6/28/09
6/27/09
SR500 exhaust done!
This came out very nice! About a $14 total project. I had to weld an 8" extension to the header, so about as simple as it gets. It sounds f'n rad! Now I gotta decide if I want to paint the rims while I'm doing the chain and sprockets.
6/26/09
SR stuff
Waiting on the chain and sprockets to arrive, and decided to do a little exhaust project. Now will be a great time, before final carb jetting is done. I like the stock muffler, but it is a bit heavy, long, and I'm not really a LOUD exhaust guy, but this thing is too quiet for me. So, I'm using the front stock muffler from my Sportster. This was removed in 2003 with just a few hundred miles use, and has been sitting since. The stock SR muffler weighs over 11 pounds, and the Sportster muffler under 6, so a decent 5 pound savings. The hanger is in the perfect location, and I'll just need to get a short piece to connect it to the header.
SR500 muffler on the top. It's huge!
Baffle plug punched out! It should look and perform nicely. Pics to come when installed!
SR500 muffler on the top. It's huge!
Baffle plug punched out! It should look and perform nicely. Pics to come when installed!
6/25/09
6/23/09
6/22/09
The good old days...
...are right now. I took the SR out back to play in the grass this afternoon. Just a bit of throttle, and it loves to get sideways!
The bike seems to run like a champ so far. It has a broken roller on the chain, so I plan on new sprockets and chain before road testing, and still need to go get plates.
The bike seems to run like a champ so far. It has a broken roller on the chain, so I plan on new sprockets and chain before road testing, and still need to go get plates.
6/21/09
Buell Blast dragbike
Today was the annual Moville Groundshakers Fathers Day dragrace at Bunker Hill Dragstrip in Indiana. Always a great event with many types of bikes, but I really got a kick out of this Buell Blast. Definitely not your average dragbike! More pics from the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/speedfourjoe/sets/72157620106995172/
6/20/09
6/19/09
6/15/09
Japan
Here's the latest from http://www.shin883.com.
I've been looking at some of these Japanese sites for years, and I'm always amazed at the work and creativity they put in their bikes.
6/14/09
6/13/09
6/12/09
6/11/09
6/8/09
6/6/09
Closer...
...Almost ready to thump! I need to do some paint touch-up on the frame where I welded on new tabs, and cut off some old ones. Someday it'll get taken down to the frame to do everything really nice, like I'm doing on my XT500, but until then it will be a bit on the ratty side. With the new carb I'm starting with a 35 pilot jet and 240 main, so we'll see how that goes.
Fender and lights mounted, but still needs wired. I welded on tabs to mount the signals behind the shocks.
The new bars are my favorite mod so far. This is the Motion Pro "Turbo" throttle. Really a nice piece. The grips are the original ones from my Triumph S4, as I replaced them with heated grips when that bike was fairly new, and look great on the SR. Also the new stainless braided brake line is installed.
Fender and lights mounted, but still needs wired. I welded on tabs to mount the signals behind the shocks.
The new bars are my favorite mod so far. This is the Motion Pro "Turbo" throttle. Really a nice piece. The grips are the original ones from my Triumph S4, as I replaced them with heated grips when that bike was fairly new, and look great on the SR. Also the new stainless braided brake line is installed.
6/5/09
Fender and taillight for the SR500
I'm going to use this 1982 Suzuki GS650GL rear fender and re-pop Sparto aluminum taillight on the SR500.
