Firstly, this bike is inspired by the Mad Max movies. Especially Mad Max 2 (called ''the road warrior'' in the US). Go see it and this bike will make more sense to you. Go see Mad Max 1 too, 'cos it's a brilliant road movie. Some movies change the way you look at the world, everybody has their favourites, mine are Mad Max 1 & 2.
I have had the bike for a while, I had a huge off road adventure on this bike as I took a year to drive it around Australia. After this I shipped it home to Scotland as I couldn't bear to part with it after having the adventure of a lifetime with it. When removing the rose tinted spectacles I realised I had a 12 year old, high mileage very scruffy trailbike. It had fully depreciated, its monetary value was little above scrap value. However it was still very reliable, and it did everything I needed a bike to do, it was fast enough, comfortable for my 6'6" frame and I couldn't afford anything better.
With no value to lose I decided to do what I've always wanted and build it into a Mad Max bike. Here it is:
Important Announcement
And again, from the other side
That's not Uluru (Ayres Rock) in the background, its a spoilheap from a coal mine.
If you look carefully you can see the number plate... That's the proper size for a number plate. For some strange reason it gets very dirty very quickly.
Changes I have made from standard:
Engine: I haven't tuned it at all, I've just serviced and fixed it where necessary. The biggest job I've had to do was fixing the balancer chain tensioner after it broke. I fitted a kickstart from a KLR600, it goes straight on but you need to have the clutch off to do it. I've opened up the top of the airbox to make it breathe eaiser. I should get rid of that exhaust, its the standard one. I currently live in a city so a quiet pipe doesn't annoy the neighbours late at night. If I move to the country I'll get an aftermarket one.
Frame: The frame is entirely standard. The subframe mounting bolt broke under the seat so I welded the subframe on. If I need to remove it I'll grind through the weld. I made the rear pannier racks myself. Before those racks were fitted the exhaust melted through the sidepanel and then through a pannier bag and melted the sole of my training shoe. I may have overengineered the right hand one, but aint no way I'll melt luggage now!
Seat: Getting rid of the standard seat was one of the best things I did. I used the original base, I bought 're-con' foam and built it up. I used an electric carving knife to cut it to shape. The cover is an old leather coat bought at a charity shop and stapled on. It is much firmer than the standard seat which became a plank of wood after an hour.
Tank: The tank is a standard Tengai tank with the brackets for the fairing on the front. I was hoping to bolt severed doll's heads on those but my first dolls heads were too large and fouled the bars on full lock. Its capacity is 23 litres, the bike returns 20kms per litre so in theory I can do 450kms on a tankfull.
Front end: The bars are standard, a bit twisted after a few fall off's. The handguards are called Barkbusters, made in Australia. They were on the bike when I bought it. If I drop the bike when the bike its fully laden and very heavy they provide a good place to pick it up from.
Electrics: The lights came from a Citroen 2CV car. I found the standard headlamp was rather poor, these have a much better beam and changing bulbs is easier. I made a T-shaped bracket which bolts to the headstock. Being made after 1985 this bike needs turn indicators to pass the MOT (roadworthy) test. Under the headlights are the smallest indicators I could find: wing repeaters from Vauxhall cars. A pocket full is free from any scrapyard. When wiring these lights up I had all sorts of trouble. The original Kawasaki wires had gone brittle and as I bent and twisted them into new positions they must have broken inside their insulation. I ended up having to splice new wires into the loom to bypass broken wires and corroding block connectors. Wiring on Jap bikes like these is fiendishly complicated. Really I should design a new loom with far fewer wires and fit it myself one winter when the bike is laid up. But its spring now so that can wait. One piece of advice: The only way to join wires together is to solder them. Twisted wires corrode and break the contact, shop bought connectors come off, Soldering is the only way for long term reliability and peace of mind. I learned the hard way! The battery seems to cope OK with the extra headlight. Its had this set up for about 9 months now and is working OK. The starter motor cant turn fast enough when the lights are on, so I just have to ensure the lights are off.
Engine: I haven't tuned it at all, I've just serviced and fixed it where necessary. The biggest job I've had to do was fixing the balancer chain tensioner after it broke. I fitted a kickstart from a KLR600, it goes straight on but you need to have the clutch off to do it. I've opened up the top of the airbox to make it breathe eaiser. I should get rid of that exhaust, its the standard one. I currently live in a city so a quiet pipe doesn't annoy the neighbours late at night. If I move to the country I'll get an aftermarket one.
Frame: The frame is entirely standard. The subframe mounting bolt broke under the seat so I welded the subframe on. If I need to remove it I'll grind through the weld. I made the rear pannier racks myself. Before those racks were fitted the exhaust melted through the sidepanel and then through a pannier bag and melted the sole of my training shoe. I may have overengineered the right hand one, but aint no way I'll melt luggage now!
Seat: Getting rid of the standard seat was one of the best things I did. I used the original base, I bought 're-con' foam and built it up. I used an electric carving knife to cut it to shape. The cover is an old leather coat bought at a charity shop and stapled on. It is much firmer than the standard seat which became a plank of wood after an hour.
Tank: The tank is a standard Tengai tank with the brackets for the fairing on the front. I was hoping to bolt severed doll's heads on those but my first dolls heads were too large and fouled the bars on full lock. Its capacity is 23 litres, the bike returns 20kms per litre so in theory I can do 450kms on a tankfull.
Front end: The bars are standard, a bit twisted after a few fall off's. The handguards are called Barkbusters, made in Australia. They were on the bike when I bought it. If I drop the bike when the bike its fully laden and very heavy they provide a good place to pick it up from.
Electrics: The lights came from a Citroen 2CV car. I found the standard headlamp was rather poor, these have a much better beam and changing bulbs is easier. I made a T-shaped bracket which bolts to the headstock. Being made after 1985 this bike needs turn indicators to pass the MOT (roadworthy) test. Under the headlights are the smallest indicators I could find: wing repeaters from Vauxhall cars. A pocket full is free from any scrapyard. When wiring these lights up I had all sorts of trouble. The original Kawasaki wires had gone brittle and as I bent and twisted them into new positions they must have broken inside their insulation. I ended up having to splice new wires into the loom to bypass broken wires and corroding block connectors. Wiring on Jap bikes like these is fiendishly complicated. Really I should design a new loom with far fewer wires and fit it myself one winter when the bike is laid up. But its spring now so that can wait. One piece of advice: The only way to join wires together is to solder them. Twisted wires corrode and break the contact, shop bought connectors come off, Soldering is the only way for long term reliability and peace of mind. I learned the hard way! The battery seems to cope OK with the extra headlight. Its had this set up for about 9 months now and is working OK. The starter motor cant turn fast enough when the lights are on, so I just have to ensure the lights are off.
Other stuff: The rear end is utterly standard. I bought a can of black lens tint spray from a car accessory shop. All the boy racers in my area have coloured lights on their hot hatchback cars so I figured the police don't mind it too much. I have fitted an Australian made set of sprockets and chain, from a company called chaingang.com.au. They claim to have triple the life of ordinary chains & sprockets but I haven't reached that mileage yet. I have also fitted a Scottoiler (its on the left side, below the pillion seat) so this chain should last a lifetime.
Future plans: This was taken in early 2003. Since then I've added a couple of anti-nuclear pollution stickers. I intend to paint more of it black. I haven't had the front wheel off yet to paint the fork sliders. I want to remove as much bodywork as possible , especially at the back end. I found a piece of truck bumper in a field which looks like it would be a much better (ie smaller and lighter) looking rear mudguard. I might go for a car taillight If I get rid of the standard one, that way spare lenses will be cheap and plentiful compared to bike spare prices. I'll get rid of the alloy rear rack too, I deliberately didn't paint it as I will try to sell it. Having said all that the rear subframe unbolts with 4 bolts. I could fabricate a new rear subframe which would look much smarter, maybe I'd kick it up at an aggressive postapocalyptic angle. I'm toying with the idea of making it a post apocalyptic super motard by fitting 17 inch 3 spoke cast wheels. My friend has a lathe so I reckon I can make up the necessary spacers and adapt the spindle. The possibilities are endless. To paraphrase mad max "Bike customising is just a matter of money, how much can you afford ?
I visit the ratbike forum fairly often so I can be conacted through that if anyone needs advice on what I've done!
- Big Chris - Scotland
