http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1300288454

A freshly cut copper gasket for my big bore arrived today. Now I just need to find someone with an oxygen/acetylene torch so I can anneal it.



(Yeah, it kind of looks like brass in the photo. Darn white balance problems.)

The instructions didn't give a specific temperature, just a color -- orange. I suspect they specify an oxygen/acetylene torch (with a rosebud tip) so you can heat a larger area at a time to keep things more even. I imagine the same instructions go out with all their gaskets, including ones for big multicylinder engines. I'll call them and get clarification.

MotoBuddha wrote on 03/30/11 at 11:46:34:




Thats some fine info,, thanks..

Yup.  That's how you anneal copper.  I have always done it with oxy-acetylene but a propane torch is hot enough, use one of those wide tips if you have one.  A piece of copper that thin and large will cool rapidly.  So practice your routine for getting it off the hanger and into the water quickly.  Don't do it in bright light, you want to see the color and not overheat it.  

Don't worry if every corner isn't glowing orange the instant you quench it, it will still soften as long as it has some color when it hits the water.  Cooper annealing is the opposite of steel so don't generalize the directions to some other material.  You'll likely have to touch it up with some fine emery cloth or steel wool after the quench.  And if you ever have that gasket out in the future and want to soften it again prior to reassembly , repeat the procedure.

The Ryca guys are concerned about my intent to convert to chain drive. In designing the kit, the clearances between the rearset brackets and the belt were carefully worked out in conjunction with the longer shocks. The chain sprockets are smaller diameter than the pulleys, making the space inside the chain smaller. The chain might rub somewhere.

But I hate the look of belt drive, so I'm going to make chain drive work, one way or another. To that end, I got one of these. It's supposed to be a chain tensioner for Harley choppers, but I figure it can be used to hold the chain away from the rearset bracket. I'll know where to mount it once I get the rough assembly done with the rearset bracket, longer shocks and chain drive. It could be welded to either the swingarm or rearset bracket. Some cutting might be necessary.

MotoBuddha wrote on 04/02/11 at 07:05:10:

You could always increase the size of both sprockets (about 3 teeth on the rear per tooth up front) until the diameters are comparable to the stock pulleys, right?  Or increase them just enough to get clearance while maintaining the same ratio.

The idler sprockets do look pretty cool.