91 318is Field Rat

[econti]

What do you ride?

[captain awesome]

What do you ride?

Currently it's a 80 kz440b1. I like cheap old twins and singles. I've only replaced service items for the most part on this one. The gas tank was too rusty, and the replacement I got is for an early kz400 so I have to weld on some mounts. This is just after putting some newer tires on, but other work has been done since.



Here's a handful I've put together over the years, but pulling them all from photobucket is a pain in the ass:

80 tt500



71 cl350



81 kz440ltd - sort of

Some piece of shit stole this one.



75 kz400



71 HD Ironhead

[econti]

Very nice. Got a lot of love for classic Jap stuff.
Currently restoring a '94 Ducati 600ss, the desmo sound was just too good to resist.

[captain awesome]

Very nice. Got a lot of love for classic Jap stuff.
Currently restoring a '94 Ducati 600ss, the desmo sound was just too good to resist.

Nice. A buddy has an older 860gt he restored. I was never a fan of them until I rode one. The handling for a 70s era bike was impressive.

[mike.bmw]

I saw your car in the latest issue of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine. Very cool! :D

[captain awesome]

Which issue? So confused right now.

[mike.bmw]

Which issue? So confused right now.

April 2018. Advance digital copy. Sending you a PM with a screen cap now! Sorry, I thought you knew!

[captain awesome]

April 2018. Advance digital copy. Sending you a PM with a screen cap now! Sorry, I thought you knew!

I had no clue! That's awesome though, thanks for the heads up.

[mike.bmw]

I had no clue! That's awesome though, thanks for the heads up.

No problem! I was reading through your thread (again) the other day and I recognized the photo and username that GRM used in the issue. PM'd you with the screen cap. Let me know if you aren't able to see the image.

Congrats!

[captain awesome]

So mike.bmw brought to my attention that I am featured in the April 2018 issue of Grassroots Motorsports as the Internet Hot Rod of the Month! Still not sure why they picked my turd, but I'm not going to argue for them remove it.



Moving on, I am finally starting to knock some maintenance stuff off the list again. I bought some toe plates a month or two ago but kept putting it off; my tires were already starting to show abnormal wear. Front toe was in over 3/4"?! That explains it, so I set it to 1/16" toe in for now.

Rear toe before adjustment:



Front before adjustment:



Then I decided to go ahead and replace the radiator hoses as they were old and showing some cracking.





I bought a Meyle water pump with a metal impeller to put in just in case, but as it turns out the one that was installed looked brand new. I'll keep it as a spare I guess.







The plan for now is to get the coil over setup installed, poly cabs, poly diff bushing, riser poly subframe bushings to correct camber, Hawk HP Plus pads, stainless brake lines(maybe), rear and front wheel bearings, and trim front bumpstops before the first autocross of the season March 18th. There's not much time to get all that done, so I'll probably take a couple days off work as soon as all the parts roll in. I also have some new fancy seat covers for the e21 Recaros that should be here soon. The cold weather has caused mine to crack all over the bolsters and base.

[wworm]

How would you compare the e21 recaros to standard e30 sport seats? I've sat in the recaros, but not the e30 sport seats and am looking at getting a pair of them to reupholster but am curious about adequate bolstering for semi aggressive driving

[captain awesome]

How would you compare the e21 recaros to standard e30 sport seats? I've sat in the recaros, but not the e30 sport seats and am looking at getting a pair of them to reupholster but am curious about adequate bolstering for semi aggressive driving

Honestly the e30 sport seats probably are a better seat other than weight, but I am just guessing on that. The stock sports are more comfortable and I would say the bolsters are about equal. On top of that, bolting these Recaros in vs. stock sports is a nightmare. The stockers just drop in or unbolt with ease. The Recaros you have to stand on your head, rub your tummy and cross your toes. It's unnerving.

[wworm]

Honestly the e30 sport seats probably are a better seat other than weight, but I am just guessing on that. The stock sports are more comfortable and I would say the bolsters are about equal. On top of that, bolting these Recaros in vs. stock sports is a nightmare. The stockers just drop in or unbolt with ease. The Recaros you have to stand on your head, rub your tummy and cross your toes. It's unnerving.

haha! good to hear.
Loving how purpose built this is. Cant wait for b00st! :devil:

Also, really like that tt500. All those old parallel twins sound so good even though they shake your teeth out! I test rode an xs650 and my hands were so tingly afterwards

[captain awesome]

haha! good to hear.
Loving how purpose built this is. Cant wait for b00st! :devil:

Also, really like that tt500. All those old parallel twins sound so good even though they shake your teeth out! I test rode an xs650 and my hands were so tingly afterwards

The boost train left a couple months ago. Sort of. I sold off everything only to start buying turbo parts again. I'll post an update when I get closer to actually using them.

The tt500 was fun, but was a terrible bike for anything other than off road. Xs650s are some of the worst vibrating twins on the planet unless you rephase the crank. Just sitting on the center stand they will vibrate/walk down your driveway into the road. The kz400/440 variants have crank balancers that help out vibrations. Way more tolerable.

[wworm]

The boost train left a couple months ago. Sort of. I sold off everything only to start buying turbo parts again. I'll post an update when I get closer to actually using them.

The tt500 was fun, but was a terrible bike for anything other than off road. Xs650s are some of the worst vibrating twins on the planet unless you rephase the crank. Just sitting on the center stand they will vibrate/walk down your driveway into the road. The kz400/440 variants have crank balancers that help out vibrations. Way more tolerable.

Hmm..weird. I bought parts from a guy who's main source of income was making xs650s into hardtail bobbers. He said it was a stupid idea but everyone wanted one...Good to know about the kz's. Makes me more interested. I've been on the hunt for a bike again.

Good to hear the boost train might be coming back