Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

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tony.mon
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by tony.mon »

Good to hear you're still drifting along. Most specials go this way, they big bits go fastest, then the little fiddly bits take weeks with no visible progress. But you'll get there.

Coming to Devon on it?
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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sirch345
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by sirch345 »

Varastorm wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:55 pm Hi guys, not really much to update on the build tbh. I've mostly been completing little jobses that are time consuming but needed sorting before I felt I could move forward.

Also the cameras knackered, no amount of bashing on the bench fixed it either pfff..

First job was that the Weber dcoe 6mm trumpet fastening threaded holes had been drilled out to 8mm god knows why.
A length of 8mm od 6mm id stainless tube was purchased & four 10.5mm long tubes were turned down to insert into the oversized holes enabling the recently purchased shorter trumpets to fit & bolt up correctly & they allow me to also fit the 100mm deep K&N filter.

I also drilled out the air corrector jets to 200 (2mm) from 160 (1.6mm) as recommended.

I was also stuck on how to fit the Cbr1100 blackbird oil cooler. It's huge, but I've managed to squeeze it between the bellypan & front header. I made a complicated stainless bracket utilising the bellpan fastening bolts. Theres not much room, about a millimeter or two either side as the bracket feeds between the starter motor & the bellypan. It was a pig to line up as there's nothing really to use as a center line, so I've gone with the middle of the bellypan & hope it's the middle of the bike. The cooler bolts up on the standard fitting rubber mounts so should be good to go.

The oil cooler pipes were another issue as they stick out at 8 o'clock & 4 o'clock forcing the pipes out wide & vulnerable. If this death trap does handle they might ground out when hard cornering. So somethig had to be done.

I was originally going to use stainless 10mm inline connectors but after hours of searching & reading I decided to go with short (cut down) all flexible oem pipes from a Cbr600 f1 Hurricane (the fittings were not used, only the pipe). The Cbr1100 cooler & VTR engine pipe fittings were removed by grinding the swages off & fittings reused.

Now many will frown about this, but for the cooler fitting I cut into the tube (under the old swage fitting) taking a wedge out of the pipe then squeezing it together & welding it back up. This corrected the pipe direction & it now points towards the engine oil cooler fitting. Difficult to explain now that the camera is broken. After careful cleaning inside the pipe there's no loose bits or restrictions that could cause any issues.

The hurricane oil pipes were then cut to length & a propane torch used to heat/melt the ends then wet fingers to mold them smooth to prevent them unraveling & give it that professional look :lol: . Sounds botchy because it is, but you'd never know if I didnt tell. Jubilee clips hold them on atm but small Mikalor W4's will be purchased & fitted.

I've also mounted the Sv650 radiator but will update on that another day (when I sort a camera)

Hope every one had a nice Christmas & Happy new year. :thumbup:
A Happy New Year to you too, ta :thumbup:

Good to hear from you. It sounds like you have been busy again :clap:

As Tony says, it's the little jobs that take the time with not a huge amount to show for it,

Chris.
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

tony.mon wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 7:34 pm Good to hear you're still drifting along. Most specials go this way, they big bits go fastest, then the little fiddly bits take weeks with no visible progress. But you'll get there.

Coming to Devon on it?
So true Tony, it's so demoralising.

I know what I want the project to look like & it would be so easy to cut corners & to end up building something I didn't set out to build. I joke about it being a slippery slope similar elasticated jeans. A couple of wrong moves & I'm making a streetfighter or zipping up elasticated jeans I don't want. That's why I quit for a few months tbh.

The wiring got to me as well & that crap ebay messed with loom didn't help matters. Thats now been stripped & the matching wires have been raided & used to make a mini loom from the loom plugs to the Atx 20 pin Chinese clock plug. What a faff, but now they all match up colour wise & crimped & soldered up to avoid any other phantom electrical issues.

I ordered a fan temp switch the other day. A handfull of clicks & it was mine, it only took all day to find one that switched at 98°, fitted to the 18mm Sv650 rad hole & was fitted with a single spade connector same as the Vtr item. All freaking day.. faff.

It's from a 1980's Citroen BX if anyone's intrested.

I've been under the bike all day making/finishing off a slick minimalistic lower support for the radiator. I'm utilising the two front facing 6mm threads from the front head. Not too keen tbh but not much else there apart from rocker cover bolts & they're a no no in my book. It's not to bad tbh.

Looking forward to fitting the rad switch & goofing with the hoses. Then finding a home for the ignition switch. Oh & finding a radiator fan that fits for the new radiator switch to switch on.. Balls.
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

sirch345 wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 10:44 pm

A Happy New Year to you too, ta :thumbup:

Good to hear from you. It sounds like you have been busy again :clap:

As Tony says, it's the little jobs that take the time with not a huge amount to show for it,

Chris.
Hi Chris Cheers.

I gave it a break for a few months. Done a heap of gardening, cleared the Hedge (22 trees) often seen in my photo's & got myself a Hottub.

Ever seen the fim Sexy Beast :beer:


Image
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

Been busy doing small minor jobs today but ones that needed to be done.

I've been soldering up previously crimped connectors on the small controls loom I made. I did feel that they were good enough & survived the tug test, but I soldered them up just in case.

They consisted of both ends of the clutch lever connectors & the horn connections.

I have been attempting to not modify the Vtr loom at all but I had to chop off the rear light/brake plugs because they plug directly into the VTR rear light. Then I fitted a (3 way Honda style) plug female to the loom & male to the rear light. I now have a brake light that works, I'm chuffed to bits.

I then tidied up the loom & routed it correctly under the tank. Tank on, seat on & a brake light that works not only with the handleber lever but with the foot pedal also. woohoo.

Slowly chipping away..
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Duffy1964
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Duffy1964 »

Baby steps but good progress, well done keep at it.


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Duffy1964
Yellow 1997 Storm R.I.P. Orange 2000 Streetfighter (Rufus), Red & Silver 1968 Triumph Trophy 650, Blue 2003 Storm Project, Red 2007 Montesa Cota Trials 250 & 1959 BSA D7 175cc Bantam Trials Project
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sirch345
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by sirch345 »

Varastorm wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 12:16 am
sirch345 wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 10:44 pm

A Happy New Year to you too, ta :thumbup:

Good to hear from you. It sounds like you have been busy again :clap:

As Tony says, it's the little jobs that take the time with not a huge amount to show for it,

Chris.
Hi Chris Cheers.

I gave it a break for a few months. Done a heap of gardening, cleared the Hedge (22 trees) often seen in my photo's & got myself a Hottub.

Ever seen the fim Sexy Beast :beer:


Image
A break from an intensive bike build is sometimes just what you need so you can refocus.
You have been busy in the garden :clap:

Nice to have a hot-tub, one of my brother's has one. No I've not seen that film, are you in it :wink:
Varastorm wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 12:04 am

I ordered a fan temp switch the other day. A handfull of clicks & it was mine, it only took all day to find one that switched at 98°, fitted to the 18mm Sv650 rad hole & was fitted with a single spade connector same as the Vtr item. All freaking day.. faff.

It's from a 1980's Citroen BX if anyone's intrested.

Now that is what I call dedication :clap:

Chris.
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

Cheers guys :thumbup:

I can't get over it, but I've been at it again today. Not too sure what's come over me tbh & I'm enjoying it too.

Today I focused on the oil cooler bracket. It's a strong complicated little stainless bracket & tbh you can hardly see it, but when every thing is bolted up tight there's a little too much movement for my liking.

The big issue is the starter motors live connector bolt is only 10mm away from the oil rad & I feel it's not good enough, they might touch. So this afternoon I removed the bellypan brackets to strengthen them & realised they're aluminium..

So I made some cardboard templates & made some 5mm stainless replicas right down to the deep bellypan nuts.

Then I fitted it all together & it cured the wobble, woohoo. Another day & another job done that no one will ever see :lol: But this now this allows me to fill her back up with oil.

The Citroen BX temp switch has arrived & it fits great. I'll check it against the VTR item in a pot on the stove before fitting just to make sure it works & switches at the same/similar temp. If I can't get a fan that fits to switch on, I might connect it to a horn :lol: we'll see.

Last word, if anyone is thinking of using or going down the SV650 radiator route (I'm not sure if it'll work yet). The required switch is a

( Intermotor Temperature Switch 53675 )

I'll test tomorrow & update switching temps :thumbup:
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Duffy1964
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Duffy1964 »

Great progress, I’m interested about the SV route as may be handy for my fighter


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Duffy1964
Yellow 1997 Storm R.I.P. Orange 2000 Streetfighter (Rufus), Red & Silver 1968 Triumph Trophy 650, Blue 2003 Storm Project, Red 2007 Montesa Cota Trials 250 & 1959 BSA D7 175cc Bantam Trials Project
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fabiostar
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by fabiostar »

good to see your back at it again :thumbup:
the older i get,the faster i was :lol:
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

Duffy1964 wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:59 am Great progress, I’m interested about the SV route as may be handy for my fighter Image


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Sorry Duffy, I didn't get around to setting up the switches. I will do it soon though.
fabiostar wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:07 pm good to see your back at it again :thumbup:
Hi Fabio, I'm still chipping away matey.

Sorry Guys still no pictures but things are still happening

Update on the cooling system & the hunt for nice'n tidy pipes for the water works. I bought a set of Sv650 hoses (same diameter) £8 delivered from ebay. They arrived but none of them fit nicely in one run, but a mixture of both (Vtr/Sv) combined "half'n half" might work. So I've ordered a length of 25mm dia stainless inline connector. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, so I moved on to the seat fixing.

The seat fixing. This was another job I've been dreading, there's not much room down there & I need to make sure I can still feed the loom through the tight gaps once the engine's bolted in the frame. Ideally I would of liked to weld a crossmember across the two seat spars & it could also be used to support the rear of the tank (mounting rubber), but doing so would prevent me feeding the loom through the frame when the engine is in place. So it needed a good idea.

The idea I came up with was still having a crossmember but it would be a removable stainless flat bar & this would sit on top & bolt to the seat spars. I then marked it up square & drilled two 12mm holes in the seat spars. Then I turned down two 12.30mm diameter 8mm threaded slugs & pressed them (tight fit) into the frame so they're flush. Then I drilled & countersunk the stainless flat bar crossmember so when it's all bolted up it's strong, tidy & pleasing to the eye. The slugs will be fully welded in when the frame is stripped.

I then fitted the tank along with the rear mounting rubber & the seat. Once lined up straight I marked the stainless crossmember with a scriber through the rubber mounting hole. Thing is, the cheap petrol tank is all over the place, it's rear mounting is wonky. This causes the centre of the tank mounting rubber to be off to one side. There's not much I can do apart from "humouring" it, it's an old saying that I use to get things to work/look tidy. I then pull it apart again & in the centre of the scribed mark on the crossmember I weld a short machined piece of 8mm threaded tube. When it was all cooled down I bolted the tank down properly for the first time.

Woo hoo, but what a faff, now I've got to sus out fastening the seat. :thumbup:
tony.mon
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by tony.mon »

Know what you mean about things not being centered, the Storm rear shock upper mount always offended my eye by not being central as soon as I took the seat off.
I know it couldn't clear the exhaust otherwise.
If it was properly off to one side, fine. But a few mm just looks wrong.

You don't notice it at the bottom end.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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sirch345
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by sirch345 »

I think you're doing very well, considering how this wet and cold weather is not exactly over inspiring to getting yourself into the workshop, especially if like me you have no heat in it :lol:
Although I must admit when I was younger I didn't take that much notice of the cold like I do now :(

Here I am going on about the cold, it hasn't really been that cold down here yet :shh:

Chris.
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

tony.mon wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:47 am Know what you mean about things not being centered, the Storm rear shock upper mount always offended my eye by not being central as soon as I took the seat off.
I know it couldn't clear the exhaust otherwise.
If it was properly off to one side, fine. But a few mm just looks wrong.

You don't notice it at the bottom end.
Yeah, I'm the same Tony, that little bit is enought to make it look like you don't care & a dodgy job. As you say, the rear view looks iffy on this project as well.
sirch345 wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 1:07 pm I think you're doing very well, considering how this wet and cold weather is not exactly over inspiring to getting yourself into the workshop, especially if like me you have no heat in it :lol:
Although I must admit when I was younger I didn't take that much notice of the cold like I do now :(

Here I am going on about the cold, it hasn't really been that cold down here yet :shh:

Chris.
Cheers Chris, today it's really cold, the wind chill isn't helping & it's making it feel like minus 1. I should of covered my potatoes last night :eek2

I never used to feel the cold when I way younger either, now heated grips are mandatory equipment on every winter ride :thumbup:


I've been looking for a cheap camera & purchased a £35, 20 megapixle effort from Argos. What a load of crap, I took some pictures but they were very poor quality, so I took it back.

Right then, now according to AMA flattrack rules ( I know but it has to look the part.. ) the front number board has to be fitted on/parallel to the forks. The problem is the top yoke ignition key support casting thingy prevents this, so grinder out & off it came. I'm not sure if I posted about this at the time, but I cut it a while ago & it looked awful. It left a big gap comparable to two missing front teeth & needed sorting.

So last week I removed the offending yoke, removed the handlebar clamps & bolted it in the vice. Wound the tig welder up to 100 amps AC, helmet on & proceeded to fill the offending gap up with 3mm filler rod. Ten minutes in & all hell brakes loose with black smoke pouring from the anti vibration rubbers which are on fire. Doh Panic mixed with a little disappointment sets in as I quickly take the smoking disaster out side so I can breath & see what I've done. Ffs.. I remove the two rubbers. that haven't fallen out, clamp it up & finish filling it up.

Whilst it & I were cooling down I proceded to turn down some steel bar on the lathe to make four replica non-antivibration handle bar mounts, Another 4 hour job no one will see.. then with a 4" grinder equipped flap wheel shape the yoke to make it look as slick as possible. Tbh, to the untrained eye you'd never know it was touched after a thorough wire wooling to clean off all the tarnishing

Another little/big job was the upper number board mount. Whilst faffing with the above, I decided that because there was going to be no movement in the handlebar mounting bolts (because of the solid mounts ). I could use them to hold the board bracket. So I bolted some 20mm dia 4mm thick stainless 8mm washers onto the bottom of the handlebar mounts. Then tacked up two small pieces of shaped (bent) 10mm dia stainless Yacht rigging to the washers. The correct distance was worked out for them to touch making an "A". Then the mounting bolts/nuts were really tightened making sure there would be no movement, then I partley turned down a short length of a stainless 8mm threadded long nut (originally 50mm long).

The "A" section's tip was then cut away in two parallel (ll) cuts & the threadded long nut was placed in between & tacked up. To finish it off, another thick 8mm washer was tacked on the end of the nut & then the whole thing was welded up. Another little job sorted but a propper Faff again.

Here's a couple of poor pictures with it all fitted together. Ignore the 9 on the board, it's to piss my mate off

Image

Image

As you can see, the camers was pants.
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Varastorm
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Re: Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

Post by Varastorm »

Right then, my old man came around today for a panad (cup of tea) & handed me a box. There ya go lad, what's that? I ask.
A camera he answers. £30 offof ebay. I open it up & it's a Panasonic DMC-LX3

Image

Look's as if I'm back on track :D
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