after a long absense... the major rebuild begins!!

[airforceranger49]

Ok, so i know that some of you guys have been waiting on this thread, and some may not know what the hell i'm talking about. but after my last major thread...

http://www.katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=109655

and what happened to the kat, i took a few months hiates... gathered my thoughts (and money), and got ready to dive in and rebuild her.

so here's what i can reveal so far, as far as what is going to be done

1. the bike will be returned to her former glory with the same paint scheme
2. hayabusa front end
3. 6 pot calipers with gixxer master cylinder
4. wave rotors all around
5. gixxer 1100 engine punched to 1216 (if a certain somebody still wants to sell it)
6. custom undertail exuast (and when i say custom, i mean CUSTOM)
7. swingarm: still trying to decide on just a widened arm to fit a 5.5 rim, with a 2 " stretch... or going all out with a single sded swingarm
8. custom front bodywork (and i mean CUSTOM... think ducati 999)
9. rf900 rear suspension


the rest of it is still top secret... or atleast until i can figure out if some of my ideas are actually doable...

the budget for this build is going to be pretty large, and i'm still looking for parts, so if you guys come across anything, please let me know.

i'm also open to any suggestions you guys might have... so criticize away

stay tuned... the build will actually officially start in a few weeks... and i can garuntee you guys... once this kat is done, it'll be like no kat you've ever seen before

[Scout]

Glad to see ya again, bro. Looking forward to your re-build!

[mreedohio]

this sounds like it will be sick! pics are a must in the process

[izzy]

Glad to hear that you are rebuilding the bike. After all the work you put into it, not doing this would be a shame.
Can't wait to see it in it's full glory.

[Wild-Bill]

Sorry to hear about your drop. Don't know how I missed it. Might want to add some better tires to that list while it's all still on paper. I just put on some Z6s and I like them a lot.

Looking forward to the pics!

[airforceranger49]

When you start to get into the realm of mods that require any cutting, machining, or welding, my only real advice is, check it once, then check it again, then check it again. If you're modifying lock stops on the new triples, don't just check for turning clearances, put the tank on the bike and check again, put the bodywork on and check again. There is nothing worse than not checking something, getting it painted or powder coated and then realizing something doesn't clear something else by like 3/16". There is good reason to do a complete assembly/mockup before the finishing of ANY parts begins.

What are the plans for the front bodywork? Are you just making the pieces to use directly, or are you modifying/piecing things together and then making a mold/fiberglass pieces?m Are you keeping the same rims or swapping for something else (guessing yes on the rear if you're going 5.5"...what are you swapping for?

great advice waltari... i've been fabbing harley's all my life (my pops is a professional welder, and when i was 13 opened up his own chopper shop)... so i picked up some tricks of the trade along the way... but this will be my first time delbing into some serious metal fabbing on a sportsbike. so... if i run into problems... expect to be getting some pm's from me

as far as the front end goes... i'm still in the planning phase... but this is what i have so far:

the one thing i never liked about the kat is the front end... to me it just looks too flat, and the dual headlights make it look like an old school gsxr to me. so my plan is to give it a lil bit more of a sharper look. pretty much making the front look like a 999... with two headlights, one on top of the other. the low beam will be the bottom, and will be a reagular halogen light (with an HID upgrade of course).. the high beam will be a projector lens (also with a HID upgrade, of course)... my plan to complete it as of right now, has to do with making a mold shaped to the shape i want, then vaccum forming ABS to make the actual shell... the mounts for the headlights, and fairings is still in the works... but i'll def have updates on that, as it comes along.

the rear wheel and swinger, i'm still trying to decide on... not sure if i wanna go with a 5.5 gixxer wheel or a 6" busa wheel... if i go with a single side swinger, then i'll go with a 5.5... but i'm still not sure yet... the decision on the swinger will also come down to how many problems develop with the undertail exhaust i'll be fabbing. i'll defintately keep u guys up to date on the build... right now it's in the final stages of planning.

Sorry to hear about your drop. Don't know how I missed it. Might want to add some better tires to that list while it's all still on paper. I just put on some Z6s and I like them a lot.

Looking forward to the pics!

yea... DEFINATELY adding different tires to the list!!! ****o's are never the way to go... i mean they're an ok tire for cruising around... but if you do any really aggressive riding (which i regularly do) they just dont work....

by the way bill... HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL AT MCGUIRE!!!??? i thought you would have been long gone from that craphole by now

[mammut89]

this sounds major. Good luck, im sure its going to turn out awesome

[1990gsx 600]

umm the ducati front lights has been done before on this site . but it looked good on his bike. interested in this thread im subscribed by the way of you want a single sided swinger you could ship it to waltari and im sure he would mode it for you for a price of course....
this is his handy work http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=110862 from waltari the king of moded bikes

btw waltari i love how that bike looked even without the engine it looked sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wild-Bill]

...by the way bill... HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL AT MCGUIRE!!!??? i thought you would have been long gone from that craphole by now

Can we say code 50?! I got here Nov 18, 2008 (not that I'm keeping track or anything...) and the only way I leave before Nov 18, 2012 is if I retire first which I'll probably do. Wife and I decided that if I make SMSgt this year we'll go ahead and take it but otherwise, I'm retiring in time to get the kids moved before school starts next fall.

[spatula6554]

Oh I am so subscribed to this thread...glad to see you are back!

[Kreylyn]

Just a note on the swingarms... If you want the 6" rim, you can consider some of the swingarms off bikes that use 5.5" or 6" rims and undertail exhausts. Many of them have offset shocks or moulded chanels for the exhaust to run up through/beside them for the undertails.

Krey

[airforceranger49]

Just a note on the swingarms... If you want the 6" rim, you can consider some of the swingarms off bikes that use 5.5" or 6" rims and undertail exhausts. Many of them have offset shocks or moulded chanels for the exhaust to run up through/beside them for the undertails.

Krey

good idea krey... how much fabbing do you think would be involved with this sort of thing??? when an undertail exhaust comes to mind... i think of rr's and zx6r's... and i know that those swingers would be damn near impossible to match up, lol

[Kreylyn]

I'm researching/looking at doing an R1 07-08 swinger mod in the near future. That swingarm has the indention I was speaking of. I don't have one on hand yet to check clearances, but...

Krey

[JokerZwild]

Cant wait to see this!

[Cheriff]

Great. Now I have to find more stuff to do to keep up . Welcome back!