Hi Guys,
I figured I am turning the corner on my second Baja Warrior/Heat/MB165 now and I should make a project post.
So of you may recall I had powdercoated an assembled GX200 block with head a matte black in the Honda/clone form. This is the bike it was planned for.
Background:
I found a BAJA bike on Tallahassee craigslist, actually, I had seen it on CL for about 2 or 3 weeks, but finally I decided to contact the seller. This BAJA was in what I would call a normal state for its age. The fake tank was broke and removed, however I have it, the seat has been broken and doesn't securely mount to the chassis, and the paint looked a little rough. I paid $175 for it, and gave me something I could strip apart and make my own, unlike the first Baja Warrior I purchased, which was in mint condition for $200 bucks.
The Process:
First, after disassembly, I want to go through the engine, removing un-need parts and stuff. The thing I like about the BAJA engines, they don't have the oil sensor and there is no hole to fill. Since I race go kart also, using the clone gx200 engines, I have more than enough performance parts, so with this build, I used a set of 10.8 springs, a Gecker BSP racing cam, and a head than was cut to low and brings the engine to roughly 25cc. I also had a Gecker top plate, which I powdercoated matte black with the heat shields to match the motor, which I also powdercoated matte black. I have ran the engine now for about 30 minutes and haven't had any problems, and the motor really stands out on the bike since it got a new fresh coat of paint.
Since every BAJA I have seen like this has a black frame, I decided to go a different route. My favorite color is orange and I utilitze it on all my racing karts, so I thought a orange frame would be ideal and really help make this bike stand out. I decided to use the old spray bomb paints. I have a orange from Valspar I like apply probably 6-7 coats over a 2 week period. I think applied 3 to 4 coats of Valspar Gloss Clear. Now that this is cured, it does make the bike stand out, and wiping oil or dirt off is too easy. (Later, I also decided that since the handbars where about 2 inches longer than what would fit in my PC oven, that I would paint them orange to match the bike, that was a good plan, as the stock chrome on the bars had started rusting.)
I also had to decide what to do about the fenders. I didn't want to keep them a gloss black, since the engine is matte, so I also painted them a flat black. On the rear fender, I added a solid, 1.25" orange stripe down the entire length of the rear fender, and offset two half-inch chrome stripes to set it off, and to tie the chrome factor chain gaurd back into the bike. Having my own vinyl cutter allowed me to play around until I got a combination I liked. At first, I had a big orange stripe, but it was difficult to get it to lay down on the curved fender, the small stripes solved this problem and turned out better.
I left the front forks as they were, the silver does, in my opinion help brighten the bike and make it look as it should, I was afraid if I blacked-out the front end, the bike would lose some pop, so I have left it factor for now, as I did with the rims too. Originally, I was going to powdercoat the rims either Chrome or Flat black, but the silver has grown on me for the time being, and one of the rims had some rust, and I don't have a sandblaster so I decided to wait until I wanted new tires and buy new rims as well. I think all and all, it also helps make the bike look good and not two-color.
Assembly:
After re-assembling most of the bike, I decide that there wasn't any header or exhaust system that fit my vision for this BAJA, so I went through my collection of of Animal headers, and found one that had been bent about 4 inches up in the middle of the curve coming from the flange, I cut the bent section off and used a hole saw in my drill press to make a 1" opening in a gx200 header flange cut off a broken BSP racing pipe. After carefully tweaking the pipe and rotating it, I found a combination I like that kept the exhuast up under the bike and allowed it to exit point down, and not out the back. Plus, I can add a RLV muffler if I need to with this pipe. After tacing the pipe to the flange, I ran several welds around the pipe and the flange, and even made a bead around the inside. I have a MIG welder, setup for flux, but I have to run the welder off my generator, and my generator struggles, so I tend to go the extra mile to ensure I get a solid weld. After cleaning up the flux mess, and filing out the inside of the pipe, I of course decided an old rusty pipe wouldn't do, so I decided to try some header paint. I've never used it before and I wanted to not have another orange or flat black piece, so I went with the silver finish they have. I like it, and i think it looks well with the bike where it is. This header sounds pretty good, I've tried to video it running, but I haven't been able to get a good recording yet, but I'll work on that.
Items to be Addressed:
I need a fuel tank, I have ran the bike a couple of times with the fuel line plugged into my gas tank. I just haven't been able to win a good tank off ebay yet, but I'm trying.
I was going to order a new seat from Monster Scooter, but now they don't stock the all black seat, so I am going to try and see if I can make my red/black seat work and use vinyl paint on the red part to get it all black.
I have the light, and it works, but with the rpms of this bike, it won't last long, so I would like to make the electrical work and be safe for the lights.
Investigate new gearing at some point.
Foot pegs were original, but broken. Looking for a good set for a harley or something, but doesn't have Harley on them and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.
Future Plans:
I'd love to build a sidecar. My wife recently got me a "Affotable Bender" and I would love to use that as my first project.
I figured I am turning the corner on my second Baja Warrior/Heat/MB165 now and I should make a project post.
So of you may recall I had powdercoated an assembled GX200 block with head a matte black in the Honda/clone form. This is the bike it was planned for.
Background:
I found a BAJA bike on Tallahassee craigslist, actually, I had seen it on CL for about 2 or 3 weeks, but finally I decided to contact the seller. This BAJA was in what I would call a normal state for its age. The fake tank was broke and removed, however I have it, the seat has been broken and doesn't securely mount to the chassis, and the paint looked a little rough. I paid $175 for it, and gave me something I could strip apart and make my own, unlike the first Baja Warrior I purchased, which was in mint condition for $200 bucks.
The Process:
First, after disassembly, I want to go through the engine, removing un-need parts and stuff. The thing I like about the BAJA engines, they don't have the oil sensor and there is no hole to fill. Since I race go kart also, using the clone gx200 engines, I have more than enough performance parts, so with this build, I used a set of 10.8 springs, a Gecker BSP racing cam, and a head than was cut to low and brings the engine to roughly 25cc. I also had a Gecker top plate, which I powdercoated matte black with the heat shields to match the motor, which I also powdercoated matte black. I have ran the engine now for about 30 minutes and haven't had any problems, and the motor really stands out on the bike since it got a new fresh coat of paint.
Since every BAJA I have seen like this has a black frame, I decided to go a different route. My favorite color is orange and I utilitze it on all my racing karts, so I thought a orange frame would be ideal and really help make this bike stand out. I decided to use the old spray bomb paints. I have a orange from Valspar I like apply probably 6-7 coats over a 2 week period. I think applied 3 to 4 coats of Valspar Gloss Clear. Now that this is cured, it does make the bike stand out, and wiping oil or dirt off is too easy. (Later, I also decided that since the handbars where about 2 inches longer than what would fit in my PC oven, that I would paint them orange to match the bike, that was a good plan, as the stock chrome on the bars had started rusting.)
I also had to decide what to do about the fenders. I didn't want to keep them a gloss black, since the engine is matte, so I also painted them a flat black. On the rear fender, I added a solid, 1.25" orange stripe down the entire length of the rear fender, and offset two half-inch chrome stripes to set it off, and to tie the chrome factor chain gaurd back into the bike. Having my own vinyl cutter allowed me to play around until I got a combination I liked. At first, I had a big orange stripe, but it was difficult to get it to lay down on the curved fender, the small stripes solved this problem and turned out better.
I left the front forks as they were, the silver does, in my opinion help brighten the bike and make it look as it should, I was afraid if I blacked-out the front end, the bike would lose some pop, so I have left it factor for now, as I did with the rims too. Originally, I was going to powdercoat the rims either Chrome or Flat black, but the silver has grown on me for the time being, and one of the rims had some rust, and I don't have a sandblaster so I decided to wait until I wanted new tires and buy new rims as well. I think all and all, it also helps make the bike look good and not two-color.
Assembly:
After re-assembling most of the bike, I decide that there wasn't any header or exhaust system that fit my vision for this BAJA, so I went through my collection of of Animal headers, and found one that had been bent about 4 inches up in the middle of the curve coming from the flange, I cut the bent section off and used a hole saw in my drill press to make a 1" opening in a gx200 header flange cut off a broken BSP racing pipe. After carefully tweaking the pipe and rotating it, I found a combination I like that kept the exhuast up under the bike and allowed it to exit point down, and not out the back. Plus, I can add a RLV muffler if I need to with this pipe. After tacing the pipe to the flange, I ran several welds around the pipe and the flange, and even made a bead around the inside. I have a MIG welder, setup for flux, but I have to run the welder off my generator, and my generator struggles, so I tend to go the extra mile to ensure I get a solid weld. After cleaning up the flux mess, and filing out the inside of the pipe, I of course decided an old rusty pipe wouldn't do, so I decided to try some header paint. I've never used it before and I wanted to not have another orange or flat black piece, so I went with the silver finish they have. I like it, and i think it looks well with the bike where it is. This header sounds pretty good, I've tried to video it running, but I haven't been able to get a good recording yet, but I'll work on that.
Items to be Addressed:
I need a fuel tank, I have ran the bike a couple of times with the fuel line plugged into my gas tank. I just haven't been able to win a good tank off ebay yet, but I'm trying.
I was going to order a new seat from Monster Scooter, but now they don't stock the all black seat, so I am going to try and see if I can make my red/black seat work and use vinyl paint on the red part to get it all black.
I have the light, and it works, but with the rpms of this bike, it won't last long, so I would like to make the electrical work and be safe for the lights.
Investigate new gearing at some point.
Foot pegs were original, but broken. Looking for a good set for a harley or something, but doesn't have Harley on them and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.
Future Plans:
I'd love to build a sidecar. My wife recently got me a "Affotable Bender" and I would love to use that as my first project.
it's a little no long to fit on the pullrope cover, but I can make a smaller one.
