1984 Katana 7/11

[pete]

Haha cheers guys! Electrickery is just that... but at least when it comes to 12V stuff I still have a small clue. The real fun I've discovered is how to make the wires long enough without being too long... and how to lay them out so you don't end up with a harness that's become a permanent part of the frame without having to cut it off again...

It's certainly a different world to modifying a stock harness to suit one's needs, but hopefully in the end it will mean a neater job than a hacked up stock one.

Plus, this buys me time while I wait for the funds to build up again. I have a few bits to order next pay but the pay after that I'm hoping will pay for the tank dent repair, which will then mean everything's ready for paint prep once the front cowl is repaired (next step once the harness is done).

[Charlie G]

Pete, Some how I got unsubscribed to your thread and boy have you made some progress! Nice to be back.

[pete]

Cheers Charlie! Yep it's awesome to actually be getting somewhere again, hopefully I can keep the momentum going this time.

[laxcdn]

Nice layout for the box. I want to do something like that for my project, but am also going to go with an RFID ignition to get rid of the key, so will need to have a bit bigger box.

[pete]

Cheers! A fella on another Kat I ride with has done that with his. The way he fitted it in was to have a flat tray all the way under his seat which is where all his electrics have gone, and his battery is in the tail piece.

The big thing with his setup though is that he's running a Kawasaki ZX front end and swingarm/wheels etc. which actually gives him a lot more clearance above the rear wheel and it doesn't bottom out on the flat tray.

If you have stock running gear, typically a flat tray is not possible as the wheel will hit it before the shocks bottom out, which is why you can see the rear inner guard on mine isn't flat. I've checked that there's still a little clearance between the top of the tyre and the tray with the springs removed and the shocks against the bump stops.

[pete]

Got the left indicator bracket sorted. Bent and shortened what I'd made earlier and now it sits much nicer. I also checked against a loaned front cowl and it will sit just behind the shark fins.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Bit hard to see but there's plenty of clearance to the fork leg. Now to make it's mirror.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also picked up a horn and made the mount for it so I can do that bit of the harness also. It's a Stebel and actually has a really good tone, no meep meep on the Kat!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[pete]

Technically if I had a motor I could have fired the Kat up this week as the harness is really close. Of course the dodgy Motobatt I'm testing with wouldn't even crank the 450 let alone a Kat...

All the lights are functional and the ignitor and coils are hooked up.

The horn, oil pressure switch, and neutral wires are the only ones left to terminate aside from the battery wires themselves, although of course there's no dash yet so there's a bunch of loose wires ready for that.

I tried to get a video but it's a bit hard in the shed so will do that on the weekend with a horn sound test as well. I just got some dodgy pic's for the moment.

I also need to see how that tail light is in the sun.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[Skinner]

Excellent build and a great thread! I just picked up a 1982 GSX750 Katana myself. It's currently in several pieces in my garage as I clean things up and do the maintenance required of a 35 year old bike. Your build is inspirational and I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.

Cheers!
K

[pete]

Cheers mate! Yep, saw your Kat purchase, good score! This is basically my dream bike, have wanted a Kat for years and I'm finally making it a reality. I'm fortunate enough to have a bunch of guys locally here who all have Kats and we meet and ride regularly, so it'll be great to finally have my own in amongst them.

[pete]

I haven't done an update for a while, but only due to not having much to actually get pic's of. I've still been doing stuff.

I decided to not start the bodywork just yet and instead focus on actually finishing some stuff off as it's bugging me being in the middle of several things.

The battery/electrics tray, inner guard, rear guard, tail light bracket, etc. were all in need of a little finishing and paint so I figured I'd make the indicator brackets and centre stand bump stop, then paint it all so something else was actually complete.

Bump stop is made, pretty sure it will let the stand come up high enough so there won't be any clearance issues.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also made the little storage box for under the "pillion" area. This will be foam lined later on and lets me charge a phone, GoPro battery, whatever while on the move. I've yet to make a lid but that's not a big issue.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The job this week is to prep everything for paint and hope like hell it's not a wet weekend next weekend so I can actually get it done.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[Charlie G]

You're getting dam good at making those boxes! Loving the red.

[pete]

Haha cheers Charlie! They're not perfect but they don't turn out too bad considering the bends are done with a bench vice, some clamps, and some timber. That red still makes me stop and stare quite regularly too

[pete]

I might get lucky with the weather, seems I may have time this morning to get the etch primer and primer surfacer done.

Everything is prep'd ready and has had a once over with wax and grease remover, I do need to give the number plate mount a quick once over with rust converter though.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Incidentally I'm really happy with how the shed turned out. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes to expand it and get the tarps and plastic up to seal it. The sealing's been great with the aerosol paint too, have to wait and see if it's effective with the compressor and two pack though.

[pete]

Seems I had a win yesterday, the humidity probably wasn't ideal but the temperature was good and the rain held off in the morning so I went for it.

Two coats of self etching primer, two coats of primer surfacer done.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Got another break yesterday avo and got four coats of satin black done.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[nvr2old]

Hanging parts makes it so much easier, eh, Pete..? Looks good.