1984 Katana 7/11

[pete]

Cheers David! Definitely feels good to be getting some progress done for sure!

Conveniently the MRA Qld site is down by the looks... typical! Haha

However there seems to be lots of confusion around the rear guards... some say no longer applies but others say it no longer applies to newly imported vehicles only, and only if those vehicles had to have an extension added specifically to gain ADR approval.

Either way I think the safest option is still just to get something that meets the 45 degree rule, and from my initial measurements so far it's going to be very easy to comply with something that fits with what I'm doing. It looks like the height of the number plate mounted pretty much directly below the tail light complies with the 45 degree rule, so that's very simple, neat, and tidy.

On other news, had an eBay seller accept my offer on a GSXR 600/750 master cylinder with remote reservoir which suits what I'm looking for and I have a line on a couple of different options for some foam suitable to carve/shape for the tail piece/seat pan.

Still looking for a headlight assembly yet but I've got feelers out for that.

[pete]

Didn't get as much done yesterday as I'd planned but still some progress. I had to give the 450 a bit of cosmetic TLC and a chain clean/lube job. I also washed the Kat frame down again as I'm keen to see if I need to paint the wheels or not. Seems there's still a hell of a lot of grime on there even after that so they'll have to come off for some proper degrease action at some point.

We did however get the Kat shelter up. Once the crap is moved and some concrete pavers are laid down this is where she'll live with a bike cover over the top. Not as good as a garage but at least I can keep most of the elements off her between the tin and a cover.



And I did at least get the rear tray/inner guard cut out:



I was planning on bending it last night but got distracted evicting a slithering metre long uninvited guest who decided the garage was a cool place to be... not so cool for me I tell ya!

And I've decided to go with the OEM style connectors one of the KA guys has available. The weatherproof ones I was eyeing off from China are extremely cheap for what they are, but they're way too big to be able to route neatly enough. Deutsch connectors would be nice but the price is killing me...

[Tim Tom]

Progress is progress! Definitely go with the round gauge, I like how it gives a nod to the original gauge shape. It's pretty damn cool you are putting this bike back together while missing a whole bunch of factory parts. Keep up the good work mate!

[pete]

Cheers Tim Tom! I'm definitely leaning towards the round gauge... I have an ignition switch now but I've yet to pull the front cowl off again and see what fitting options I have. I also need to check clearance with a headlight in place. However, I think it will sit very neatly beside the round Acewell up there.

I did get my stick of delrin in the mail yesterday so now I can finish up the tail light assembly.



And last night I got the rear tray/inner guard mostly bent to shape:



I'll need to get the ramp down to the rear bent closer to where it needs to sit but it looks like my angles for the sides will join up pretty much spot on there. Once done, I'll be getting this one welded.

I'll wait until I can see how the tail light fits in before bending the rear up as I may need to trim that back yet if it's a little long.

It sits in nicely, just need to tidy up the front a bit where it meets the front inner guard so it lines up properly.





Mounting is the next concern.

I'll be putting two nuts/bolts in to attach it to the front inner guard, and will use some stainless steel rivets to attach 4 flat pieces of the 1mm aluminium where the tail piece mounts are so it will sit on them and bolt down.

The concern is the rear.

My intention at this point is to make a bracket that bolts to the indicator mounts and extends to the rear of the tray. Given the flex/vibration with the tail light there I plan on using steel rather than aluminium. I have some 1mm thick steel sheet and some 3mm thick steel plate. I'm not sure the 1mm is thick/sturdy enough but the 3mm seems like overkill to me. Any other ideas on that from those more experienced than I? The rear guard/number plate bracket will also hang off this.

If I was clever enough I could also design a bracket to slot in the end of the frame rails...

[pete]

Presents arrived yesterday...





Aside from a crack in the throttle tube which I knew about, they both look to be in good condition but I'll put a piston and cup kit in the master cylinder regardless and replace the hose as well. No shortcuts with brakes! I like the adjustable lever too!

It does however confirm in my mind that the round Acewell on the dash should work well and not be obscured by any cables.

Still need to get a clutch perch.

And as a bonus I didn't realise the master cylinder had a mirror mount...



I got back into the tail light last night and almost have the first mounting post trimmed down to the correct length from the delrin. It's a bit tedious but once I get the first one right the second will be easier... then rinse repeat for the longer ones. No photos because... well... there's not much to show yet really.

I have decided though that I'll drill and tap the tail light base and use some long M3 stainless socket head bolts to secure the LED strip and lense to.

With any luck I'll also be swapping one of the KA boys some $$$ for connectors on Sunday which means I can start the harness soon once I finalise the diagram and work out what lengths/colours of cables I'll need. I'm looking forward to that bit!

[pete]

I got all six posts cut/trimmed to size. They're not perfect but they'll work for what I need them to do just fine.



Then drilled and tapped the mounting holes for the LED strip only as I need to work out a technique for marking/measuring the lense mounting holes as they're a little trickier.



Seems I've mounted it a little higher than where the stock bulb sits but I don't think it'll make a difference.



Figured out how to drill a hole through the posts by drilling a hole the size of the outside diameter in a bit of timber first. First hole was a tad big.



Worked great although the first one wasn't lined up 100% but these are for the LED strip so don't have to be perfectly centred.





And I got a preview of how it will look by hooking my charger to my old battery... hard to tell the brightness like this on the workbench but looks like it'll be fine to me. I definitely need a new lense to see properly though. You can't look at the brake light at this short distance without pain...

[pete]

I got the holes marked out and drilled for the lense last night and they're accurate enough for this little black duck.

I used a long nail to punch a mark where I thought the hole should be then took some measurements afterwards to double check. One was lined up right, the other three were off a mm or two... In hindsight I probably should've just measured...

Anyway, all holes drilled but I only had the energy to tap two last night:



Just need to tap the last two then I can work out the proper length of the rear inner guard/ tray and finish that up ready to get it welded.

[pete]

I took this the other day but never ended up posting it. Here's my plan for the ignition/instrument mounts under the top triple. Fiddling around shows it should work to keep the control block wires neat and tidy from full lock left to right.



I finished tapping the holes yesterday so aside from mounting holes the backing plate is all done. I may enlarge the hole for the wiring to take a grommet yet though. Needs a good clean up once I'm finished too.



All done.



For those who are curious, that's almost 100mm of extra space reclaimed under the seat.



And to answer the question of what the extra two prong switched plug was for on my original wiring diagram, they're for this which will go somewhere under the seat and be switched by one of the side cover switches that always seem to remain unused.

[Weasel]

Nice work.

[pete]

Cheers mate!

I now have some stainless steel rivets so I can get started on the mounts for the rear inner/tray guard tonight hopefully.

I also grabbed some connectors from a mate yesterday so once I finish the wiring diagram I can get started on the harness. That's gonna be a real slow job though as it's my first time doing one and I want to make sure I get it laid out the best way possible along the bike frame.

[pete]

Got the four mounting tabs done for the rear tray/inner guard last night.

I know rivets are not necessarily the most ideal solution but I've used stainless steel and they won't have to support much, they're more to stop it flexing and moving around.







There's about a 5mm gap between the rear of the tray and where the tail light needs to sit which should be pretty much spot on for some rubber I have here so I can reduce the vibes to the light.

I need to trim the angles at the front so it meets the front inner guard nicely, then I can drill the holes to attach those two together.

I also need to get the support bracket done for the rear. I think I'll use the 3mm plate I have here which is a bit of overkill but I don't want to risk vibes and cracking with anything too light.

And thanks to a KA member I now have a bike cover so I can move her to the Kat shelter once it's ready to go.

[Fjbj40]

Pop rivets/blind rivets have a habit of loosening after awhile. A step to prevent it is to use some 2 part adhesive between the parts to be fastened and to dip the rivet before installation. To make it pretty just wipe off the excess once all rivets are pulled.

As always she is coming along very nicely, your doing a great job!

Cheers

[pete]

Cheers mate!

Using rivets in areas with vibration always worries me which is why I went the stainless steel so they shouldn't stretch at least.

However, I'm thinking of getting someone to weld the tray together unlike what I did with the battery/electrics tray so it has a bit more structural integrity, so I think it might be best if I also get them to weld those tabs in place. I just need to finish up the rear support bracket and tidying up the front first so I know it's all good to go.

[pete]

Haven't had a lot of time on the Kat lately but I have managed to make some progress and get the rear guard and tail light mounting sorted... I think.

I decided on some 1.6mm steel for the guard as road vibrations don't tend to cause it to flex and break like aluminium.

I did some conservative 45 degree measurements so it should be fine from a blue tape perspective also.





I wasn't clever enough to do anything too fancy in regards to the tail light mount, although in hindsight I possibly should've used steel for the rear tray which meant I could've incorporated the tail light mount into it.

However, I ended up cutting the very back of the tray off and bending up a mount from the steel instead, again to ensure road vibrations don't flex and break it.

I've got a rubber strip between the mount and tail light also.





And it all seems to locate the tail light in the correct spot.

[tatu]

Very nice progress, just a thought, might it be worth putting some drain holes into your trays?