The tank was powder coated chrome (which has the effect of polished alloy), original front mudgaurd cut down & sprayed matt black, pattern RD400 headlight on stainless mounts were fitted, ABS custom infiills made, custom speedo fitted (more of that later), racing plates fitted to cover the electrical horrors, LED indicators & tail light fitted along with a cheapo steel rear mudgaurd & finally the seat was cut down, reformed & recovered which dashed my hopes of the planned career change from Handyman to Upholsterer.
The original intention had been to work with what I had but I needed to do something with that rear section as it looked a tad fat arse when viewed from behind:
No option but to bite the bullet, buy a cheapish MIG, some tube, the obligatory hoop & learn to weld (thanks Youtubers).
Next job was to brace the tube work & fit some kind of under-tray for the electrics. ABS to the rescue again, its dead easy to work with, you can bend it, cut it, drill it, glue it, paint it, its tough & doesn't rust:
The old shock although working was very rusty, also I required a bit more clearance between the wheel & the electrics tray. A second hand Kawasaki ER6 item was sourced as they are cheap, readily available in the here in England, give about 2” more clearance & use the same size bolts with the addition of a couple of spacers on the lower mounting. The side stand was replaced with an item from a Kawasaki GPZ750A which overcomes the increased stature & fits with only the slightest modification. Now where can I put the battery???
The seat base was formed using exterior ply edged with 3mm ABS to give a lip, a cable operated seat catch (more Kawa bits) fitted with the male part of the catch fashioned from a 12mm bolt. The front catch was made from 6mm aluminum & I still need to find a home for the battery:
A layer of closed cell foam was applied under the top firm foam which was shaped with the aid of a bread knife & flapper wheel. Additionally a tail tidy was made up from yet more ABS:
The electrics all in place:
Now where am I going to put that battery????????? I think I have a cunning plan............