...I change the front fender, head light, the front caliper, and brake disc, front wheel, the forks, the triple trees, the handlebars, the switches, levers and masters, the speedo, mirrors, tank and the seat, the rear frender, the rear wheel, the belt drive, the shocks, the tail light, the carb and air filter, muffler and the exhaust pipe, Oh, and the frame and swingarm. I guess I will keep the engine.......is it still a Savage?
Well after a year of catching up on other projects around the place I am finally starting my Savage project named Cafe ala Carte. The goal is a very clean, minimalistic Cafe single. I am going to try to come in under 300 lbs and I think I can do it after dismantling the Savage. There is some heavy parts on that bike!
Here are some pictures of where I am so far. I can tell with my limited time (two busy kids) it will be a slow process.
Here is the frame I am going to use.
It is a 1968 Wards Riverside Mojave frame. It was made by Benelli in Italy and a knock off of a Rickman racing frame. It is large tube (1-1/4") with a super brace design in the steering stem area.
Take a look at the swing arm though, the back end of it is really flimsy looking. I will be changing that out for a GS450 swing arm modified to fit the frame.
Here is my frame jig I built out of an old photographic enlarger frame. Because it was a photographic enlarger it is very heavy duty and accruate. So far it looks like it should work well.
Here is a picture of the engine sitting in the frame.
It fits well as the frame was originally designed by Benelli for a 650 twin that they never built. They were imported into the US with tiny 260 and 360cc singles in them. People have stuffed many Triumph engines in them so they are quite spacious. The biggest issue is I have to offset the engine 1/2-3/4" to the right for the chain drive conversion to clear the frame.
Here is the Tank (new old stock Mojave) and a seat pan I found that I really love.
As far as the Menu at Cafe ala Carte, it looks something like this.
Engine - 1997 Suzuki 650 Savage
Frame - 1968 Wards Riverside Mojave
Swing arm - 1981 GS450 modified to fit
Rims - High Shouldered Aluminum spoked 1974 XS650
Hubs - Suzuki GT250 hubs laced with SS spokes
Forks - 1992 GS500 with Race Tech valving and springs
Bars - clubmans
Brake Disc - 1998 Ducati 996 (320mm of stoping power
Brake caliper - GS500 twin pinston Nissan (my 4 piston won't clear :'(
Headlight - 1964 Honda CL72 with built in speedo bezel
Speedo - Trail tech/Vapor digital speedo and tach
Exhuast - All Stainless steel custom with pea-shooter muffler
Shocks - TBD
Tail - aftermarket seat/tail
Tail lights - SV 650 LEDs cut,split and frenched in to tail piece.
Eventually for dessert it is planned to have a Lancer carb and cam added for a sweet topping.
Ok...so I have a little work before the cafe opens but hey. Isn't that the excitement of starting a new project??