The Bride

I chucked up the sprocket carrier again and moved the sprocket face about 6mm inboard, to bring the rear sprocket in line with the idler sprocket. Now I need to modify the … More lathe workRead more

I gave up on installing a true jackshaft in favor of a single idler sprocket. There simply isn’t room for it without extensively modifying (almost completely re-engineering) the swingarm pivot. Beyond that, … Idler sprocketRead more

One of the cool things I want to do is build this bike with no foot controls. The shifter-less torque converter makes it an option, so — why not? As a bonus, … Spec’ing brake partsRead more

I re-drilled the CRF150R rear sprocket to match the EX500 bolt pattern. I used the sprocket carrier as a jig and used a transfer punch to mark where to drill. The new … Rear sprocket modificationRead more

Instead of an actual jackshaft, someone suggested I mount a single, freewheeling sprocket on the swingarm pivot. That’s an excellent suggestion, and definitely worth considering. For right now, however, I’m going ahead … More jackshaft design workRead more

First, I needed to extract the sprocket studs. After 30 minutes in the oven at 250°, I was able to break them loose with hand tools and the proper grunting sounds. It … Turning the sprocket carrierRead more

I had to find a #420 size rear sprocket that I can adapt to the Kawasaki rear wheel. The sprocket from a Honda CRF150R has the correct ID, but mounts with four … Rear sprocketRead more

I’d like a bit more leeway in wheel/swingarm alignment. To do that, I want to modify the EX500 wheel’s sprocket carrier. Stock, the assembly looks like this: I plan to turn down … Sprocket bearing modificationRead more

If you look at my earlier mockup of the frame and swingarm, you can see that that the output sprocket is rather far from the swingarm pivot. Furthermore, the swingarm is at … Jackshaft ideaRead more

For most Predator/GX200 conversions, builders are forced cut the downtubes off the donor frame and fabricate some sort of homebrew frame extension: I really hoped to avoid that, and it turns out … Engine placementRead more