Pulled on the RGV

I took her out for a little test ride and it became expensive....

More motivation to get it on the road asap!!!!!!

Getting there...slowly

Fixed the power valves - I had the servo pulley on the wrong way which didn't help, so flipped it, then setup the top cylinders cables correctly and I now have working power valves. Timing them was pretty easy as I was expecting some sort of black magic ritual.

Off with the exhausts and in with the new gaskets and around the block for a quick spin, awesome. I'm supposed to keep it to 6,000 for the first 500 kilometers but couldn't help a quick excursion to 9,000 - just to check if the power valves were working of course.

What's left:
Time the power valves
Fix the indicators
Kick start seal is leaking
Front fork seals are leaking - and front feels pretty soft
Rear brake is ordinary - check pads
Tune the carbs
Sort out leaks from both exhausts
I'll be sorting out the electrics and then it's time to fix the leaks before it's off to Bogaarts for a dyno tune. and then rego.

One thing I have noticed is that the HRC reservoirs are sweating in the heat. I haven't come across this before and will need to keep an eye on it.

What's next??

The sticker kit has arrived and...I don't like it. The bike will not be a Rossi Camel replica. I've used the number plates and some of the sponsor stickers but will go with my original preference of Nikon and Racetech as "sponsors".

The replacement battery strap arrived from Tyga - cheers guys, appreciated you sorting that out for me.

I picked up the exhaust gaskets from Springwood Suzuki but will wait till I've got the power valves sorted out before fitting them. Speaking of which I worked out why the PVs wouldn't turn.....Power Valve motor was seized. Luckily I had a spare and have swapped it in - just needed to change the front cam and it's in there.......now to time them. I've got one very slightly frayed power valve cable and I'm tossing up whether to replace it or not.........

Sunday

More work on the bike:

Fitted up the key barrel, replaced the rear brake reservoir with a full size HRC unit. Put the old rear on onto the front which means I can get the levers where I like them. Topped up the coolant and gearbox oil. Hacked up a battery strap from a battery strap from a boat. And then.....took it out for a spin. It's everything a 2-stroke racer rep should be - light, easy to manouver, pulls well and the gearbox is great - shifts like butter.

Unfortunately there is a new list of things to fix:

Time the power valves
Fix the indicators
Kick start seal is leaking
Front fork seals are leaking - and front feels pretty soft
Rear brake is ordinary - check pads
Tune the carbs
Sort out leaks from both exhausts

...and there is more, getting there....slowly.

Saturday - IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!

Up early and went to get the key cut....they've moved, after a quick spin 4 suburbs over they took an hour.....and no joy. Back to Tommy at MMM Motorcycles for the chain and luckily he had the replacement part for the carb. Aired the tyres on the way home. Back home, gave up on the battery or rather it gave up the ghost, quick run out and picked up a new one. Worked out the key myself. Fitted the battery, kicked, and kicked, and kicked and....nothing No spark, started chasing down the problem - corroded ignition fuse, kicked again and.....let the smoking commence!!!

Progress continues

The Tyga rearsets have arrived for the RGV so they're now on and the pipes are lining up correctly. We've now marked the cans so they're straight when on the bike and the mount plates and pipes are with Dan to be welded and the ends re-chromed. The replacement Tyga carbon fibre hugger arrived along with another HRC rear brake reservoir race kit. No pictures but we're slowly getting there - Still needs:

• Subframe re-aligned
• Rear shock reservoir mount
• Chain
• Power valves timed
• Refit exhausts and gaskets
• Side stand switch and wiring
• Extend rear wiring
• Shift linkage machined
• Mirror mount gaskets
• Key re-cut for ignition

The Harley still has a few electrical gremlins in there which I am trying to work through but it's a bit of a task to get them all. I had a few more rides so I'm slowly getting used to it now.

Rearsets are on the way

I ordered a set of Tyga rearsets and another carbon hugger for my GSXR. The new tyres on the Gixxer are great and provide a lot more confidence. Once the rearsets are on the RGV I can fit-up the exhausts and start welding.

Onto the zorstssssssssss

I need to get these collars off so the end cans can go on

Hello Mr. the grinder

And Mr. the flap wheel - ready to weld.

Progress

Some more progress with the carby's now plumbed. The interference hoses were a pain so I went back to the originals with no drama. Front fender is on and I tried the tail on for size. I'm very happy with the way that Simca painted the tail: http://www.simca.com.au/. Still a ways to go: indicators, rear wiring, fit exhausts, weld flanges for the cans, tail-light, plate holder, time the power valves, flush the tank, rear fender, ignition key cut, machine up shift rod, bleed rear brake, make sure the wiring is all correct, chain, air box, oil tank or pre-mix?

Tyga tail is painted

The tail is painted and on it's way home to me and the fuel hoses are bought (cheers Dan). Radiator hose T-piece is on the way from RGVSpares.com - better than Suzuki's 3 weeks in from Japan.

Gixxer rearsets and RGV wiring

Thanks to my brother-in-law Dan and his co-workers I now have a custom machined shift rod long enough for the rearsets. I've changed to a GP shift (up=down gears, down=up gears) as the rod will foul the lever if left in the normal position. This should be interesting to ride around on till I get used to it.

The brake lever is also set up with the machined spacers, the HRC style reservoir has been cut and needs to be fastened to the bike. The pressure switch (on the floor) still needs to go on but that will have to wait for another day as I'll need to bleed the brakes as well.

I got a little more of the RGV wiring completed, slow going and will be just held in place till I get the engine in. Having the colours for the battery cables the opposite way makes for interesting times - I'll have to label them so there's no confusion in the future.

You have mail

A lot of stuff arrived yesterday - engine, rear brake, carbs, SAPC box, CDI, and the Tyga rear-end and carbon fibre hugger. Engine looks good but I have to get out the remains of a sheared bolt from the power valve bracket. Judging from the amount of lock-wired components it's an ex-race engine so hopefully it's been well set up. I put the Tyga subframe on the bike last night but it looks a little crooked so may need a little "tweak". While putting this on I noticed what looks like a stress fracture in the mount for the rear shock but I'll stick with it. It's already been turned upside down to lift the rear so that's one less thing to do. The lads on RGV250.co.uk have given my power valves the thumbs up as ok to use but I'll still look at getting the billet centres to be on the safe side.

Does my arse look big in this?

I've been spending a while looking at other RGVs and the Tyga (http://tyga-performance.com/) rear end is really a transformation for the RGV so rather than work on the obvious choice (engine) I have just ordered in the Tyga street rear end which includes a replacement subframe for the bike although I'll be keeping the standard RGV front bodywork. This is what the tail looks like:

Follow this link for more great photos of Andrew's bike: http://tyga-performance.com/site/index.php?cPath=230_556_785