stool time - wasp sidecar update

Here's a quick update on that Wasp Motocross Sidecar.

wasp

Yep that's it all done.
Well its gonna look the same in the dark.

I've been chipping away at it little by little.

Wasp MX sidecar project

I started by cutting out some aluminum floorboards.
They're not filed nice yet,
and they'll also get a bunch of holes so dirt and rocks will fall through.

shiny floorboards

Next was getting the engine situated.
It was trickier than I thought,
just to line the engine up correctly.

kawasaki w650

The Wasp frame was originally setup for a Kawasaki 750,
but now its a newer Kawasaki W650.
I'm not sure how similar the frame tabs are in correlation to the each engine,
but the mounting plates needed some radical angles.

motormounts

These are definitely overkill.
It's 1/4" stainless plate but the tabs are only 1/8".

crude but effective

There's alot of room for shaping.
It is a race bike so maybe some lightening holes would be cool.

rear mounts

The rear mounts had slight jogs in them.
It's hard to say whether it would have been better to redo the tabs,
but since the frame is nickeled it would add more finish work.

With the engine mounted the exhaust can be designed.
Later on I'll probably remove everything and buff it all out.

Oh yeah,
also started on the brake system.
Mark had found a donor foot pedal.

donor pedal

Not much could be used as it intersects with the starter pedal.
The lever also doesn't line up with anything.

brake system started

I didn't realize until cutting that everything is brazed on this frame.
It's a fat braze weld bead.
The MC bracket is tigged on but I'm considering doing a braze over it
just to keep it original styling.

progress

If I can just get everything to 80% at least,
than Mark can choose what he wants to be further refined.
At this point its good to have the work hours a bit more focused on necessity.

twin shock front end

The next little job is hooking up the steering dampener.
You may see it poking underneath the tank.
The original tab is behind the shock mount.

can you tell a difference in above pic?

That's about it for now.
It's a good project as it is a compilation of mini-projects,
well most cars and motorcycles are I guess.

stool time fun

More later.

TP