Skorpion gearlever modifications

[djsbriscoe]

Hi,
Are there any recommended modifications that can be made to the Skorpion gear lever/linkage? I have found that there is not much room for adjustment in the linkage to allow more room for my foot when wearing thick boots. I don't want to start cutting and rethreading the linkage rod to raise the lever, especially if there is a better solution.
I read an earlier post briefly describing a modification that Bill had made to his bikes. Can anyone give me some more detailed information on this? Or is all the info I need on Bills website?
Thanks in advance.

David.

[Linegeist]

Hi David,

Acting on Bill's advice, I bought and fitted a Yamaha gearchange lever directly to the gearbox, discarding the remote linkage job fitted by MZ. Although it reverses the order of gearchange from 1 down 4 up to 1up and 4 down, the difference is well worth the mod. Gearchanges are far more precise, you can feel what the box is doing, and the effort required is far less. Because of this, you can also make far quicker shifts (if you're in that kind of mood).

HTH
Bob

[djsbriscoe]

Hi Bob,
Is there a link to any instructions on Bills blog or website or is the installation simple enough to be self evident?
He mentions a Yamaha XT gear lever, is this the one?
Which type did you buy and where from? How did you fit it? All I need is a few pointers so I can figure out the rest for myself.
No rush for the info as I know your probably doing the photo session for the rear shock/swing arm servicing you mentioned.
I've just come from a quick ride and I'm starting to get excited about the bike and I want to get the most out of it.
Thanks,

David.

[Bill Jurgenson]

I use an old MZ Et 175 lever.

left side.jpg (68.64 KiB) Viewed 7053 times

There is an aftermarket lever for the Yamaha XT which is fixed and chrome-plated. This is what you need. I am pretty sure, that is what Steve is using.
Or used XFT 250 levers which abound on eBay:
http://tinyurl.com/ckkc42

If you have the Tour peg brackets, you can use any XT lever , cutt off the folding nose and screw a home-made one on; the lever is still long enuf.

Lever.jpg (69.31 KiB) Viewed 7142 times

Here with the Tour bracket and Replica peg = "original MZ!"!
Almost any Yamaha shift lever which does not fold and is of steel can be used. Steel because you will need to bend it to fit.

I am 5'11' and for me, the Sport brackets are too far back, even in the front hole. The rear hole is rediculous. You can't ride a modern motorcycle that way; even less could you ride it fast or race that way. No way. I use my own one-off brackets which are between the Tour and the Sport at the front hole and almost as high as the sport in the top position. The Replica pegs are slightly shorter and the spacers behind the brackets thinner so the pegs protrude nowhere near as far as the OEM setup. They are also fixed of course. Brake pedal is a standard Yamaha item with bronze bushing. MuZ could have used it instead of the shitty blacksmithed item they did use.

right side 2.jpg (63.09 KiB) Viewed 7141 times

re "instructions on my blog" - read my little ditty on riding position if you haven't.

[djsbriscoe]

Bill,
Thanks for going to the trouble of taking pictures and explaining things to me.
It's appreciated.

David.

[Linegeist]

I suspect I'm a bit late David - the master has spoken already! What he says is spot on though, especially the stuff about riding position. That little diatribe on his website led me to radically alter the way my Skorp's set up ..... and it's transformed the bike, its balance and the way I now take corners.

The reversed gearlever is a stroke of genius, and makes a good bike a great one.

Nice one Bill.

[djsbriscoe]

Hi,
Does Bill make and supply any modified footrest brackets? Bob, what changes have you made to the footrests apart from the gear lever and where did you buy the parts or where they custom fabricated? Do you use the standard Tarozzi clip ons or another arrangement. My Wrists tend to be at a funny angle at the moment when resting on the bars, and this is causing some stress and strain, especially when braking.
I've read Bills blog and would like to get my Skorpion set up so that it fits me optimally so that I can be comfortable riding long distances. I'm 6'2" tall so I may have make some changes, though I'm not clear precisely what changes yet.
Any tips?

David.

[Linegeist]

Hi David,

I moved the footpegs as far forward as was possible with the standard bracketry and, using Bill's gearlever idea, that made a surprising difference. The big change was to radically alter the angle of the Tarozzi bars so that they swept upwards and back - almost a cruiser attitude and a reverse-mirror of the classic 'clip-on' setup. This raised my body angle from semi supine to much more upright and took almost all the weight off my wrists (I'm 6' 1" - so I feel your pain).

I found that, as I do most of my riding at around 50 -60MPH (I live on a rural island with amazing-but-narrow country lane riding) this was just right, because the wind buffet took the rest of my weight off my wrists leaving me with an almost weightless 'perch' and with my CG right on my toes - where Bill said it ought to be.

The difference this made in corners was amazing - I could now 'ride into' bends instead of riding them out ....... but the second biggest change was that I can now undertake a 100 mile trip with little fatigue.

I'll take a couple of pics of my setup in the next couple of days and post them up.

HTH
Bob

[Bill Jurgenson]

David, are we talking Sport or Tour?
If Tour, you can swap the clipons so that the clamps are at the back, making a somewhat more upright position.

If you are talking Sport, you will need to get other clipons as the originals are impossible: clumsy and far too wide.
In the picture at the top, you can see Tomasselli forge adjustable clipons. These are ideal but unfortunately no longer made and rather rare in 41mm. I was able to garner two sets over the years and pass them on to Skorpion riders who love them.

Personally, I use Gilles GP Light which are the best on the market but not the most expensive. I have them under the triple tree on both the Skorpion and the SZR. Of course they can be mounted above the triple tree like the OEM parts on the MZ. in a similar price catagory (around 120€) are the welded clipons from Boecker - sorry only in German but I could get them for you if need be. They are well made. I used the straight variety on the racer under the yoke.

Another good source for very well made classical clipons is Motocicli Veloci. I get many items from Maurizio and can recommend his shop.

or

These can be had in 5, 10, an 15º angles and in any Ø between 30 and 54mm.

The bee's knees are the Gilles Variobars but they are very expensive.
Of course there are other brands like Lucas or LSL, virtually all of them more expensive than the GP light while not as good. I would not touch the Telefix with a ten foot pole. They are dangerous.

As Bob noted, correctly set up, you rest on the wind "cushion" as soon as you are going fast enuf. You do not need very high bars. I personally think they are self defeating since they forceyour weight on your butt - or you thighs, which is much more strenuous than a correct position and begs a sofa-like seat. That in turn robs you of any control the high setup might have left over.

I do not make rearset brackets apart from those I made for myself. It is far too expensive for me to do. There once was a set marketed by BikeWorx but I do not know if these are still available. I doubt it, tho.
One easy way to make custom rearsets is to use two lengths of 8mm flat alu, one each bolted to the frame and joined by the bolt holding the peg. They need to be slightly cranked of course. All you need is a hacksaw, one or two files, a drill of course, a vise and the aluminum. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two.
Or you can cut them from 8mm aluminum plate as I did the first time.

rearset.jpg (69.81 KiB) Viewed 6990 times

A couple of drills and files. a scrollsaw and lot of patience.
Pegs and Lever(I need only the brake) can be taken from just about any rearset. Both Louis and Gericke market so-called racing pegs which can easily be adapted but you do need to turn collars for them at the lathe since thay are meant to go onto the fold-up hinges. I have such pegs on the SZR.

Maurizio above sells pegs etc separately for the brackets you make. Skorpion Replica pegs are very good and the Yamaha TZR/SZR brake pedal fits right on (yesterday's posting and of course on the SZR where it is original).
You do need to make a drawing/sketch first:

right side.jpg (69.64 KiB) Viewed 6985 times

This is what I am using. Obviously, the leftside does not need the brake bracket.

For one customer, I mounted a set of Lucas for a Honda CBR900 he had by pressing in a threaded bushing from behind into the spacer collar:

Lucas.jpg (65.05 KiB) Viewed 6984 times

Steel poprivet nuts would do just fine and two or three along the arc would make the height nicely adjustable.

I may be able to talk Gilles into making a bracket to fit but it won't be cheap!

[Old Dog]

[quote="Bill Jurgenson"]David, are we talking Sport or Tour?
Personally, I use [url=http://www.gillestooling.com/en/produkte/gp/index.php]Gilles GP Light[/url] which are the best on the market but not the most expensive. I have them under the triple tree on both the Skorpion and the SZR. Of course they can be mounted above the triple tree like the OEM parts on the MZ. in a similar price catagory (around 120€) are the welded clipons from [url=http://www.aluconstruction.de/lenker.htm]Boecker[/url] - sorry only in German but I could get them for you if need be. They are well made. I used the straight variety on the racer under the yoke.
[/quote]

Just one caveat here, and I am sure Bill will concur as he has the clipons in question. I attempted to fit Gilles lights to my Tour in place of the OEMs above the yoke and whilst they fit the clutch side doesn't allow for the cable routing. ei with the bars fitted above and the clocks in place there is not enough room to route the clutch cable cleanly. Bill of course, as I have seen for myself has a very nice digital speedo which replaces the clocks altogether. With the clocks however these are, in my experience, not a runner on a Tour.

[djsbriscoe]

Hi David,

I moved the footpegs as far forward as was possible with the standard bracketry and, using Bill's gearlever idea, that made a surprising difference. The big change was to radically alter the angle of the Tarozzi bars so that they swept upwards and back - almost a cruiser attitude and a reverse-mirror of the classic 'clip-on' setup. This raised my body angle from semi supine to much more upright and took almost all the weight off my wrists (I'm 6' 1" - so I feel your pain).

I found that, as I do most of my riding at around 50 -60MPH (I live on a rural island with amazing-but-narrow country lane riding) this was just right, because the wind buffet took the rest of my weight off my wrists leaving me with an almost weightless 'perch' and with my CG right on my toes - where Bill said it ought to be.

The difference this made in corners was amazing - I could now 'ride into' bends instead of riding them out ....... but the second biggest change was that I can now undertake a 100 mile trip with little fatigue.

I'll take a couple of pics of my setup in the next couple of days and post them up.

HTH
Bob

Bob,
Yes, please post the pics of the bar positions and how the footpegs are set. I'd like to make the most of the original bars and pegs before I start spending any more money. I just hope I can get the bike set up ready for my 2 week holiday at Easter. I want to take it for a long run (weather permitting).

Bill,
Thanks for the information. I'll have to think in more detail about what I require. This will become a little clearer as I gain more experience riding the bike (a Skorpion Traveller).
I'll also have to do a bit of research into the various bar and peg options you mention.
Thanks.

David.

[Bill Jurgenson]

Traveller = Tour with fairing, so it has the Tardozzi adjustable bars. Where they are bolted together, they have a taper which, after many years of not having been opened, may not be easy to undo. You might have to take the clamp off entirely and heat the female part to break the taper loose. Not too much since then the whole thing will get evenly hot and probably defeat the purpose. If you do open the taper, wipe the male part off with a greasy rag and grease the threads of the bolts.

[Linegeist]

'Morning David, here are the pics I promised yesterday.

OK - the bar position I found that worked best for me is like this - with the Tarozzi's kicked upwards and back:


When taken in context with the footpegs ....... the mounting bracket's dropped to the lowest mounting on the frame and the pegs are from a Kawasaki Z750 (I didn't like the MZ ones) ..........



................. it gives me a very comfortable position without sacrificing balance.

b3.jpg (124.94 KiB) Viewed 6893 times

It took me a fair amount of experimentation to find the ideal position - I suspect this isn't a tall bloke's bike .......

[djsbriscoe]

Bob,
Where did you get the footpegs and the gear lever that you use? I think you said you got the lever from a local bike shop. Would the shop have any left in stock?
I've had a look on ebay but I'm bewildered by all the different levers for different Yamaha's that are on there
Is there any chance you could get hold of a gear lever for me or put me in touch with someone who stocks footpegs and lever similar to yours.
I need to get something organised soon so that I can get out and ride the bike. As the footpeg/lever and handlebar positioning are interdependent I should try to set these up at the same time.
I've probably asked too much now, so If the answer is no that's OK.

David.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

thanks bill for all the info ----
as i plan on adding a traveller to my bike collection as my daily driver

i will have fun relearning how to run the milling machine in the basement work shop
getting thing set up properly
dave