Sunday, December 2, 2012

Rad and Rear Axle

The R6 radiator has been properly fitted, and hoses mounted to the engine.
Notice how the upper spigot needs to clear the frame tube.  There is provision for the water temp gauge in this section of the hose assembly.

Quite a considerably larger frontal area that the stock radiator!  Should result in a cooler running engine due to the increase in coolant volume as well.
Still need to mount the puke bottle... been designing a bracket in my head.

A bit of internet research and some machine work has allowed me to drop at least 1 lb off the rear wheel assembly.  The stock rear axle is solid steel -- certainly strong, but a bit overbuilt and utilitarian in this capacity.  I discovered that the Triumph 675 uses a 20mm axle as well.  I bought one for under $10 on ebay, and found it was made of aluminum, and came with a cool metal locknut.  Surprisingly it was about 1/4" too short to work with the stock axle adjusters, so I got them machined down 1/8" on each side which got me back enough threads to engage the locking mechanism.  On the nut side, Cycleboyz machined a pocket that perfectly accommodates the washer.  Looks very clean!
On the other side, a shoulder was left that locks the "head" of the axle in place.  This speeds up wheel changes as only one 27mm socket is required to deal with the rear axle.  This hollow assembly allows the fitting of axle sliders, a pit-bull trailer restraint, and is considerably lighter.  If it is strong enough for a 120 hp triumph triple, it will be strong enough for my bike.  I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring this out... Note this will not work with stock swingarms!

3 comments:

Mick-e said...

This is brilliant stuff.
I want to steal this idea.

Mick-e said...

How come I can't edit a comment? I meant to say that the axle is brilliant stuff and I want to steal that idea. I'm already working on the R6 radiator, however I want to lower the radiator some to allow for a small air scoop. Not really a ram air, just a larger gap to allow fresh air in. Now tell me about why you're selling that unobtainable Arrow exhaust?

The Kids Cafe said...

Mainly to fund the rest of the engine work, and only if I can get what I am asking. My seat of the pants dyno indicates that this is a top end system ( as confirmed by farquar), and my track is a torquey point and squirt affair... my home-made system from last year might be pretty good as is.