Suzuki RG250F Gamma conversion

[jonescg]

EDIT: For the internet-obsessed attention deficient folks out there, you can skip ahead to post 222 to see you-tube footage of the bike in action for the first time. On page 18 you will find some footage of me testing the bike with taller gearing. Enjoy!
CHRIS

EDIT 14th August 2012: Voltron is being parted out I need the funds, so check out the Used section of the forum.

Hey all,

Well I thought I might start putting some pics up. I ordered some parts from a wrecker in Sydney and they came in on Friday. The two brake calipers are in good condition, and the rotors have little wear on them. Some methylated spirits (alcohol you explicitly can't drink, for the Northern hemispherians) cleaned the gunge nicely. The rear brake is in good condition too, but I never use it. Next task is to fit new brake lines (might go for some trick braided lines) and a new master cyllinder for the front brake.


I started to pull bits of the frame off and it would seem a good wire-brushing of the alloy, followed by a primer and coat of paint will help too. Rattle-can from K-mart will do nicely


Motors arrive in 6 weeks (well, I'll have enough saved by then )

[jonescg]

More work on the RG this weekend. I sanded the frame back and painted it with primer, then rattle-can black Looking fantastic already!!


I took the suspension apart too. Well, that is, I dismantled the forks ready for a service this week. I figure I'll be putting a bit more weight into the frame to some stiffer springs and thicker oil are the order of the day. I also tried to get the tyre off, but I really don't have the right tools So they are securely strapped to the back of the Blackbird ready for a trip to the bike shop. I plan on sanding and re-painting the wheels - Black and gold with red brake lines. Very cool!

[recumpence]

Looks like a nice build. I really like Gammas.

One thing to consider;

Have you looked into powder coating? The frame really looks nice in black. I just hate how fragile (easily scratched) spray paint is. Here in the US, powder coating a frame like that is under $100.

Just a thought.

The black is beautiful. I like the black and gold look as well.

Matt

[jonescg]

Hi again,

Well another few weeks of working to earn money to spend on e-bikes... Still nothing particularly electric so far, but at least I have painted the rims and they look great



I started to pull the forks apart, since they aren't in good condition. Then I realised I don't know what I'm doing, but I've come this far, so why not keep going Oil was filthy grey, and there was a bit of rust around the seals. I can't begin to imagine how hard it will be to source new seals for these antique forks, so I might just put stiffer springs in, fresh oil and hope for the best.


I hope to acquire my two Agnis in a few weeks time. Then comes the task of engineering an appropriate saddle for them, and attaching them to the few point available on the frame. Oh, what's a contactor? And what's it for?

[dnmun]

o rings come in standard sizes. you have to be very careful when removing the old oring to NOT SCRATCH the inside of the groove that the oring is in, this cannot be emphasized enuff if you are new at this. be careful.

the guys who sell seals and bearings can get you the orings too but the rebuild kit may be available in the aftermarket as well.

not as though i know what i'm talking about, never had them apart. but you may have done wonders by getting the rust flakes out from under the oring, so it did not scratch the sleeve and won't leak. if they aren't damaged and still hold the seal they should still work.

[Jay64]

I'm sure RaceTech should be able to set you up with everything you need for that. They do a lot of race stuff for the vintage class bikes.

[jonescg]

I got these in the mail


I also ordered a new set of RG forks from Ebay. They look to be in better condition, and hopefully just need new fork oil. The old forks I have will need new everythings, and rechroming

[jonescg]

Hi all,
Just looking into chains and sprockets. The biggest sprocket I can get for an RG250 is 39 teeth, and this is 520 chain. 520 is still pretty chunky, and friction would be substantial. If I can't find anything small enough, I will use this arrangement. No-one deals in 420 chain in Australia, but 428 is still in use. In this case, I could at least get someone to machine a couple of sprockets in 428. Anyone here got experience with odd-ball sprockets?

Cheers,
CHRIS

[Gow864]

I got all my 420 sprockets and chains from these guys Surpluscenter. Not Australian, but great service, I got a huge (72 tooth from memory) 420 sprocket and just had it machined for my bike.

[Jay64]

You might want to check with sprocket specialists. They have done a few custom sprockets for me in the past.

[Malcolm]

Hi all,
Just looking into chains and sprockets. The biggest sprocket I can get for an RG250 is 39 teeth, and this is 520 chain. 520 is still pretty chunky, and friction would be substantial. If I can't find anything small enough, I will use this arrangement. No-one deals in 420 chain in Australia, but 428 is still in use. In this case, I could at least get someone to machine a couple of sprockets in 428. Anyone here got experience with odd-ball sprockets?

Bit late to reply, but I'm just catching up...
428 chain and sprockets work well for me. I found a 60t rear sprocket for a Fantic trail bike on ebay, and a 13t Talon sprocket from a company that build off-road karts. You get a useful weight saving as well.

[jonescg]

Cheers,

I stopped by the Suzuki shop in town and they still hadn't ordered my parts So F them. I went to another dealer who could get them in in a couple of days. I also picked up a 428 chain, 128 links. I'll probably still need to add more links, but at $40 it was a steal!

More photos soon

[jonescg]

Another good day for working on the bike.

Picked up the front master cylinder and lever unit from the shop, along with some brake fluid. I also got the shop to dismantle the forks for me as I didn't have the right tool.


Put new Battlaxe tyres on my wheels and painted the calipers up in gold. Hopefully getting the forks re-chromed won't take too long, and before you know it I can reassemble the front end and have a rolling chassis worth installing some motors in!

On that note, my two Agni Motors are on their way over from India. Should be here in a week or so. I'll need to find a way of fitting a sprocket to the 19 mm shaft... might prove difficult, but not as difficult as trying to fit the motors to my frame without breaking it

[Jay64]

You can order up 19mm sprockets that fit exactly to the Agni shafts. I ordered about 3 of them to try different ratios. The one problem I had with them was that the key slot size on the agni shaft was a slightly different key slot size then on the sprocket

[pgt400]

Jay, were did you get the 19mm sprocket? I am using 3/4 and although they work, I would perfer a tighter fit.

Phil

[jonescg]

You can order up 19mm sprockets that fit exactly to the Agni shafts. I ordered about 3 of them to try different ratios. The one problem I had with them was that the key slot size on the agni shaft was a slightly different key slot size then on the sprocket

Awesome! Tell me where you got them and I'll warm up the credit card And were they in 428 pitch? The local engineering firms here in Perth aren't helping me out much

[jonescg]

Well my Agni motors arrived in Perth today!

Unfortunately they attracted about $523 worth of taxes and import duties, which pisses me right off

I already paid $490 to freight them from India to Perth, and the motors themselves cost me $2700...

Not happy... Anyway, I will endeavour to get them delivered this week.

CHRIS

[jonescg]

Well the motors have arrived! I plugged them up to my piss-weak 4 amp 12 V battery charger and they fire up in both directions no trouble at all. Next step is to find a way of mounting these puppies into the tiny RG250 frame. Oh, and a decent controller. I'm told Kelly does the best controller for regen, and general "motorbike-like" handling characteristics.

[jonescg]

Found a supplier / manufacturer of odd-ball sprockets in Australia:

www.sprocketsoz.com.au

They can do anything, for any shaft and do tooth hardening I'm getting them to take a triplex 428 pitch, 14 tooth sprocket and remove the outer two rings, leaving the one in the middle. The unit is a good 50 mm long, which is plenty to slip two Agni motors into.

Sweet!

[jonescg]

I got the new piston seals, wipers and brake pads in the mail yesterday, so my brake calipers are complete

The new fork stanchions should arrive next week, so in a fortnight I'll have a rolling chassis to start fitting the motors to. I have called SprocketsOz and they still haven't got back to me about the sprocket to join both Agni's... Hmm, might need another phone call...

[AussieJester]

Let me know when you intend to hit Barbagallo ill be out there to check it out for sure!

Best of luck getting the sprockets sorted keep on them about it

KiM

[jonescg]

Forks arrived form the UK. Sure was cheaper than getting them re-chromed! Just have to assemble these, then put the brakes on and I have a rolling, stopping bike!!

Oh, I called Sprockets Oz and it turns out they've almost finished the pair! Sweet!

[AussieJester]

Thats just wrong isn't it why is stuff so expensive here that we can import from the otherside of the world CHEAPER than going local...stinks IMO...Glad you have progressed though mate excellent news!

I sense a drag race coming up between the two of us ...MotorPlex Wednesday night sound the go? If there's two of us with Leckys the ANDRA boys will be more accepting to letting us run i think! ...You will have me over 1/4 but i might have a chance on the 1/8th hehee

Im very excited to seee this beast of yours TWO freakin agnis in a lil RG thing will be nuts. I rode an RGV 250 in the late 90s man they were a lil rocket machine ~230km/ hour down Tokin hwy not a problem in stock trim !

KiM

EDIT: if you dont mind asking how much they quote you for the re-chrome? I may need to get the sringer tubes of my springer fork done i was meant to take the tube to the platers yesterday on way to hardware but time dint allow it mate that gave me lift had to be somewhere else...

[jonescg]

You're right, Kim, it's F'd. The fork stanchions cost 95 pounds each, so with the two oil seals the whole order came in at AUD$388 including delivery. To get a pair of stanchions re-chromed was going to cost about $480 from TomCat hardchroming.

Oh, the sprockets are going to cost me about $100 each - they are taking a triplex 428 pitch sprocket and removing the teeth from either side, and boring it out to suit the 19 mm shaft. The rear needs lightening hols to be laser cut, so I don't know how long that will take since they don't do it on site.

Dunno about the quarter mile mate, you might have me there. I'm optimising for about 160 km/h, so the takeoff will be a bit on the slow side. Haven't bought the controller yet... might be another case of paying exhorbident customs fees

[AussieJester]

. To get a pair of stanchions re-chromed was going to cost about $480 from TomCat hardchroming.

That is steep isn't it! I hope to pay under 100 bucks for the couple of thin springer tubes, shall
let ya know what they slug me anywayz. I forget the name of the metal platers local to me, tiz on Davison st in Maddington bout 10 minutes from home, has a good reputation i have talked to the guy previously about chroming the entire springer i made seems like a nice chap hopefull wont be too expensive.

Yes i gathered it would be geared for top end hence the suggestion of a run on the 1/4 hehehe

KiM