Finally Got Some Pics

Frist, the ZX7R.  Like most of my bikes, it went from this:

To This...

To This...

To now, this...

So what is "this"?  Not sure.  It will be street legal, with headlight, tailight, and turn signals all embossed with the magical "dot" that makes it all kosher.  Not like our friends in the states or other countries that can have hidden licence plates, or hand signals indicating your intentions on the road.  All the fancy race bits were sold, and I wanted to create some sort of retro superbike.

This was an inspiration, but again, the headlight isn't legal, it appears to be missing some turn signals, and the front wheel costs as much as my entire bike.  Anyway, as I type the tail section is being painted (by me), and only a few details remain to have it roadworthy.  I'll have all winter to finish this off.








And next, the Bandit.  This is what I want (or something much like it):

And this is what I have:

As sad as it looks, it's a good place to start.  I still haven't got it running, but with only 12000 km, it is in pretty nice shape mechanically.  It did turn over... I was gummed carbs and poor spark plugs away from running.  These are notoriously cold-blooded, so it likely won't start too easily in this chilly fall weather.  The good news is aside from a damaged right front rotor, the hard parts are pretty much intact.  Even the tank is not too badly dented.  Forks are good, and will be kept -- this is supposed to be an XR69 inspired replica, so USD forks weren't around in the late 70s.  Fairings will be sourced, likely through Airtech (the only guys doing this work anymore with retro fairings), although the rear subframe needs some surgery... as in, it needs to be cut off.
It's a shame the exhaust is in good shape -- being OEM its extremely restrictive (double-walled, so I think 32mm inner diameter) and weighs a ton.  It's a 1996, so 12,000 km in 20 years is barely broken in.  I "borrowed" a cupcake pan to clean the carbs (Kate doesn't want it back), and being a bit of a mechanical nerd, I cleaned and rebuilt the front calipers.

I've seen calipers in worse shape, but I love using my brake piston removal kit, and there is a sense of pride and reassurance knowing that the brakes are now back up to snuff, ready for new fluid.
Based on the first pic (of a Bandit 600, by the way), I also won't bother changing out the swingarm -- the stock one is a nice light aluminum jobbie.  Clip ons and rearsets will make an appearance, as well as a CBR600 rear shock, which will no doubt be a big improvement over the stocker.  It will necessitate rebuilding the forks with gold valves and stiffer springs.  I'll also need to custom-make a shorter throttle cable as the original will be a mile too long.

In keeping with the period look, I think I will come up with a Castrol paint scheme.  This is a moden Suzuki, so while the colors are correct (green with red on white), I plan to be a bit more subtle.  White bodywork (with bare metal tank of course) and a "period" logo, such as this:

I am also thinking green number plates as well, to go with the green theme.  Not traditionally Suzuki colors, but hey, it's my bike.  The green number plate is a Euro thing, especially with particular classes at the big Euro road races.  At the Isle of Man, the green background either indicated a novice rider (how appropriate), or a specific class (like 250cc).  To give you an idea...

That's John McGuinness, and he's no novice...

So, new parts will be added when I can track them down at a decent price.  I will continue to do "service work" on the bikes as I have time and opportunity.  No idea about timelines or anything, but half the fun is in the build.