[gt alex]

Hi just registered, I am half way through but this is my first cafe racer so any advice is welcome.
Here are some photos to kick things off.

 

[Oldjeep]

Well, that is a different wat to go with an sv650

 

[brad black]

did you get it running again?

 

[gt alex]

did you get it running again?

Not quite running yet. the reg/rec blew taking out the cdi, battery(li-ion), gauge cluster and headlight as well.(hope all else is ok) got a used cdi suzi wanted over $800. get reg/rec and still have the std battery so once the battery tray is finished(nearly there, this week I hope) fingers crossed it fires up. Then saving some money for a aftermarket gauge cluster and headlight.

 

[TrialsRider]

Not quite running yet. the reg/rec blew taking out the cdi, battery(li-ion), gauge cluster and headlight as well.(hope all else is ok) got a used cdi suzi wanted over $800. get reg/rec and still have the std battery so once the battery tray is finished(nearly there, this week I hope) fingers crossed it fires up. Then saving some money for a aftermarket gauge cluster and headlight.

Holy! the effort and expense that people go through to run a li-ion battery is astounding! As you have discovered they don't have the same voltage discharge or charging characteristics as the original lead acid battery, so you are pretty much re-designing your entire electrical system to suit. Li-ion batteries have also been known to spontaneously combust on occasion, make sure you have plenty of fire insurance coverage and don't leave it in your garage on a charger for days on end.

 

[gt alex]

Todays effort was working on the electrics tray.
Welding splatter makes it a bit hard to see, but it look like it will work out and I think no wires will be visable when finished

 

[Cyorg]

Todays effort was working on the electrics tray.
Welding splatter makes it a bit hard to see, but it look like it will work out and I think no wires will be visable when finished

What welder and what wire are you using?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ic--taHv17s&time_continue=152


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q5g_4hImecM

 

[Ews]

I almost bought a new SV650 in 06'... was ready to sign paperwork when a sweet deal on an 02' Sportster 883 dropped in my lap. I still wonder if I made the right choice. For me the SV650 was the perfect naked bike, easy enough for a young rider, but enough fun for an advanced rider too. Good looking off the factory floor and in need of nothing IMO.

I had to do a double take on the underside of that seat pan, looked like plywood for a second lol. Make sure you address all the functionality first, function over form...always. Personally I think it looked better stock, but if you like the seat that will hammer your back side like Broke back mountain, go for it. As long as your happy with the end product and it is safe, then who cares what assholes like me think lol.

 

[gt alex]

What welder and what wire are you using?

.9mm gassless wire with my handyman mig. I admit I have been struggling the metal came from my old dishwasher and is about .7mm thick.
Thanks for the advice I will get som anti splater spray

 

[Oldjeep]

.9mm gassless wire with my handyman mig. I admit I have been struggling the metal came from my old dishwasher and is about .7mm thick.
Thanks for the advice I will get som anti splater spray

You say MIG, but also no gas. Does your wire feed welder support both MIG and gasless welding? If so then make sure the polarity isn't backwards. You swap polarity when welding gasless /with gas.

Not sure I would trust my life to something you are building out of a scrap dishwasher.

 

[TrialsRider]

If the subframe tubing is electrical conduit I'm with you for being happy to just watch.

 

[Cyorg]

.9mm gassless wire with my handyman mig. I admit I have been struggling the metal came from my old dishwasher and is about .7mm thick.
Thanks for the advice I will get som anti splater spray

Handy MIG from Lincoln or some obscure Asian contraption? At the risk of sounding like a dick, IMHO you would be better off getting a good MIG.
I would think that learning to weld thin sheet of dubious quality onto thicker tubing would be much easier. There are folks on here that use flux core and they will tell me I’m full of shit. I usually use MIG for welding frames and then all they require is paint prep. No grinding unless I get out of position and shit the bed...... or in an area when grinding is required for fitting. Maybe it’s just what I’m familiar with (and I didn’t get there overnight), but it seems to me that trying to learn with a shit welder and shit steel can’t be fun. You could just stitch weld the (clean) sheet metal or use a series of tacks. At any rate, the welds on your subframe indicate your technique/settings are in need of some tweaking. I don’t have a ticket, but have been at it for a while... even so, I’ll grab some scrap the same gauge and run however many beads it takes to get my shit together before attacking a frame. Throw away your fucking grinder and practice.

I’d post some pictures of my frame welds, but some other dick would just come along a point a fisheye.

 

[jcw]

This is how I started, learn to cut ninety degree fishmouths, tack and weld. repeat. I have buckets and buckets of these.
This one I used a really small filler rod. Oh yeah, and a reasonably priced, but good quality chinese TIG.

Welds may not be instagram worthy, but I make sure they are quality and at least better than the 70's frame welds I see on the bike.

 

[Oldjeep]

Learn to cut? You aren't using a tube notcher?

 

[Cyorg]

This is how I started, learn to cut ninety degree fishmouths, tack and weld. repeat. I have buckets and buckets of these.
This one I used a really small filler rod. Oh yeah, and a reasonably priced, but good quality chinese TIG.

Welds may not be instagram worthy, but I make sure they are quality and at least better than the 70's frame welds I see on the bike.

I don’t think I’ll ever get instagram worthy TIG welds unless I build some sort of power assist for the rod. My left hand is just too buggered up. Might get better with practice... I still tell myself that I should try feeding rod while I’m watching the next episode of “As the stomach turns” on the national news channel. I look at MIG the same way. I’m never “really” happy with the way they turn out, but they usually look as good or better than the factory welds. There seems to be some sort of law or rule that if the weld is hidden it will be flawless. The more visible it is, the higher the odds you’re going to shit the bed, the breaker will blow, or the feed will hiccup. That Lincoln TIG just hoses out the argon. No post flow adjustment, so the cost of practicing isn’t cheap. Might add a manual solenoid valve. My AC TIG hasn’t improved since I did this a good while back.... not sure I want to get really good cause then folks start showing up at your door. Did some for a friend the other day and thought afterwords I should have fucked it up. Something to be said for creative incompetence. Keeps them from coming back or sending work your way.

 

[TrialsRider]

50% art 50% science, if you don't get equal penetration to both pieces of metal or lack back fill you're going to have a failure.
Is way easier to weld 2 pieces of the same type and thickness material to begin with,
if you are welding washing machines to motorcycle frames it just became 99% science and 1% art.

I used to sell and service microscopes that were used in destructive testing of such things, they do a test weld, cut a cross section of the test weld and then examine the metal structures and boundaries, was very cool stuff and gives you a far better appreciation of the science involved to do it right.

 

[jcw]

Learn to cut? You aren't using a tube notcher?

I print out templates with a CAD program and trace it on the tubing. Rough cut with a cut off and finish on the grinding wheel.
At one point, I could cut a tube and have it perfect for fit up in 5 minutes.
Never bothered to get a tube notcher

 

[gt alex]

its been slow going but time for a update.
1st the engine is running again so the gumtree used cdi worked.
The wiring looms have been rerun to fit the new rear
the rear end is ready for sand blasting then I will be epoxy priming it, and I will get some 2 pack paint to match the oem frame colour.
The new lithium battery fits just.
I have started work on a single throttle body manifold which is just a experiment, the 42mm tb flows 450cfm and is a vintage mechanical setup (who knows how it will end up, I just can't help myself)

Anyway here's some pics

 

[Oldjeep]

I print out templates with a CAD program and trace it on the tubing. Rough cut with a cut off and finish on the grinding wheel.
At one point, I could cut a tube and have it perfect for fit up in 5 minutes.
Never bothered to get a tube notcher

Guess if you are only doing a couple that would be fine. Building roll cages that would have taken me forever, not to mention all the cutoff wheels and dust.

 

[Oldjeep]

its been slow going but time for a update.
1st the engine is running again so the gumtree used cdi worked.
The wiring looms have been rerun to fit the new rear
the rear end is ready for sand blasting then I will be epoxy priming it, and I will get some 2 pack paint to match the oem frame colour.
The new lithium battery fits just.
I have started work on a single throttle body manifold which is just a experiment, the 42mm tb flows 450cfm and is a vintage mechanical setup (who knows how it will end up, I just can't help myself)

Anyway here's some pics

Jeebus, those are some awful looking welds. I hope you take a lot of time to make sure that nothing breaks in the garage and at low speed before you subject any of that to real stress