Yamaha YZR-M1 2013

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by Vermin_King

This is definitely not a 'beginner' model. It seems to be coming together well.

Quite right, Mr. King, though compared with the major fit problems I have had with recent models, this one has been a breeze, despite its large parts count. SO FAR...

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Now for the fun part - lots of little bits and bobs to go on the basic structure to make it look a bit more interesting.



I have removed a good number of tabs, from the tops of most cylindrical things and the bottoms of almost everything. For little things like this edge gluing is quite sufficient and rather neater.



Of course, once it is installed in the frame and the fairings are added the engine will be barely visible, but it will be nice to know that it is there. Besides, most of the pleasure is in the making, not the finished product.

Alan

[AlanG]

Next up is the frame.



This is likely to be the trickiest section of the model, to go by past experience of these bikes. There are long thin box members which twist into complex shapes, and it is hard to stop them twisting into the wrong shapes. The instructions do not give useful diagrams to help get things right, and photographs aren't a lot of help either.

I'll start with some easier bits.



Alan

[AlanG]

On to the main side members. These are the classic long thin twisty box.



With no real guide to the required shape, it is just a matter of being as precise as possible with the gluing up, and a good deal of hope.



This doesn't look too bad, but it impossible to know whether it is any good until the other side and the rear uprights are done and then everything put together. The odds are that the first attempt will just be a "sighter", to show what went wrong and guide a second try. We shall see.

Alan

[birder]

I enjoy your work Alan, your bikes are great, my neighbor had a Jawa 250 when I was a kid, after it broke down sat for years by where we used to play basketball, I was wondering if a model of a lowly Honda 90 exists, I have 3 frames from the 1960's one running with a Lifan engine. I was thinking an early Indian might be cool to go with your Harley too....

[AlanG]

Hi Glen

Glad you have come along to join the fun.

Originally Posted by birder

I was wondering if a model of a lowly Honda 90 exists, I have 3 frames from the 1960's one running with a Lifan engine. I was thinking an early Indian might be cool to go with your Harley too....

I don't know of any Honda 90 about. Unfortunately there is a tendency for people to go for the big power or sporty bikes, and there aren't many models of the little ones. There aren't many Hondas either, so you are unlucky on both counts.

Yes, the early Indian bikes are nice - such a beautiful colour! One day I'll probably get down to designing another early motorbike model, but I always seem to have other things to do... I have a couple of candidates, neither an Indian, but this could change.

All the best,
Alan

[AlanG]

Second side done, and it has come out surprisingly like the first.




It doesn't mean that they are right, but at least I am consistent in my mistakes.

Alan

[AlanG]

The rear extensions to the main members were a bit tricky, particularly the right-hand one, which has a complicated cutout at the top front. The inner and outer contours don't match very well, so the wrapping piece needed some persuasion to go neatly into place.



Now for some assembly. This is always an alarming moment, as it means a major increase in the potential remedial work if anything goes wrong.



Happily it went together OK, without too much obvious distortion.

Alan

[AlanG]

A few of the pieces made earlier on can now be fitted.



However, Houston we have a problem.



This piece extends the frame forward of the steering tube, and it just doesn't fit. The assembly instructions aren't a lot of help. The diagram suggests that the rear tabs should land in the marked place, but the photo of the assembly shows them angled and well clear of the marked position. This area is only just visible in one of the photos of the completed model - this seems to show the angled rear edge but no marked landing. All a bit strange, but I'm clearly going to have to make a new part to fit somehow.

Alan

[AlanG]

So to Inkscape to produce a revised front piece. First discovery - most of the lines on the parts are drawn not as simple lines but as filled profiles. As a result, tracing the existing lines to get an accurate fit for the new part wasn't as straightforward as it might have been. A bit of perseverance produced an amended shape, which fits much better. It is a bit hard to understand how such a misfit managed to get through test building.



Once I worked out how the back end of the engine was mounted (it is not made at all clear in the assembly instructions, at least to me) I offered it up, and it didn't fit.



This was my fault this time - I hadn't got the angle of the rear frame sections right. Fortunately I could break them off and refit them without making too much mess of the join.



The last picture shows that refitted joint, and also the remaining bits and pieces.

Alan

[AlanG]

Moving on to the rear arm.



This went together mostly pretty well, despite the rather weird shapes.



The only real problem with the main structure was with the curved lower piece on the left-hand side. This curves round below the left arm and meets the bottom corner of the central piece. In fact it curved in over a millimetre too far (just over 3 mm at the original scale), and would only rest at a crazy angle.



I threatened it with scissors, and removed that millimetre or so, so it now sits reasonably well. The only problem is that it now doesn't land quite right on the central block, but this is not too noticeable. This is another strange lapse in a generally well-fitting model.



Alan