Drouin Supercharged Zed makeover.

[justify]A little something i've been working on over the past six weeks or so while i take a break from the Turbo Moriwaki build which is dragging on far too long. 
Some of you may recall the Drouin Supercharged Zed i built back in 2008 which has been pretty much a garage ornament for the past ten years with most of it spent on a shelf i made to gain floor space for a milling machine.[/justify]



Fast forward to mid April this year when a fit of new found enthusiasm and inspiration from the Racecrafters build led me to thinking that it shouldn't take much work to get a similar look for the Drouin and a bike that i might actually want to ride.
So after dumping the drop bars ,vapour dash, big headlight and Green paint job (which i grew to hate)  for some Renthals, risers, GPZ1100 unitrack clocks, number board and my take on the one year only 1976 Wes Cooley Yoshi style livery this is the result which was completed today.
It's hard to believe the difference a relatively few changes have made and the bike is barely recognisable from it's former self.
Hope you like it..


 
 




 
 

Nice collection,any info/ stats on them?

Stusco wrote:

Nice collection,any info/ stats on them?

There are BOTM features on both the "Racecrafter" and the alloy tanked special that have all the specs

Rob you know following the rebirth I am coming calling for a BOTM feature

Wow!

They look fast, even when parked on your yard. 

You're one of those rare elusive Super mechanical geniuses that can craft tasty historical race inspired machines that look the part! I'm sure it's inspired by function before fashion but You pull it off soo eloquently! Top Shelf Rob, literally too because well..you did pull the Drouin from the top shelf ha. If in my location, that open supercharger belt shroud housing would of been full of mud dauber nests if left uncovered! You must have a vast inventory of vintage stickers too! Apparently that Boost gauge you'd talked about earlier "grew on you", still using it. Thank-You for sharing!!        

asphalt900 wrote:

You're one of those rare elusive Super mechanical geniuses that can craft tasty historical race inspired machines that look the part! I'm sure it's inspired by function before fashion but You pull it off soo eloquently! Top Shelf Rob, literally too because well..you did pull the Drouin from the top shelf ha. If in my location, that open supercharger belt shroud housing would of been full of mud dauber nests if left uncovered! You must have a vast inventory of vintage stickers too! Apparently that Boost gauge you'd talked about earlier "grew on you", still using it. Thank-TYou for sharing!!        

Thanks. But i'm no genius. I build them for function and just get lucky most times with the result.
I'm blown away by the massive transformation that resulted from what is mainly a change of paint which i didn't anticipate to have such an effect on the overall look and stance of the whole bike.
I can hardly believe it's the same machine and have to credit the painter for the result by turning my scribbled etchings and fairly loose instructions on a bit of paper into reality.
Apart from certain details and the major lines on the tank i gave him free reign with the mudguard ( which is plain black on the Cooley bike) and number boards etc on the seat which turned out miles better than the vision in my head.
As for the stickers.
It's only the ones dotted around the swingarm and engine that are actual stickers with the graphics on the bodywork being all paint with no vinyl at all.
And yes! The boost gauge doesn't stand out like a sore thumb now that it's in it's complete surroundings and i think it's just conspicuous enough to give a hint that there's something else going on if the blower somehow hasn't been spotted first.


 

Is that S&S carb working good on the Supercharged bike? I remember you mentioning it had a adjustable main jet. 
 

Injected wrote:

Is that S&S carb working good on the Supercharged bike? I remember you mentioning it had a adjustable main jet. 


 

Yes! It's a Super G shorty.
After completing the cosmetic changes and giving the engine a service and fresh fuel the bike started 2nd kick after being dormant for at least the last 6 years.
It didn't need any choke, runs very rich at idle and will foul the plugs if left ticking over a while which i don't remember being as severe when it was being used regularly.
I've have now dumped the adjustable main because it was shear guess work and too easy to fiddle with and despite dialling down the fuel screw and accel pump the idle is still too rich so have ordered some smaller intermediate jets and have fitted a 99 main for starters until we get some decent dry weather so i can plug chop it for top end once the rich bottom is sorted.
On the one dry day when i took these pics i gave it a 50 mile run to reacquaint myself and test the one off inverted lock up clutch i made for it and it runs perfect otherwise so shouldn't be too much trouble getting it fine tuned.

Do you have the pulley ratio's setup for standard street boost or is it setup for higher performance running?

Injected wrote:

Do you have the pulley ratio's setup for standard street boost or is it setup for higher performance running?


 

There were 3 sets of alternative ratios available .Two for the street and the other for racing.
I have both street sets.
I currently have the lowest set fitted which is supposed to produce around 6 to 8 psi ( but doesn't according to the new pressure gauge ) and i did run the higher set but it's been so long i don't remember the difference.
The boost gauge i originally had fitted failed in a very very short time so never really knew how much boost i was getting but on the lowest pulley set the bike would out accelerate my mates 05 ZX10R up to around 160 mph so it doesn't go too bad on the standard  "street" ratio.