But I feel that a month is a "Suitable Interval" since the end of my tour, and now Im gonna put the od post up again :)
Ive been back in a "normal" life for about a month now and thats long enough for me to "get my stuff together" and so now Im starting in on my first "Project" :)
And as I suggested while I was on my ride, Ive been wanting to work on a couple of motorbike projects.
Now, Id like to do some modification work on the big touring bike, but since its my only form of transport, and my work is a 45 minute comute away, I kinda need the bike to be working ... ie I cant pull it to pieces and leave it that way for a week or a month etc.
So, Ive decided to work on the little "sport" bike project I had in mind...
I started tracking down parts for the project.
So, while I was looking for parts for this project on the local "Craigs List" web site, I came across a bike for sale of the right model year, and with the front end modifications I wanted to do already done.... So, I went and had a look at it and after much thought, I decided to buy it as the base for the modified bike...
I had to take some more money from my loan to do it, but it wasnt too expensive because its an old bike and its been a bit scratched up... Mechanically its very good but aesthetically it could use some more work :)
So, this is the bike (2002 Suzuki SV650S, with the front wheel brakes and suspension of a 2005 GSXR750)...
And then after some more hunting around on the web, and a few phone calls here and there, I found the other major component that Im looking for...
The rear swing-arm of a Honda VFR800...
Its a "single sided swing arm", which means that the wheel is only held to the bike on one side. And that makes the bike look much nicer as far as Im concerned :)... And thats all this project is about... It wont make the bike faster or handle better... Itll just look nicer :)
... But its gonna be quite an effort to get it done.
You see, the new swing arm doesnt naturally "fit" on the bike that I want to put it. Its too wide for the bikes frame, and the suspension linkage is different, and the chain alignment will need to be changes too... Its gonna need cutting and welding and machining etc. So, its a project that will take a while for me to find people to do the work I need done at a cheap price.
And then I need to get the body work painted... And there are a couple of other things that will take time to get done...
So, its gonna take a few months, but its a project that I want to do, and thats under way and that makes me happy, so I thought Id share it with you. There will be some more posts as the project progresses.
