SuzukiSavage.com - Another Ryca Build Log

Gerry

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Another Ryca Build Log
11/26/13 at 12:37:03

Hi all, been kind of lurking here since I discovered the Ryca kit and Googled Suzuki Savage and found this forum. About half way through my build now I decided I would put together a build log on the forum.

Back in about mid August I searched Graig's List and found about a dozen various years used Savage's for sale within easy driving distance. After a few phone calls and emails I settled on this one.
A 1997 with ~12,000 miles.

I rode it for a day to see how the engine ran and everything seems fine. So I pushed it up on the lift and started taking it apart.

About that time I also ordered the CS-1 kit from Ryca and sent my deposit. I wanted to get the tank and rear hub ready to ship off to Ryca right away. Rather than snip the rear spokes I deflated the tire and unscrewed the spoke nipples and pushed them into the tire making it possible to remove the hub with the spokes.

After removing the spokes, internal brake components and plate from the hub I mounted the hub in the lathe to try and polish it up a bit.

Here it is finished. In addition I stripped the clear coat off the brake plate and polished that as well.

Next came the tank. The tank had a small dent in it. When I was on the phone placing my order with Ryan at Ryca I mentioned the ding and he said if it is not too bad they will knock it out when they have the bottom of the tank open. He said just draw a circle around the dent and make a note on the tank and they will take care of it.

I shipped the tank and hub off to Ryca and proceeded to continue with dismantling the Savage.

Finally got the engine out of the frame. It was pretty greasy and crusted up with road grime and oil. I wanted to mount it on a home made stand like I had seen on this forum using angle and attaching that to a Harbor Freight furniture mover so that I could roll the whole thing up on to my trailer and take it to the do it yourself car wash along with a can of Gunk and degrease it.

I needed to seal the motor up the best I could before spraying it. I used rubber glove fingers and zip ties to seal the speedometer cable opening and the breather on the head cover. And for the starter motor hole I used a plumbers tool that I found at Home Depot.

I also wanted to seal off the intake and exhaust as well. I have a 3 axis CNC mill and CAD/CAM so I drew up a model for some cover plates.
Here is some stock in the vice ready to machine.

And here it is finished. For thin stock like this I create tabs in the CAM software and then when the part is finished I just put the part in the bench vise and using a Dremal with a cut off wheel remove the part from the blank. A little touch up on the belt sander and it is ready to use.

Attached to the motor along with a gasket I cut from an old inner tube using the aluminum plate as a template.

I removed the side covers to strip and polish but here are a couple of shots of the motor after cleaning.

I was thinking about painting the case but it come out pretty nice after cleaning so I am going to leave it like it is.

At this point I modified the cam chain tensioner and removed and replace the head cover bolts with new ones. A couple of them were rounded off and one was broken. I also bought new caps for the head cover and the one over the head bolt and put the whole thing back together with new silicone RTV for the head cover and new gaskets for the case covers. I also prepped and painted the cylinder satin black.
Here is a shot of the engine back together.

While waiting for the kit to come in from Ryca I started thinking about what color to paint the tank, side covers, seat cowling and frame. I am going to use Duplicolor rattle cans and have a friend spray the clear with 2K. I thought it would be cool to have a red frame and paint the other parts Wimbledon White.

I thought the white was a little too cream colored, didn't look at all like an old Mustang.
So than I thought that I might paint the frame silver and the rest of the components some variation of British Racing Green.

I kind of liked that, the silver sprayed nice and the green I found was OK I guess.

My wife came home from a local "antique mall" that sells those old looking signs and she knew I like Ford GT or GT40's so she bought me this poster.

That got me thinking about that white and whatever blue that is. I did a little Googling and found out the colors for that version of the Ford GT are Performance White and Sonic Blue Perl. I found those colors in Duplicolor cans at my local Advance Auto and made a sample of that.

I kind of like that and I'm thinking I'll do stripes just like they are on the Ford GT. So that is what I'll paint it then with a satin black frame... who knows, I'll probably change my mind again

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Gerry

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #1 - 11/26/13 at 13:12:00

I really liked the way Dave Seidman did his Ryca CS-1 and especially the way he machined out the stock top triple clamp. Here is a link to his gallery on the Ryca web site http://rycamotors.com/customer_builds/ryca_customer_dseidman2.html

My 97 has a chrome plated top clamp and I didn't really want to try and machine thru that so I modeled a new top clamp in SolidWorks and machined it out of billet aluminum.
This is a screen cap of my first design. At the time I was thinking about putting the turn signals, high beam and neutral indicators in the top clamp using LED's.

I have since then evolved the design into adding a dash to hold the light as well as the clocks. Here is the blank for the top clamp mounted to the machine table on top of a sacrificial plate.

And here it is about two thirds done. Just need to move the cap screws out of the pockets where the forks and steering stem go and add clamps to keep it in place but out of the way of those areas.

I made a mock up for the dash just to see scale and see if I need to make any changes to the model in CAD before I commit to a piece of aluminum.

Here is a screen cap of the model for the dash in the CAM program. I had received the kit from Ryca and discovered that I can not remove the trip odometer re-set knob so I had to some how make a way for the speedo to slip into the dash. That's why you see that big notch in the right hand hole at about 7:00.

Here is a shot of the blank ready to machine.

And finished.

I also had to make some kind of bracket to attach to the to the dash and hold the gauges in place. Here is a shot of both parts after machining and ready to be separated from the "fixtures"

Next I had to design something to hold the stock light bulbs in location under the dash.
Here it is with the first side done. Just need to flip it over and use a face mill to mill the excess from the other side.

Here are a few shots of the part finished, bulbs and stock lens installed.

I needed to make a cover to hide the notch for the trip meter knob. I thought it might look cool if I made it out of brass and a jeweled finish.
After the jeweling operation.

And after the profiling operation.

Here are some shots of the assembly.

And the assembly on the bike.

After all that you know what? I don't think I like it Undecided

It kind of looks too complicated and not right on the bike. I need to mount on that little post thingy I machined to get it up and away from the head light. As well as make room for the speedo cable. I'm thinking that maybe I'll paint the components for the dash assembly satin black and see how that looks. I need to finish prepping the tank and prime it and put that on, maybe that will help? Don't know, lot's of fun trying to figure it out for sure.

Coming up I need to finish assembling the body parts figure out the wiring and get odds and ends prepped and at least primered. I am also going to try to make my own front turn signals and a few other things.
Thanks for reading
Gerry

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Badass94Cad Senior Member Offline This space for rent Posts: 313 Mass-->Jerz-->PA! Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #2 - 11/26/13 at 15:25:23 Wow! I'm definitely following this build. Awesome work so far.
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Rush-rks Full Member Offline Lurking & Learning Posts: 113 Beckley WV Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #3 - 11/26/13 at 16:03:42 I can't wait to see your bike finished ! I wish I had your talent and ability I will be watching this thread as you complete your build. It is awsome !
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v-pilot Senior Member Offline Loud bikes rule! Posts: 257 Rexford NY Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #4 - 11/26/13 at 18:20:53 Kick A$$...I'm on board!
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Ragnar444 Full Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 125	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #5 - 11/26/13 at 18:28:21 Holy Moley! This is exactly what i would do on my Ryca build if I had the slightest bit of mechanical experience. All I can do is stare in wide-eyed amazement. Rock on!
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Face Full Member Offline Tubes Rule !!! Posts: 150 SL,UT Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #6 - 11/26/13 at 19:18:07 Fantastic work, so far!! Very impressive. Couple of questions. Are you using the stock fork tubes? Also, couldn't help but notice you run a Grizzly lathe, how does it perform? And last, if you don't mind my asking, what CNC mill are you using?
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old_rider

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #7 - 11/26/13 at 19:29:12

Very well planned and executed. Are you going to bend the speedo plate to angle it up for a better view?? It looks kinda flat, if you would bend it below the turn signal lights to angle of maybe 30 degrees toward the rider and possibly put a housing around it with thin aluminum.

Just a suggestion... i'm not an engineer by a long shot and could not do such intricate as you do, your build is looking awesome, keep it up!

I will most definitely be following this build! And now I guess I have to find someone with your skills and a C&C machine. Wink

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LANCER Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Savage Beast Performance Parts Posts: 10604 Oklahoma Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #8 - 11/27/13 at 03:00:46 I am jealous of your skills, along with a few others around here; excellent build.
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Dave

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #9 - 11/27/13 at 05:02:45

Great looking stuff so far. One of the things you might consider is the front forks. The 2" spacers that RYCA uses to lower the front end makes for a rough ride. You have the machining skills to take the forks apart and change the length of the tubes and keep the suspension travel intact......or......you could make another top yoke that has clamps for the fork tubes so that you can lower them. I did this by changing my yokes to RM400 yokes that have clamps. I installed a 1/2" spacer in the forks and then lowered the fork tubes 1.5" in the yokes. The travel of my forks is good and it rides nicely.

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Dave

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #10 - 11/27/13 at 05:07:29

Another issue to consider is the rear brake pedal. The rear sets don't have a stop for the pedal to keep the brake lever from moving up....and it is hard to adjust the brake so that it work well as a result.

I made a clamp that has a stop in it.....and it doesn't let the brake pedal rotate up. This allows you to adjust the brake pedal and obtain a pedal feel like a normal bike. I made the stop with a bandsaw and drill press...you could do it much nicer with your equipment!

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Gerry

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #11 - 11/27/13 at 06:37:28

Thanks every one for the kind comments and suggestions.

Face wrote on 11/26/13 at 19:18:07:

Fantastic work, so far!! Very impressive. Wink

Couple of questions. Are you using the stock fork tubes?

Also, couldn't help but notice you run a Grizzly lathe, how does it perform?

And last, if you don't mind my asking, what CNC mill are you using?

Hi Face, thank you.
Yes, I am using stock forks.

Ref. the lathe, I'm not a machinist just a hobbyist so I am just speaking from my own experience but it has worked for me. I have not done any threading with it, just turning down to size, drilling, boring. The only thing I wish it had was a variable speed spindle. There are plenty of resources on the web for converting it variable speed so some day I would like to do that. I think Grizzly might now have a comparable lathe with variable speed now for not too much more money. I bought mine about 5 years ago.

I am using a Tormach PCNC770 mill. I was planning on converting my then current round column RF30/31 clone mill/drill machine to CNC but that is not the best platform to base a conversion on. Should really start with a dovetail column mill. In researching the conversion I stumbled upon Tormach and decided to invest in their system. Very good company to work with, they are based in Wisconsin and all their machine tools are designed by them and made to their specs in China. Check them out http://www.tormach.com/

old_rider wrote on 11/26/13 at 19:29:12:

Very well planned and executed. Are you going to bend the speedo plate to angle it up for a better view?? It looks kinda flat, if you would bend it below the turn signal lights to angle of maybe 30 degrees toward the rider and possibly put a housing around it with thin aluminum.

Just a suggestion... i'm not an engineer by a long shot and could not do such intricate as you do, your build is looking awesome, keep it up!

I will most definitely be following this build! And now I guess I have to find someone with your skills and a C&C machine. Wink

Hi Old_Rider,
Thanks for the suggestion. I would like to play around with that a bit. I would prefer it angled more and tucked down out of the way rather kind of perched on top like it is now. In my first prototype I had the dash section bent about where you suggest but was having trouble with the speedo cable interfering with the head light. I too was thinking about some type of housing and had modeled that in CAD.

I have also thought about moving or getting a different head light as well. Maybe go with fork mounted brackets and a headlight to match that would move the headlight bucket down and forward a little bit.

Thanks again for your thoughts, very much appreciated.

Dave wrote on 11/27/13 at 05:02:45:

Great looking stuff so far. One of the things you might consider is the front forks. The 2" spacers that RYCA uses to lower the front end makes for a rough ride. You have the machining skills to take the forks apart and change the length of the tubes and keep the suspension travel intact......or......you could make another top yoke that has clamps for the fork tubes so that you can lower them. I did this by changing my yokes to RM400 yokes that have clamps. I installed a 1/2" spacer in the forks and then lowered the fork tubes 1.5" in the yokes. The travel of my forks is good and it rides nicely.

Thanks Dave for your advice. I had read a few posts about how harsh the ride is after the fork conversion. I may look into doing something about that following your recommendations after I ride the bike for a bit.

Dave wrote on 11/27/13 at 05:07:29:

Another issue to consider is the rear brake pedal. The rear sets don't have a stop for the pedal to keep the brake lever from moving up....and it is hard to adjust the brake so that it work well as a result.

I made a clamp that has a stop in it.....and it doesn't let the brake pedal rotate up. This allows you to adjust the brake pedal and obtain a pedal feel like a normal bike. I made the stop with a bandsaw and drill press...you could do it much nicer with your equipment!

Now that is a great solution! I am defiantly going to borrow that idea. I had no experience with these rear set kits and did not know how that worked until I installed them. I wondered why the brake lever was so free to move backwards like that, especially as you adjusted the linkage.
Thanks much for that idea!

And thank you to everyone who is following along.
Gerry

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« Last Edit: 01/07/19 at 13:29:16 by Gerry »

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wambr Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 610 Russia, Samara Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #12 - 11/27/13 at 08:11:57 wow! great work! it turns out a very serious project! more words yet.
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ToesNose Serious Thumper Offline Pardon me, do you have Hot Sauce? Posts: 1993 Mooresville, NC Gender:	Re: Another Ryca Build Log Reply #13 - 11/28/13 at 04:48:21 Gerry looks like you have a killer shop as well as a killer build going! Thanks for sharing with us, looking forward to following your progress
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old_rider

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Re: Another Ryca Build Log
Reply #14 - 11/28/13 at 05:00:12

Gerry, if the speedo cable is causing problems.... why not go digital on the speedo and get rid of the cable? It would also make your dash smaller... but after all that work on your current setup...sigh...

Just a thought, after seeing dave's setup on his and you saying how you didn't want it up in the way. Take a peek at dave's dash setup with the digital vipertech speedo guage. Its on page 4 of "dave's thumpin' special" build.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1358099938/45

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