Well I've done quite a bit the last few days. The bike arrives at the weekend, and Sue still hasn't given birth. Better get some contingency together for the eventually that we're in the delivery suite at the local hospital when the bike arrives. As I said the other day to a friend, "I've got two babies being delivered anytime soon. The first is soft and cute, the other's metallic and sexy."

I've started to create a budget vs actual page which should build over time - be interesting to see what the total cost ends up like. I know it's going to be expensive, I built a pair of SS600 spec R6's a couple of years back with a race team mate. They cost 12,000 gbp each - so I'm under no illusions.

It's hard to know where to start with regards the various peeps I've spoken to but here goes.

• Pipes - I've been given and found a selection of engineers who can make one-off pipes. With the engine in a non-standard frame, obviously the standard pipes won't route correctly. It became apparent very quickly that titanium was going to be way too expensive. Most pipe builder's wouldn't entertain welding the stuff anyway - it requires some specialised welding equipment and it's also a bugger to roll the separate segments in the first place. So it looks like we'll be going for mild steel. I'm a little worried about the longevity of mild steel - but having spoken to several builder they all have assured me that it's no worse than other material. Anyhow, I've talked with Swabrick, Gibson, and Mark Dent. Mark's enthusiasm wins through, and while he was more expensive than the others, his extensive knowledge about RG500s won it for me. With a stage three tune the pipes needed to perform with and not against the engine, so Mark will be getting the business. He's capable of working a number of other challenges for me also .. so makes sense to do it all at once.
• Air Filters - It's well known that RG500's don't like open bellmouths and the standard trunking and airbox will obviously not fit the converted bike. I spotted Lance Gamma's website and contacted Rick there about a filter kit he'd developed. He's quoted me for his kit, and I'll be heading that direction. He has plenty in stock, and is willing to deliver from the States to the UK. The only concern I have at the moment is that the kit will fit behind the RS250 fairing. I'll check that when the bike arrives. I aim to keep the bike looking as stock as possible.
• To bore or not to bore - The standard carbs can be bored out from 28mm to 31.5mm. This is an option that should improve throttle response. I need to do some more reading, but it's a cheaper option that a full TMX conversion.
• Engine tune - I've spoken to Bob Farnham about the work he did to stage 3 on the engine. The original owner spent a small fortune bringing a tired engine back to life. Essentially Bob replaced all (yes all) the internals, and then did the porting and matching work for the stage 3 tune. I have no concerns on this front at all. Hopefully I'll get to rummage through the receipts closely this weekend. I'll need to contact Bob again in the future when we start on the pipes. Talking with Mark Dent, if he's to optimise the pipes for Bob's tune while fitting them to the chassis, he'll need some information from Bob - fingers crossed he'll pass the information on, or we'll be measuring port durations and stuff.
• R1 fuel pump - It would seem that stage 3 RG500 motors often suffer fuel starvation at sustained higher revs. I'll be wanting to ride this bike on the track, so I think I opt for a self regulated pump. An R1/R6 pump should do the trick.
• Power valve actuation - BDK offer an exchange CDI for a reasonable sum. This allows for tuning the revs at which the powervalve opens and closes. A useful piece of kit for optimising mid range and top end in my book. The standard RG CDI actuates the open cycle at 7800 rpm, and the close cycle at 7500 rpm.

Excited me? I woke this morning and my first thought was ... only two more sleeps!

It's here! Bloody lovely it is. I've had a look through everything, and the work on the frame is impressive. The external appearance of the engine could be nicer, but once it's all together we can worry about the prettiness quotient of the engine. For now everything will get a good clean and degrease. The engineering work done so far is impressive. I'm happy ... and I sure as hell have not bought a duffer.

Wheeling the bike around it's very apparent that there's very little weight. Though the engine is far more weighty that say the original prilly engine. That said I was surprised how little weight there is in the bike, and how well centered it feels.

The original RG parts are in need of some TLC as you might expect. Things like the powervalve actuator will need to be looked at carefully. Starting working through in my head what needs doing, and first job has to be the pipes, and at the same time I need to lay out the electrical components and make up a loom for it. First thoughts on this side of things is to use as much of the RS loom as possible and graft in the RG stuff that's needed.

Sighting things like powervalve actuators, and coils looks likes it's going to be interesting, and I'd like to have a look at the RG500 workshop manual to work out where everything goes on the original bike. The previous owner had promised one, but it's been forgotten in the transfer. I'll contact him later to discuss passing it on.

The Lance Gamma filter kit will definitely fit .... so that will be ordered up on Monday I reckon. I've held up the fairing, and with the extra width of the clutch housing on the RG motor the Mark Drysdale clutch housing may be an option that would allow the original Aprilia fairing to fit without modification assuming the radiator can be given the same angle as originally fitted to the RS. There is one other chap who has, or is in the process of building a RS500 from a later model RS250. Mark did the pipes for him and his pictures are on Mark's site here. I'll be interested to see whether the he's found the cooling capacity of the Aprilia radiator has been sufficient.

Spent a few hours going through things, finding out how stuff fits together and did a few of the smaller jobs. For instance I've used the Aprilia clutch cable which mates nicely to the RG500 clutch puller. So that's one problem solved. I also shortened the gear change linkage from the Aprilia, and that now fits nicely to the RG engine in race pattern (one up, five down). Likewise the rear brake is back on. It's a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle at the moment, only some of the parts don't fit anymore.

The throttle looks like it could prove problematic. The RG cable is a linked system - one cable to five (four for the carbs and one for the oil pump accelerator). Looks like I need to add an original RG throttle assembly to the list of things to buy as I'm keen not to modify the cable itself - cables wear out and I'd rather not be modifying a cable each time I need a new one. Likewise with the choke cable - it's a one into two (one choke for each pair of carbs). The Aprilia one is actually very similar ... only the split is too far down to reach both sets of carbs, and the RG choke cable won't fit the Aprilia grip and adjuster - so I'm left with a quandry on this one for now. I could possibly route the choke to one set of carbs - or reduce the size of the RG choke cable's ball end. We'll see if I can think of a more elegant solution.

I've had the powervalve actuator apart and cleaned up some of the corrosion on the outside, and checked it's functioning - certainly 12v across the pink and grey wires gets its motor spinning - always a good sign. I don't have a multi-meter to check the stop/start signal - so that will have to wait until later.

One other small problem I've found that will need rectifying is the power valve adjusters for the rear cylinders have been bent at some point. These need replacing ... but that probably means removing the cables, which also means I need to open up the power valve inspection plate, which means I probably need to drop the engine out :O(

Anyhow I took some more photos if you fancy checking out the photos page.

Result! I had a bit of a brainwave today at work. If the RS throttle cable attaches to the RS grip with a thread, and the RG one is a plug fitment (it is), as long as the RG one is larger and flanged (it is), the flange can be filed down (I did), thread added (I did), and fitted to the RS assembly (I did), and I'll have a working assembly (I do) that looks to all intents and purposes an original RS250 item (it does) :o). No need to buy an RG one then :o) Bargain!

Likewise by splitting the middle piece of the choke cable on the RS and the RG, and hooking the RG bottom carb side cables to the RS top half, then taping up the middle linkage (basically a tube with an inner slider with the three cables attached) I now have a beautifully stock looking matched choke cable. All right I said I didn't want to have to mess about fabricating cables ... but the choke cable isn't exactly going to wear out anytime soon. Bargain again!

Well, the baby's due date arrived today. Only someone forgot to tell the baby because he/she failed to show up. Never guess what I did to fill my time? Read on!

The engine now has a 99% complete water system with overflow and filler integrated - all without modifying the radiator. Very pleased as I was convinced I'd end up paying a visit o Anglia Radiators in Cambridge. Armed with a box of second-hand piping supplied by the kind chaps at Cambridge Motorcycles, an the RS250 overflow tank, a filler cap assembly from heavens knows what, a fist full of jubilee clips and a bit of imagination we now have a routing that should work.

The RG has an integrated water pump at the base of the engine and works by forcing water up through the radiator to fall through the cylinder heads. The filler is on the radiator unlike the RS which has an integrated filler/pump that sits inside thr right fairing panel. I toyed with the idea of having two pumps, but space is premium, and certainly I didn't have enough for another major component.

So starting at the top, I've mounted a filler assembly just off the top cylinder. This sits inside the engine bay and is set at the right height to ensure water will fill the entire system and minimise the air in there. A pipe runs to the left-hand side which drops down under the frame rail and connects to the top left of the radiator. A second pipe runs from the underneath of the engine and into the lower right-hand side of the radiator. The routing of this second pipe takes it behind where the front pipes will be. I'll need to replace some of the radiator hose here with aluminium tubing to ensure we don't have a melting pipe scenario. Finding the right diameter radiator hose was difficult as the RG and RS diameters differ. I found a compromise between the two and it seems secure enough with the jubilees in place.

So far so good. IN fact so pleased with myself at finding a quick and easy solution to that problem I set to and connected all the throttle and choke cables. I figured that it would help with siting the powervalve actuator in the best position to avoid fouling any cable runs. In doing so I discovered that number 1 carbs had no 'o' ring between the spigot and the carbs, and all the carbs were missing an 'o' ring that sits bewteen the mounting plate and the spigot (I assume there should be one here) but I really could do with a manual to check. Further more one of the screws that holds number 2's top plate has snapped off at some point in the past. I'll need to get that drilled out, or removed some other way. Oh well, such is life. Problem number one.

Looking at the space that's left in the main engine bay we will just get the coils and powervalve actuator in there, and that leaves the fuel pump, battery, CDI, and BDK powervalve adjuster to be housed under the seat.

Well, the baby's here. Welcome Charlotte Hannah Oliver - weighing 7 lbs 13 oz. Breech delivery, natural, and only on gas and air. My wife obviously comes from strong stock because I could have done with any drugs going! Mental note: "Never ever doubt your wife's mental resolve ever again". As a result I dare say that not a lot will be done on the bike for a while ... which is OK because Charlotte is a damn sight more interesting :o) That said, I did get quite a lot done leading up to her birth. When I grab a few seconds I'll update the pictures page. BUT ... I've got the coils in place on some welded lugs, and we've sited the powervalve actuator on a bracket welded to the cross brace that was added by NWS. Spike at Cambridge Motorcycles did a great job, and I'm well pleased. I also bought some bobbins and hooks for a paddock stand - it will be a lot safer on the hydraulic bench I have. I also got the petrol pipe work in place .. but still need to decide where to mount the fuel pump. I've ordered some new 'o'rings for the carbs - that leaves just the pipes, the electrics to do, and the set up to do to get the bike working. A friend was due up to help with the electrics today... but Charlotte decided her arrival was more important! I'm still undecided whether the bike will live on the road or track predominantly - so indecision being a forte of mine I'll decide right now it's going to be a road based tool ... that .. err ... I'll take on the track now and again!

As usual impatience is getting the better of me ... I've decided to order up some K&N filters for now ... found some which will fit around the bellmouths, and inside the fairing. Each is capable of delivering 60bhp worth of air (need to half for 2-stroke) so with four of them the breathing should be good for 120bhp ... plenty for now!

With the filters ariving mid-week, if I could get a spark to the ignition and allow the engine to run I'd be able to get the bike down to Mark Dent and have the pipes made, and have the bike set up and ran up on the dyno without having to make several trips. I needed some help. Enter friend's Neil Ronketti and Kevin Cordina, both far better with the magic that is electrickery than I. My role for the evening was simply to supply beer, food or cups of tea and coffee as required. Now that I am reasonable at.

After several hours (allowing for a beer and evening meal), they delivered a bike with a spark. They'll build in the lighting, charging cirucit, and Aprilia tacho at a later stage. The bike will run well enough for Mark Dent to run the bike on the dyno after building the pipes. The boys opted to use the RG500 loom in the end and graft in the RS clocks etc at a later stage, they'll add the graft for the SpA tacho (used in trackday trim) at that point also, and Kevin was also talking about some pico-watsit on/off digital signature switch thingaymebob.

Kevin has taken the clocks away to suss out which outputs and inputs he needs on the tacho. They steered clear of the RS loom in the end as it proved too complex with wires dissapearing into the RS250's double CDI with no rhyme nor reason (very Italian I suppose). The RG500 loom in true 80's Japanese simplicity had no hidden secrets and was an open textbook - ahem - to those conversant in the black arts of circuitry! Me I was obviously too interested in other things during my physics lessons at school and shuffled off nodding agreement to make more tea.

You can see the temporary loom in the photo section

I am a very chuffed bloke. Just had a phone call from one of the Supermoto list blokes whose dropping some tyre warmers back, who has a mate who does specials and is in the process of finishing an RS500. Some snippits that need doing already from that initial discussion - needs extra cooling and can use the triangle at the bottom of the fairing for additional cooling area - and he can source a self supporting carbon seat .... isn't the inetrnet a fookin' wonderful thing. The people you meet, I tell you :o)

Oh and Kevin just dropped me an email .. we can use the Prilly clocks :o)

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"To: Sol
From: Kev

Clocks work! According to them the bike has done 9024km.

I've figured out the inputs for all of the warning lights, temperature display, revs and speedo, we just need to work out where to get the pickups from on the RG. Tacho needs one positive going pulse per rev. I think the output on the RG loom should do the job for that.

Neil, my theory is that the CDI bungs out a few hundred volts to the coil, then the power valve controller has a small resitor in it such that the negative edge of the coil spikes to a few volts above ground on each spark. We can only really tell this once the engine is running and we can stick a scope on it. Other option would be from the alternator, as it seems quite happy with a sin wave as opposed to square pulses. Speedo has two inputs, which are triggered by pulling them to ground. The problem with this one is going to be getting any form of useful calibration. We could easily use a couple of reed switches to get the signals, but the reading would probably bear no resemblance to the actual speed, I don't think there is an easy way of sorting this as we can't get at the calibration details in the clocks.

Temperature display comes straight off a thermistor, so should plug straight on to the RG (assuming it has one?). And the warning lights will be dead easy to plumb in as we do the lighting loom."

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How Kewl is that?