i.e. air tight. I learnt a few tricks during my virgin attempt and will definitely be able to cut down the installation time by at least 15mins next time!! No need to worry about the effectiveness of this conversion, after a week the tyres have not lost any pressure according to my gauge.

Tyres are now fitted and balanced so it's time to fit up the new wheels and test ride. I am delighted with the new look of the bike. These wheels are exactly what the bike needed (IMO) but wait there's more ... the spoked wheels running tubeless are significantly lighter that the original mags resulting is better handling. As you'd expect the bike steers quicker and the suspension is fasert acting with the lower unsprung weight of these wheels - I'm really liking the improved feel of the machine.

Also, whilst the bike was off the road it was an ideal opportunity to powder coat the foot peg frames and the headlight brackets, they're now satin black. Think I should have also recoloured the passenger foot pegs, I may get around to those one day.

The bike is now back on the road and performing like it should. A brief ride today on some country roads confirmed that all is well. The project is mighty close to being finished with all the big jobs done however there's just a handful of little things to do when the motivation returns:
- I can see some braided lines to front brakes and clutch.
- A suspension upgrade front and rear.
- A better exhaust system with a megaphone style can to suit the café style.
- what else???

Here's a bunch of pics:

The wheels fitted with my Dunlop 205's:
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/Wheelset_zpsyday17br.jpg.html]

Stainless Sleeves:
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/Sleeves_zpsmhorf4br.jpg.html]

The Outex tubeless conversion kit (pic from the internet):
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/Outex_zps3qfzmj3c.jpg.html]

Dry installation:
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/Dry%20Assembly_zpspgxdl9fs.jpg.html]

Modified rear brake fitting:
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/Rear%20Calliper%20and%20hose_zpsmnussxcp.jpg.html]

The bike:
[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0161%203_zpsczdvmwpt.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0166%202_zpscb4bbbdr.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0165%202_zps34egnnjl.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0163%203_zpsw30iowf5.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0162%202_zpsv0ebzix6.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0157%202_zpsrdfi5bhm.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0169%203_zpsfxveocj0.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0156%202_zpsppmfcsoq.jpg.html]

[url=http://s121.photobucket.com/user/aussieflyer1100/media/IMG_0167%202_zpsmjbzbtza.jpg.html]