Finally another update

Sorry for the extended interval since the last update.  I've been trying to get as much paid work as possible while it is available, the life of an independent is feast or famine, and there hasn't been much feasting lately!

Anyway I was able to get some extra time and sanity and made some progress on the transmission cassette cover.  These parts are made from a billet of 7075-T651 aluminum.  They hold the two transmission shafts, the shifter drum, 2 shift forks and shafts, and the selector mechanism.  The transmission design allows the entire assembly to be pulled from the clutch side of the engine without having to do any other engine disassembly, making for easy ratio changes.  As we are using Kawasaki transmission parts there are several available ratios from the race kit.

Here's the 2 blocks of 7075 waiting for machining:

No fixture needed for this first operation, just a wide open vice:

This side of the part was pretty straightforward, no special machining operations needed.  The next side will bore the bearing pockets using some of the custom boring heads I had made.  After about 15min of machining you end up with 1/2 a part and a lot of chips:

Now insert the 2nd billet and repeat:

I'll be machining the other side sometime in the next few days so an update should not be an extended wait.  I hope to be able to put a big push in the coming month and get this baby running ASAP.



That's all for now.


Chris