[venturesomerite]

This is an awesome project, I really like what you've done!

[katman1260]

Powder Coating my Katana

For those who have never powder coated a frame here is the run down.
It is always a good idea to protect all the threads in the frame with bolts. Bolts you won't want to be using later. That way when the frame is media blasted, the threads are not blasted too as well as, they don't fill up with media. If media gets into holes with threads in them it is a bit of a deal digging it out.
If you thread a bolt into said hole there is a good chance it will cease and brake off while you are trying to tighten it up. If some threads are blasted you can "chase" them with a tap. That will clean them up and they will be good to go.
Next, Powder is thick. Some things may not fit after powder. For a katana guy things like the rear brake pedal pivot bolt. IF powder gets into the boss, the shaft may not fit anymore. Same goes for the shifter pivot on the frame and the kick stand mount. Things like peg pins or bolts may no longer fit. Just ask the powder dude to tape off the shifter pivot and the inside of the brake pivot, or you may be doing a little sanding later.
leave the old steering stem races in place and replace them after the frame is done. If you do wheels, for goodness sake take out the bearings before. Sounds stupid but I know of guys who mounted wheels with media filled bearings because they were too lazy or too cheap to replace them. Bearings and grit do not play well together.
IF you are thinking of doubling down and doing some bolts with the frame, after all they are there anyway remember this. Allen head (socket head) bolts may be hard to get out with the allen key as the hole will be much smaller with powder in there. Hex bolts will not longer fit your wrench. Did I mention powder is thick?
I had all my stainless steel gound points taped off so they would be clean after powder. Powder dude saw fit to remove all the tape and powdered all of them but one for some reason so, I spent some time filing off the powder.
See you tomorrow.

[il_ragazzo]

i wonder what company made your EFI.... and i also wonder if they make fuel rails and other EFI parts for other older models.

[chrisgreer23]

Dumbass

[katman1260]

i wonder what company made your EFI.... and i also wonder if they make fuel rails and other EFI parts for other older models.

Tony, the T.B's are Hillborn (still sold today), the controler is Simply Digital Systems, also available today. Both systems can be used on a variety of bikes.

Today was spent preping and painting parts. Not much polish or bare alum on this project.
GLOSS BLACK: pegs, wheels, brake pedal, shifter, brake pivot, gsxr rear master, brake hanger, hub, Semi Gloss Black, under seat pan, bat box, surge tank, on and on. Took some pics tonight but they don't look 1/2 as good as the bike looks. Need some daylight. Also need some blacker black. NOt sure if I am happy with the T1 Plasticoat gloss black. Looks a little brown to me compared to the swingarm.

Cust some stainless steel spacers for the rear wheel and polished them for some contrast in the sea of black back there. I think I am going to change the color of the under seat pan as well. Pegs took some time to take apart clean, sand, paint, sand, paint, polish the pins, paint again.

I have to start the wheels shortly so I can get the tires mounted, as well as the forks. Painting them gloss black too. Basically everything south of the cosmetics will be a mixture of gloss, semi gloss black with touches of polish and alum.

[il_ragazzo]

wow...don't mind me ... i'm an air head today.

[katman1260]

Today was spent taking inventory of fasteners. Didn't realize how many and how many different sizes I need for all the extra bits.
Been having trouble with adhesion to my under-seat pan. I think it is anodized on one side. The stuff is like teflon. Nothing is sticking to the one side. Of course its the up side.

Was looking for a good place for the keyless digital ignition module, things are pretty tight for space since most of it is hidden.

The katana has chrome or plated acorn bolts and nuts for dress. After playing around with them I think its off to media blasing for them. Nothing is sticking to them either. Have to take a step backwards to get the under pan done now. will hold things up for a bit while that gets sorted out.

[katman1260]

katana under seat panel

Right!
today was work on the rear seat panel. I had made one out of tin but was time to make a real one out of 1/8" alum. She is just about done, just need a little tweaking and fine tunign the lines to match the rear seat support/lock mount, then paint. Maybe, I may leave it natural with some clear.
The bits on it are, usb iphone power outlet, led button switch to power it as it used power while not in use and finally a volt meter to keep tabs on the consuption and state of the battery for various things. It and the usb will be connected to the switch so they won't be on all the time.

[katman1260]

This is proving to be a challenge. Nothing seems to be sticking to the aluminum very well. My finger nail will scrape it off so nicks will be a problem. After days of trying different methods nothing has worked. I tried paint that does not need primer. I have tried primer and etching primer with no luck.
Then there are the bolts I am painting. On a katana the motor mount and pivot bolts are chrome or nickel plated. I have sanded and filed but no luck with paint sticking.
I found out that the aluminum I used for the under pan is anodized on one side. Some on the internet say that the anodize makes the alum perfect for painting, well, it doesn't. I took everything over today to the media blaster. Motor mount bolts, pivot bolt, nut and washer, as well as the under seat pans that hold all the electrics.
I am done messing around with them. I was thinking of trying to get away with it but once everything is in place it would be a job to remove it all to paint every season. I did not get them powder coated just media blasted. The bolts will be a special color, but the under seat pans will be semi gloss black. The pics below show the first couple of coats of etching primer. If the paint doesn't stick now (and I can't see why it would not) then off to powder they will go.

[katanarider]

I haven't read too far up in this build but from what I can tell you have a couple of sheets of metal. I just wanted to throw a idea to you , if its no good, oh well... But I think you maybe able to have some sheets of black stickers cut to cover the sheet metal. I know of a guy around here that has had a whole bike covered in a great big sticker. I've even seen cars covered entirely with one big sticker full of advertisments. Just a idea
Edit: you can also try rubber coating

[diavolo]

Depending on the aluminum used - either 6061 or 7000 series, you can anodize it fairly cheaply at home, or send them out.

[katman1260]

I haven't read too far up in this build but from what I can tell you have a couple of sheets of metal. I just wanted to throw a idea to you , if its no good, oh well... But I think you maybe able to have some sheets of black stickers cut to cover the sheet metal. I know of a guy around here that has had a whole bike covered in a great big sticker. I've even seen cars covered entirely with one big sticker full of advertisments. Just a idea
Edit: you can also try rubber coating

I did think of using some sort of covering but thought that it may not ware very well. Also considered that rubber dip for tools. Blasting was the easiest solution.

Depending on the aluminum used - either 6061 or 7000 series, you can anodize it fairly cheaply at home, or send them out.

Much cheaper to blast and paint. They are already primed so paint it is.

[katman1260]

Much better....
panels came out great. Just like I had hoped. With the new lithium battery I am getting I have enough room in my battery box for the RFID keyless ignition module. The battery is 10 lbs lighter and 2" narrower than the stock gs battery. My favorite feature is no more trickle charging over winter. These bad boys can hold their charge for up to a year and can last up to 8 years and has 60 more cold cranking amps than stock.
and before you ask, the RFID unit in the bike is a mock up. The real one is sealed up with epoxy and the mount won't stay raw alum like in the pic. Still working on all the detail work.
Here are a couple shots of them done.

[katman1260]

Started the assembly process after powder coating, priming and painting. The rear wheel is not the wheel I will be using, infact it is for sale if someone needs one. Rubber is good on it.
The wheels will be the next task. They will be gloss black as will the front forks.






IF you haven't guessed, the bike color is going to be ZO6 Vette Atomic Orange.

Here are a couple more...

Below is a sprocket of my own design. I have them made in Oregon by my sprocket guy. I put them together with a front 530 sprocket for a conversion kit for stock gs bikes. The front sprocket has the spacer built into it and the spline is wider than all the others so there is better spread of forces along your output shaft. This should help with les ware on the output shaft spline. I think I am going to do the rear sprockets in polish and blue anodize. Only the black is hard anodize.
The 530 conversion sprockets are available from my site. The red sprocket nuts are not staying. they are just what I had laying around. They will be replaced with black, stainless or orange.

[katman1260]

upgrading a katana swing arm

If you were wondering what swingarm I am using on this project, it is a bandit 1200 swing arm. When I first began modifying katanas I was told to use a gsxr swing arm. That is what everyone used. A dude over the pond sugested I use a bandit arm. So, I went down to the local bike wreckers and purchased a bandit 1200 swing arm. Dude was right.
I say this because I have had lots of bad advise over the years. Anyway, the nice thing about the bandit arm is you don't have to butcher the frame to get it installed. With the gsxr swing arms you have to remove the peg stays and use rear sets. I did not want to remove the peg stays. The 1200 bandit arm is a little narrower in the pivot than the GS suzuki so I make custom reducer bushings to take up the space. The bandit pivot is also larger in diameter than the GS suzuki so the bushings reduce the pivot size back to 16mm to enable use in the katana frame, or 1100e frame and 750 frame for that matter. If you are doing this kind of upgrade, you can purchase these bushings from www.parts.suzuki-katana.com.
For the katana enthusiast there are a couple other areas to modify for perfect fitment. First, the mono shock boss mount on the swing arm has to be removed. If it is not, it will hit the battery box and grenade your battery. Next, it gets a little tight in the rear brake pedel actuator area. Some modifying is needed for clearance there and the brake return spring tab needs to be relocated and the pedal stop pad needs a trim.
Ok, now what is left is some shock mounts. Be careful, think ahead, and make sure you have enough room for chain clearance past the shock springs. Not all shocks are created equal. Koni shocks have small diameter springs where as Fox shocks are large diameter and run all the way down to the bottom of the shock. Many instances of chain/spring contact have been recorded. Moving the left shock mount outboard a few mm will rectify this problem. (remember to space the top of the shock out as well to keep things parallel.
CNC shock mounts are also available at www.parts.suzuki-katana.com. Now that you have replaced that wet noodle of a swing arm that flexed badly with the bike tire the katana came with, you will have no worries with the new radial 180 tire you are mounting on now. You can mount a 5.5" rim with a 180 tire onto the stock swing arm but I don't know why you would want to.
I have added some swing arm extensions to my bandit arm to give the katana some much needed stretch. Since the bolt on extensions are not made so much for cornering but for straight line runs, I have welded them on for safety. I have also modified the mono shock area to hold my oil catch can that is being fed from the clutch cover and cam cover crank case vent. If you are wondering why, take your oil filler cap off while the bike is running and put your hand over the opening.