[Grantl88]

Hey all,

Right so I finally got my first project a 97 thunderace, so let the fun begin.
This build is going to be a marathon not a sprint due to commitments im afraid so bare with me.


So this is how I got her, good thing is she runs, and at a first look I think its going to be a good project (probably wont be saying that in a few months:LolLolLolLol




After making room in the shed, I got started, I don't really have a fixed plan on how I want it to look at the moment, my main goal is to get her clean and fighting fit then once I have a good base i'll go to town.

The first problem I found was when running if you pressed the rear brake the engine cuts out, unplugged its fine, the wiring is a mess anyway, looks like Edward scissor hands and a 2year old attacked the loom at some point in its life, so im looking into a new loom.

exhibit A


then I decided to attack the front, as I hate that head unit. bye bye.



Next on the list was the carbs/ plugs was a little bit of a struggle after finding out that none of my sockets were the right size to get the plugs out I got on the phone to me old man to ponce a few and then moved on to getting the carbs off, after getting side tracked with other little jobs I got them off (a few days later) im guessing that they haven't been off in a LONG time, after turning all but a few of the float bowl bolts into unusable pieces of metal off them came one by one and 1,2,3 were not too bad, had a little bit of rust dust but nothing scary, then we got to number 4, end of the line, probably had twice the amount of rust in there, pulled all the floats, jets and went nuts with carb cleaner and a tooth brush.



all clean


Also found a few little holes in the downpipes


exhaust paste for now


finally got a socket to get the plugs out a few quirts of WD40 and...

Rank



silver lining I spose was that all the gaps were spot on. in they go till new ones come (here now but not in)

also drained the coolant

FUCK!
good flush coming in the near future.

plus de rusting the tank.

and this is how shes sitting at the moment


so what do you guys think?
ta
Grant

 

[thunder_taz]

Cool to see another Ace getting the treatment. On the subject of downpipes, look for a cheapo set of pipes of an FZR1000 EXUP. Stainless steel headers that allow you to keep the EXUP. Also allows a larger selection of end cans as they are slip-on as opposed to bolt on.

 

[94yzf75fighter]

Nice start

 

[Grantl88]

Cheers gents, I'll keep an ear out cheers taz, yer I have been looking into what parts fit the ace, there's a few bits off the R1's that can be used.

Going to take the wheels off and have a go at painting them myself, depending how they come out I may have a bash at the frame as well, but if I fuck it up I've found a place up the road that'll powder coat my frame and swing arm for £100.

Taz I'm probably going to spend the next half hour reading you build thread, so may have some questions for you

Ta
Grant

 

[Cookie2000ad]

Strong start, keep it up! Sub'd

 

[Grantl88]

Well due to family, work and everything in between the build is taking longer that expected.

I have been blessed with the odd day and weekend here and there to work on the ace, so instead of doing loads of little updates I have one biggy :rock:
I know you guys love a picture, so are you ready for a pic heavy post :letsride:


so since last time there has been a lot more stripping and cleaning started with the clutch as its was rank



so that's clean and back on, as well as all the gunk behind the sprocket cover.

removed the rear shock to clean it up and see what state its in, think I may have to get it refurbished, or find a replacement, I did read that the zx10r shock is a direct fit, but of course no one has one at the moment so that search continues.

changed gaskets on the valve cover as it had a slight leak also changed the clutch as that broke when I checked the condition on the clutch which is ok, + replacing the clutch springs.

this was where the leak was, fingers crossed its fixed.


finished the clean up mission on that carbs, took a while to do but they're done new bolts on the bowls so shouldn't have any issues next time they need to come off, then refitted and sorted out the sticky throttle. arty-smiley:


all the wiring is now sorted bar one wire that's broken, and it would be the all important live to the clocks that brings the bike to life, but pinched some wire connectors from my dad to sort that out.

then I turned my attention to the tank, its defo seen better days so I got to work, started with the outside.


ruff a, the patch missing paint by the pet cock and sender holes was a pin hole that's now been sorted with good old JB weld, then wire wool to clean
left side after 2mins with wire wool


not happy with leaving it like that I decided to add I lick of paint


now its time for the inside, first I went for the nuts, bolts and shake the shit out of it approach, a few workouts later and only a small amount of rust to show for it I decided that electrolysis would be the way to go.

1st attempt
coat hanger + 3hours


second for 5hours and was pretty much the same.

so tried a larger rod and left it overnight


it did ok, just think my little bike battery charger hasn't got the beans for it, so currently looking for a cheap bigger charger for another bash.


headlight unit

and now im not sure im going to use it, and am looking for something else, a nose cone from a gsxr, cbr or ninja, with the thought of getting side and belly pan as well, but we will see.

well I think that's pretty much it for now.

thanks
G

 

[a_morti]

Good effort, and I'm revising my opinion about the bike getting back together

That light is the worst type that exists, it has 35w bulbs as used on mopeds, and might as well be a limp-dick flashlight strapped to the front of your 145mph (with the fairings on ) motorcycle.

The pod filters are unlikely in the extreme to add any performance. They are more likely to give less performance especially if the carb jets haven't been replaced for bigger ones and it spent some good amount of time on the dyno. They will give more noise, if you like that type of thing. Get yourself a stock airbox, or it will never run right.

 

[Grantl88]

Cheers, yer I knew the lights wasn't going to be any good, my plan was a HID conversion but now I'm thinking of something totally different.

The bike came with those filters, and the jets as far as I'm away are stock, if I balance the carbs they should be ok should they?

Ta
Grant

 

[a_morti]

It also came with that headlight but you're not keeping it.

On any/all CV carbs you will not readily get the right pressure pulses and whatnot to generate correct vacuum across the diaphragm and lift the slide as it should, unless you're using a (standard) air box.

In case it is possible to get it running, you will definitely, at the least, need bigger main jets. Typically you will need bigger mains, adjustable needles setup on a dyno, and tweaking of the idle fuel/air screw.

On a bike like this where you have enough to do, it'll only be a ball ache you don't need and give you various running issues which you wont be able to tune out easily/cheaply.

 

[asmethurst]

out of interest ,how do you get rid of the Exup fault code? I've just bought a Thunderace and it's got a full micron on it.i keep getting the 8000 rpm fault code.
Mine seems in better nick than yours but the wiring is a right dogs dinner.
Thanks for your posts though ....

 

[Grantl88]

It also came with that headlight but you're not keeping it.

On any/all CV carbs you will not readily get the right pressure pulses and whatnot to generate correct vacuum across the diaphragm and lift the slide as it should, unless you're using a (standard) air box.

In case it is possible to get it running, you will definitely, at the least, need bigger main jets. Typically you will need bigger mains, adjustable needles setup on a dyno, and tweaking of the idle fuel/air screw.

On a bike like this where you have enough to do, it'll only be a ball ache you don't need and give you various running issues which you wont be able to tune out easily/cheaply.

it came with the ugly alien thing in the first post, but its broken and I don't like them, the red one was bought for me but its not wide enough to fit the standard clocks behind, so may have to stick with just a speedo for now.

im also looking into a stock air box as like you say running issues are something that I don't need.

ta

 

[Grantl88]

out of interest ,how do you get rid of the Exup fault code? I've just bought a Thunderace and it's got a full micron on it.i keep getting the 8000 rpm fault code.
Mine seems in better nick than yours but the wiring is a right dogs dinner.
Thanks for your posts though ....

Sorry I cant help at the mo as when the bike was running it only had a speedo so couldn't see any fault codes, I had to buy the original clock set. yer my wiring was awful but its sorted now.

 

[asmethurst]

yeah ... im overthinking this ...a Koso will get rid of that problem and a little thought before attacking the wiring is better i think.Mine seems to have been standing for a while ...bloody flat battery this evening.
Thanks for your interest tho ... they are interesting bikes
Good luck with the build ...its inspiring.
R

 

[Grantl88]

yeah ... im overthinking this ...a Koso will get rid of that problem and a little thought before attacking the wiring is better i think.Mine seems to have been standing for a while ...bloody flat battery this evening.
Thanks for your interest tho ... they are interesting bikes
Good luck with the build ...its inspiring.
R

Yer, always best to think about it first before hacking the wiring up, worst comes to worst you can always buy a new loom mine was £40, from eBay.

Yer they're pretty cool bikes I'm glad I got one.

Thanks for the luck think I'll need it...

Ta
G

 

[asmethurst]

Went for a brief blast on mine ....starting to fall in love with that power.
Loads to do !

 

[Grantl88]

Ok I'm jealous, spent most of today rubbing down the tank and panels as the paint should be here in the week.

 

[thunder_taz]

out of interest ,how do you get rid of the Exup fault code? I've just bought a Thunderace and it's got a full micron on it.i keep getting the 8000 rpm fault code.
Mine seems in better nick than yours but the wiring is a right dogs dinner.
Thanks for your posts though ....

The 8K rpm code indicates a fault with the fuel indicator. If you have original clocks check the fuel light bulb hasn't blown or that the green plug under the tank is intact. I had that when I removed my original clocks and replaced them with a Koso unit. The OEM wiring will indicate if the bulb has blown and as the fuel light on the Koso only used one wire it wasn't compatible with the two wires the OEM clocks use. I presume if you replace the clocks you need to use a resistor to con the CDI into thinking the bulb still exists!!

 

[Grantl88]

So its been a while since I've been on here, but I have been spending time on the ace,

I followed some advice a reverted back to the standard air box for better running.

I also gave up with trying to sort the inside of the tank as I found one online that was spotless and at an absolute bargain, and im sure someone will buy the old one.

in the spirit of just wanting to get it on the road I am leaving painting the wheels for a later date, but I have now put on some legal tyres.

I was naughty and ran her up and down the road a few times earlier to see how she feels, and I cant wait to ride her properly, she pulls really well in 1st and 2nd, hopefully i'll get an MOT in the next few weeks.

this is how she sits today










I still have a small problem with the radiator having a small hole, but im looking for replacement.

ta
Grant

 

[ROBBO]

ya done good mate ,thats gonna bea real nice ride all said and done

 

[Grantl88]

Cheers Rob, I know it's not quite as custom as it could be but it's a good start for me.