Last winter I built a Multistrada special out of an accident damaged 1000DS. I finished it in April and I have ridden the bike all summer… I LOVE it! Been finding excuses to just go for a ride on it! However, there are aspects of the bike I really don’t like… first, the plastic tank… with the advent of ethanol in fuel, I can only see problems in the future… and also the electronics, already the LCD screen has failed, and some of the warning lights, which is a pain as they are a fortune. I have been planning to build a bike that would be a “keeper” for years, and this may be it… So I have decided to rebuild it again over this winter… this time with a steel tank, a simple Electronic ignition, (Ignitech) and Carbs, yes, I know I am a dinosaur! If people are interested I will update this thread as I progress with the build, but for now here are a few pictures of last year’s build, and a couple of progress so far…, Here’s how it started out Here it is finished…. Couple from the engine rebuild… Here it is now… I have cut the back end of the frame and will be making a seat unit. I have also mounted the ST4 tank, and am in the process of making a blanking plate for the big hole where the fuel pump used to sit! Here are the carbs mounted on the home made manifolds, which need finishing. Carbs are slightly offset to allow use of a throttle position sensor to fit on the end of the spindle. Took hours to make the manifolds from scratch! Not sure yet if I will make an airbox, or use POD filters…
Nice work. It's great to see the custom engineering projects going on out there. How do you think the different length intake manifolds might affect performance ? Are you going to make a totally custom tail unit, or graft on say a 916 unit ? Looking forward to see how it progresses
Very impressive engineering. Mark 1 looked really nice, now I look forward to seeing Mark 2 mature. I had an 1100 Multi and those engines are so sweet. With light weight and a fettled engine your bike will be wonderfully responsive to ride. Well done, and keep posting.
yes, that's a fear... I have rubber mounted the carbs and will also support them in some way. I also intend to brace the two manifolds together to support them better
Put V power, or any form of high octane fuel, it has far less and often no ethanol to save plastics and many other components from wear.
yes, I have been using Esso super which according to their web site has no ethanol in the midlands... But its short term, they are going to start increasing the amount soon to bring it in line with regular.
A bit more progress... I have decided to go for pod filters, took the easy option! I have finished the the tank blanking plate, save for putting in a couple of outlets. one will go to a vacuum tap, the other will have an ON/OFF tap. that way I can use the tap as a reserve if the inlet for the vacuum tap is a lot higher. I can do this bu unseeing a filter in the tank. I have started the work on modifying the frame to have a removable rear subframe, this is tacked into place and can be fully welded when its easier to turn the frame. next job is the seat, so the subframe arms are movable at the moment. trying to decided on a side of under seat exhaust at the moment, which will influence the seat. Also managed to find an alloy front mudguard in a style I like... made out of 3mm alloy, its a work of art, makes me want a wheeling machine!
One of the reasons I got the tank cheap on Ebay was it had been welded on a seam in the past… it was a poor repair using MIG and had leaked, so I blended it in with the TIG welder. It looked OK, and I was not going to bother dye pen testing it as its a 20 mile trip to my mate with the kit… so glad i did! there is a pin hole which immediately showed up as soon as the developer was sprayed on!
I had 2 tanks leak on my st4s. If a bike falls over with a full tank it is likely to pull the spot welds on the rear mounting points, with no other visible signs of damage.
Hey buzzer, Have you got those carbs sitting side draught on your new manifolds? Hard to see from the pics. I'd been playing with split ones (carbs that is) one down the other side draught, but injury's curtailed my fun. Anyone else with any information, greatly accepted. Thanks
I have finished tacking up the rear now and finally pleased with the result. Decided on rose joints rather than the home made ones... the frame hoop was quite difficult as I couldn't find any dies the right size for the pipe bender. In the end I resorted to the old method and welded a cap on one end of the pipe and a nut on the other. I then filled it full of sand and compacted it with the bolt. it then bent a treat with no kinks! next step is to make the seat from scratch
early on while i was thinking about how I wanted the bike to look, I had a vision of a bit “Old Skhool” and decided I wanted a round headlight, and a seat hump like the old cafe racers, I know it wont be to everyone’s taste, but what the hell, this build is for me so I wont sell it on…. here is the seat construction beginning… I have made a few like this in the past… I start with a sheet of insulation, where I peel the foil off to make it easier to work with. I glue the blocks together with contact adhesive, and then shape it roughly with a bread knife. then with a block and some 40 grit sand paper, I sanded it to shape. the whole thing took around an hour to do, it sands VERY easily. Next stage is to skim it with bodyfiller, and then cover it with fibre glass. some people go straight on with the glass, but I prefer a final finish with the filler. its a method I have used before to good effect. In fact I did conciser making a tank as I have done before, but its a complex shape underneath. here is a few pictures of my last effort using this method of construction...
a little bit more progress, been away a few days so not too much! the seat is more or less finished and is placed on the bike. I turned my attention to the exhaust. I initially mocked up and under seat one, but I didn't like it, so in the end went for a nice and simple reverse cone mega... old school. I wanted to mount the front mudguard and bought some tube to make the stays... but forming the ends in the vice didn't look good, so I made a couple of tools to form rounded ends on. it worked rather well!
there has been a bit more progress over the last few days...I have mounted the battery under the tank, and put the coils and solenoid on the battery box, which is rubber mounted on four grommets to insulate it from vibration. I have finished off the mudguard mountings, and also the mounting to support the exhaust. the silencer has been a pain.. I bought it off Ebay new, the seller described it as stainless steel. when it came, it looked good, so I stripped it apart and chucked the cone into some thinners... this stripped all the paint off. a this point I suspected it was mild steel, turns out it is! so for now, I have painted it with silver VHT paint and it looks OK. I may decide to have it chrome, or even black. the seller was very understanding and refunded my £21! thought it was cheap! I was going to mount the fuel tap which I have bought (its fitted to a Suzuki 1000 Bandit) nut there is not enough room for it, so I will have to think again... I want a tap with a reserve if I can... I have now started mounting the electrical components and will soon start the the wiring, a job which I quite enjoy. just got to mount the headlight first...
I don't like the seat arrangement personally. Everything else is very angular and in some way a bit futuristic/steam punky, so to have a 50's style cafe racer style seat seems a bit out of sync something angular like an r1 narrow rear? Anyway I love the project
