Rear frame on and battery and seat

Temporary put exhaust on to try and understand where it can go and how deep it drops under the engine. Seat temporarily fixed on the rear frame. Looks ok. Have to get a tyre put on the rear wheel. Tank sits in but might try my tlr tank.

Bit more , wheel on but I've lost the proper caliper bolts.

Engine in

30 mins and the engine is in....

Rebuild

Forks on in correct position now, opened out the swingarm shock hole ( about 4 mm taken off)so the Vfr shock fits without snagging, swingarm bearings re greased, no play so good to keep. All swingarm linkages attached but not torqued up. Finally positioned engine under the frame ready but just as I was getting going the wife wanted me to hold the baby..

Rebuild

Managed to get 30mins in the garage, the frame is all painted, laquered. Started of by fitting the the bottom yoke and top, making sure plenty of grease squashed in around the tapered bearings.
Just got to just open out about 4mm about 0.5 mm on the top hat spacer because the bottom thread of the stem goes into it and fouls it. The large secondary spacer I have goes above the top yoke, I did think of putting it below but that would mean the forks would be too high.

Battery box

Worked out how to fit the battery box, for now it will house a standard 4kg battery but ill lose this for a 1 kg item at some point. So the bracket fits onto the frame and the xr650 original threaded bolt holes, I drilled and tapped 6 mm into the frame cross member that I've tacked on. Next to completely pull the wiring loom apart, all the wires and redo so I only need the absolute necessary. Then i can plot where i can put the cdi, and any necessary relay. If its total loss then I won't need the rectifier.
I may alter the battery housing by using the original plastic version If I cut it out from the original plastic part...ill get on with painting the frame and start rebuilding then come back to the battery box,


Then....

Before I have to work out how the seat attaches to the rear frame, the shock preload and compression units, possible exhaust hanger position.

Weld everything, check, grind
Recheck the head stock and top yoke spacer.

Lots to do

Fcr's have arrived

Just unpacked them, hopefully jetted and all ready to go!

Rear subframe cont'd

I've cut the square down tubes of the xr650 rear sub frame, and used new aluminum tubing which are drilled and fixed to the mainframe square section. I will strengthen the holes with some drilled bar and insert into the ends of the tubing. One side is attached as a mock up, I'll do the same with the other side. Fixed using stainless bolts but may change for alloy. Fixing the seat would mean a small bracket would have to be crafted but bolted to both, that it the easy bit, the hard bit will be finding a small enough battery. If I have a total loss system ill need a battery which will last a race just to power the rev counter, ignition cdi and coils. I was thinking of using a mobility scooter battery as I've seen some rated at 20 amps but look quite compact. The battery will either go under the seat at the back or somewhere down below hidden in the fairing which is another job to do. When the seat unit is fixed in the right position then ill go round re-welding and strengthening at the moment it's all tacked on in places.

Subframe height

Today just managed a little time welding a small bracket onto the frame just by the cross member where he tank sits. Used some foam to prop up the seat. Couldn't work on the triangulation of the rear aluminium frame..no time. Rear view looks odd only as the rear wheel is loose with no spacers as its the trx wheel in the yzf arm

Fcr's came but was a little bit of a damp squib cos as I unpacked it I could see it said fcr39, and on the box it had the triumph code. Such an anti-climax and a poor piece of organisation, something that's so expensive and individual, can't be that many people buying fcr carbs.
So I've repackaged them and await parcel force to collect them.

There's so much to do I hope I can get ready for Snetterton in March....

Another pic shows how close the race shock is to the arm