Dogbytes' R80 ST project
- Thread starter Dogbytes
- Start date
Well I've fitted them but I daren't start it now!
This is one of those moments when I could do with moral support from a mate just down the road. I'll give it a go tomorrow, I promise.
I could do with a Gopro too - but I might have a mate who can lend me one of those.
Apparently its going to rain until next week. Given that it doesn't have any mudguards, air filters, etc. and it hasn't had the benefit of fine tuning on the dyno, I'm not going to give it its maiden voyage in the rain.
I have visions of it being a modern day incarnation of my old Kawasaki 500 from my late teens, which having benefited from a mild porting job, produced no power at 3999rpm and all of it at 4001rpm. If it was dry you got a wheelie (which it would sustain until you changed into 5th) and if it was wet you got huge amounts of wheelspin (best avoided since it went through Dunlop K91 Red Arrows at a rate of 1500-2000 miles a pop and a back tyre cost half a week's wages). I loved that bike so much
Anyway, Richie reckons the engine will be 'aggressive' on the road and I think he's right. As the bike has a standard length swing arm, standard gearing, weighs less than my old Kawasaki 250 and probably won't run under 1800 rpm (after which, I suspect, it's going build power very rapidly) I think I need a dry day to try it out.
Mr. Hyde is whispering in my ear and he's saying "Take it out tomorrow and cane it"...
This is one of those moments when I could do with moral support from a mate just down the road. I'll give it a go tomorrow, I promise.
I could do with a Gopro too - but I might have a mate who can lend me one of those.
Apparently its going to rain until next week. Given that it doesn't have any mudguards, air filters, etc. and it hasn't had the benefit of fine tuning on the dyno, I'm not going to give it its maiden voyage in the rain.
I have visions of it being a modern day incarnation of my old Kawasaki 500 from my late teens, which having benefited from a mild porting job, produced no power at 3999rpm and all of it at 4001rpm. If it was dry you got a wheelie (which it would sustain until you changed into 5th) and if it was wet you got huge amounts of wheelspin (best avoided since it went through Dunlop K91 Red Arrows at a rate of 1500-2000 miles a pop and a back tyre cost half a week's wages). I loved that bike so much
Anyway, Richie reckons the engine will be 'aggressive' on the road and I think he's right. As the bike has a standard length swing arm, standard gearing, weighs less than my old Kawasaki 250 and probably won't run under 1800 rpm (after which, I suspect, it's going build power very rapidly) I think I need a dry day to try it out.
Mr. Hyde is whispering in my ear and he's saying "Take it out tomorrow and cane it"...
charlie b
Registered user
Hmmmm....
We've been following this since Sept 2010 - waiting on the bloody weather now...
I've just looked at the Helston forecast... overcast but dry on Monday..???
Maybe Mr Hyde will get his way after all..?
We've been following this since Sept 2010 - waiting on the bloody weather now...
I've just looked at the Helston forecast... overcast but dry on Monday..???
Maybe Mr Hyde will get his way after all..?
It's not raining at the moment but I'm trying to be good and do my VAT! I will start it later...
The video of the first start up, a couple of days ago...
Just figured out how to upload it, I think
Someone let me know whether it works!
Just figured out how to upload it, I think
Someone let me know whether it works!
Just figured out how to upload it, I think
Someone let me know whether it works!
It's restricted somehow. Has it fully processed on Facebook yet?
It's a link to my Facebook page - probably privacy settings or something. I'll try uploading it to Youtube later and link from there.
I've just tried 'Facefriending' you to see if I could see it .........
Should be okay now...
Accepted - but I made the video public too.
I've just managed to watch it on Facebook, sounds bloody gorgeous mate!!
Imagine what it's going to sound like under load!
Although I might have to make a little reverse cone mega for it as well...
From a purely aesthetic point of view, I think you should.
Hallelujah, after only five years, one month and two weeks we get to see and hear the bike running Next milestone is a video from a chase bike of it being hammered around a race track. Sounds great, pretty effective smoke signals as well
Good job, well done that man.
Next milestone is a video from a chase bike of it being hammered around a race track. Sounds great, pretty effective smoke signals as wellGood job, well done that man.
solidstate100
Registered user
Congratulations, well done that man! 
Just cos its up and running is NO excuse for this thread to die - want videos, regular updates as it evolves, problem sorting, etc etc- been following this thread since day one, cant imagine not having my regular airhead fix
Brilliant job.
Just cos its up and running is NO excuse for this thread to die - want videos, regular updates as it evolves, problem sorting, etc etc- been following this thread since day one, cant imagine not having my regular airhead fix
Brilliant job.
Congratulations, well done that man!
Just cos its up and running is NO excuse for this thread to die - want videos, regular updates as it evolves, problem sorting, etc etc- been following this thread since day one, cant imagine not having my regular airhead fix
Brilliant job.
Thanks very much - I'm really pleased people are interested in it. There's plenty to be got out of it yet, I'm sure - and I'm hoping to start another Airhead project very soon
I'll probably build the next one out of bits to avoid offending those who like to see them kept standard!
.......I'll probably build the next one out of bits to avoid offending those who like to see them kept standard!
I have to admit that I wanted the standard bike that you savaged as your platform, superficially it looked so good!
Wow sounds and looks so cool ! You must be a very proud man . I bet that first ride in the dry will have you grinning like a Cheshire Cat . 
I appreciate your honesty. Probably the pictures of it looking nice were when it looked nice, if you see what I mean. By the time I started work on it it was well overdue a refresh. I had originally intended to simply bring it up to date - better suspension, brakes, a bit more torque, etc. More road-biased than some of the HPN and Moorespeed specials but at that level. Then things got out of hand...
A lot of the problem was that I used to do a lot of miles - about 1000 a week, commuting, and I came to realise that things have moved on. No matter how good I got it it would always be a niche bike, it could never be as competent an all-rounder as a good modern bike.
I decided that if I were going to have a niche bike I'd go the café racer route and try to build something that harked back to my old Moto Guzzi Le Mans. Then I bought a K1200 S (since superseded by a K1300 S) and I realised I was kidding myself. Back in the late 70's the Guzzi had only the Ducati 900SS for competition and now, 35 years on, the world is different. So I abandoned any idea of building a road bike as such. I decided to make it a simple, light, stripped down sports bike, predominantly aimed light track use but with the added advantage of being marginally road-able if you really wanted to simply go out for a ride.
Having freed myself from any particular niche, I also aimed to make it attractive in a form follows function way. Earlier in this thread I posted a pic of a Honda 550 special called 'The Mantlepiece' that I saw in 'Cycle' magazine in 1975. I've never forgotten that bike and I still think it's the best looking motorcycle I've ever seen. I wanted to build something that ONE person might see and feel that same way about.
Sadly, in a way, that person ain't me - I still thing The Mantlepiece is way prettier.
However this is my first attempt at building a whole bike and, broadly speaking, it's a good attempt. It's 90% and the remaining 10% could be done retrospectively. I have also, and most importantly, learned an awful lot about how to go about the next one (so look forward to a whole new set of mistakes!).
The few who've seen it in the flesh are very positive about it but they're either friends or not particularly knowledgable about bikes - or both. There is a guy here who builds specials and is likely to be a bit more honest and I intend that he will see it next week. Also, at some point, I'd like Richie Moore to set it up on the dyno. I once saw a bike he'd built and it was good beyond description so I will look forward to his opinion. There are others I know who will also give me a straight opinion and I will report back once I've heard some of them!
