Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

[sirch345]

I luv the hose clip jig Another nice neat job with the spring hooks, well done

What's this mistake you're talking about



Chris.

[Varastorm]

Just in from the shed, & listening to this.



Heads gone, I've cut the frame & made some supports.

Frosty Jack's got me..

Post picks soon.

[Varastorm]

What's this mistake you're talking about

Chris.

Not telling

Yesterday, I did it. I decided to attack the rear subframe. It's taken a while to decide which way to do it & tbh, I'm still not sure which way to go hence the blue tape..

Obviously the main purpose is to hold the electrics, battery, cdi, ignitor & have the reg/rec fastened to the outside. I'm aiming for a similar setup to the original Vtr setup. It's so I don't have to fiddle with the loom & if there are issues with the loom I can purchase another & just plug it in.

I don't want the space too small/large in the box & I'm trying to follow some of the lines of the bike/frame also.

Here's some pictures































Not too sure if I like it tbh, what do you guy's think

[kenmoore]

Looks O.K to me.

The curved shape matches the rest of the bike .

Will it be painted black?

[AMCQ46]

you are on a mission with the cutting disks ..

first though was that it works ok as the kick up bend can be the same angle as the seat bumstop so the lines should flow....

but 2nd thought was that it could be too deep when contrasted to such a thin seat and tank .... so what about flipping the bend over so it goes up first then bends back to blend in with the seat rails? that won't be so strong, but the box section looks stiff enough and with your good welding at the top it will be fine

[fabiostar]

dear lord what you do fills me with dread . i would have long since been sitting in the corner dribbling down my own chin..

[sirch345]

you are on a mission with the cutting disks ..

first though was that it works ok as the kick up bend can be the same angle as the seat bumstop so the lines should flow....

but 2nd thought was that it could be too deep when contrasted to such a thin seat and tank .... so what about flipping the bend over so it goes up first then bends back to blend in with the seat rails? that won't be so strong, but the box section looks stiff enough and with your good welding at the top it will be fine

I can see what Al is getting at there with his 2nd thought.

You're making this look all to easy which I know it's not all that measuring and everything else which goes with it.

I think what you have done so far with the rear sub-frame work is really good. Were you intending to have the center open so the battery box etc will be on full display as I'm not so sure that will look so good, although the can's/pipes will cover up most of that on the left-hand side, but the right-hand side will be open. May be you're intending to fit number boards that will act like side panels just as in the first photo you posted, that should work



Chris.

[Varastorm]

Looks O.K to me.

The curved shape matches the rest of the bike .

Will it be painted black?

Thanks Kenmoore

The logbook states red, but I'm not sure yet. I quite like the black tbh

[VTRDark]

Think of all that extra underseat storage space with the depth. That's never a bad thing. What the heck is that V shaped metal thing your using as a brace with the jack and half brake disc ?

[Varastorm]

you are on a mission with the cutting disks ..

first though was that it works ok as the kick up bend can be the same angle as the seat bumstop so the lines should flow....

but 2nd thought was that it could be too deep when contrasted to such a thin seat and tank .... so what about flipping the bend over so it goes up first then bends back to blend in with the seat rails? that won't be so strong, but the box section looks stiff enough and with your good welding at the top it will be fine

Thanks AMCQ46,

Tbh, the curve for the bottom rails were meant to be shallower. I over bent one side & ended up having to re-bend the first piece to match

The pictures have made the subframe look a lot bigger than it actually is. The usable size of it inside is only around 9" long & 6" deep, allowing the use of a standard Cbr 600 battery to sit perfectly in-between (under) the rails. Then the ignition boxes hopefully will fit in behind in the rear of the compartment.

My big problem is the shed is so full of *handy" stuff it makes it difficult for me to get a good perspective of things & to see if things line up/fit/work together. Also, with the upper frame, tank & seat currently balancing & the rear exhaust silencer mounting point now gone, it's getting difficult to see if it all works together.

What a faf, thanks & I really appreciate your input. I'll look into getting some more box & will make some more, just to see what's what

[Varastorm]

you are on a mission with the cutting disks ..

first though was that it works ok as the kick up bend can be the same angle as the seat bumstop so the lines should flow....

but 2nd thought was that it could be too deep when contrasted to such a thin seat and tank .... so what about flipping the bend over so it goes up first then bends back to blend in with the seat rails? that won't be so strong, but the box section looks stiff enough and with your good welding at the top it will be fine

I can see what Al is getting at there with his 2nd thought.

You're making this look all to easy which I know it's not all that measuring and everything else which goes with it.

I think what you have done so far with the rear sub-frame work is really good. Were you intending to have the center open so the battery box etc will be on full display as I'm not so sure that will look so good, although the can's/pipes will cover up most of that on the left-hand side, but the right-hand side will be open. May be you're intending to fit number boards that will act like side panels just as in the first photo you posted, that should work



Chris.

Cheers Chris,

The plan is.. that once the subframe has been finalised & welded up, I'm going to box it all up.

Part 1.
I was thinking of making it by firstly out of card, using say a cereal box. Cut it into sheets & place the card inside the subframe & mark the card around the frame with a pen. I'll do this on the sides & bottom. Cut out the pieces & Sellotape it up into the required "box".

Once I know it fits, cut the Sellotape so it's back into flat pieces.

Part 2.
Get a pane of glass & wax it up with mold release wax. Then resin it up for either glass fibre or carbon.
Once cured, peel it off the glass. Place the cut cerial box pieces on top to mark & cut out with a cutting disc.

Part 3.
To build it, my plan is to stitch it together with small amounts of P40 (Fibrefill). Then fibreglass inside.

That's the plan in my brain anyway

As for the exhaust hiding the subframe & the number boards, your spot on Chris A little loud but I'll see if it'll work.

Thanks again for your input

[Varastorm]

Think of all that extra underseat storage space with the depth. That's never a bad thing. What the heck is that V shaped metal thing your using as a brace with the jack and half brake disc ?

I doubt there'll be that much room after all those electrics are rammed in Mr Dark.

The V disc effort is my homemade 20mm box bender. Another "handy" tool to fill the shed with

[freeridenick]

Why not make a mould? Get one of those big plastic storage boxes, some expanding foam and bob's your uncle. Sort of.

For the sides you could put the subframe in sideways on spacers. Fill the tub with foam then cut the cured foam off and shape as required. Cover with filler, smooth off and lacquer and you've got a buck to make a mould from.

I did this trying to make a screen. The mould worked fine but the screen failed as I couldn't get a clean compound bend at the pointy end. If it was gf it'd have worked.

[sirch345]

The plan is.. that once the subframe has been finalised & welded up, I'm going to box it all up.

Part 1.
I was thinking of making it by firstly out of card, using say a cereal box. Cut it into sheets & place the card inside the subframe & mark the card around the frame with a pen. I'll do this on the sides & bottom. Cut out the pieces & Sellotape it up into the required "box".

Once I know it fits, cut the Sellotape so it's back into flat pieces.

Part 2.
Get a pane of glass & wax it up with mold release wax. Then resin it up for either glass fibre or carbon.
Once cured, peel it off the glass. Place the cut cerial box pieces on top to mark & cut out with a cutting disc.

Part 3.
To build it, my plan is to stitch it together with small amounts of P40 (Fibrefill). Then fibreglass inside.

That's the plan in my brain anyway

As for the exhaust hiding the subframe & the number boards, your spot on Chris A little loud but I'll see if it'll work.

Thanks again for your input

It sounds like that plan should work well, building a box for that area is something I hadn't thought of. I'm guessing you'll still need to fit a battery box inside the main box to hold it from moving around.

What the heck is that V shaped metal thing your using as a brace with the jack and half brake disc ?

Carl, take a look at this:-
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 75#p452704

Chris.

[Varastorm]

It sounds like that plan should work well, building a box for that area is something I hadn't thought of. I'm guessing you'll still need to fit a battery box inside the main box to hold it from moving around.

Chris.

I'm not too sure about that box idea yet Chris, I'm over thinking too many things tbh..

I've been doing bits, but it doesn't look like much tbh.

A quick run through is that.. I started looking into a lower foot peg idea that I'd been thinking up, I gathered up all the bits but I needed to weld up the frame so I could sit on it to get a better idea of what was what.

So I had to make the decision about the subframe. After looking at many different takes of sub frames, I decided to run with the original idea. It will be hidden anyway so it is no biggie if I do change my mind later.

The bike was disassembled & the main spine welded in along with the subframe supports. There will be more reinforcing added later, but this will do for now & will allow some more progress in other areas.





Another issue that's on it's way to being sorted is the fueling.

I've done a lot of reading about setting up Weber dcoe's on Harleys & because the Vtr is gravity fed I needed to get my hands on a high flow fuel tap to avoid fitting a fuel pump.

Pingel fuel taps were recommended, so Pingel it had to be.

Here's a comparison.





The bike has again been assembled & I've worked out where my legs going to get cooked & had a little play with some protective guards.

The mounts are 50mm Mikalor clamps with 6mm threaded tubing welded to them & the covers are 70mm guttering tubing.

I doubt they'll cope with the heat but it is just a mock up atm.



Another little job is the silencer mount. This was an ugly piece of 25mm mild steel box, this is what I've come up with. I was going to use round threaded tube but the wall thickness was too thin. I had to run a tap down these to clean after welding on 70 amps. Small strong & functional.





It needs a support from the subframe but I have to decide about what I'm going to do with the electric/ subframe box.

Here's a mock-up using mild steel plate. It's quite heavy, not ideal but the subframe would be really strong side ways. Imagine if the bike falls over on the exhausts, it might save the rear from twisting. Over thinking comes to mind