Yamaha WR450F Amageza build

[Martin-DR650]

Baie Nice! Het die bike gesien by rynard.

Thanks for the sweet write-up

[darthvader]

Vieslik! Check her out! :


and so! :


and so! :


This was Thursday.  I then took the bike for exactly the first time off road!? CRAZY!  That is offroad, EVER!  I have only ridden it on tar... but for a very good reason.  I did not want to "dust up" the bike.  I wanted a clean bike to work on.  I took the bike to the big dunes in Atlantis(close to Cape Town) for a first and final shakedown.  The bike was amazing! but still, I had no experience on the bike and I just had to figure out the bike on the race.  Again, CRAZY!  Before this bike, the only thing I have regularly ridden offroad was my KTM 950 SE.

Finished!  Trailered the bike to Grabouw and ready for action Jackson! Parked next to a new friend's bike :


I got a few frowns and giggles about the look of the bike, but all in good spirit.  I bought a plastic and I kept it a plastic!

Was it all bark and no bite?

NAY!!!

Day 2 at bivouac :


Day 3, Amageza 2013 finisher :


Totally stoked!  I finished 14th... but I incurred a 6 hour penalty on the 1st day.  Day 2 - 4th, Day 3 - 6th.  I had multiple breakdowns in both of the special stages where I lost valuable time!  I also came of hard on day 3 which took about 20 minutes to get back to race pace.

I learnt so much building this bike and racing it.  To race a bike you built yourself gives you a massive advantage, you know exactly how hard you can push the bike.  On a factory bike, you just worry about things like chains, sprockets and engine.  With a home build, something that was not tested and well researched, you worry about everything, which is a good thing

I will wrap this thread up with what went wrong, what failed/broke in the race, what could have been done different and a damage report on the tower.  I am going to take it apart and inspect the wear on all the holes.

[N[]vA]

Awesome build and thanks for the thread mate!

[NeilV]

Awesome build! Well done finishing 14th!   

[SteveD]

   Respect, great build.

[darthvader]

I see I missed an image.  Just search for "I then drew a template of the side members" on the first page.

[Pleco]

We need to chat about your GPS tracker. Its been a while since I worked with programming. Assembler was the last time.  

Making a purpose built system for Rallye could be the answer for the Amageza. But we will need to build one quickly, and test it for quite a while.

As you saw in this year's run, the GPS tracking is absolutely critical.  

You need to survive, your bike needs to survive, your nav kit needs to survive, and your GPS needs to track you all the way.

[mtbbiker]

Awesome build, I wish I had friends with a workshop like that 

[darthvader]

Ah! That reminds me!  I really want to thank my two friends who helped me build and kit this bike.  I highly recommend both of their businesses and skills :

1. Reynard Schonken - Scorch Exhausts/Berseker Canopies www.scorchdesign.co.za
 - I can now weld aluminium! sort of... Reynard is a master aluminium and stainless welder!
 - teaching me the basics of tool making
 - letting me use his workshop!!!

2. Chris Barry - Desert Lizard www.desertlizard.co.za
 - sourcing tanks, navigation equipment, suspension, beautiful MotionPro tools
 - just general race and rallye advice, what to pack, what to worry about

[YamaV]

Hi Darthvader

I'm really motivated by your WR build, well done, its inspiring stuff

And of course well done on finishing the Amageza! I did the first Amageza, it was the best riding ever..and using a plastic clipboard as roadbook holder was interesting and downright dangerous!

I'm have also been thinking about getting a WR450 and doing the same as you, but I want to get an idea of the costs involved.

I've seen a couple of 2nd hand WR's available at good prices, but what can you perhaps give me an idea of the costs for all the extras you had to get?

Thanks!

[darthvader]

I've seen a couple of 2nd hand WR's available at good prices, but what can you perhaps give me an idea of the costs for all the extras you had to get?

Bike 40,000 ZAR to 50,000 ZAR  - for a excellent carburettor model.  I suggest you get the FI, better fuel economy.
Tanks(15L + 10L) - 13,000 ZAR to 15,000 ZAR - crazy
Stiffer spring - 1,500 ZAR to 1,800 ZAR - depending on what you get.
Navigation Equipment - 4,000 ZAR to 5,000 ZAR - depending on what you get.
Steering Damper - 3900 ZAR
Bash plate, swing arm protector, clutch protector radiator braces - 5000 ZAR? - That was on my bike, so I am not sure.

Then you have to think about the labour involved.  The stock cost nothing, probably nothing more than 500 ZAR, but the labour could go up to 6,000 to 8,000 ZAR... even more!

Also, tyres, Michellin Deserts are not cheap and I refuse to run anything else.  3,000+ ZAR for a set.

Yes, I could have bought a 2nd hand rally bike, but that was not my mission.

[YamaV]

I've seen a couple of 2nd hand WR's available at good prices, but what can you perhaps give me an idea of the costs for all the extras you had to get?

Bike 40,000 ZAR to 50,000 ZAR  - for a excellent carburettor model.  I suggest you get the FI, better fuel economy.
Tanks(15L + 10L) - 13,000 ZAR to 15,000 ZAR - crazy
Stiffer spring - 1,500 ZAR to 1,800 ZAR - depending on what you get.
Navigation Equipment - 4,000 ZAR to 5,000 ZAR - depending on what you get.
Steering Damper - 3900 ZAR
Bash plate, swing arm protector, clutch protector radiator braces - 5000 ZAR? - That was on my bike, so I am not sure.

Then you have to think about the labour involved.  The stock cost nothing, probably nothing more than 500 ZAR, but the labour could go up to 6,000 to 8,000 ZAR... even more!

Also, tyres, Michellin Deserts are not cheap and I refuse to run anything else.  3,000+ ZAR for a set.

Yes, I could have bought a 2nd hand rally bike, but that was not my mission.

Awesome, thanks

[bonova]

Dude..... You lost me seriously at BUILDING YOUR OWN GPS and programming stuff!! If the zombies come can I be on your side? Respect!
Enjoying this thread... So awesome to build your own bike up. My efforts with my bike are dwarfed by yours!

[darthvader]

Dude..... You lost me seriously at BUILDING YOUR OWN GPS and programming stuff!! If the zombies come can I be on your side? Respect!
Enjoying this thread... So awesome to build your own bike up. My efforts with my bike are dwarfed by yours!

Thank you for the kind words man! 

[MaxThePanda]

Totally stoked!  I finished 14th... but I incurred a 6 hour penalty on the 1st day.  Day 2 - 4th, Day 3 - 6th.  I had multiple breakdowns in both of the special stages where I lost valuable time!  I also came of hard on day 3 which took about 20 minutes to get back to race pace.

I will wrap this thread up with what went wrong, what failed/broke in the race, what could have been done different and a damage report on the tower.  I am going to take it apart and inspect the wear on all the holes.

Was about to ask what went wrong, but then see I'm jumping the gun. Interested about the issues you experienced?

Also intrigued on your view on the choice of WR. For me it looks like option for this kind of event and general hard adventure touring is between KTM 690 (or perhaps Husky 610/630 or BMX) or the 450 class bikes (KTM, WR, CRF, BMW). The loss of another 20kgs from my ride appeals, but an engine rebuild every 10,000km doesn't...

[darthvader]

We need to chat about your GPS tracker. Its been a while since I worked with programming. Assembler was the last time.  

Making a purpose built system for Rallye could be the answer for the Amageza. But we will need to build one quickly, and test it for quite a while.

As you saw in this year's run, the GPS tracking is absolutely critical.  

You need to survive, your bike needs to survive, your nav kit needs to survive, and your GPS needs to track you all the way.

Lets have a chat then.  Lets set some deadlines.  Either way, I am going to build a ERTF like unit for myself.  I will help bigtime if you have 2 CAP heading readings(yours and waypoint) and an indicator of how many meters to the waypoint.  I would rather have less features, than trying to mimic the ERTF completely.  It is by NO means a difficult device to build.... trust me

[Pleco]

We need to chat about your GPS tracker. Its been a while since I worked with programming. Assembler was the last time.  

Making a purpose built system for Rallye could be the answer for the Amageza. But we will need to build one quickly, and test it for quite a while.

As you saw in this year's run, the GPS tracking is absolutely critical.  

You need to survive, your bike needs to survive, your nav kit needs to survive, and your GPS needs to track you all the way.

Lets have a chat then.  Lets set some deadlines.  Either way, I am going to build a ERTF like unit for myself.  I will help bigtime if you have 2 CAP heading readings(yours and waypoint) and an indicator of how many meters to the waypoint.  I would rather have less features, than trying to mimic the ERTF completely.  It is by NO means a difficult device to build.... trust me

I have a 6 week stint in Zambia to handle, so if you can have something running when I am back in CT it would be great.

In the meantime we can communicate via email. First thing is to get a copy of the international ERTF brackets. It would be best if your unit mounts to those brackets as well. Then the riders only have to buy one set of brackets.

My electronics are way too rusty to be of real help to you, but I might have some ideas. I don not need to see your design and programming. That stays your intellectual property. I do like your idea of over engineering things. It might be good if we can epoxy encase each unit to make sure its bulletproof. Not sure how much heat you are generating.

I have some power supply experience. You can maybe send me that circuit diagram, so that I can try and see why your regulators kept on blowing. I know that if you DC the AC output from the WR, it runs past 30VDC. Blew some expensive LED spots on a friends bike. 

There are no ERTF units available for rent in RSA that we know of, so maybe there is some money in there somewhere. As long as Amageza gets a discount for helping. 

lukas(at)bekker.org.za

[darthvader]

I know what my problem was with the regulators and I have a robust solution now.  The heat is normal, same as any other unit.  I try to keep it as close to 5V, so I do not need a mother of a regulator.  I try to waste as little energy as possible. 

Anyway   I have to electronics and power side of things down, it is more the logic that I am after, i.e. what we need to display on the screen.  I know the ERTF fairly well, so I have some good ideas.

More about this later!

Next up in this thread : "What worked and what failed miserably!"

[SteveD]

http://www.ertf.com/photos/training/TrainingGps2B_uk.pps describes how the ERTF unit works.

Wouldn't it be nice for Amageza to have a unit that shows this info when you arrive at the bivuoac? No post-processing until all hours of the night, no hoping/guessing what penalties you got, no unpleasant suprises.

[darthvader]

http://www.ertf.com/photos/training/TrainingGps2B_uk.pps describes how the ERTF unit works.

Wouldn't it be nice for Amageza to have a unit that shows this info when you arrive at the bivuoac? No post-processing until all hours of the night, no hoping/guessing what penalties you got, no unpleasant suprises.

Exactly.  I have made a list and drawings of all these features.  I will be using a very low cost LCD.  I am currently trying to source the best size and bang for buck.  Gotta love China!