New project: XS1100 endurance racer

[trbig]

Also.. the alternator/generator in the pics. What's your plans on that? How do you intend to run a pulley?

Assuming an endurance racer will be wanting all kinds of light that the struggling stock alternator can't handle.

Tod

[oseaghdha]

Tod, I'm pretty sure he means he needs to weld the aluminum tab to the new cover, not weld the tab to the frame.

Yeah, Aluminum don't weld up to steel that well.
But Tods right about those teeny bolts being used for a motor mount.

[Guy_b_g]

Tod, I'm pretty sure he means he needs to weld the aluminum tab to the new cover, not weld the tab to the frame.

[trbig]

SO if you weld that cover to the frame where you had it clamped with the vice grips... if you ever have any engine problems, how will you be able to pull the motor without cutting that? Does it just drop straight down?

You're asking a lot from those 4 little allen screws. Under that cover is one of the 10mm bolts that connect the two case halves. One more hole in the center of that and a longer bolt would give you a little more strength there?? You could also drill it and tap it for a larger bolt to give it even more strength.

Just a suggestion.


Tod

[Mashermoto]

Mathh...you're killing me man

Over here, finding an exhaust system for a XS11 is like finding gold buried in your back yard...you guys have such an abundance you can use them to plumb your house

You're killing me man

But still real impressed with the build

[TomRodgers]

Looks great....

Awesome plan of ditching the stock breather cover for the new motor mount... (putting that in my memory banks)

[Mathh]

Mathh,
That header looks pretty good. Is RC Engineering still around and producing XS1100 exhausts. Looks like your RC system allows oil changes without removing the header. Does it?

Hi Mashermoto, the exhaust is still brand new. I bought it on Ebay. It allows oil changes but no centerstand. RC is still around but have changed their business completely long time and only do fuel injectors nowadays.

And for the racer.....
I just found a matching magnesium Dymag front wheel in France. It is on its way now. It is originally for a Ducati so lots of different front discs will fit. Next week i will visit someone who presumably has the correct cushdrive for the rear wheel, if not I have to make one myself. Tomorrow i will take out the forks and take them to a Bitubo specialist to update it a little..



I started with the right rear motor mount, which comes instead of the stock breather cover:











Still have to weld those and make a hole for the breather tube, but I will do that later..

I took out the swingarm and took out the (too) small 8mm bearings. I will replace them with two times two 10mm wide bearings with a small spacer between the two to distribute the forces. Also I have to fabricate a spacer to put between the left and right side bearings to prevent them from getting destroyed when the forward swingarm axle is tightened. The swingarm is now being altered in order to fit the new bearings..



I hope I get the swingarm back in the same week as the forks. In that case i can start aligning wheels and sprockets front and rear.
I also bought a new stainless Supertrapp collector in Switzerland to cut up and reweld in order to fit between the frame rails. Already looks trick and lightweight (2,8 kilos), almost a shame to cut it up heheheh:





Wall thickness of the downtubes is 0.8mm. That will be fun when welding ....

[Mashermoto]

Mathh,

You are a truley gifted builder

That header looks pretty good. Is RC Engineering still around and producing XS1100 exhausts. Over here MAC is the only supplier and not that well liked. Marshall Deeptones are known about overseas, but I've been waiting since April on one. Looks like your RC system allows oil changes without removing the header. Does it?

Hope you keep the post going. Maybe when you get done you can tell us a bit more about yourself and these guys helping you out. This certainly isn't a shade tree mechanic build going on here. Something tells me there is a good story to be told about you.

[Mathh]

This is the response from a guy on the UK forum:
"The really nice thing about this thread is how quickly we get to see the next stage."



Well, bad news then. After this episode the bike will come back to my place and speed will drop dramatically
However I will try to finish the bike before the next euro meeting.... :
Q finally picked up the pace, chromed everything and even managed to polish the front rim :



According to him the swingarm will weigh 6.0 kilos, the real thing weighs 5.5 kilos (I think Q's swingarm has the bearings installed):
And back in its place again:



And finally some outdoor shots:











I will pick the bike up in two weeks. So until then..

[TomRodgers]

Methinks that when this is done, "Q" should be asked how much $$$$$ for a duplicate setup....

i myself have a two extra engine/trans/middle drive setups that would LOVE a cradle like that!!!!!

[Mathh]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I love doing projects like this... the story goes on..
december 9th 2009: next on the list is the swingarm. Previous days have been filled discussing several types of chain adjusters and tube size.
Very difficult if people don't listen. This is Q's first set up based on his own swingarm:



First mentioned was this swingarm, mostly made for streetfighters



Looks way too modern for me.... So we need a different style. Like the GG racer .. tube swingarm with a lower brace.




Pic below shows that the swingarm has to go inward from back to front, or there will be a large gap between the arm and the tire...



Then I decided to use a 38mm tube for the swingarm and a 32mm tube for the lower brace. This is the first result. .
Pic shows we moved the rear axle to the middle of the adjuster getting a final wheelbase of 1500mm. In this case I can vary the wheelbase from 1460mm to 1540mm (if necessary). Second pic shows nice gap between swingarm and rear tire, still plenty of room for a 200 tire though:






First attempt at the lower brace, way too deep...



december 10th 2009:
I suggested to move the lower brace upwards, better but not there yet :



And finally Q understood and produced this:


Comparing the shocks resulted in this, pic one is a 2009 Blade shock, pic two is a 2000 R1 unit. The blade solution looks too painful





And finally another strut to support the rear shock..



After calculating the shock position the swingarm was taken off and welded.
When looking at the pics the swingarm still looks very massive, but that is because there is nothing else in the pic that draws attention. When tank and seat are in position it will look less big.
I also love the way how the line form the lower frame tube pointing downwards is continued in the swingarm braces.. It weighs 550 grams less than calculated by Q: 5500 grams...

[TomRodgers]

Yeah....i WISH i could have the resources......damn. Looks good so far!!!!

[TajMan]

extremely extremely impressive
I'm jealous of such a custom build! nice job

[latexeses]

That frame really does look a good deal like the Laverda! This may be a silly question but are you going to do any heat treating to equalize any stresses in the metal from the welding?

It looks awesome so far. Would love to be able to watch the process in person. Quite an education.

[lakecountrydave]

Wow! Very Impressive