Project Resto-mod Mk.II

[Viktor Larsson]

As promised, I'll start a project thread about the Mk.II bike that I'm rebuilding together with my dad right now.

We bought the bike summer 2010 from Stockholm. It was in good enough mechanical condition with some cosmetic issues (several coats of rattle can paint).

The idea is to build your average Japanese-style resto-mod inline four. Updated (but period look) wheels, brakes, forks, swingarm plus some general tuning (smoothbore carbs). Wheels will be Astralites as you can tell, forks come from a CBR900RR and custom yokes will be made for it.

I tore the bike down mid December to start planning and see what has to be done to get everything the way we want it to be. Here's what the bike looked like with everything stripped off besides the bodywork and seat.



The first thing to do was to check how much clearance there was for the swingarm. Turns out it fit straight in with some gentle persuasion but it still needs a millimetre or two shaved off from the pivot to get it 100%.



The shocks are a pair of older Marzocchi's. These have been swapped to a pair of Kawasaki ZRX1200 shocks since we wont have to bother changing the swingarm then.

Anyway. A few weeks passed and now after new years I figured I'd get cracking on it. I chopped off the footrests and a few other bits and then moved onto making some braces for the frame. After a few hours work I had made all the braces for the rear section of the frame.



Remove paint and tack into place...



And then weld.





Added a cross-brace in the frame after I had finished all the other welding.



And that pretty much concludes what I've done up until now on the bike.

We're aiming to finish up the rear end as soon as possible. Need to make a drilling fixture for the new rear shock mounts (they will be moved forward a bit) plus some other details. Gonna finish bracing the front of the frame tonight I think.

If anyone is looking for Mk.II parts, I will be selling off most of the unused parts from the bike. This includes carburettors, front forks, yokes, brake calipers, swingarm, rear caliper, footrests, etc. I'll try and get everything sorted out next week or something and open up a for sale thread with the parts.

[paul doran]

love the bracing
those Astralittes will look really good on it too

[Mr Puffin]

If this one turns out anything like the Suzuki, it will be very Cool

[Viktor Larsson]

If this one turns out anything like the Suzuki, it will be very Cool

It won't have any extravagant parts like the Suzuki but I'm quite confident that it will be a great looking bike.

[andyb1962]

love the bracing

me too cant imagine that flexing any more

[Jappen]

Greath Viktor

[Viktor Larsson]

love the bracing

me too cant imagine that flexing any more

I doubt it'll flex much. It's just going to be a everyday rider, but I thought "Why not do it properly while I'm at it?".

Anyway.

I managed to get some more work today. It doesn't show really in the pictures but I cut off the ugly original indicator mounts (the rectangular ears behind the shock mounts) and blanked it off with a smooth curve that follows the bracing for the shock mount. Looks so much cleaner now from the side.

I'm falling in love with this bike's look more and more each day. It really is a lovely model.

I also started fiddling with the side panels. They were a bit tight against the braces so I had to remove some material from them. After a few minutes work they fit like a glove.



And with the side panel gone...



Then I checked how everything looked. I'm pretty damn happy with the lines and the overall look of the rear end. I think it'll be killer once it's all in place and I have some rubber on the wheels.





Gonna make the drill-fixture for the new shock mounts tomorrow or on Saturday and turn some bungs on the lathe to weld in the frame.

The keen-eyed may notice the new footrests. I had them on my bike before but swapped them in favor of some Harris rearsets. They look spot on for the Kwak and the position of them is still really relaxed.

More to come!

[Viktor Larsson]

Made all the prep-work for the new shock mounts today.

First of all, I finished the drill template or "fixture" if you want.



When everything seemed to be level I started drilling.



Turned out great!





Then it was just a matter of doing the same thing on the other side. For some reason, the second try always turns out the best. Why can't you just get a perfect result every time?



Gonna start sorting out the swingarm pivot now so everything fits where it should. More to come tomorrow.

[Ginger Bear]

Good tip on the mounts there Viktor.

[Pigford]

You gonna leave the old mounts on - be handy for the grab rail

[Viktor Larsson]

Good tip on the mounts there Viktor.

Thanks GB.

You gonna leave the old mounts on - be handy for the grab rail

Nah, gonna remove them since only one person is gonna ride the bike.

[davy thomson]

Never mind this were's the Big Suzuki. looks like another nice build.

[paul doran]

looking good Viktor

[morten]

Looking real good Viktor

Very nice work and informative pictures. Looking forward to see the progress. Keep them pics coming

[Viktor Larsson]

I was about to go out in the garage and do some welding on the swingarm and maybe see about moving the throttle linkage on the Mikuni VM29 flatslides I bought a week back (the throttle wires hit the tank), but with a whooping -35 degrees outside it wasn't very warm in the garage even with heated floors and whatnot. The thermometer read -7 degrees inside.

I took a look around inside the garage, turned off the lights again and went inside.