New World Datsuns...

Marc bailed today so I worked alone. Tore the rear all apart again to refine the mounts and did some degreasing/cleaning. Put it all back together and rode it around a bit. I'm gonna need a longer kickstand.

izzo » Sat Nov 28, 2015 10:09 pm wrote:dude that thing is coming along nicely. and is pretty sick I might add! Wish I had the vision to do stuff like this. Looks super fun.

Thanks dude. Glad you're enjoying the builds. Not much to it really. Just started with a cheap, lame bike and took off everything that wasn't cool. Aside from adding the rear shock mounts (which is totally reverseable) and clipping the rear frame, it's mainly cosmetic. Marc's C-monster has quite a bit more custom work done to it-- much of which is unfucking what the previous owner did to it. These things are gonna be a blast and we're both itching to blast the back roads next spring.

Marc came over yesterday for a few hours. He had another rear shock to try out. This one was from an FZR with an 800# spring. Still too soft. We played with placement a bit but didn't really make any improvements. Spent several hours just looking at it and throwing out any ideas we could come up with. We kind of settled on the strategy to bag it. The theory is that it will take some of the stress off the shock mounts while being infinitely adjustable up to about 3000#. It's not set in stone but we're working that direction.

No pics because there's nothing to see.

Marc's ADD overruled all desire to do it the easy way. Full rear suspension redesign is in the works now for the C-monster. GODDAM YOU, youtube! He found a series of vids posted by a fabricator that had a shop full of specialty tools and is a pro welder. Even with all that, he admitted that he had over 40 hours in the rear swingarm alone. So naturally that's what Marc wants to do. I've got a couple plans to make it simpler...if he doesn't change his mind again before we get started.

Swingarm bag showed up for Zero. I ordered distressed brown because I figured it would be easy to paint black if I didn't like it.

Headlights should be here later next week. I may have my air filter fitment handled too. Pics after the next work day.

Went out to the shop to do some cleanup yesterday and completely sidetracked myself with some other little projects. I grabbed a piece of scrap exhaust pipe at work last week and stretched one end to the size of the intermediate intake plenum. Then stretched the small end ever so slightly so that it would fit snugly inside the filter. Reducer is clamped to the plenum, filter is friction fit.


Hung the swingarm bag just to see how it looks. It fits the space like it was made for it and does it's jobs -- covers the battery and provides a place for a little cargo. I think it'll work out okay, plus I've never seen anyone use one like this before so it's kind of interesting.

Rocking along nicely. I like it. Can't wait to see it finished.

Did some of this last night...

Did a mock-up of the headlights along with the tail light and license plate bracket.


You probably noticed that there is extra exhaust in place. I think I mentioned earlier that I'll have two complete exhaust systems. One system (the one that's currently installed) is the factory head pipes and H-box with the Harley Sportster mufflers. 2-1-2 that sounds a bit throaty -- actually reminiscent of a Ducati. The second system isn't really even started yet. It'll be a combination of regular exhaust pipe, flexible pipe, and I'm thinking I might use this old resonator I saved off a Cadillac. This will be 2-1 and I suspect it'll be somewhat raspy. The goal is high ground clearance.
I made a few misc brackets and played with the turn signals and horn too. Since Marc isn't going to be around this week I may move on to different projects for a bit. Need to do a health check on the LT1. Was planning a 100 mile polar bear ride on the Goldwing today but woke up to snow on the ground.

Marc's girlfriend just sent me this from last weekend...

This is one I forgot I had in my phone. Was probably taken a couple hours before the one above. Marc was cutting off the rear structure before we started to rebuild it and raise the tank and seating position. It's gonna be ridiculously tall when it's done. I probably won't even be able to ride it.

I'm getting ready to start selling my unused parts. Devoted my evening to dissecting the fairing. Since the fairing itself is cracked, it's worth nothing. In all it's parts, I'll hopefully make a few bucks. Check out the pile of radio/CB/intercom stuff...

Good lord, man! Took over an hour to extricate all the components. Hope it'll be worth it. Ebay prices are all over the place, like, $30-$600.

Work day scheduled for Sunday. Stay tuned.

Wow that is a lot of stuff!

It is. And it's all stuffed in the cavity between the inner and outer fairing shell. I did a little research and found that there were two types of factory radios. The type 1 was just a radio that was mounted in the lower left. Mine is the type 2 that integrates a radio, CB, intercom system for pilot and passenger. and usually a cassette deck which mine didn't have. It's over complicated by today's standards for sure. On top of having all the separate components plugged together, there are about a dozen in-line fuses buried in there. It's a mess.
The Silverwing and Goldwing share the same fairing, and therefore, the same radios. My GL1100 was also an Interstate but didn't have a factory radio. Instead, it had factory speakers and an old automotive AM/FM cassette mounted inside one of the cargo pockets. Very simple and effective. In fact, I still remember it was playing Crosby Stills Nash and Young's "Ohio" loud and clear after it came to rest upside down against a tree when I rolled it down an embankment many years ago.

Another biker build-off Sunday...
We welded in the new rear structure which consisted of parts of the old hoops' radiuses (radii?) and some DOM. Essentially what we did is raise the seating position about 4" as well as level out the tank. Marc is 6'5" and this makes a relatively medium-small bike much more comfortable for him. It also gives it a completely unique look. The ebay seat isn't really mounted yet but we have most of the bracketry cut and ready to weld in.




Just for contrast, here's a pic of what his bike would have originally looked like.

What we tried to do was take all the contradicting angles and eliminate what we could. The focus started with the stiffening ribs in the side of the engine case. The tank and seat was leveled to that. These are really awkwardly designed from the start.
After the seat is mounted we'll probably move on to building a battery mount and start in on the wiring.

Again, I did nothing to mine. Just sorted and boxed up some parts.

The before and during pic, sure makes the changes stand out

Yeah, it's a pretty dramatic change.

ran out of likes physically, but mentally I'm all like like like like like like like!

Thanks dude.

would be a lie if I said I havnt checked out a few of these oddball, watercooled, heads hangin out the sides, Hondas. I hated the look of the engine and chassi when I first noticed them.... but ill be damned if they havnt grown on me!

They are an oddity. Guess that's why they're referred to as the plastic maggot.