Cool Classified Pickings

One of my past-times is to scan English and Thai speaking classifieds for potential new bikes.
It's actually quite impressive what's out there. Have a look....

http://www.dealfish.co.th/product-3519345/

 
My favourite of the day. A pretty cool Honda S90Z. Find it here...http://www.dealfish.co.th/product-3801520/

A beautifully restored Suzuki TS100

This is a Yamaha YL2....a candidate for my next project

A Yamaha? something? http://www.dealfish.co.th/product-3858999/

Honda DAX  http://www.dealfish.co.th/product-3494732/

 The ad says it's a Yamaha, but not much else. Anybody knows what this is?
http://www.dealfish.co.th/product-3682071/

Valve Play and the Yamaha SR500 SP

Today I rode to see my Thai friends on the outskirts of Bangkok. "Top" and "Golf" were so kind to teach me how to adjust the valves on my SR and get rid of that ting-ting noise that has been getting stronger lately.

my (pretty dirty) SR

Top's very nice and clean SR400

After that we went to a shop/warehouse on Rama 2. "A", another friend just had his 1979 Yamaha SR500 SP delivered in parts from Japan. I didn't know it, but apparently that particular model is very rare.
I was glad to get a glimpse into the way all SR come to Thailand. Due to the crazy tax system here, all bikes are shipped in parts and reassembled here. This avoids a 300% taxation, but at the same time makes the bikes (almost, nudge nudge) impossible to register.

Also in the shop was this cool SR bobber and an XS650...

Yamaha SR bolt-on cooling fins

I recently sourced these very cool cooling fins for my Yamaha SR400 and also offer them for sale at my shop. See HERE.

Today I tested them to see how they perform in real life.

First of all, it takes only 5 minutes to mount them. The fit perfectly around the original cooling fins and are firmly held in place by 4 springs, 2 on the front, 2 on the back.
I was curious to see how they would hold up against the vibrations of a big thumper like the SR and I can honestly say there were no vibrations on the fins whatsoever.

I rode around the city to up to 120km/h, listening and touching the fins to see if I could hear and feel anything out of the ordinary. Nothing to report there either.

They do get hot, which is a good sign that the aluminium transfers the heat properly.

At first I was planning on selling the ones I fitted, but now I think I'll just keep them on as I really like the look of them.

At the paint shop...

Things evolved pretty fast since I came up with the new Omega tank design. Through a friend of a friend I met up with an airbrush artist called Joe from "Make To Head".

Yeah right, dream on.

Here he is....

When he's not hard at work (pardon the pun) painting beautiful ladies, he decorates anything from cars to bikes and helmets.

Here are some of my favourite pieces....

Discussing the details....

Omega Racer Tank Design

Since I lost one of my custom made side covers just weeks after putting them on with the new tank, I've been thinking about a new set. Then, a few days ago, I found a good used tank with side covers for sale and needless to say, I took the bait.
The design details have been gathering in my mind like storm clouds for a while and yesterday they finally released the longed-for creative rain.

I wanted something radically different from my black tank with traditional Yamaha SR striping. Something bold and in-your-face. Something that screams "Yeah baby, rip that road open like there's no tomorrow!"....or something along those lines.

All I knew was that it had to include the colours white and dark candy red, and with the Omega logo splashed across the tank. With my very limited Photoshop skills I tentatively started tinkering with a photo I found on the net, a Sudco Doremi tank with a great classic design. Granted, it's not an SR tank, but still pretty close.

Here's the result. What do you think?

the original Sudco tank

plan B

Now off to do the side covers.....

EDIT: I must have had a moment of grace yesterday. Today the spirits of PS seem to be against me...so this is all I could come up with.

Yamaha SR400/500/XS650 - Powdercoated Drum Set

Once again I found a succulent offering to the god of speed...and braking in this case.

How about a set of powder coated drum brake hubs? It took me a while to find a supply of drums and a reliable powder coating shop, where they carefully transform them into what you see below.

The set contains:

• powdercoated front drum brake hub
• powdercoated rear brake hub
• front brake lock (locks the hub to the left front fork)
• cable for the brake
• cable for speedometer

For more information and pictures, please go to:
http://www.omegaracer.com/parts_store/prod_2879233-Yamaha-SR400500-Powdercoated-Drum-Set.html