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It came as no surprise to us that there were still a
number of time-consuming details to get the bike to this
point. Whenever a project seems near completion, there's
always another month's worth of "hurry up and wait" ahead of
you. We added an external cartridge-type oil filter (more
about that in a future installment), the high-pressure
teflon/stainless lines we selected were cumbersome to
work with and expensive. They were also the only way to
get the correct size and the clean, crimped ends that we
felt the bike should have. The location of the
oil cooler, chosen for maximum airflow, meant that the
oil lines had to be capable of handling constant flexing.
Using flexible brake line hose was a safe bet. The
seat was a new item that we had redone in top-grain leather,
with gel padding added for ultimate comfort. The chain
clearance is no more than .040" and took some time to
work out precisely. Sourcing the various specialty
fasteners, such as the polished stainless button-heads,
stainless banjo fittings and grade 12.9 Allen bolts
for the engine and swingarm mounts required visits to multiple
suppliers. Sourcing the right mirror was an adventure in and
of itself. The upper rocker cover had to be drilled &
tapped for a breather fitting and the correct breather element
(not shown in these photos) had to be special ordered. A
license plate mount was hand-fabricated from a piece of
diamond plate. We still haven't settled on the permanent cable
routings. This bike is going to be ridden regularly, so paint
abrasion is a concern. We're going to give it a while to
determine the best configuration, not optimal for these
photos.
If you go back to the beginning of this project, you
will see that the build took on a life of it's own, gradually
evolving into a billet rod. Yet, the original objectives, set
forth at the start, have all been met. The bike blends the
unmistakeable aesthetic of the orignal CT70 with modern tech,
world-class performance, restrained
bling, USA -hotrod-style. broad-shouldered,
stance and does it all seamlessly. The bike received a huge
"thumbs-up" from some highly-respected custom bike builders
(think "Biker Build-off; 3 were filmed in the Metro Detroit
area over the past year or so), surprising even us.
How does it perform? Like no other bike of its
type we've ever ridden! It has impeccable road
manners and ride quality, comparable to a much
larger machine. The chassis feels decidedly more solid and the
road feel is incredibly stable, light-years beyond stock. The
bike beckons to be leaned into turns at peg-scraping angles.
Yet, the ride is comfortable enough to cruise
along one tankful at a time without fatigue. We
will be installing a billet aluminum auxilliary gas
tank next season, looking for 80-100 mile range between
fuel stops. In fact every ride seems too short to
satisfy us, the mark of a successful project and just what
you'd want from a grand-tourer. The motor has a decidely cammy
idle and pulls like a rocket, for it's size. The bike can
easily out-drag an average car from a stoplight to about 50mph
or so, good for a gratuitous chuckle and the occasional
"how the hell can that thing go that fast?!". It
has stump-pulling torque from just above idle and just loafs
along at 60mph, yet is almost electric-motor-smooth at that
speed. We don't yet know exactly how fast the bike
can go. The motor is new and still tight, thus we haven't
wound it anywhere near redline yet. It is still accelerating
briskly in the low 60mph range in third gear and should be
capable of nearly 70mph before shifting to fourth, with the
current gearing. We also plan to test two other, hotter, cams
once the engine is broken-in just to gauge the full potential
of this setup. Unlike a stocker, this engine will make huge
top-end power with a wild cam. Ultimately, we may end up going
milder with the cam profile as the bike easily pulls 65mph
uphill with two aboard as-is... meeting our original
performance goals without breaking a sweat. However, we
know that there's at least another 10mph lurking in this
setup. In our (and many other's) experience, these motors pick
up another ~5mph after 500-1000 miles. It takes that long for
them to fully break-in. So, until we have tested the
limits, completely dialed-in the combo and verified the
results, no actual top speed claims will be made. While this
may disappoint a few in the short-term, everyone benefits from
honesty. During testing it became apparent that the biggest
obstacle to top speed is finding a safe place for the
run without attracting attention from the
"black & white tax collectors" and our insurance
vultures, errr... company. Beyond testing the bikes
capabilities, we cannot see a reason to push it to
80mph+, except on a track. Those are interstate freeway speeds
and we feel that a bike this size has no place on a
freeway, let alone exceeding the current federal speed limit
in suburban traffic. The bike can reach and handle higher
speeds than we care to attempt on any kind of regular
basis. Click on the home page photo of this bike to see how it
runs at part throttle. Even taking it relatively easy, we
quickly found ourselves at odds with sanity...65 in a 35 zone
is not exactly bright! (But we're willing to go to great
lengths to bring you the facts.^)
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