"Ugly Betty" Tzr350 !

[dusty350]

Hi,
This is "Ugly Betty", the Tzr350 4dl I bought recently as a future project;





All the main work of getting the 1ua engine to fit has been done really well. The aesthetics leave a bit to be desired though ! Lots of room for improvement though and I bought her coz she was cheapish, just down the road from me, and because there is a lot of potential for a really nice special. Been scanning the web for ideas and have found a few nice 4dl's;









She runs, and all electrics work, as do the brakes. Early plans - which are liable to change of course, will be get some normal bars on and get rid of the "fatbar" conversion. No kill switch at present, so may get a Ypvs right switchblock or maybe just wire in a separate kill switch. Plumb in the fuel tap in a better position. Not sure about the headlights at the mo, I did think single Lc type light but the twins do work well and look different. Maybe a large tacho centrally mounted instead of the digi dash. Different paintjob + powdercoat and polish various parts. Different pipes and filters and probably a race style seat utilising the existing subframe in some way to save hassle. Plus it is well made in spite of it's looks !!
Watch this space

Dusty

[bare]

Merely coincidence that they all have Weird Pipes?

[JonW]

This one looks like one of Norbo's snakes after lunch:

[AndyYam]

A lot of the Tzr 125's had weird shape curvy pipes. Assume it was to work with fairings and not worrying about power as most were restricted to meet learner legal 17 year old laws.

Looking forward to following this and glad you've decided to keep it dusty. Just had an offer accepted on my first house so once I move in and get things sorted, work will start on mine too. I'm sure I'll be in contact to share info and see if we can help each other.

Are you going to go with pod filters or try and fit an airbox?

[dusty350]

Hi
Good luck with your house purchase Andy, I hope you've got a shed or garage, or at least room in the lounge for the rebuild !! The bikes pictured are from a French site , so pipes are from a source over there I expect. The last pic of the blue bike has a Yz engine fitted apparently. I like the black bike, which is also the blue bike in the first pic, and the seat is an early 80's Tz350 replica which I think looks good;



I hope to make a streetfighter style café racer. If I go with foam filters I will change the pj's for 31k carbs as they are easier to set up. The owner of the blue/black bike has squeezed an airbox in;



Dusty

[dusty350]

The black bike has had a rear suspension change. I think its a Cbr600rr shock which I believe fits fairly easily, improving the ride at the back. Still thinking about lights too, and although the twin lights look very "streetfighter", I found a pic of my old Tzr350 which I had fitted an Lc headlight to and think that looks good too;



Dusty

[spaceman1972]

I like the old Tzr350 you had

[dusty350]

Hi,
It was a nice bike. I did a straight swap for an Lc2 with a forum member. I think he still has it. The pipes were chromed Swarbricks and sounded lovely. The odd red muddie was the beginning of a red/white paintscheme that I was going to do as I wasn't a fan of the Boost colours, but I swapped it before I could do anymore. When I originally got it it had the full fairing, but I don't like fairings much so I "fightered" it;





Dusty

[dusty350]

Hi,
Been searching the net for more Belgarda pics/info, and came across a pic from a French site that is sorta what I am aiming for eventually;





I like the single headlight idea, although a larger light would suit it better imo. The seat unit looks to be the same as on the blue bike at the top of this thread. Anyone know which model Tz seat that would likely be ?

[dusty350]

Hi,
Had some time over Xmas to think about the direction I will go with "Betty" once I start the build properly. Been searching the net for 4dl specials and there are a few out there.. I don't want to spend vast amounts of cash on this and couldn't afford to anyway ! So I plan to keep it fairly basic where possible. The biggest expense will be some decent pipes, but they are a long way off yet. I removed the Magura fat bars today and fitted some old Renthals that I had;





The top yoke isn't a standard 4dl item, and I wonder if it has been custom made for this bike. There is room for drilling and tapping holes underneath for the addition of an instrument mounting bracket as I don't intend keeping the Vapour dash. I did lay some old Lc cases on top to see how it looked;



I did use some Xmas money from my Mrs to buy another tank in standard red/white. I will respray the front muddie myself and also the seat unit once I decide which one to get. I will modify the existing seat subframe to support the new seat. Wheels will get powdercoated and tyres scrubbed clean and refitted hopefully. I have bought a speedo drive off ebay as Betty's had a spacer in it's place due to the vapour dash;



I plan on fork mounting the headlights rather than using the fixed frame mount. The anodising on the forks is pretty good but I may polish then when I re-polish the top yoke. Not sure on frame and swingarm finish yet, may get a satin powdercoat done on them. My thoughts are about the rolling chassis at the mo, but I did pick up some 31k carbs and a Y boot recently as I thought they would be easier to set up than the powerjets and K&N'S;



Regards

Dusty

[mikee]

Looking a shit load better now mate
Think the seats a s or n tz unit , rev cyl 3ma sort of thing , bit like my yammagamma



Mike

[dusty350]

Hi,
Your Yammagamma looks great, that will be a stunner when done. Bought a couple more bits for the teezer. The shock looks tired and a Cbr600rr shock fits with very little hassle, so I managed to find an excellent low mileage Showa on ebay;



I think my 4dl is a very early model, the frame number is 000728. The tank that was with the bike doesn't have the scallop at the front of it, not that it matters to me, but it had been poorly painted. I saw a lovely standard tank on ebay and thought it would save me a lot of hassle later on. Betty looks better already !;







I'm now looking into what will remove the anodised finish from the forks so I can polish them. Any ideas ?
I also got a speedo drive unit for the front wheel so I can do away with the Vapour dash as I would prefer anologue instruments.
Just need a lottery win now and I can get on with it !!

Regards

Dusty

[dusty350]

Hi
Collected a couple more parts for the teezer yesterday. I saw a cheap seat unit on ebay, a bit rough but for £36.00 I thought I may be able to do something with it;



It came with the seats, mudguards, rear light etc. I haven't decided if I will use this and have a standard looking Tzr, albeit without a fairing, or go for a race seat. The standard set up will probably be more comfortable and practical.

Also picked up some clocks from the same seller;



Need some work, but ok for a tenner !
When I get a chance I'll bolt the seat unit on and see how it looks.

Dusty

[mikee]

That tank looks brilliant , progressing well

Mike

[dusty350]

Hi,
The tank is lovely, especially when put next to the original. Best thing about it is it's made of a thick plastic, so never any rot to worry about. I haven't it offered up to my F2, but the tank can be made to fit;



May be an idea for specials builders who can't get decent metal tanks

The fella I bought the tank from has the seat panels to match, which is why I bought the standard subframe, in case I decide to go that route.

Dusty

[fatfastroger]

That bike above is great, love the pipes but they are very low. Just needs the battery area covering IMO

[dusty350]

Hi,
I agree about the battery. I would have hidden it in the tail unit. I did research the bike a bit more. The builder is a very talented guy for sure. The tank fits with some work, not a bolt on unfortunately

Dusty

[fatfastroger]

I am looking forward too seeing this progress as all your previous builds have been very good, but the de-uglification of betty will take some talent !

[dusty350]

I hope that Betty will be looking a lot better very soon. I decided to buy the seat panels off the fella I bought the tank from. They look in good nic from the pics he sent me, and it all came off the same bike. I do like the idea of a race seat, and I'll keep the subframe it came with and maybe do something with it in the future. I know from past experience that racing seats are fine for a track, but not great on the road, and after much thought, I reckoned on a standard set up. Plus, the plastics do seem quite thick and strong, and I wont have to worry about spraying them as they look pretty good. Decals have a few marks but you can get them on ebay.
This is sposed to be a project for the distant future as I still have the Yamasaki to finish, but as I see parts I think I'll use I get them. Plan for the chassis will be polish the forks and yokes, tidy the front mudguard, sort some clocks, probably satin black powdercoat the frame and swingarm, fit the CBR shock, powdercoat the wheels and clean, polish and paint everything else. I can sort the engine at a later date. Biggest expense will be some pipes as the weird Micron wont be staying !!

Dusty

[1966baz]

I'm really enjoying this thread. Always liked the 2MA'S. Trouble is it starts getting my imagination about starting ANOTHER project. Keep up the good work Mate - it will look great in the end.

[dusty350]

Thanx Baz,
I should have spent the money on finishing the Yamasaki project really, but I wanted a project in the shed for the future. It seems to have taken over a bit !! I bid on it at the last minute, and initially regretted it when I got it home. I have now changed my mind though, and I think it will make a really nice special when it's done.

Dusty

[Yogi]

Hi Dusty
Don't know if you've got the anodising off the forks yet
I've taken it off with a wire wheel on a bench grinder before
Then used the same grinder with scotch brite wheels then a polishing kit
On the grinder of course,the bikes coming along a treat
Keep up the good work mate

[dusty350]

Cheers Yogi,
I plan to take the anodising off "mechanically", without chemicals if I can. The anodised finish actually isn't too bad but I would prefer to polish the forks as there are some marks where the clip ons used to be. It wont be too blingy though, but with a satin black frame and swingarm, a bit of polished alloy will look good.

Regards

Dusty

[dusty350]

Hi,
The seat panels that came from the same bike as the tank arrived today. The fella that sold them to me thought it was a good idea to send them in bubble wrap only ;



A nice crack from top to bottom, that if I try and straighten, is gonna snap off. Also the connecting strips have had a bash;



I'm annoyed as I paid good money for these as they match the tank, but he obviously couldn't be bothered to find a box for them. Awaiting an email reply from him as to where we go from here. May have some recourse with MY Hermes, the courier, but it was so poorly wrapped no wonder it got damaged. He sent me pics before he posted them and they were fine then. One step forward, two back.

Dusty

[mikee]

Why do people do that , jeezus , just go to your local shop and get a box , they have to pay to dispose them , gnnnnnghh , makes me mad that does

Hope it works out , tidy looking panels

I know what you mean about the " ooooh il buy that for later and stick it at the back of the garage for now " thing
Nearly finished the gamma , still got rear brake problems and need it painted , but started on a Yamito , I need help

Mike

[AndyYam]

Hi dusty. Just seen those part you've just bought. I got the forks and the swing arm he had. The guy is an absolute turd. We had arranged a deal on the swing arm, forks and seat unit. I sent him the money and then he didnt take them off ebay. When they went over the amount i had paid him he txt me saying he was going to refund me. I argued with him and eventually got the forks and swing arm for that price and told me he had already sold the seat unit to someone else.

Best of luck getting a refund from him. I have also strangely enough had the exact same thing happen with a seat unit from a different seller. I bought an RR seat unit through paypal and it turned up today cracked because he litterally wrapped bubble wrap around it and stuck 2 jiffy backs on the 2 open ends. We'll see where that goes.

I'm desperately trying to source a battery cover if you hear of one going anywhere.

[dusty350]

Hi andy
There was a battery cover on ebay a week or so ago. When i looked at it , it had reached 20 quid, dont know what it finished at. If i hear of one i will let you know
Dusty

[dusty350]

Hi,
Still haven't heard from the seller of the seat panels, so I expect I will have to open a dispute with Paypal.
In the meantime, as the sun is shining, I thought I would wheel Betty out of the shed. This is how I bought her, with the subframe and pattern Ducati seat;









When I bought the red/white tank a few week back, the seller offered me the standard seat frame, seat pads and seat panels for £275.00 plus post which was out of my price range. I then saw the complete standard set up from a different seller, and won them for £36.00. My thinking is the standard set up will be both more comfortable and more road friendly than an aftermarket fibreglass race seat. Down side is a race seat may have looked more "trick" possibly, but as there aren't many 4dl 350's on the road, it probably doesn't matter. I will keep the old subframe and may source a race seat for it at a later date. Anyway, I removed the existing frame;



And got a better look at the home made inlet pipes for the filters;


There will be 31k carbs going in to replace the PJ's, and a Y boot.
So then I offered up the cheap ebay seat;







The seat is rough, but solid and straight. This is why I bought the red/white panels, so I could bolt them on and match the tank I bought. On the right side of the bike is a missing battery cover, and I'm thinking about modding the underside mudguards and cutting the panel on the left side to match the shorter panel on the right, and this will give it the look of a race seat hopefully. I don't need the battery tray as mine is under the tank;



Subframe will have all un necessary brackets cut off before powdercoating, and I will tidy up everything else that will be on view. I think she is starting to look a bit better already !

Dusty

[AndyYam]

Cheers Dusty, looks like your in the market for one too. I should be able to find mine as it was with the bike when i bought it but just cant find. The guy ibought it off says he cant find it anywhere. They appear to be very rare. I meant to bid on that one. It wasnt thr right style for the RR model that i've got but im sure it would have fit.

The seat unit looks nice on there. some red rim stripes would be a nice highlight imo. did i read that you're going to get some pipes made up? If you could give me some info on the costs when you get around to it it would be useful and i'll do the same if i get there first. If someone made some up, being the same frame and swing arm it would mean they could make up 2 sets and save me having to lug the bike to a pipe maker. might even be able to swing some discount on 2 sets

Are the air filters pointed up because they wont go straight back?

[dusty350]

Hi Andy,
The seller, Noddynixon, has just sent me a brief email saying he is away at the mo and will be in touch on his return tomorrow ! We'll see how that goes. I have looked into opening a dispute with Paypal, and would do so using the "goods not as described" route.
I bought the red seat unit as I wanted a standard subframe really, and planned to get the red/white panels to match the tank. I plan to mod the red panels so they are both short like the right hand panel is now. Will play around with that at a later date. As for pipes, I would ideally like TSA's as thats what I have on the Yamasaki and they are lovely pipes and work well with Ypvs engines. Ideally I would like 1 pipe up each side, and when I take mine off the Yamasaki to spray them, I may offer them up to the teezer to see how close/far out they are. It will be a right hassle for me to get the bike to Kenny as he is a fair way from me. It will be the last job I do anyway and quite some way off. I'll keep updating the thread so if I make any headway, you'll read it here !

Regards
Dusty