DR250.....Cafe Racer

[Lorenz]

Hi everyone, I thought it would be about time to put a thread together for my cafe racer project.
I thought I was being a bit selfish reading everyone's build threads and not submitting any of my own. I originally wanted to finish the bike and put a start to finish thread up, but this way I am hoping I can get some input from everyone and hopefully make a few less mistakes than if I undertook it all on my lonesome.

I have done up a few cars in my relatively short time (I am 22) and my last project was a 1983 Chevy Camaro Z28. As you could imagine, this car cost me a considerable amount of time and money, and I thought I would move onto something more modern and maintenance free, so bought a new falcon xr6 turbo, which was promptly written off a month or so after I bought it.

At the moment I am a bit disillusioned with cars, due to the sheer amount of cash you need to do it properly, and being fresh out of uni and into the workforce I thought it would be fun to do up a nice bike instead...

On the hunt for a suitable project to start with (I liked the look of cafe racers) I came across a 1985 Suzuki DR250.....

[IMG]<a href="http://s600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/?action=view&current=suzuki_dr_250_s_1986_21.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/suzuki_dr_250_s_1986_21.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]

Not exactly what I would call a traditional choice for a cafe racer but I like to do things a little differently and love a challenge (plus I did not have $3-4k for the more traditional style starting platforms) so this is what I picked up for $900, licensed and what I thought is a good way to start my first bike build.

[IMG]<a href="http://s600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/?action=view&current=P5230003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/P5230003.jpg" border="0" alt="Original stance"></a>[/IMG]

The guy who I bought it off was sailing around Australia or something and it had not been started since September last year, but I took it home, kicked it over and on the 3rd kick it came to life, so I was pretty stoked.

Same day I started ripping it apart, and over the weekend I had a pile of parts in my shed.

[IMG]<a href="http://s600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/?action=view&current=P5230012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/P5230012.jpg" border="0" alt="without seat"></a>[/IMG]

The guy had obviously spent a bit of time trying to make it look a bit more like a road bike rather than a trail/offroad bike but to be honest, the only thing he had done were fit clubman bars, Ducati tank and some tail section which I have no idea where it is from.

[IMG]<a href="http://s600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/?action=view&current=P52300201.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/P52300201.jpg" border="0" alt="stripped"></a>[/IMG]

First thing that was needed was a nice single seat, as I decided to keep the ducati style tank

[IMG]<a href="http://s600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/?action=view&current=cafe05.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt89/lorenzkurysromer/cafe05.jpg" border="0" alt="new seat"></a>[/IMG]

This one was bought from a guy over in Sydney who is on eBay. Total cost sent over here was $80 and it is a fibreglass unit.

That is all I have time to add this morning, so will keep updating when I get some more time.

Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

Lorenz

[Lorenz]

hmmm, epic photo fail, not sure why they are not working....any suggestions?

[Dawn Keeballs]

Hi everyone, I thought it would be about time to put a thread together for my cafe racer project.
I thought I was being a bit selfish reading everyone's build threads and not submitting any of my own. I originally wanted to finish the bike and put a start to finish thread up, but this way I am hoping I can get some input from everyone and hopefully make a few less mistakes than if I undertook it all on my lonesome.

I have done up a few cars in my relatively short time (I am 22) and my last project was a 1983 Chevy Camaro Z28. As you could imagine, this car cost me a considerable amount of time and money, and I thought I would move onto something more modern and maintenance free, so bought a new falcon xr6 turbo, which was promptly written off a month or so after I bought it.

At the moment I am a bit disillusioned with cars, due to the sheer amount of cash you need to do it properly, and being fresh out of uni and into the workforce I thought it would be fun to do up a nice bike instead...

On the hunt for a suitable project to start with (I liked the look of cafe racers) I came across a 1985 Suzuki DR250.....



Not exactly what I would call a traditional choice for a cafe racer but I like to do things a little differently and love a challenge (plus I did not have $3-4k for the more traditional style starting platforms) so this is what I picked up for $900, licensed and what I thought is a good way to start my first bike build.



The guy who I bought it off was sailing around Australia or something and it had not been started since September last year, but I took it home, kicked it over and on the 3rd kick it came to life, so I was pretty stoked.

Same day I started ripping it apart, and over the weekend I had a pile of parts in my shed.



The guy had obviously spent a bit of time trying to make it look a bit more like a road bike rather than a trail/offroad bike but to be honest, the only thing he had done were fit clubman bars, Ducati tank and some tail section which I have no idea where it is from.



First thing that was needed was a nice single seat, as I decided to keep the ducati style tank



This one was bought from a guy over in Sydney who is on eBay. Total cost sent over here was $80 and it is a fibreglass unit.

That is all I have time to add this morning, so will keep updating when I get some more time.

Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

Lorenz

Voila!

[Lorenz]

cheers Lefty! What was I doing wrong?

[Dawn Keeballs]

When you wish to link an image as you have from photobucket, use the URL, not the photobucket provided link (which is what it looked like from where I'm sitting.).

If you're still confused I'll MSPaint it for you with screenshots if you reeeeeeeally want.

[drinking_company]

chuck it up in the how to section lefty!

EDIT: oh and cool project

[El Skitzo]

This in seriously cool project!! Wait to you all get to see the work Rastas has done on remaking the rear frame section...

[perdition]

looking forward to seeing more of this

[valvolux]

nice work mate, keep the dream alive

[RT]

great stuff!!!

[Lorenz]

Now it would have been nice if the seat fit, but I knew from the outset that there would have to be some substantial "moulding" of the rear section of the bike, as:

a) it was too wide and long;
b) it had too great a kick up (would not really be a cafe racer without a nice flat seat/tank section)
c) it was ugly as fuck with eleventy billion extra brackets



*as you can see there is a bit of bog on the tank too... so far I have been too scared to take it back to bare metal...

[Lorenz]

Rastas was kind enough to take on the fabrication work for me, can't thank him and Antron Engineering enough for all the good work they have done thus far, would hate to think of what the bike would turn out like if they had not gotten involved...

Pic with the rear end cut off:



Here is a little jig he made up for the rear frame work:



More jigging:



Here is a pic of the bars as fitted to the tail section:



And a pic of the tail section on the bike:



Seat and tank slapped on from behind:




From the side:



Pretty nice work I think and if anyone has seen Rastas work before on his lighter fighter and shaft drive chopper/bobber they can appreciate his level of craftsmanship...

Quick bit of trivia, the jig used to bend the tail section to fit under the seat also came in handy for those massive mean bars he made up recently...

Anyways, too much writing but I really like how the bars are hidden under the seat railing now, stay tuned for some bracketry and hidden component goodness....

Cheers

Lorenz

[lunar_c]

That's one hell of a job on the fab work.. kudos to him! Looking great mate!

[Charger]

Nice vision and craftsmanship between the 2 of you. Look forward to seeing this one play out.

[Syz380]

this looks like a beautiful build. can't wait to see your progress

[Lorenz]

Can I just say that this bike is going to be so friggin light...hoping for way under 100kg dry...

Should be good for power to weight, because it has....gasp......17 hp!!!

Who wants to make me a mini supercharger setup?

[Lorenz]

Started putting the bike back together for a bit of a mock up so I can finish any fabriaction work and fit/purchase any parts that I till need.
So far it looks like I am gonna get some clip ons (43mm, anyone have any lying around??), find some nice indicators (front and rear), sprockets (front and rear), new chain, braided lines etc. and then it should start to resemble a bike again.

Once I have mocked it up I will strip it down again and do all the paint/powdercoating/finishing so it does not get damaged.

Anyways, enough blabbering here are some photos.

Starting to come together, this shot shows the aluminium swing arm and suspension:



Some pics of the hidden battery and shock oil reservoir:







Rastas fabricated this up for me so it is all hidden underneath the fibreglass tail unit, will leave the bike looking heaps cleaner so all the parts are hidden.
I love that look with some hot rods how they hide all the wiring, brake booster etc. everything in the engine bay, makes you wonder how it runs...

This pic shows the neat little tail section he made too. This is where the indicators will be mounted and the tail light and license plate.
I know indicators are supposed to be 300mm apart blah blah but the bike is licensed so unless I get pulled over it is not a problem. If they make me go through the pits I will just add spacers and then take it back to normal later:



Here are some shots of the rolling bike, without engine in. I will try and get the engine in this weekend, fire it up and make sure it is running sweet:







I think it is loking pretty good so far, I am starting to see the potential in it now...
Scroll to the top of the page and look at what this year DR250 looks like in stock form, then look at these pics again....

Anyways, let me know what you think peoples, questions? comments? constructive criticism? applomb?

Enjoy.

[El Skitzo]

Looking awesome and really capturing that Cafe Racer escence!! Has the battery arrived yet?

[Lorenz]

Yep battery has arrived, fits like a glove.
Just a quick question for anyone in the know, is it OK to sandblast the engine? I want to get rid of all the old shitty paint on it and don't exactly feel like hand sanding in all the nooks and crannies....
Otherwise, would vapour blasting be preferred?

Cheers.

[Lorenz]

Found out yesterday why bikes are a million times better than cars to work on.
A moment of inspiration dragged me up from some beers and into the shed where I proceeded to fit the engine. 25 minutes later, engine is in, wiring is hooked up good enough to fire her up, a quick trip to the servo for some fuel and I was away!

Gave her a few kicks and started beautifully, needless to say very happy!



Dont mind the oil on the ground, was a leak from the oil cooler, I only hand tightened everything...

I am starting to like the stance a bit more now, beforehand the suspension was sitting way too high for my liking, so with the additional weight from the engine and from my rather portly self it is starting to look a whole lot better...

Now, because I am what most people would call a bit of a bogan (and because a few beers were had) I was thinking that the exhaust in its current guise was looking a bit shit.
It was always my intention to either fit a new exhaust or cut this one down and because nobody would make me in exhaust on the spot I decided to get the grinder out and cut the muffler off...

Before:



After:



Can I just say, the exhause beforehand was not exactly quiet, but holy hell it sounds so fucking mean now!
I am a bit confused about the legality of having no muffler though, because I have seen heaps of Harleys and the like with absolutely no muffler roaring aroung town, with no troubles from Mr Plod, so do bikes have to conform to decibel limits like cars do???
Bear in mind the bike is already licensed, so I will not have to go through the pits and get it tested unless I get a canary...

Here is what the muffler looked like:



I might have a crack at rewiring the bike this week too, as I am trying to get it fully assembled and running nicely with most of its new components before stripping it down once again and painting it (this way I know everything is working fine and it won't damage the paint trying to mess around and fit stuff for the first time).

Here is how I left it last night:









Feel free to leave some comments too guys, feedback is always appreciated..

Cheers,

Lorenz