SuzukiSavage.com - Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)

swing69

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Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
03/19/15 at 19:02:09

As you guys know, I bought a used RYCA from a fellow in south Jersey a couple of months ago. He bought it from a guy in north Jersey.....Here is the original build gallery picts from RYCAs site. http://www.rycamotors.com/customer_builds/ryca_customer_epena.html I guess this is the "before" pict. set.

There are several things that I want to do to this bike: "Gary's Famous" front fork mod, add rear brake switch, add rear brake pedal stop, add front fender, get new rear shocks, clean up wiring and fit/finish, replace the chopped ABS front headlight and finally, REPAINT!

For some reason, the paint is 'matte' green (crappy rattle can). Wheels and spokes are rattle canned black (peeling in spots).
Generally the cosmetics all need going over. Its a shame....it was so close to the finish line.

I'm going to post update picts and status posts as I go. Its probably the first RYCA restoration! lol

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swing69

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #1 - 03/19/15 at 19:13:02

Status 3/19:

Bike on the lift. Gas tank, side covers, seat removed. Sidecover glue removed from brackets and the covers (STINKS when ground off!!!)
Removed tail light bracket from the seat base. I'm gonna need to buy some of that RYCA superglue!

Lightly glassbeaded the seat and sidecover.
Lightly glass beaded the side cover brackets and seat bracket (some rust); repainted black and cleared.

Inspection notes: some clipped wires are just bare. need to terminate them properly. A relay and 2 pigtail fell off when the tank was removed. Not OEM suzuki....not sure what this is for, no markings. Will post pict soon. tank light indicator plasic piece is broken. may replace OR relocate lights and switch. I saw a pict of a smoothed tank...looked sweet! Found rear brake switch pigtail tucked up under the seat. wires on coil tapped into (not sure why) with crimp type splices. yuck...they gotta go.... I like solder and shrink wrap much better.

Ordered off ebay: lower triple tree to mod into upper for the "Gary's Famous" mod. Ordered the adj. fork caps too. Need to order emulators and the springs.

I have "Daves" bike lever control decomp. lever kit to install.
I also have the Tkat brace. Also got a stock headlamp from another lister here. I don't think I need much else right now.......

Question: how darn tight a fit is that battery into the holder!! lol sheesh...I'll need a crowbar to remove it!

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swing69

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #2 - 03/19/15 at 20:15:15

Emulators to be ordered: FEGV S3801
Springs to be ordered: FRSP S2938075

I used the Racetech spring calculator: SR500 plugged in. Modified weight of the bike between 320 - 330 #s. Rider weight 190#s. lowest street value: .732 - - highest RR value: .785 So; best bet is the .75s for me.

Parts to go on order this weekend. where is the money with wings emoticon?

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« Last Edit: 03/20/15 at 11:17:00 by swing69 »

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start) Reply #3 - 03/19/15 at 21:07:28 Gary? Who's Gary? We have a relatively famous , well, quite a few of this bunch are well known to everyone ON the forum .
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Gary_in_NJ

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #4 - 03/20/15 at 05:54:49

swing69 wrote on 03/19/15 at 20:15:15:
Emulators to be ordered: FEGV S3801
Springs to be ordered: FRSP S293875

I used the Racetech spring calculator: SR500 plugged in. Modified weight of the bike between 320 - 330 #s. Rider weight 190#s. lowest street value: .732 - - highest RR value: .785 So; best bet is the .75s for me.

Parts to go on order this weekend. where is the money with wings emoticon?

Yeah, 0.75kg/mm should work perfectly. Remember, since you are using the adjustable fork caps you'll need to keep two of the OEM washers for use under each cap. The washers that RT supplies are too small to sit flush under the caps. Set your preload at 15mm, which should be 7mm below the top of the fork tube (the caps are 22mm deep, so 22-15=7).

Justin, I'm not famous, but I just might be infamous.

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swing69

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #5 - 03/20/15 at 11:16:32

Final tally on parts with shipping and source:

used lower to convert to an upper, fleabay $38.64
new adj. fork caps, fleabay $$39.99
FEGV S3801 emulators, Amazon $125.60
FRSP S2938075 springs, Amazon $128.73

$332.96 + Tkat brace that I have on hand. not bad.

Rear shocks are PRICEY. not sure how good the RYCA provided units are. My guess. balance of cost and performance. Probably room to improve here too. Time and riding will tell.

I'll yield to Gary in NJ on this one, since he's riding first!

sorry: WAY too many Garys on this site. I should narrow it down!

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Gary_in_NJ

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #6 - 03/20/15 at 12:30:21

swing69 wrote on 03/20/15 at 11:16:32:

I'll yield to Gary in NJ on this one, since he's riding first!

You're on your way. I can't wait for a ride report.

There are many shock companys out there, but the field narrows when looking for dual shocks that are high quality. A few companies come to mind; Fox Shocks, RaceTech and Falcon.

Fox has the Podium units that are made for cafe racers. I found pricing for the high-end RC1 model at $995 for the pair and $655 for the mid-line R. They are 13.8" eye to eye so they "should" work.

Falcon shocks will run about $630 plus shipping from England (£425). That's for the units with damping and rebound clickers - the only way to go because I wouldn't want to have to send them back-and-forth to England for adjustment.

RaceTech units that start at $700 per pair and can go to over $1,200 depending on options. But, RaceTech is a known and proven company that really supports its products. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the $700 shocks and know that they will get them dialed in correctly.

But here's something to consider. We only have 2 inches of travel. There's not a lot that can be controlled in such a short stroke. I think we'd get more bang for the buck from a simple spring rate change. Based on my preliminary sag measurements, this spring seems to be ok (so far). If I were to go with a longer shock, I think my chain will make contact with the front of the swingarm.

At this point I don't have enough useful data to make any suggestions. More testing is required.

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swing69

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #7 - 03/24/15 at 10:34:57

Updates as of 3/23:

1) RycaShawn's front super brake (320 disk) kit on its way
2) Gary in NJ front fork mod parts on their way too.
3) research on-going for the rear shock options.
4) Bike being stripped down, to fix all little deficiencies.

Planned: Dzus fitting side cover attachment. Possibly moving key and dash lights. LOVE Gerry's dash / gauges.... would like to go that route.

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Jeff71 Senior Member Offline I'm a bike noob!!!!! Posts: 378 South of Chicago, the suburbs Gender:	Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start) Reply #8 - 03/24/15 at 11:02:38 If you need the glue Ryca uses, I have an unopened one that I won't be using. Make me an offer. Jeff
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swing69

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #9 - 03/24/15 at 17:12:04

Thanks Jeff. but I'm not sure if I need it yet. PM me with what you want for it....I could probably use it for something.....

Also:

Issue: I noticed that the frame cuts under the rear seat mount are no where near straight or level. The bracket with pad are ~ 1/4" above the tube ends. the two little allens on each end are holding up the rear mount.

I guess some sort of tube cap repair is in order.... Roll Eyes

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Gary_in_NJ Serious Thumper Offline LS650 Cafe Racer Posts: 2626 Amongst the Twisty Roads	Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start) Reply #10 - 03/24/15 at 17:40:43 Those two mounts are what hold the OEM seat and the RYCA seat in place. It's well triangulated between those two points and the front mount. The seat pan rests on the top of the tubes, but I believe it's safe if there is a small gap. You could fill that gap with rubber with a high durometer.
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Dave

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #11 - 03/25/15 at 04:32:45

I don't think it is all that uncommon for the seat pan not to rest on the frame tubes - most folks don't cut those tubes all that carefully, and RYCA instructions just give you measurement to cut.....no instructions to check fit and grind as necessary to allow the seat pan to rest on the frame tubes. I did cut carefully and made a pretty tight fit - but those small screws really aren't going to have any trouble holding up any person small enough to ride a Cafe' bike. I did fill in my frame tube with some rubber plugs and silicone and ground the top of the rubber plug so that the seat pan rests on top - the rubber plugs will keep the water thrown up by the rear wheel from going down into the frame when I get caught in the rain.

One thing you might consider since your frame is cut so far away - is welding nuts into the frame and then threading in a bolt so that you can adjust the height to support the seat pan.

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Gary_in_NJ

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Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start)
Reply #12 - 03/25/15 at 05:04:02

Dave wrote on 03/25/15 at 04:32:45:
RYCA instructions just give you measurement to cut.....no instructions to check fit and grind as necessary to allow the seat pan to rest on the frame tubes

Exactly. This is written for RYCA builders of the future...

When cutting the frame seat uprights you need to confirm that seat pan rests evenly across the freshly cut tubes. In order to properly establish that tubes are cut to the proper length, install two M6 bolts at the rear seat mount locations (the threaded tabs adjacent to the top of the fork tubes.). It is suggested that when you cut the tubes, that you leave them "long" and use an angle grinder to shorten the tubes to achieve a good fit. The mounting hole in the seat pan has an elongated hole to allow for some variation in the final tube length. With patience and several small "grinding events" you should be able to get the M6 bolt located in the dead center of the elongated hole in the rear seat pan mounts.

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Art Webb Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 3007 columbus, Texas Gender:	Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start) Reply #13 - 03/25/15 at 12:27:45 so you gotta cut the fram tubes for cafe / standard kits? rats, I was thinking about a CS2
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Gary_in_NJ Serious Thumper Offline LS650 Cafe Racer Posts: 2626 Amongst the Twisty Roads	Re: Mike A's RYCA re-do (mid march 2015 start) Reply #14 - 03/25/15 at 12:35:23 Art Webb wrote on 03/25/15 at 12:27:45: so you gotta cut the fram tubes for cafe / standard kits? rats, I was thinking about a CS2 Frame cutting is a piece of cake. Measure twice and cut once. It can be done with anything from a cut-off wheel (on a die grinder), saws-all or a hack saw.
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