XJ/FZ Cafe Project

I've taken it around the neighborhood a few times and I agree, they seem to handle pretty well. And since the alternator is tucked behind the head the motor is not nearly as wide as the old KZ's that I have. I should be able to get a title for it but worse case scenario, could be used as a track day bike just for fun.

 

Right I am getting really bored waiting for my new parts to show, so I am going to let you guys in on the theme for this bike.

It's obviously gonna be cafe style, but it aint gonna be black with checks and ace of spades (That refers to the ace cafe in london by the way)

no it's going to be a dark bike with no shiny baubles.

check the following couple of pics and you'll get the idea.

(The bikes not mine. Haven't got a clue whose it is, I stumbled over the pic after looking for inspiration)

 

Quick update for you guys, my swing arm, linkages, sprocket carrier and shock arrived today. All second hand and all pretty horrible. The shock will probably get junked as it looks a little too far gone, but everything else is usable.

Right The FZ600 swing arm slots straight into the XJ600, which is a mighty fine thing. Here's the rub. the shock linkage for the FZ is offset slightly and doesn't fit the xj frame (although the shock lines up perfectly).
An XJ linkage won't work 'cause it is completely different to the FZ's and won't fit with the swing arm. (drop links are much wider on the XJ)

I am a little pi$$ed off just now,(it's 11.25pm and I'm tired!) so I'll put pics up tomorow

I think I am gonna have to visit the machine shop the have the linkage modified and a spacer made.

You will see what I mean when I post up the pics.

On the sunny side though, I am quite stoked that the nice alloy swinger slots right in with no funny buisness.

 

That swingarm sounds pretty sweet, hope you get the shock linkage kinks worked out! What's the difference between the FZ and the FJ swingarm? And how wide is the FZ wheels? What tire size will clear in there?

 

As promised here's a few update pics,

The bits as they arrive



and the arm in the frame





and the linkage thats giving me a headache. at the top of the linkage is the frame link and as you can see it's offset. I need this bang in the centre, so off to the machine shop to see what they can do.
I think they are going to turn down one side and add a spacer to the other to take up the slack. looks like it's gonna cost me about £40 plus tax, I would hazard a guess at $75 all in. but that's what happens when you build a project.
I should get it back a the end of the month. (payday!)



and finally, for SSrat, this is a pic of the standard XJ (FJ) arm, to compare.

I don't know how wide a tyre you can squeeze in there, I am going with standard 120/80/18, why? 'cos I like the look off tall skinny tyres, and this bike is being built to use on very narrow twisty roads. The standard wheels are perfect for this (the front is a 16" instead of 18", but this will speed up steering so I am happy with that!)

 

awesome, can't wait to see the final result.

 

Looking good!

 

Niiiiiice. I'm assuming the FZ swinger is Aluminum, and the FJ's is Steel? That'd look pretty sweet all polished up... not to mention the weight savings! Could you weigh it? I'm going to tear apart my FJ pretty soon (As soon as the 400 is done!) and will weigh the steel swingarm for comparison.

 

Yeah, I am only mocking it up just now, so I'll weigh it when I pull it apart again. If you are going down this route though, remember the FJ's linkage wont fit, neither will the drop links from the fj swing arm. You will have to use FZ drop links, bottom linkage and shock (the bottom of the FZ shock has a fork, the FJ an eye). and you'll have to get the linkage modded as I mentioned above.

I'll let you know how things go.

Oh and Yeah it is Aluminium. and your going to have tu use a FZ rear caliper as well.


Stay tuned folks :lol:

 

Well the shock I got is toast. No damping left whatsoever, Ah well you can't win 'em all!

On the plus side, a shock from an early FZ6 Fazer will fit straight in and are in plentiful supply! So as soon as I get my linkage back from the machine shop I'll get one of these bought and get the rear end fitted up proper.

Once the back end is in, I can get the engine and carbs in, start to think about where my wiring is going to go (will be a scratch built loom) I need to hide all the components away (probably under the tail) cos the bike is going to be pretty open.

Once thats done I can think about styling, tanks, bodywork etc. Shaving the frame of all unnessecary lugs.

Then I'll need to get the whole lot stripped down again for painting.
ah well happy days!

 

Well it turns out the FZ brake lines are a wee bit shorter than the FZ lines. :/
So I have a set of Galfer lines for an FZ front end! PM me if your interested Kevw!

 

Hi folks, update time.

Playing around a little I bought myself a 6" polishing kit for my bench grinder. I stripped down the swithgear and the master cylinder, stripped the paint off with nitromors and polished them up.

here's a couple of pictures of the result.

 

and also, I got my linkage back from the shop modified to fit the frame.
The FZ linkage sat off to one side, the shop centralised the link by shortening one side and by adding a spacer to the other.

Quite a neat job. very pleased with it!