Suzuki S40 / Savage - Ryca Scrambler Conversion

[DustyRags]

Oh man, that sucks about the tank! Check with dent removal services- a lot of them are specifically not body shops, and specialize in making dents go away rather than filling it in. It's amazing what some of those guys can do with a mallet and some suction cups!

[Prmurat]

Duh... I just noticed the "new" Tempter as the 4 leading shoes of the GT750/550!!
Mmmm... A Savage Cafe with the same brake ?! (funny I have one somewhere!).

[Prmurat]

Anyway to make the kit looking more like this?
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/picture.../#.USMesIl5mc0

[Krasniewski]

Originally Posted by Prmurat

Anyway to make the kit looking more like this?
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/picture.../#.USMesIl5mc0

Yeah - they have a Cafe kit if you're into that.



You can choose what you want in the kit or buy parts individually, so you don't have to go with their tank and tail section and side covers. Do your own work for those and keep the battery down low (in the stock location) and you'd be pretty close.

[Keithert]

I had a Savage for a few months in 2008. It was a very fun to ride bike. It was just too physically small for me. I bought my XT225 because I missed having a lightweight bike.

[Krasniewski]

Well, I took the side cover, which needs to be cut if you're going to side mount the exhaust. I printed out a template, but it was too small, so I guesstimated. Always good policy.




I was going to get everything ready for paint, but then saw a tag on the front fender about test fitting and whatnot. It looks ready to go since it has mounting holes, but those are not correct, so I break out the drill (since the drill press is in storage... and now my hand drill sounds sickly, but I digress).



Work some magic:




And now I need to find someone for paint and body.




Now it's off to work (that is, my real job).

[zap2504]

Originally Posted by Krasniewski

Shock the monkey.

What part number PS shocks/springs does Ryca include with their kits?

[Krasniewski]

Originally Posted by zap2504

What part number PS shocks/springs does Ryca include with their kits?

Number on the shock says 444-4211 (which is a recent change I hear) and the spring says 1367 90/130 - not sure what any of that means though. You can buy the shocks through Ryca - not sure if you can get it cheaper directly through Progressive.



Anyhoo - a paint guy today told me the tank needs metal work - dents are too bad for him to deal with. Hmm...

[Carter Pewterschmidt]

Originally Posted by Krasniewski

Number on the shock says 444-4211 (which is a recent change I hear) and the spring says 1367 90/130 - not sure what any of that means though. You can buy the shocks through Ryca - not sure if you can get it cheaper directly through Progressive.



Anyhoo - a paint guy today told me the tank needs metal work - dents are too bad for him to deal with. Hmm...

Is that just a stock tank or is that supplied with the Ryca kit? If it's stock just score a used one off of ebay. Looks like they have a bunch and prices start around $80.

[Krasniewski]

Originally Posted by Carter Pewterschmidt

Is that just a stock tank or is that supplied with the Ryca kit? If it's stock just score a used one off of ebay. Looks like they have a bunch and prices start around $80.

The stock tank is modified by Ryca for the kit to allow it to sit lower. Pieces are tigged in and the tank is pressure tested. If I can find a stock tank, I might able to tig in the section I need. I'll have to coat the inside though - you've seen that my tigging isn't up to snuff. Even as is, I'd feel better about the tank being treated and coated. I've had bad experiences with leaky fuel on my KLRE project.

Thanks for the info - I'm off to fleabay right now.

EDIT: You're absolutely right - there's plenty out there as far as stock tanks. I want to cut the portion that needs help out first though, and see if the dents will come out. Perhaps I can fix it enough to tig back in w/o needing another tank. It doesn't look hard, but I've said that before.

[Bambi]

Hi Krasniewski,
you seem to be quite good with tools of any sort, so what about this:
I remember an old issue of Classic Bike or Classic Motorcycle showing an elder English gentleman who repaired dented motorcycle-tanks. He had a big amount of steel-balls of different sizes welded to steel rods in different sizes and shapes. He clamped the rods into a vice, inverted that steel-ball through the filler-hole into the tank, placed it at the right point (I guess that's the real magic) and knocked the dents off. Ok, you'll damage the inner lining of the tank, but that has to be renewed after cutting and welding, too ...
Kind regards, Bambi

[Krasniewski]

Hey Bambi - interesting idea - never heard of that! My buddy saw a thing with CO2 and a heat gun to pop the dents out with pressure from heat changed, but I'm scared to even try with all

Right or wrong, I actually already took to the tank today. I can't stand doing nothing on this bike - a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.

Ok, the idea is to cut out the dented piece and try to pop the dents out. If I can't, that's cool, no harm done, I'm going to cut the same piece out of a used tank and tig it in.

Anyhoo-



Then -



And Finally...



Close, but no joint. As with everything it's pretty easy to get 90% there, but the final details are just so hard to get right, especially without the right skills, knowledge, and tools... and patience.

I found a damaged tank that should fit my needs for $50 shipped... more money than brains, and not enough of either. I'll trace the piece I cut out onto the new tank, steal that chunk, and see if I can make it happen.

In the meantime, I'm sure there's a few things I can do.

[ben2go]

I use a stud gun/welder and a slide hammer to pull dents from tanks.I'd rather not cut into a tank and then have to make sure there is no pin hole leaks in the welds.

[Krasniewski]

Originally Posted by ben2go

I use a stud gun/welder and a slide hammer to pull dents from tanks.I'd rather not cut into a tank and then have to make sure there is no pin hole leaks in the welds.

Yeah, I've done the whole pinhole leak thing before - I really hate that shit...

I think I saw a how-to on the slide hammer once - looks much better if ya got it.

[pckopp]

Spotted this in Chattanooga a couple years ago. Thinking outside the box!





I wouldn't go touring but I would make space in my garage for it.