Close to completion...

This is a picture of my Featherbed framed café racer, not quite on topic, but it does have a Commando engine :mrgreen:

I still have a few things to do before starting the engine but it should be ready within a week. Many many more pictures at http://www.pbase.com/jeandr/cafe_racer

Jean

Beautiful work, Sir... you are a master.
Cheers,
Don

how did that tank sealer work out?

GavinJuice said:

how did that tank sealer work out?

Click to expand...

I'm putting together another post on this very subject. So far no gas in the tank, but my experiment gives me confidence it will be OK.

Jean

Congrats Jean, it looks great! You've done a ton of work on this baby, you must be pretty anxious to get some quality riding time in!

That bike is gorgeous, Jean. Excellent progress.

Jean, an incredible documentary of the build. Congratulations on a superb job, much innovative thinking in this stunning machine. I trust it goes as good as it looks.

Mick

OOoo :shock: Beautiful machine! Très bon!

hey Jean! WOW!!!!almost speechless...such good modifications and what a craftmanship!
i don`t know this alternator you put on....why did you choose this one?
and my last question....[got a sleepless night when i thought about the solution....]....how did you get the dime on it?
[i like this detail...]
chris

An 'effin beauty. :mrgreen:
Can't say any more.

Cash

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Chris Zet said:

hey Jean! WOW!!!!almost speechless...such good modifications and what a craftmanship!
i don`t know this alternator you put on....why did you choose this one?
and my last question....[got a sleepless night when i thought about the solution....]....how did you get the dime on it?
[i like this detail...]
chris

Click to expand...

Since I am using a race type primary belt, the stock alternator did not fit anymore so I had to look for something else. Many internet hours were spent looking for an alternative power source, I found a small alternator used on drag racing suppliers, many of those guys are looking at loosing a few pounds here and there so a smaller alternator is the way to go. The ones sold by these outfits go from $200 and up, I found mine at a Kubota dealership for $135, they were removed new from stationary engines and replaced with larger units. The dealer had a few on his shelves gathering dust, this is why I got it cheaper. This unit is good for about 35-40 amps or over 400 watts which is about double what the three phase replacements will put out. The funny thing is most of my lights are LEDs so my bike will require less power than a stock Norton.

At first I wanted to drive it from the timing chest and I have pictures of one Norton where this is done, but playing with the parts I had on hand, I found it easier to drive it from the crank with a tiny belt. This rather small belt is good for at least ½HP (they were used to drive fans in computers from a ½HP motor). ½HP is equal to 373 watts and I will be pulling a lot less than that, I figure it should be OK. BTW, the same alternator is used on the Suzuki Bandit 1200.

For the dime, very simple, I machined a depression equal to the dime's thickness and diameter and just glued it in place with crazy glue (cyanoacrylate).

Jean