1984 Katana 7/11

[Guest]

Just a little bit more done last night, got the mounting sorted for the electrics/battery tray. Like the mounting tabs on the rear tray/inner guard I'll probably look at getting the mounting tabs welded rather than just riveted.

Pretty happy with the way it sits though.

 

[Guest]

Well work is still getting me exhausted so zero energy lately for my usual bit of time to work on the Kat at night.


However I did manage to find a dirt cheap complete headlight assembly in the UK with what looks like a good headlight and only surface rust on the mounts/brackets. It's been shipped already apparently so fingers crossed it arrives safe and sound and does look as good as the photos. At less than $80 including shipping I couldn't say no.


I also stood in the shed for a while looking at the seat and tail piece trying to work out the best way of getting started on the fibreglass mould.


Right now I think the best way will be to remove the metal tongue from the seat, then tape and seal the bottom up and use a couple of layers of fibreglass and make a mould of that section. Looks like the trickiest bit is going to be getting that shape right to fit with a tongue and align properly with the seat mount.


I can do this same process to get a mould for the front section that fits around the tank also.


For the pillion part of the seat and the tail piece, I'll use the foam I've got to shape that and I can attach that to the fibreglass mould of the front section so the whole thing ends up as a one piece mould that should in theory work well.


The only tricky bit I can see at the moment is that I'll be trying to replicate the exact (or close to it) shape of the tail piece and it slightly curves under at the bottom and rear.


I'm starting to wonder if it might be better to make the mould in two halves split around the centre of what would be the pillion seat area. That way I could remove the front section of the mould first and the rear section would be able to come forward to make it easier to remove. As long as I tape them together securely while laying the fibreglass I can't see that having any impact on the shape of the piece.


Anyone got any other bright ideas or suggestions? I hope that all makes sense...

 

[Guest]

Can someone confirm for me where the ignitor is mounted on a stock Kat? It looks to me like it mounts to the side of the battery tray as the holes line up perfectly, but I'm not real sure.

Basically I'm trying to work out if I can mount it to the right side of my battery/electrics tray under the right hand side cover and still have enough length in the signal generator and ignitor wiring for them to plug together.

Also, I got as far as taping up the front part of the seat bottom yesterday. I added some cardboard to flatten it out a bit and still have to glad wrap it then add some more tape just to be confident none of the resin or release agents will get through to the seat itself.





Need to get myself some fibreglassing stuff this week as what I have currently has gone off due to age.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Looks like you're using duck tape for molding epoxy, I dunno if that releases so good. I do know that epoxy does not stick to packing tape at all. I think it's made of polyester.

 

[John Kat]

Can someone confirm for me where the ignitor is mounted on a stock Kat? It looks to me like it mounts to the side of the battery tray as the holes line up perfectly, but I'm not real sure.

Basically I'm trying to work out if I can mount it to the right side of my battery/electrics tray under the right hand side cover and still have enough length in the signal generator and ignitor wiring for them to plug together.

You are right.
Here's a picture:

 

[Guest]

Thanks guys!

Bill: Yep that's duct tape, still have to wrap it in plastic and another layer to ensure it's 100% sealed. I'll be using a release agent to ensure the matting doesn't stick to it though. After reading up a bit more on fibreglassing I'll be using polyester resin. It's a lot cheaper than epoxy resin and for this application it will work just fine.

John: Cheers for the confirmation. That should mean my plan will work for mounting it to the side of my battery/electrics tray.

 

[Guest]

Got my headlight yesterday! Lense is in near perfect shape but the frame etc. has a bunch of surface rust to be taken care of yet. For less than $80 shipped I ain't complainin'! The worst of it is near the adjuster screw but I can't see anything that can't be fixed with a wire brush, some rust converter, primer, and paint.







However, something is not quite right with the mounting... with the front cowl on it seems to sit low, yet the holes in the subframe for the top mounting bolts seem to be too low also.

I tried both cowls I've got here and both are the same and I can't see any way that I could've mounted up the subframe incorrectly either.

As far as I know all the Kats use the same subframe and headlight assembly... so am I wrong here and have I ordered something incorrectly? Or is this perhaps not a Kat headlight? It certainly looks right but of course this is the first time I'm looking at one off the bike...







Anyone got any bright ideas?

 

[SVSooke]

I'm having trouble seeing anything wrong with where the light sits.The assembly looks close if not the same as the ones on the 83^ GS750ES/F bikes. IIRC they never quite seem to be exactly centered to the fairing there either.

 

[Guest]

Cheers Greg... I think I figured that bit out. It looks like the rubber mount on the bottom of the assembly is perished, so it's sitting lower than it should. I don't think it will end up perfectly centred but I think what you're saying is right, they're never really dead centre anyway.

However there's still confusion around the side mounting holes in the headlight housing. The subframe has the holes lower down and they don't quite match up.

The most confusing bit of all is that all the numbers on the headlight and housing seem to match up with other guys numbers over on the KA forum, so the difference is a bit perplexing.

 

[Guest]

So by all accounts over on the KA forum it looks like it's a Kat headlight assembly, just noone's come up with an answer on why it's a little different yet...

After a good suggestion I'm probably going to knock the nuts off the back of the side holes, weld in some steel, and drill and tap new holes to suit the correct position. I have to fix all that surface rust on it anyway so I'm not potentially destroying something shiny and new...

 

[Guest]

I got the ignitor mounted up yesterday, I'm really hoping there's enough length to allow the signal generator to plug in as normal. It's higher in the frame this way but closer to the right side also. Not that it's a big deal if I need to extend it a bit.





On another topic, one thing I did work out with the headlight in place is that there is no way the GSX ignition switch I got will fit. The base is just way too bulky and either hits on the back of the headlight or on the fork stanchion.

Looking closely at it, the majority of the bulk is there for the steering lock, so I figure if I can get the barrel out, I might be able to shorten it signficantly and remove a lot of that bulk, meaning it will be much easier to mount and make things much neater.

I tried dismantling it yesterday but no joy so far. Apparently there are three roll pins holding the mechanism in. None of my small drill bits want to work to drill the pins out and I can't find screws small enough to thread in to pull them out.

Anyone else tried dismantling a lock like this? Any thoughts/tips?

 

[Guest]

I did get it dismantled last night, but there was collateral damage... the three holes around the circumference are actually for roll pins which it turns out are quite tough to remove! Nigh on impossible if you have no clue like me... I started trying to drill them out...

I thought I had it when one side appeared to move a touch when levering it up, so I persevered with drilling the other two. I thought I had them as I swear it was levering up a little, but I must've imagined it as the alloy cracked on one side... said bugger it and did the other as well. Was really hoping not to destroy it but you get that... just need to make up an alternative much shorter/less bulkier housing and should be good for a neat little genuine Suzuki ignition switch. Hopefully I can drill and tap the roll pin holes for some grub screws or something similar.





I also ordered a bunch of little bits and pieces from Mick Hone including a seat lock and latch and the headlight cushions.

That should be enough to get the headlight mounting sorted so I can work out the ignition switch location, and also get me sorted with the correct positioning when making the seat/tail piece mould and getting it glassed.

Just gotta get some glassing materials so I can start on that process also.

 

[Guest]

Putting a list together of the fibreglassing materials I'll need... feel free to chip in with any bits or pieces I'm missing or anything that's out of whack...

My guess is I'll end up with 3 to 4 square metres by the time I finish the Kat seat/tail piece and do the 450 seat as well, so quantities below are based on that and whatever's the best value to purchase.

5 metres 450gm chopped strand mat
4kg polyester resin
1kg white gelcoat
100mL MEKP
311gm Release wax
1L PVA liquid release agent

I'll also be grabbing a bunch of wooden tongue depressors, rubber gloves, mixing/measuring containers, etc.

The goal really is as follows:

I'll use the bottom front of the seat and probably the rear of the tail piece as moulds to create a fibreglass mould.

These will be stuck to some foam which I'll use to shape the "pillion" area and join the two moulds made above.

Get that all shaped nicely, protect the foam with plastic/tape as required, then gelcoat it all.

Wax then liquid PVA and make the piece.

The same process will be used to create the actual seat that will be upholstered and then bolted to the longer piece... if that makes sense...

 

[nvr2old]

Sounds like a plan, Pete. Didn't see in your list..paint brushes for spreading out the resin over the matt. You probably already know, but just throwin' that out. Get cheap ones..at your local hardware store..get lots of them. Use once, toss it. Cleaning them is near impossible. I'll be anxious to see the progress.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

I like rollers as well to help get as much air out of the part or repair being made as possible.

 

[Guest]

Hahaha yes Larry, lots of brushes!!! That is definitely something on my list! So obvious I missed including it

Yep Shadow, definitely... as per below

Dug out my left over supplies from the 450 tail piece and I have 2/3 to 3/4 of a metre of CSM in there plus the compression roller:

 

[Guest]

One of the guys over on KA corrected my use of gelcoat... as I'm making a male mould I should be using flowcoat otherwise the gelcoat will never go off and cure as it is constantly exposed to air.

 

[Guest]

Well I haven't been completely idle lately, but not a whole lot of time on the Kat unfortunately.


This is what I've got done...


Warning, the next few photos show my welding... it can be scary!


To get the headlight housing to fit, I knocked the nuts off the back of the frame with a cut off wheel on the dremel, then welded on a couple of steel offcuts a few mm thick.


I also managed to fill the original holes somewhat reasonably.


My welding is improving with the MIG but my grinding is getting even better... I'm still managing to burn a hole through thin bits here and there.


Now I just need to work out the location of the new holes and drill and tap them.








I also got the joins welded on the tail light bracket and rear mudguard.


Again slightly improved welding and much improved grinding...








I've made a decision to steal another guy's idea after looking hard at the seat and tail piece... I was hoping to be able to use the inside of the tail piece to make a mould from, but the shape of it is going to make that pretty impossible to do so I would have to go back from carving/shaping it from foam which would be a bit of a nightmare.


The rider's seat will have foam of course but the pillion area will be fibreglass but upholstered over the top so you can't sit on it but it will still look right.


I'm making the front section of the mould from the existing seat pan and will shape the pillion area from some foam.


Got the matting cut out:





Double checked the tape appears to seal the seat nicely and applied some PVA release agent (I did spread the pooling out after taking this):





I was planning on 6 layers to give the mould a real sturdy base but stopped at 4 as it was getting a bit unworkable as I think I wet it way too much:





One mistake I made which I hope doesn't come back to bite me is I didn't wet the matting out before laying it on. I remembered I should've done this about half way through... that's why the very edges aren't wet. As they're over the edge of where the mould will end I'm hopeful it won't matter.


I'll probably add one more layer to the bottom and another to the top once it's cured, the top layer will be so I have enough material to sand back and make smooth.


The cold weather at the moment means it's still a bit wet and hasn't cured yet so I can't try to remove it from the seat... fingers crossed it sealed well and no resin has gotten through to the seat pan.


And finally, I think I have my ignition switch sorted ready to make a new housing for it.


I used some plastic rod I've got here to make a sort of adapter which is much shorter than what's in the stock barrel that activates the steering lock.





Ends up about 20mm shorter than stock and will also let it be a hell of a lot less bulky.





Once I work out a housing for it, I'll mount it under the right side cover like so:





Still plenty more to go but at least I've got a little done...

 

[Big Rich]

ANY progress is still progress Pete. A project like this is only one bolt (weld / grind / etc) at a time.

Kepp up the good work buddy!

 

[Guest]

Cheers Rich! And yeah you're right, any progress at the moment is good. Sure is nice to be moving again!

The resin was still a bit sticky on the underside last night so I'll check it again tonight.

I did forget to mention I'm 99% done on the second draft of the harness, so I'll chuck that up once I'm done. It's still a bit messy and tricky to read but nearly there.