The 2WS/2WD system for the next racer is assembled and on the bench! This is the first bike project of mine where the frame wasn't built first. Now the frame designs itself and gets built next.
The engine is out of the donor bike. It is smaller in every dimension, 5 lbs. lighter, and over twice the horsepower of the EX500 engine in the last racer.
The engine goes up on the bench as soon as the left side gets cut down - have to make room for the front wheel drive belt. Started by milling down a gently used cover:
Speaking of engine weights, a number of engines have gone across my shop scale over the years:
Kawasaki KX500 - 60 lbs.
Kawasaki EX500 - 126 lbs.
Ducati 999S - 153 lbs.
H-D 883 4 speed - 185 lbs.
H-D 1340 Evo 5 speed - 215 lbs.
Honda CBX - 215 lbs.
KTM 890 - 121 lbs.
Getting to this point took a lot longer than expected - a combination of a serious workplace injury last summer (Off work for 4 months - they took care of me at their expense) and fading enthusiasm the rest of last year stalled progress for too long.
After a hard day at work, the last thing I wanted to do for fun when I got home was even more work. So why not take the night off and just crank up the Bluetooth speaker and relax out in the shop? Over There, staring me down, is the domineering markerboard. Yeah, the mill table should have been cleaned off last night - turning the lights out on a messy mill table just isn't done. While we're at it, lets get the vise squared up and bolted down. Why not load the first part, stick the probe in the spindle, and zero out the DRO while everything is clean? Since we know where we are now, there's nothing to stop us from drilling the pilot hole. Loading the boring head in the spindle and setting the boring bit now should get the job done sooner. Hey, I'll bet that first cut will go really smooth - now's a good time to find out! The calculator says only 9.137 more passes will finish the job - the playlist on the speaker is nowhere near done and I forgot how much I liked that group - I hope the neighbors are enjoying it as well. Lets load the identical part that goes on the other end of the racer (Identical front and rear suspension has its benefits...) and give it a head start for tomorrow. Oh look - it's done already and I never noticed that the playlist must have ended a half hour ago and now the shop is deafeningly silent. On the way out the door, I get to erase that nagging line off of the markerboard and look back before turning out the lights with renewed enthusiasm. I'll clean the mill table off first thing tomorrow, after work...
One step closer answering that question "I wonder what it's like to go faster?" There's only one way to find out...
