TOPIC:

nice work !

leon

Thanks Leon

The 2.5" radius just looked a tad small so I got this 4" radius (from Burn's Stainless, best quality so far) for the first bend and I think it looks much better; and in theory it should flow better. I got my two bends done for the second part of the header. It was 92 degrees in the shop and after letting loose with the big torch the temp climbed to 105. I was listening to my sweat drip off and sizzle on the pipe, don't want to do that again. Thankfully sand bending is over at this point. Need to fit them up and weld it all together. Eric also picked up a powder coater he was keen to try out so we re-powdered the top triple.

really nicely fit to the frame there sir.

those flanges are pretty freaking awesome as well ! headlight ears,swingarm

dude it has been pretty awesome to watch your skill progression on here through these bike builds

you've come a long way from the guy that joined looking for someone to help him build an engine.

keep up the good work man.

leon

Same here Vic! Nice work! Nothing like "1 off" hand made parts. You've become quite the machinist & fabricator.
Like Leon said, I have watched your build from the beginning.
Keep it going! Invest some $$!! An old Bridgeport Mill, a nice lathe, new Miller welder!
You'll be your own boss someday making motorcycle parts for people all over the World!

thanks for the kind words guys!

I haven't been able to get any work on the project bikes because I have been rebuilding a 78 kz650 with a friend. thought it was gonna be a quick tuneup to get it on the road and it ended up needing damn near everything. We tore it down to the frame and rebuilt the top end of the motor and pretty much rebuilt or replaced everything else. Now that is done i'm hitting the road for a couple weeks on my Falco and when I get back I am going to have a "fabrication vacation" and stay at Eric's shop (50 miles away) for three days while we jam on the kz750 and the kz1000 project to get as much done as possible before I head back south to California for the year. I hope to finish the header for the 750 and bunch of small stuff for the 1000.

Whelp, I finally pulled my finger out and finished the header. It came together pretty nice, but I did have to fudge the fitup a little bit where the second bend meets the straight. You can't see it when its on the bike and I doubt it will affect flow very much. Eric made this sweet tool for putting a uniform finish on headers and it worked great, started with 80 grit and then a polishing belt for a uniform brushed finish before welding it all together. My welds came out OK, still a bit too hot, I'm undecided if I want to polish the heat marks off or not. I also need to start thinking about what I want to do about the muffler, thinking about a kerker-esque stainless can for that vintage performance vibe.

Doctor it's pure art! Leave the heat marks as is.
/A

scubaanders wrote: Doctor it's pure art! Leave the heat marks as is.
/A

+1

Thanks guys.
I finally had some time today to get settled into the new place. For the first time in 5 years I have my OWN garage. It is small but I am so pleased to have my own space. I took the time to wheel the bikes out and get some progress shots with the good camera. I got a bunch of small stuff done on the bike in the last month; painted the rotors, painted the wheel spacers, got the airbox and battery tray installed, got the headlight painted in sealer, and traded for some black Daytona bars. Time to start thinking about paint....

Pretty sexy and different.
Steve