Microbike Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Welcome to the build of Tamiyas 1:6 Yamaha Midnight/ XS1100 Special. This build will be a little different from the norm and hopefully the end result will be proportional to the effort expended. I started the project in October last year so its been in progress for a while.The kit is a rather aging one that dates back to 1982. I bought this kit from a charity shop and hope to turn it into something Special. The model is intended to depict a bike that has reasonably high mileage, had work done to it over the years and isn't quite "standard" any more. For example it was quite common to replace the horrid Philips screws with stainless steel cap screws. The "gold plated parts have had to be refurbished and our cash strapped owner went for chrome instead of gold plating. The black chrome exhaust has long since been replaced by a chrome version and the bike looks a bit worn now in spite of the efforts of its proud owner who is trying to keep his aging bike looking like it did in its prime. Yet here and there some gold plated parts have survived. The bikes wiring is a bit exposed and coming apart in places. Engine been overhauled, you can tell because the cylinder cooling fins don't have the usual exposed aluminium edges. The final drive is a recent replacement and looks quite nice even with the gold painted edging. In fact this bike is starting to look more like an XS1100 Special than the Midnight Special that it was during its prime, however this old Yamaha is just refusing to die. The plan for this model is to install a full wiring harness and replace every moulded bolt with a real scale bolt, nut and washer. The build will also add in missing detail including connectors, wiring, cables, bolts, screws, springs etc. Therefore we are going to need quite a bit of additional materials and references. Very little glue will be used in this build and every part will be bolted together just like a real bike. The plastic parts must all be modified, often moulded detail like bolt heads or moulded nuts are removed and replacement holes drilled and tapped to receive the replacement bolts and screws. For example the carburettors alone will consume around 61 M0.8 screws and M0.6 screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Below is a quick snap of the painted frame with the coils, voltage regulator, lighting unit and emergency stop switch fitted to the frame. have tried to match the colours of the wires as close to the waiting diagram as possible but some compromise is required as I simply can't find 0.4mm red/white or blue/ yellow wire but I think the end result is a reasonable simulation of the real bike. All the electrical connectors are scratch built and everything is bolted or screwed together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 This is a view of the engine. The pipe sticking up between intakes 1 and 2 is for the vacuum advance and links to a complex set of pipes that go from the vacuum advance unit linking the carbs and the fuel tank. The wire running below the engine is the five core ignition cable thank goes directly to the CDI unit mounted on the rear mud guard. I made tiny plastic clips that are used to hold the wires in place. At the rear of the engine you can just see the wires for the starter motor, oil pressure unit plus the reduction box and engine breather pipes. The two breather pipes mount onto the air box. I have put short bits of plastic tubing on to the wiring bits just to keep wires together and out of the way while the engine is being built. In this view you can also see the hose clamps mounted on the carb intakes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Next I put the engine in the frame, connected the wiring where appropriate and am getting ready to add the carburettors and the fuel piping 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Carburettors added now and there are even more pipes to connect later on in the build. It's starting to get entertaining and a little bit fiddly now 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpfiend Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Very nice, great detail work. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Outstanding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 You sure this isn't a full size bike?? Amazing! Rick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Ye Gods that is mind-blowing. Lovely work so far. I used to have one of the real sized beasts I still have nightmares.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderly Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 MOST impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Thanks everyone, no not a real bike, but it sure is a beast. The more parts I add the harder it gets to build without breaking anything. Adding footrests and rear indicators tonight Here is how it looks from a plan view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Superb machine and an equally super build. I thought initially that the pictures represented your reference material. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Superb build I love these Tamiya kits, you are doing a blinding job, my mate had one of these and let me have a go, I felt like a king, always wanted one, I built this kit years ago (no where near to this standard mind you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Added footrests, rear indicators, rear shocks and the swing arm, was a very tight fit. The footrest pivot just like the real bike and that's quite handy at this stage as they absorb some abuse without breaking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Here is a view from the top of the rear end. You can see the tail light and indicator wiring coming out of the harness and snakeing back to their respective locations. On the centre of the rear fender you can see the "homemade" P-Clips I made to hold the wiring harness in place In the photo below you can see how the wiring connects into the indicators and number plate light, I made my own little single pin connectors. You can also see the tiny Philips screws holding the indicator lenses in place 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Here is a closet view of the rear indicator and you can see the tiny screws holding the lens in place In the photo below is the rest shock absorber. If you look on the shock you will see that I have tried to replicate all the detail including tiny screw holding red teflector in place shock adjuster in place including the tiny cap screw 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vontrips Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Looks fantastic, though not like any high miler that's been through my hands! I also built this one as a kid (and made a right mess to boot!). Looking at your comments about increasing number of parts and fragility, this would be a prime candidate for one of those funky adjustable bike jigs? Only seen them for 1/12th though. I'm particularly taken with the engine side cover Allen bolts. I'm assuming you've replaced them? Who's are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngstROM Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Great subject and a wicked looking build! I well recall replacing the x-head screws (they really were made of cheese...) around the crankcases of various bikes with Allen bolts back in the day, what a fun job that was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 The cap screws are all real screws. All the covers can be removed as they are screwed or bolted in place - no glue used. I got them a few years back in China on a business trip. They were left over from a larger production run Suppliers of micro hardware include http://www.scalehardware.com http://www.rbmotion.com/index.php?route=common/home http://www.prime-miniatures.co.uk http://www.ba-bolts.co.uk/index.html https://www.eileensemporium.com http://www.shop4fasteners.co.uk http://www.ba-bolts.co.uk/mebolt.html http://www.technobotsonline.com One word of caution - because of the micro nature of these items - they are real nuts and bolts and not just heads - these parts are quite pricey but the end result is quite realistic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Added the rear grab rail, tail light, rear wheel and brake. The back end is nearing completion now with just a few bits to add The tail light wiring has been connected and the grab tail bolted in place 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Here are a few photos of the rear wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 And some close up of the rear disc brake, the brake pipe and fittings are close replicas of the real bike. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noeyedears Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Certainty looks better than the plastic tubing that normally comes in kits. There really isn't much to separate how this looks to a real bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbike Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Certainty looks better than the plastic tubing that normally comes in kits. There really isn't much to separate how this looks to a real bike I used fittings from RB Motion and they are really cool. The "hoses are made from braided core with a sheik wrap sleeve so looks very close to the real thing. The only downside it that it's a lot more fragile then the tubing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I thought you were restoring a real one until a I read the title! Beautiful work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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