Gerry wrote on 08/11/14 at 12:47:56:


If you get a top yoke with clamps....the you could drop the tubes 1.5" and replace that that 2" spacer with a 0.5" spacer for some extra preload......and get most of  your fork travel back.  

And on a side note......RYCA owners may want to remove their tail light, take it apart, and seal all the seams with RTV.  Mine has been in a few rain storms on the Dragon runs, and my tail light is full of condensation and the running light has stopped working.

The rear tire just saturates that little light with a constant stream of water when the road is wet (What misses the tail light goes up my backside and the back of my helmet!).

Wow, that looks like a brand new bike. Nice work. (I'm a firm believer in leaving my bikes with a protective layer of filth. Mine will never be that clean either   )

rapfohl wrote on 08/13/14 at 09:29:13:



The stock swingarm works with any "modern" tire that fits the 18x2.50 rim that is most often used.  The problem with the vintage tires is the square tread profile and large diameter contacts the stock swing arm.  If you are going to ride the bike in any kind of a "hustle"...use a modern tire.  Unfortunately I believe the current fad is to put too wide a tire on the narrow rim.  A 110/80-18 tire should be on the 18x2.50 rear rim, and a 90/90-18 front tire should be on the front 18x2.15 rim. This is plenty of tire for the weight and horsepower of the bike.  If you want to run a 130/70 rear tire - then mount a 18x3.50 rear rim....which is what the tire is made for.  The front 18x2.15 (19x2.15) rim can run a 100/90 tire OK.

Here is a fitment chart for the Bridgestone Batlax BT-45, and the chart matches what most other tire folks publish.
http://www.bridgestone.com/products/motorcycle_tires/products/battlax/bt45.html

When you put the "too wide" tire on the narrow rim - it rolls the tread over onto the sidewall and makes the tread profile too round.  You therefore cancel out the efforts the tire manufacturer has taken to make the tire have a small footprint when vertical, and a large footprint while banked over.

The rear of the RYCA seat pan attaches to the same rear bolt holes that the stock seat did - but it does also rest on the cut off frame tubes if you cut them accurately.....there a gap if you trim off too much and the bolt holes will do the work.  The front of the seat pan attaches with the same two bolts that mount the fuel tank.

Dave

Thanks for your comments and the link!

A really great looking bike. I like the key position. When I do my tracker style I want to shave that hole in the tank. Did you fab the pieces yourself?

Gerry wrote on 04/10/14 at 11:43:17:

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.

I'm pulling this one back from the time machine. Did you every come up with an alternative solution for the thumb screws? I had to change the spark plug this weekend. A fairly straight forward job; remove side covers, seat pan and tank...except it took 10 minutes to get the side covers off and 30 minutes to get them back on. What should have been a 10 minute job start-to-finish took an hour due to those dumb thumb screws.

I was thinking of opening the end of the slot on the bracket, this way the thumb screws wouldn't have to be removed, only loosed, to remove and replace the side covers. But if anyone has thought of a better mousetrap...I'd sure like to hear about it.

Gary_in_NJ wrote on 03/23/15 at 07:43:04:


Yes, see my reply #53 in this thread.
Gerry

Gary_in_NJ wrote on 03/23/15 at 10:13:56:


Yes, on #2
Gerry