Bandit702
14-01-07, 09:53 PM
I thought it may be a good idea to get this ol' write up out of the archives and post it for your thoughts. This was all written before the bike actually hit the track. I will go through again and update anything in italic print.
1. The Bike When we bought it.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/asbought.jpg
This is a shot when we first purchased the bike in may 2004. Bare chassis was there along with the majority of bits and pieces to finish the project. However, it was lacking small bits that often tally up and become quite expensive in their own right. Also, it was only really a bare chassis. There was no substructure beneath the rear fairing to support it, no tank mounts etc... The engine is there, but hollow, Turbo system was there but not suitable. Get The Idea?
2. Bike at our workshop.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/asdeliv.jpg
A few months after the purchase we finally got around to organising our new workshop making benches etc. Here the bodywork is removed so i could evaluate what needed to be done, made and so forth. Turns out it was actually quite a bit. So here is where the real journey began. I had a lathe, but couldnt use it. Same goes with the milling machine. Had a Tig, but couldnt use it. Basically, i knew i had the equipment to work on the bike, but no idea on how to use any of it. The main focus at this point was to work on the body for the bike. We did have a very basic plug, but this would require alot of work to complete, as will be discussed below.
3. Working on the plug.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/plugwork.jpg
As you may have noticed in section 1. The bodywork on the bike was lacking alot. As a matter of fact, it was atrocious. The main shape was there, but there was no detail work, holes all over it and it was extremely lumpy. So another learning curve began. The magic of Fibreglass and body filler. So we put some bits of glass here, filled some gaps there and so forth for around 600 hours before we had the plug to a satisfactory state. Add to that prepping and spraying in high fill, polishing, waxing and spraying a release agent before even being remotley near making a mold. With a bit of gelcoat here and some fibreglass there and another 20 hours, we finally had a mold, but no body to use on the bike! Another couple of hours and some late night work gave us our final body. Satisfying considering the hours myself and dad put into it. All up, probably around 700 man hours involved in making the rear fairing, and it was still far from perfect.
4. Dummy Build.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/compdummy.jpg
Above the bike begins to take shape. After spending many hours at Shearer Brothers Race Cars learning how to work with steel from the guru, i had learnt how to tig weld reasonably well. With Mark also helping the project by supplying the chrome moly stock i required to finish the fab on the chassis, plenty of time and energy was saved.
1. The Bike When we bought it.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/asbought.jpg
This is a shot when we first purchased the bike in may 2004. Bare chassis was there along with the majority of bits and pieces to finish the project. However, it was lacking small bits that often tally up and become quite expensive in their own right. Also, it was only really a bare chassis. There was no substructure beneath the rear fairing to support it, no tank mounts etc... The engine is there, but hollow, Turbo system was there but not suitable. Get The Idea?
2. Bike at our workshop.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/asdeliv.jpg
A few months after the purchase we finally got around to organising our new workshop making benches etc. Here the bodywork is removed so i could evaluate what needed to be done, made and so forth. Turns out it was actually quite a bit. So here is where the real journey began. I had a lathe, but couldnt use it. Same goes with the milling machine. Had a Tig, but couldnt use it. Basically, i knew i had the equipment to work on the bike, but no idea on how to use any of it. The main focus at this point was to work on the body for the bike. We did have a very basic plug, but this would require alot of work to complete, as will be discussed below.
3. Working on the plug.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/plugwork.jpg
As you may have noticed in section 1. The bodywork on the bike was lacking alot. As a matter of fact, it was atrocious. The main shape was there, but there was no detail work, holes all over it and it was extremely lumpy. So another learning curve began. The magic of Fibreglass and body filler. So we put some bits of glass here, filled some gaps there and so forth for around 600 hours before we had the plug to a satisfactory state. Add to that prepping and spraying in high fill, polishing, waxing and spraying a release agent before even being remotley near making a mold. With a bit of gelcoat here and some fibreglass there and another 20 hours, we finally had a mold, but no body to use on the bike! Another couple of hours and some late night work gave us our final body. Satisfying considering the hours myself and dad put into it. All up, probably around 700 man hours involved in making the rear fairing, and it was still far from perfect.
4. Dummy Build.
http://www.ozdragbike.com/forums/compdummy.jpg
Above the bike begins to take shape. After spending many hours at Shearer Brothers Race Cars learning how to work with steel from the guru, i had learnt how to tig weld reasonably well. With Mark also helping the project by supplying the chrome moly stock i required to finish the fab on the chassis, plenty of time and energy was saved.