My Winter Madness

[Joe Dahero]

Hey all. Been lurking here a long time. Thought I'd share the fruits of the knowledge I've gained by reading these boards. This project started as a crazy idea some time last summer. I'm not done yet but at least you get the general idea where we're headed. I'll stop yapping and let the pics speak for themselves. Let me know what you think.

[seabass10369]

what is that windscreen from

[toastershakins]

this will undoubtedly sound very strange, but thats one of the cleanest rear ends i've ever seen.

[Joe Dahero]

As luck would have it we're also doing some major cosmetic surgery on my brother's EX500 involving a TL1000S upper faring. Since he didn't need his windscreen anymore I decided to try to adapt it to the Katana. Wanted something with more sweep. The current one is his old one and what I used for my experimentations. I'll buy a new n e eventually and use this one as a template.

[Kfreak]

this will undoubtedly sound very strange, but thats one of the cleanest rear ends i've ever seen.

Where did you get the rear section from? I agree on the streamline end. It makes for a nice transition.

[GytRDunKat]

Dood! That looks AWESOME! Definitely one of a kind. I like it!

[NiteMare]

not sure but i think that's a buell seat unit and subframe

[seabass10369]

really digging the screen. got any closer pics of it. how hard was it to fit?

[Kfreak]

not sure but i think that's a buell seat unit and subframe

I thought of a Buell . Could it be from a Blast? I gotta know. I want it!
You got that frame off a 2000 Buell Lightening didn't you.

[BlueKat101]

holy crap! that it one awesome custom setup ,luvin the screen please tell how you set it up

[buckshot]

its different...one of a kiind

[hardlydangerous]

What year TL is that screen from?
are they all the same.... That is exactly what I have been looking for.

[Bright Wire]

The underside of the tail needs to be closed up to cover the loose wires otherwise that is one sick looking bike.

[ITS_NOT_A_KNIFE]

the tail looks to be from a lightning xb, not a blast....very clean i must say, now you just have to do a headlight swap....love it

[Joe Dahero]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. A little more about the project for those who are interested. The bike is a '98 that I've had since '98 and put 26k miles on. In '99 I had an engineer friend make some new dogbones for the suspension giving me about 1.5" more ride height than stock out back. She's been basically like that ever since.

Last summer I was wrestling with the idea of buying a new bike. Wanted a new scoot but didn't want a payment. Then I thought that if I could modify this one for the price of a few payments and be happy with it then I'd have the best of both worlds plus something to do while there was snow on the ground.

The inspiration was the Honda RC212V GP Racer. The idea was to do something radical but still retain the overall identity of the bike. As the project was intended to be on a budget everything has been sourced via Ebay.

Little brother got the ball rolling with a 2006 Yamaha R6 exhaust can for Christmas. This worked exceptionally well, as the diameter of the outlet on the new can is substantially greater than the stocker. Sounds mean as hell and runs great. The downside was the new pipe looked out of place with the stock tail making it painfully obvious that I needed to get rolling on the tailsection.

The tailsection is from a 2001 Buell Lightning X1, the seat from the same but a 1999. Figured it would simplify things because of the lack of plastic, plus it achieves the goal of shortening up the tail. The downside is that the bike is basically monoposto now because of the lack of passenger pegs. That's ok, can't remember the last time the wife was on the bike.

Got the saddle earlier this week and fitted it Friday night. Not quite done, need to close up a gap between the front of the saddle and the tank. As for the undertail, we're glassing today. I have an aftermarket CBR 954 LED tail light with integrated turnsignals we'll be putting in. Its all wired up and functional, just needs something to mount to.

Sorry for my earlier post being unclear. The windscreen is from a '94 EX500. It was really an afterthought that my brother suggested. Its not a perfect fit by any stretch of the imagination. You have to do some pretty extensive cutting and the mounts don't work quite right but you can make anything work with enough imagination and a dremel. I'm curious to see how an aftermarket screen is going to work. The screen needs to be flattened somewhat to work and it seems some aftermarket screens are of a more flexible material than others. I think a Zero Gravity will work best. Had a (i think) Speed Screens windscreen on the Katana before and its really stiff. Will let you all know when I get to there, but its a low priority right now.

Incidentally, I also redid the front brakes, replacing the whole system with master cylinder, slave cylinder, lines and calipers from a 2001 SV650S. The lower lever bracket on my stock master cylinder broke some years ago and I've been procrastinating replacing it since. The new system has a remote fluid reservoir which I've always though was more attractive.

Next on deck: 2006-2008 Yamaha R6 rearsets and pegs. Its the obvious choice because of the pipe mount on the right side and the engine case mounted shift linkage of the R6 on the left. That's probably all I'll get through this winter and if I get it all done before the weather warms up I'll be happy.

Took it out yesterday for a short run on our super-secret high-speed test track. Weather was warm and the snow has melted for the moment. Riding position is aggressive and VERY compact. Steering is fast but not twitchy. The setup puts you much further forward on the bike than the stock, which is OK because of the position I typically ride in. Its not nearly as comfortable as the stock setup but I didn't really design it with comfort in mind. The setup is tall but no taller than it has been for 9 years with the modified rear suspension. I'm excited to spend some real time on some of my favorite stretches of twisty pavement to see how the change in body position effects real world handling.

Still to do (next winter): Opening up the tail end accentuates the swingarm, which I've never thought was particularly attractive. Now its an eyesore. I have an RF900R swingarm sitting on the shelf in the shop waiting to go on. Still need to acquire all the other parts for the swap. Thinking for simplicity sake of using an RF900R wheel. The motivation for the swingarm mod is primarily aesthetic and reducing the overall wheelbase is a boon. I've run a 170 on the stock Katana hoop for years and I'm happy with it. The RF rear specs a 170 as well I believe. I'm also interested in doing the GSXR/R1 front end mod that's been discussed here in other posts. Trying to do this in stages to avoid being out of commission during riding season. Of course, once all the heavy lifting is done, we'll get a new paint job to finish it all off.

Big thanks to all that have posted their own mods here. This forum has been a godsend of information and inspiration for this project. And thanks again for the feedback. The community here is great. My brother visits an EX500 forum and became so disgusted with the arrogance and flaming there that he rarely visits anymore and subscribes to a TL1000 forum because the community is so much more supportive. You guys are the best!!