Bridgestone Motorcycle Parts Discussion Board

Thanks Randy - only saw your post now !!!   
Harvey

ZX-10 vs stock Bridgestone.

Undercut transmission, I have a couple of sets but they need a minor adjustment to be used. That little step that isn't finished to the teeth is the problem.

Wow Art,

that all sounds pretty interesting. I have the cylinders Nikasil plated. I'd think the ceramic would be fine but I've never tried it. Just relieving the webs might be an option. I'll have to look at the sample Suzuki rod and see why I strayed from using it. Might have been because I wanted to use the shims and that would have taken more out of the web than I wanted.  I had one Kawasaki (not sure which one) piston for a sample but remember the crown heights were quite different. I think the Kawasaki was much taller. May have had the ring pegs in the wrong position too. Not sure how the KX100 pistons compare. The Wiseco Suzuki RM85 pistons are just a hair shorter if I remember and I use shims under the cylinder anyway. A lot of things can be done especially if you don't have any restrictions. Racing in AHRMA has plenty. If you want to give me a ring I'd be happy to go over some of the stuff. Undercut stock trans helps with keeping it from jumping out of gear or false neutrals. The standard 5 speed isn't the greatest for racing but has got me along for almost 20 years. I've also modified the cam on the shift drum to help this. After seeing a few other bikes over the years I may change the way I do a few things. I attached a photo of the sample Suzuki rod kit.

cheers paul
619.675.4060

Hi Paul - thank you for the trove of info - as you commented, there's a significant amount of complex machining, so I have some decisions to make before I can really start on the motor.  I suppose if the RM100 rod was wider and needed slight relief on the crank halves, that would be easier than boring the big end pins oversize?  I expect to use single ring coated-skirt KX100 pistons - is the crown height lower than the original?   (I'm a big fan of ceramic coating on piston tops - any reason to avoid it here?)  I haven't decided between ceramic bores and nikasil - my KTM's have survived extreme abuse for years with nickasil.  For the state of tune, it won't be raced but will be used hard on spectacular Ozark back roads - I want upper mid-range and some top end is nice but I don't want to constantly wring it's neck.  I'm spoiled, 15 minutes away there are a couple hundred miles of various loops with no tourist traffic and very little local traffic. 

For the chassis, I re-did the shock mounts and back of the frame and built a swing arm with a slightly larger pivot bolt and bearings instead of the rubber bushings that's slightly longer and stronger than the original to accommodate (rebuilt) adjustable integral-reservoir Marzocchi's from that period.  The forks are 300 Ninja units with cartridge emulators.  I haven't laced them up yet but have slightly wider 18" rims that will be sealed with bicycle rim tape to run tubeless on the original hubs.  (I've done half a dozen sets of wheels with this tape and zero problems, it's available in several widths and very easy to use.)  Obviously, weight reduction is a major goal, and I just finished a one-piece carbon fiber tank/seat/tailpiece.  I'm still on the fence for carb's but since it'll be hidden inside the fairing there's more choices on intake, etc and since I'm not racing it rules aren't an issue.  For the electrics, I have sensors mounted on the original plate to trigger modern coils and a lithium-specific regulator/rectifier for the little lithium battery, and I'll do a LED lighting wiring harness to be truly street legal.  As a Suzuki/Can Am/Vespa dealer in the 70's I loved 2-strokes, but it's been 30 years since I built anything other than 4-strokes so I have a lot to learn.  Once I figure out for sure what I want, I still need to find a machine shop of that caliber - any suggestions there?