Dave wrote on 12/24/13 at 06:23:20:


Thanks for that Dave, it worked great.
Gerry

Finally got back into the Ryca recently.  Got the wiring pretty much the way I want it.  Put it all back together, put gas in it and it fired right up.  Took it for a little shake down around the block.  Lot of backfiring on deceleration.  I need to go through the carb tuning procedure and tweak that.  I had the side cover installed per Ryca instructions with the thumb screws, don't like that much.  Gonna try to come up with an alternative.  Brakes work well, steering is a little quick.  The bike is not a quick as I hoped, maybe it is just a matter of getting the carb right?  Need to figure out what I'm gonna do about front turn signals.  Was going to try and make my own but I think I'll just end up buying some from Dime City or something.  Tried to put a licence plate on the Ryca mount and the slots don't line up with the holes in a Michigan motorcycle plate?  The fork gaitors (from Ryca) are weather checking bad, they're only 7 months old and have been in a garage all that time.  Once I get these last few things ironed out I can start painting.
Thanks for reading,
Gerry

Thanks Dave
Gerry

Gerry wrote on 04/23/14 at 04:47:23:


Well I can understand why you don't feel the bike is all that quick....when you are used to bikes with 3 times the HP!  I came from the other side and had been riding a 320cc Trials bike when I got my Savage....it seemed like a rocket in comparison.

With a few engine upgrades the bike can become more responsive and a bit quicker - but it will never be a drag racer.  A Wiseco piston, cam, Mikuni VM36 and a bit of port work and the bike becomes more sporty and yet still has plenty of low end grunt.

The bike will grow on you, and some seat time will help your body adjust to the seating and handlebar positions.  The hard secenario for me is a steep downhill with hard braking......there is a huge amount of force on your arms and your right hand has to still manage to apply the brake at the same time you feel like you are doing a push up!

cafecarl wrote on 04/23/14 at 17:16:50:


Thanks Carl.
Yea, I wondered why Ryca just didn't weld a stud on the battery box rather than a weld-nut.  I thought as you did this would be much easier to get a nut or wing nut started rather than thumb screws.  I have the side covers on the bike now but I struggled for many minutes getting the thumb screws mounted by pushing them into a short piece of fuel hose and using the the fuel hose as an extension to start and firm up the thumb screws.

If I don't do something similar to Dave's version I will certainly consider your solution.
Gerry

Hi,
I am starting to paint the fiberglass parts.  Never painted this kind of stuff before and I'm proceeding with the plan to paint using Dupli Color rattle cans and a friend is going to spray a 2 part urethane clear for me.  
I started out sanding and filling any small pin holes and blemishes in the surface of the fiberglass and applying 4 coats of a high build primer and then wet sanding with 800 grit paper then applying 3 coats of a sealer primer and wet sanding with 800 grit again.  I then applied 3 coats of Performance White to the seal cowl and ran out of paint.  I was using the can I had left over from last fall to do my paint sample.  I just wanted to see some color on something... I'm trying to be patient LOL.




I plan on applying at least three more coats of white on the seat cowl and 6 coats as well on the side panels.

I then want to tape and paint the Sonic Blue Perl stripes on the seat cowl.  Still trying to decide on a pattern for the stripes and if I want to put some kind of logo and stripe pattern on the side covers.

When I disassembled the seat pan from the cowling I had a hard time with the little rubber rivet nuts (they were difficult to work with when I first assembled them too), one pushed through the fiberglass and is between the seat foam and the pan and a couple of others just spin in the holes w/o compressing.  


This gives me a good excuse to remove the upholstery and re-think the attachment points.  Maybe I'll epoxy in some little T-nuts, similar to Dave's Thumpin' Special build.  In addition I always liked the tan colored seats that you see on Ryca's customer build photo page.  Does any one here have a good resource for buying that tuck and roll or ribbed vinyl seat material?

I plan on painting the tank and front fender after I finish the fiberglass parts.  The tank needs a lot of prep I think.

Thanks for reading,
Gerry

Magnificent craftsmanship.