My 2001 to 2008-10 conversion

[shavelieva]

Hi all,

I've got a cheap 2000 frame/motor/wheels/tire(yes single atm) for real cheap a while back. I've been building the thing up for the past year and half now, part here and there from eBay. My goal has been to keep this under $1k from start to finish with maybe the exception of fairings. So far the bulk of the build up has been with 88-07 generation parts but I've recently decided to start seeing what I can crossover from the 08-10 line. Most parts seem to be no brainers.

My biggest obstacle yet is my 09'gas tank on my 2000 frame. I'm going to be cutting a 4" length and re angling it downward and welding it into place to make way for the peacock of the tank.

This has been a slow moving project 1.) I'm a student 2.)I work 40+hrs 3.)I'm married 4.)I'm spending money on this very sparingly(however I've just splurged $100 on some more parts).

I'll post pictures up in the next few days of stuff I've done over the course and what it currently looks like.

Basically I know there are a lot of you who will ask why I don't just buy a +08' and enjoy it instead of spending so much time working on it. First off I have a 35cc honda, 50cc yamaha, 50cc kymco, 150cc chinese. So I ride a lot, maybe no where near as fast, but regardless I ride everyday. Additionally one of my roommates dropped his oil drain bolt(on his 05' ninja) and ended up with some shaved up bushings which you can imagine lead to how entire teardown of his entire block. I helped him build it back up and down and up and down and now feel rather comfortable with the engine portion. I also feel real strongly that you should be able to at least maintain their own equipment. I take it a bit more excessive and tend to be and extreme DIYer.

Just thought this would be an appropriate outlet for recording my work.

cheers
Shavelieva,

[miks]

You're crazy mate, but I respect that! I wish you all the best. So what else 08-10 parts are you going to be using?

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by miks

You're crazy mate, but I respect that! I wish you all the best. So what else 08-10 parts are you going to be using?

thanks,

So far 08'-010' parts already installed
-09 gas tank
-which includes a fuel gage(88-07 don't have one)
-09 tail light
-radiator over fill bottle

things I have but need to modify for fit
-Stock $1 eBay Exhaust pipes
-Wiring Harness, I currently have a 2004 harness installed and want to wire the 09 harness on

08-10 generation parts that I am looking forward to purchasing in the near future
-new gauges(digital maybe)
-currently looking into the bolt patterns of the 2008 Front Sprocket cover to see if it would fit transparently while still allowing for the shifter to sit correctly, not sure.
-seat
-radiator, fan, thermostat
-some fairings, I would like to cast the main ones myself however
-mirrors
-Swing Arm(looks better in black)
-chain tensioner
-Rear Shock Linkage
-Turn Signals(flush)
-LEDS
-Front Tire


Parts I'm purchasing on eBay right now(trying to get the best deal on shipping)
-08' Rear Brake Master Cylinder
-09' Front Right Brake Caliper
-09' Rear Brake Caliper
-09' muffler
-09' Clutch Lever
-08' Front Brake Line
-01' Rear Brake Line
-08' Brake Light Switch
-NEW battery
-front and rear brake brackets

List of 88-07 parts I purchased and installed currently
-frame
-wheels
-1x rear tire
-chain
-engine, top end disassembled and cleaned, going to need gaskets
-radiator
-hoses
-thermostat
-cdi
-coils/plugs
-rebuilt carbs
-airbox
-fan
-forks/keys
-clutch cable
-Carb Boots
-old moto batteries
-old filter

So you can tell it still look scrawny since it has no panels yet. Got the whole street fighter thing going on, hopefully not for too much longer though,

cheers,

[kkim]

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by kkim

atm, I'm at work. My phone's dead. and i'm not proud enough to put a lot of pics up on fb of it. except this old one where its in the basement.



really not much has changed.

EDIT: btw the small wheel in the background belongs to the spree(its not a part of the ninja).

[Racer x]

Looks like a interesting project. If you can change the wheels to 17inch and the front fork that would be nice .It would make the brake part easy.

[shavelieva]

alright, after a quick ten second thought I am realizing that picture is around 3months old and I haven't really done anything so I just impulsed an eBay buy.

ebay.jpg

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Looks like a interesting project. If you can change the wheels to 17inch and the front fork that would be nice .It would make the brake part easy.

Yes, I've thought about the ride height of the 07' vs the 08' a lot. The third generation(88-07) stands at 43.1" and the fourth generation(08-10) at 43.7" for overall. The third generation hangs at 6.1" from the ground and the fourth seems like it sits slightly lower.

I'm definitely looking into newer new forks, or at least seals. If I do keep them I ill lower it by an inch and a half.

As far as rims and wheels, I may put those off to very last to avoid attempting to ride it unnecessarily.

[diablo250]

Great project! Keep up the pictures.

[dimeified]

i noticed your building your bike in the basement. um, when my father was a teenager he built a chevy motor in his parents basement piece by piece. this doesn't become a problem until you realize you need to move the finished project up stairs and through a narrow doorway... fwiw

[miks]

Koso gauges mate, go for it!

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by dimeified

i noticed your building your bike in the basement. um, when my father was a teenager he built a chevy motor in his parents basement piece by piece. this doesn't become a problem until you realize you need to move the finished project up stairs and through a narrow doorway... fwiw

It is a narrow folding door with an additional door right at the base of the door to maneuver through, however I've become quite skilled at it. Currently my 150cc chinese is down there and I've brought it up and down several times all by my lone(good brakes are the trick). Additionally my room mate's 05 Ninja(250 also) has been brought in an out 2-3 times(with body and exhaust). Given that it did take two of us again brakes are your best friend in this situation.

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by diablo250

Great project! Keep up the pictures.

btw, thanks for the comments and support,

http://www.kosonorthamerica.com/

thats a pretty awesome gauge, I was planning on modifying mine out. I'm really torn on whether to keep it analog or go all digital, but I like the balance in those. Just going to keep me thinking, thanks guys.

[shavelieva]

Got all of those parts I ordered from eBay this evening. Everything seems like it ought to fit ok. Going to install everything after work tonight.

I'll post up some pics after I get everything on

[shavelieva]

I've not been home much. I got the parts in

I've removed the rear tire & sway bar while on the kickstand

here's the new sway bar

Decided to string the back end up so that I could bring the kick stand out of the way.



I don't exactly remember why I have the stator cover removed....
I need to re-wrap my wiring harness(I got curious)

[dimeified]

this is a real F**King cool project dude, thanks for the updates with the pictures, please keep 'em commin'

[shavelieva]

Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to ride it soon enough.

[shavelieva]

UPDATES:
The 2008-10 Axle bolt is longer than the 88-07. The sway bar on the 08-10 is rectangular tubed through and through. the 88-01 is recessed and doesn't require as long of an axle, the difference is at most 2" but enough that the axle threads don't even pop out the other side.

The Sway member otherwise bolts up well as does the linkage to the spring.
I'm really interested in swapping the spring with something a bit stiffer from recommendations I've sen online. the 08-10 is suppose to be good and I've seen suzuki swaps, so its something I'm definitely looking into.

The front brake caliper doesn't seem to line up correctly to one of the bolts by maybe a quarter of an inch. one bolt fits well, the other is gapped too far. Additionally the brake line doesn't appear to be long enough. The remedy? I'm going to buy new forks. I don't particularly need new ones entirely but my seals are crap anyways.

[crackerjack]

any more progress?

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by crackerjack

any more progress?

unfortunately no, finishing up unpacking and job searching.

good news, bikes out of that basement and now in a garage, really itching to start hacking stuff up. Will definitely make sure to get full photo coverage cut for cut.

[tsiratiug]

Call me crazy but, throw some 17 tires on it and keep the streefighter look it has right now. I'm diggin' that.

[tiggen]

Did the 08+ swingarm bolt into the 88-07 frame without modification?

[Racer x]

I just started working on my first gen race bike. You can't just swap the wheels from 16 to 17 . It will be easyer to change the fork and swing arm. The spacers need to be re cut and the brake caliper needs to be moved. Not impossible just a lot of work. I ended up sticking with the 16 and getting Sport Demons.

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by tiggen

Did the 08+ swingarm bolt into the 88-07 frame without modification?

It did however the Rear wheel axle on the 88-07 is shorter. Like Racer X said the brake caliper isn't supported the same way from the 07 to the 08. On the 07 caliper it loops through the axle then connects to the swing bar via a second arm. An 08+ caliper still loops through the axle but has its own spot to catch on the swing bar. The 08+ generation calipers additionally will sit closer to the brake disc rotor, so close in fact that it won't fit over the rotor.

So say you wanted to use 88' frame, 08 swing arm and keep your classic 88 rims?

You would additionally need a matching 08+ brake caliper unless you feel comfortable welding and bracketing a small arm for the old brake caliper to the newer swing arm. Also the Axle bolt is a longer length so you'd need one of those too.

Option1: Grind the outer rim of your current brake rotor grind down so that it fits with the placement of the newer caliper. This option suck because you may loose surface area which in turn may increase your rear brake stopping power.

Option2: Find a 4 bolt disk brake of matching width and outer diameter.

Options3: Get a 08+ rear wheel/tire/rotor to match your 08+ caliper and swing arm.

Option4: Mount the caliper farther from the axle so it fits your rotor. The mount that fits on the axle holding the caliper is thick all around so it may not be home grown job to extend it. I'd say it could be cut in half and a wedge could welded in place or a slotted bracket could be made to screw the bracket back together. I'd recommend a quality welding job.

Dealing with your brakes keep in mind that this is what stops you so take the time do a quality job.

[CynicalC]

What happened to all your pics?

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by CynicalC

What happened to all your pics?

I'm out of work and so i've stopped paying for my site hosting at http://shavelieva.com

[kkim]

google hosts pics for free.

[coondog]

Originally Posted by shavelieva

Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to ride it soon enough.

I just noticed the "bodyless ninja" on your bike list, LMAO. You'll get there man, you have the patience and planning well in hand it seems.

[insightt47]

Originally Posted by coondog

I just noticed the "bodyless ninja" on your bike list, LMAO. You'll get there man, you have the patience and planning well in hand it seems.

true that

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by insightt47

true that

actually, I did get fairings for my birthday last year.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by shavelieva

actually, I did get fairings for my birthday last year.

Then GET TO WORK!

[CZroe]

If you've still got the pictures, can you post them up? The forum should let you attach them to posts (no need for a host). I think you're still the only person to ever swap tanks.

[rabies]

no pics? o.O

online photo sharing

[shavelieva]

Originally Posted by CZroe

If you've still got the pictures, can you post them up? The forum should let you attach them to posts (no need for a host). I think you're still the only person to ever swap tanks.

I now see attachments are an option. Time to update

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by shavelieva

I now see attachments are an option. Time to update

Awesome! All the attention coming recently from this thread demands it!

Thanks.

[shavelieva]

Here are some of the old photos for reference considering where I started with it. I originally purchased a frame, front wheel, rear wheel w/ tire and motor(barely). nothing else.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by shavelieva

Here are some of the old photos for reference considering where I started with it. I originally purchased a frame, front wheel, rear wheel w/ tire and motor(barely). nothing else.

Thanks! Just saw the progress in the other thread. Looks great!