After a good few months of deciding on which bike to use as my donor bike for my Cafe' Racer project, I decided on the stealthy Yamaha SR500 - Single Cylinder (or otherwise know as a Thumper)
As most enthusiasts know, these bikes are extremely rare to find, especially ones in great condition, or ones that haven't been stripped for parts. I uploaded an ad on Gumtree - posting "Wanted - Yamaha SR500". It was clear that these bikes are rare, as the only replies I had was from people asking me if I'm crazy to think that I'll find an SR500 in good condition, or any condition at all, as most people who own these bikes - KEEP THEM!!!
About 2 weeks later I received an SMS from a guy in Knysna, saying that he had a 1983 SR500 that he had from new and was looking at selling - if the price was right. I asked how much he wanted, to which he replied R14 000. I had done my research & instantly knew this guy was taking a chance. I offered him 9k cash, bearing in mind that I had to drive from Cape Town to Knysna to collect it - he accepted. So, the following weekend at 4am, I left for my trip to Knysna, ace-out... I arrived there at 8:15am & saw the bike parked in front of his house, I was super stoked as it looked MINT, just as the bullet had explained. Oh, & did I mention it had only 23 000km on the clock (original mileage).
After sitting down & chatting about various things over a cuppa coffee, he mentioned why he wanted such a high price to start with - the truth be told, this guy had grown REALLY attached to this SR & basically just did not want to part with it. I, of course, did not explain to him what I had planned for the bike & left for the drive back to Cape Town with the SR strapped to the back of my Corsa Ute.
How the SR looked to begin with
Arrived home safely all strapped in
After riding the bike & getting used to it for a couple weeks, it was time to start the stripping process, as well as add the new clip-on (2 piece handlebars), new headlight & new headlight bracket. Makes a world of a difference to drop the bars & light lower down.
After stripping all the bits & pieces of the rear of the bike & chopping the frame, it was time to make & shape the U-bar for the new seat. It already started to get a more aggressive look, and looked pretty good being aggressive too.
All the old parts stripped off the SR
All the new parts to be accommodated - new rear springs,
Bridgestone S11 R tyres & of course, new, (much smaller) dials
Eventually it was time for the sheet metal fabrication of the seat pan & bum box. A rather lengthy process!!!
I decided to go the LED route for the brake light, pretty nice fit.
Custom-made exhaust with a retro 90 degree kink at the tip
A quick mock-up of what the bike should look like once it's done, before
stripping it for sandblasting, powder coating & spraying of the petrol tank.
Then began the entire stripping process, to get everything off for powder coating
Once all was stripped & in the process of getting sandblasted & powder coated, it was time for me to decide on what colour I wanted the petrol tank. This photo does not do the colour justice, it needs to be seen in the sunlight - an awesome Aprilia metallic Gold.
The first parts to come back from powder coating were the rims, with the new tyres on of course! As well as the inner brake disc!
Look at the size difference of my old rear tyre & new rear Bridgestone
Next up were the forks, which came out better than I had expected
After a rather lengthy wait, the petrol tank was eventually sprayed & looking great!
Next up was the heat coat for the engine, I was nervous
how it would turn out, but it worked pretty well.
So, by now everything had been powder coated & needed to be
put back together. Time to start with the assembly of the SR.
Everything started to come together rather well, all the
black I decided to go with started falling into shape!
Just a mock-up of what the colours will look like once the tank is on
Pretty much everything done - bar-end mirrors, headlight, LED indicators,
levers, dials, grips etc.
Just the brand new diamond-stitch seat I'm waiting for!
Eventually, the arrival of the long-awaited seat. Came out better than I had expected
Seat on, exhaust on, exhaust heat wrap on, fins on engine polished silver
A quick little shoot we did in the underground parking at work.
The green background works really well with the metallic gold tank.
Here's a "before & after" of the project to give you an idea of how much the bike
changed throughout the entire process. Hmmmm, what's next? Thinking a
Yamaha XS750, should be fun!!!
Join our Facebook page for updates, out-rides, or general
idea-sharing among vintage bike enthusiasts -
First, You have done the amazing work on the bike. Bike changed completely and looks great now!
ReplyDelete