Yes, the Ryca kit is not a bolt-on-and-go proposition. At least for me:
The air cleaner is way too wide. I’d have to cut away some of the rear tank support bracket for it to fit. I’m not doing that, so I found a smaller filter.
Speedo cable is about 7” too long, so it makes a huge ungainly loop up forward. Had custom cable made.
Screws to hold the upholstered seat to the pan are too short to grip, had to use #8 ¾” instead. Suggested drill-size for holes was 5/32”, which was too small. Had to use 3/16”.
Decompression foot control is clever, but awkward. I left the decompression solenoid and coil in their stock positions, then cut out a few recesses in the tank’s bottom to make them fit. I also had to design and weld on some support brackets to keep the tank low in front, as per the Ryca design.
Can’t get the rear brake switch and cable to work well. I’ve made a bracket and installed an aftermarket switch with a more direct linkage.
The rear brake linkage is clever and can be set up without a back stop at the right rearset. But a more conventional system gives better and more adjustments. I put in a stop, plus added longer threading and a spring to the rod.
The muffler support bracket stuck out past the rearset bolt. I had to make one with an “S” kink in it to reach.
Engine mounting bolts too short. I cut back the bosses as per the videos but it wasn’t enough. Need to cut about a ½” more for two of them.
Nub inside the sidestand bracket was not big enough to keep the stand away from the belt. Had to weld in some extra meat to make a proper spacer.
Belt guard hit the belt. Would need a ¾” + spacer up front to make it work. Made my own.
Engine-case bolt head rubbed against the drive belt because of the swing arm’s new angle. Had to countersink in a flat head bolt.
I’ve seen some side covers where the holes for the rear shock supports are out of align. This has more to do with Suzuki’s poor workmanship and inconsistency on this bike than Ryca. For example large sloppy welds on the frame had to be ground down to allow the Ryca rearset bracket to fit in place.
To sum up: for some of us the Ryca kit is not a bolt-on-and-go project, mostly because of idiosyncrasies between bikes. If you’re thinking of doing this build be aware that you may have to do some tweaking and head scratching. Some bikes will go together easily, others will take work.
Stevere wrote on 09/28/11 at 11:18:53:I figured I should share my Ryca build experience for those who are thinking about doing it.
1st, let me say I love the way the Ryca bike looks. Saw it in a magazine and decided that would be a great project for 2011.
I've built/rebuilt maybe 25 bikes, maybe more. Kind of lost track. So I have a decent idea of what goes on.
There were 3 big things though that really were frustrating (and I will admit, maybe I Just missed something):
1. Documentation: The instructions are not what I expect. I realize it says the printed docs were expected to work with videos, but I do not usually wrench on a bike with a movie playing.
I expected documentation that was more "complete" and flowed well, like a manual, from start to finish. I did not expect the documentation to be in 6 different PDF files, and then not be complete and you had to look at videos for areas not in the docs. Further the pictures are pretty small - I like big bold pictures, not 3"x3" pics, but maybe 1/2 the page so it is real clear what you are looking at.
2. Rear Break - It does not seem adjustable like the OE version, and i found it nearly impossible to work correctly. Because there was not stop for the break pedal, if you tried to adjust the rear break, the break pedal just swings towards the rear. I ended up building a STOP for the break pedal, and finally gave up on the entire "shaft" idea Ryca had, and had a custom cable built. I like the look better, it is way more flexable and it works - stopping is a big deal
3. Decompression Linkage - The bike has you remove all the items related to the decompression. But just like the rear break problem the decompression linkage was a huge pain. It did not really align up, and frankly I found it really frustrating that I was removing the automatic and "do not think about it" solution Suzuki built for this manual not so great looking solution.
I finally gave up on the linkage idea, and ended up reinstalling the automatic decompression system. This system works great, and Suzuki clearly put a lot of effort in building it. It engages the decompression when you start the motor, then disengages after .7 seconds once the sucker is running.
I further put the coil back to its original location - which worked out great - it was real tight in the Ryca location and I did not like it there.
The only major issue because of this is I ended up welding the tank holding brackets back onto the bike. You can't get the tank that low and still have the decompression system working. But this was ok, because the tank is only a bit higher and there is now room to put the wiring and stuff.
Having done #3 + the tank I also decided the engine covers were not so bad looking and did a good job of hiding some of the stuff there. So I plan to put them back on - but probably paint flat back.
License plate was a pain too. The way Ryca had it done was to epoxy it to the rear of the seat. But it just did not feel right, too flimsy in my opinion. So the license plate got mounted to the top of the battery case. Which worked out just fine. Then I epoxied just the rear tail light to the rear seat pan.
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