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RZ350 re-frame... classic 2-stroke gets modern upgrade

Tonight was my fourth or fifth night of sanding the tail and I'm pretty worn out.

So here's the weekend update with lots of pictures and very few words...

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This was left over from the CRZ Dirtbag bike. Because I have a bad habit of always getting extra parts laser cut. Looks like a bit of trimming and it's good to go for this project:thumbup

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Now the tail is actually supported and not just hanging in space...

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__________________________________________________________


Okay, that was Saturday progress. Sunday I'm back in the garage, and the tail has a nice fresh coat of primer. Morning light was nice and starting to really see the form of the tail...

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Now the next, well not really and oh shit moment, but an "I need to fix this" moment. I don't like how the front corners of the tail protrude from under the seat. When sitting on the bike there are no issues. But I just don't like the perception of corners hitting the inside of the riders leg...

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The solution I came up with was to cut a wedge out of each side and bend the corners in and glue with more super glue and baking soda...

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That's much better!

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With sub-frame mostly built and tail mod to fix the protruding corners, its back to sanding, priming, puttying. And so it goes, and so it goes...

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Wow, nice job doing the mod in that seat area. I take it that 3D printed material is bendy?

What typically is the red putty material?

Ken's Garage paint and body shop is due to be opening sometime this spring :laughing Need to know about some of this magic stuff you know?
 
kpke said:
...I take it that 3D printed material is bendy?
Click to expand...

The PLA is a thermal plastic made from corn. It is similar to ABS and similarly semi-rigid. Yes, it will bend, a little bit.

kpke said:
...What typically is the red putty material?
Click to expand...

The putty is just typical spot putty that you can find at any auto parts store. Think primer in a tube.

Speaking of primer. The primer I am using is SEM brand. It is professional grade and only available through auto body supply stores such as Finish Masters. It runs about $25 a can. Ouch! But great stuff. Its high fill, and sands easily without clogging the sand paper like cheap primers will do.

Anyway, glad you like the project:thumbup
 
Its been a few weeks, so time for another update. In fact a major milestone will happen tomorrow. After work I'll be dropping off bodywork at CycleFinish for final paint! I'm super excited to have gotten this far.

Now to rewind a bit. Last episode the 3D printed tail was getting primed and prepped for molds and eventually fiberglass parts. The prints were dropped of at Aerocraft in Hollister. Rick Fitzgerald is a long time friend and fellow 2-stroke enthusiast. He's been making fiberglass parts for me for many years including the fenders and tail on this old project...

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Here's some photos of the molds being made...

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Final mold for the tail...

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Last week I also called in a favor with my friend Brad Wood who is the owner of Motodemic in Tracy. Brad sells headlight kits for most naked bikes. I picked up a pair of 5" round "adaptive" headlight. These headlight are not only super bright, but the "adaptive" beam technology projects a fan shaped beam that stays horizontal even when the bike leans going through a corner. These lights are amazing!

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While waiting for the final fiberglass parts I got busy making more paper dolls...

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Of course, paper dolls can only mean more laser cut parts are on the way from Sendcutsend...

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Sendcutsend now does bending which makes my life much easier!

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And laser cut parts mean more metal to fabricate. In this case finalizing the rear sub-frame...

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Now the only thing to do is see how the new fiberglass parts fit...

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Oh Snap! That looks good. Can't wait to see it painted!
 
Lonster said:
Me too! :thumbup
Thanks for all the hard work and dedication to keep us in the know.
Click to expand...

Ditto...! I wish I had the time, the patience and SKILLS to do this stuff. :hail
 
I gotta give a big shout out to Rick at Aerocraft for a re-do on the seat under pan. I wasn't 100% happy with the first one. It wasn't too bad, but I was being supper picky about some of the edge trimming that wasn't perfect. Rick stepped up and turned out a replacement in just two days. I instructed him to leave it un-trimmed and I will do the final fitting, so that's why it's still rough on the edges. Thanks Rick :thumbup


More of Rick's awesome fiberglass work can be seen here (warning, lots of 4-wheel race car content!)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063535031723

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With The One Show just over 4 weeks away things are happening very fast right now. So this might be my last post until show time.

Currently the bodywork (tank, tail, and front fender) are at CycleFinish for paint. The main frame, sub-frame, swingarm, and wheels are at Maas Brothers for powder coating. The finishing touches to the engine are happening at Tony Doukas Racing. By next week everything will start coming together for the final build.

Here's what's happened in the past two weeks. About two weeks ago I did a random late night jam session with my friend Al. I played analog with 1/16" and 1/8" tape rolls, and home printer with scotch tape. While Al went digital using his instruments of choice, PhotoShop and Illustrator. It was a full little session texting images back and forth!

Here are a few images from our impromptu session...

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Meanwhile, back in the shop with the mock-up sub-frame completed and fixture finished I was able to build a real sub-frame without all of the cuts and splices of the mock-up...

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Then more progress to finish the first swingarm. After the welding was completed the pivot bores and eccentric bores are machined to final size... and hopefully back to round!

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Last step on the swingarm is to add a flange for the fender to mount to...

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I had to take last Monday off work to get these finished. I worked all day and night finishing at 2am! I got everything to Maas Brothers Tuesday morning of last week.

Then an OH SHIT moment!

Over this past weekend I built a custom stand to use at the show. Sunday night (I never sleep well during big projects since my mind is still fully awake) I realized I had no provisions for using a conventional paddock stand. With the asymmetric design of the swingarm it doesn't sit well on a normal paddock stand with out some added features. I decided it needed some threaded bungs to attach spools. But the swingarm was already at Maas Brothers.

Monday I stopped by and asked about two options... how much would it delay my place in line if I took the swingarm for 24 hours? Or, what would it cost to re-powder coat in a few weeks after the show. They were sympathetic and agreed it would be better if I made the mods now rather than after being powder coated. And I'd only loose a few days.

So Monday night I worked late again. Luckily finished well before 2am, but still late for a school night. Sorry no pictures, but bungs were added and the swingarm returned to Mass Brothers on Tuesday. Oh, and the wheels were finished!

Not sure if I'll have band width to post any updates before the show. Fingers crossed that it all goes together well:party
 
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A quick side note since I know true Yamaha fans are going to be curious why there are no speed-bars incorporated into the paint scheme. The plan is to have speed-bars on the front fairing which I've opted to finish after the show. So yes, it will have traditional Yamaha speed-bars, just not right now.
 
I really like the gray and black, but you can't go wrong with Yamaha yellow and black.
 
Fantastic work! That really is a great looking swingarm. Do you do all the tube notching on the mill?

Best of luck for the show!
 
Wow, more unbelievable one off fabrication (and other stuff). The paint mock ups look great and I'm sure will be fantastic no matter what yellow and black design is used. BARF has an other worldly motorcycle builder posting here. Very lucky to see this stuff. Great job Julian.
 
bobl said:
:thumbupI do like that yellow and black!
Click to expand...

Lonster said:
I really like the gray and black, but you can't go wrong with Yamaha yellow and black.
Click to expand...


Many years ago I had an RD400 that had been painted in gloss gray. It actually looked really good. So I'm not apposed to a gray/black color scheme. For now, yellow and black is recognized as the classic Yamaha RZ350 colors... so thats what I decided to use. Next one will likely be red/black. Then a gray one :dunno


Jung said:
Fantastic work! That really is a great looking swingarm. Do you do all the tube notching on the mill?

Best of luck for the show!
Click to expand...


Thanks! And yes, a Bridgeport mill is a great tool for notching.

kpke said:
Wow, more unbelievable one off fabrication (and other stuff). The paint mock ups look great and I'm sure will be fantastic no matter what yellow and black design is used. BARF has an other worldly motorcycle builder posting here. Very lucky to see this stuff. Great job Julian.
Click to expand...

Be careful what you say. :x
 
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