Was able to get my hands on some more of the parts I had ordered this week. Came home from a family visit in Winnipeg with a car-full. The tyga bodywork, K&N filter, the damaged cases, and the radiator, amongst other things, arrived. The bodywork appeared in good shape, although the tail section has a bit of a twist to it -- like it came out of the mold a bit too early. The fairings are by no means top-quality (hence the price) but there really is nothing like them anywhere. The first step was to fit the rear subframe.
Thankfully it is steel -- a bit more durable, easier to modify, and stout enough that if I need to use part of it as a pick-up for an exhaust mount, that shouldn't be any trouble. It took most of the day, but I was able to get the suframe modified to suit the frame, and get new mounts fabricated and tack-welded into place. The seat itself needs some modification to butt against the tank -- that is why you see the green masking tape and fibre-glass gooped around it. It was a balmy -2 degrees this weekend, and so I thought I'd try some winter fibreglassing. This is just to make a mold, not structural... the tin does say that, "colder than 20 degrees will require more curing time..." we'll see.
The subframe is made of pretty durable steel. There appears to be a provision for a battery box just aft of the rear shock. Hopefully it will fit in the original location. The battery box itself came with the parts, and is finished in a nice brushed alloy. Will need to find the right battery to slot in. The lower braces for the subframe are assymetrical, but I spent a pile of time truing up the symmetrical upper braces -- more standing on the ladder, eying up the whole process. Note green masking tape at the front of the seat.
The next step was to fit the radiator. The rad itself is from a YZF450. Purchased for $9.99 off of ebay. This rad should be easy to find if I need a replacement; as well, the aftermarket makes oversized versions of these, so that is an option should I need more cooling. My (potentially flawed) logic states that a radiator for a hot-blooded racing quad (the 450) should be plenty for a milder 400. I don't know what that stain is on the the lower left hand side of the rad -- didn't notice it until the flash of the camera picked it up. Hopefully not evidence of a leak, although to use this as a mock-up tool is still worth the $9.99 I paid for it.
Pretty soon I will be taking everything all apart for finish-welding. Over time, my initial tack-welds on the frame have become more substantial, but it is time to finalize everything. Not sure when I will be able to do it -- don't want it to be an evening thing... want to have an entire day to slowly complete the multitude of welds needed. A lot have been finished, but those are mainly things like nuts inserted into tubes to mount components (like the seat, tank, and radiator braces. I still want to make 2 more radiator braces for the lower mounts on the rad.
When I go to Cycleboyz to drop off the Ducati header, I'll bring along this picture to show them options for an oil tank. I think that the area just ahead of the case, and under the rad, to the right of the pipe (as you are sitting on the bike) provides plenty of room for a 3L oil tank. There are 2 good mounts readily available to use to hang the cooler. Even without bodywork, I think it will look "clean" in that location. As well, the oil lines will be considerably shorter than what Suzuki used on either the dirt bike or the quad -- should make for a more efficient cooling system.
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