Yet another SP 370 maniac

[WulfeRyder]

G’day folks. I’m rebuilding a 1978 Suzuki SP370. This bike, once finished will hopefully be the flagship/eye catcher for ‘WulfePak Productions’.

The plan is to have it restored by mid 2010 so its first outing will be the annual Ride For Danial (www.ridefordaniel.com.au), Australia's largest Charity Bike Ride of its type.

After that, I plan on riding her from Brisbane to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and back home to Brisbane as I research my next book ‘Doing A Line’ (http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?id=745994114&gv=12#/group.php?gid=90867421283) about a defence proposal for Australia during WW2 where half of the country would have been abandoned for the Japanese if they ever invaded.

And if things go to plan and she’s proves to be a good little, practical ‘adventure tourer’ I’m seriously considering the possibility of riding her on my Trans America ride – ‘Zero To  55’

So, why this group…. I’m putting the word out. I need good quality, cheap parts - horn, side panels, air box, exhaust, front and rear guards, indicators x 4 etc. I’m also looking for people with expertise on restoring older, vintage bikes.

Currently she’s running a 6V system through an old-style points/magneto. I’d also like to know if it’s at all possible to convert her to a 12V system with out too much hassle.

Also, the exhaust comes out the motor, down the left hand side of the engine and into one end of a ‘Milo tin’ arrangement before exiting out the other end and running down the rear right hand side of the bike as per usual. Strange, I know! I’m hoping to run a ‘standard’ style exhaust down the right hand side of the bike.

Is this feasible, or even possible?

The basics I can work out, it’s just the bits and pieces inherent to the older bikes that I’m a bit wary of.

Thanx heaps folks

Rod ‘Wulfe Ryder’ Brown
WulfePak Productions

[cloggy]

Whilst back in the day an SP was supposed to knock spots of a TT500 in the handling dept they are still pretty rubbish offroad at any sort of speed. The frame's brilliant  on tarmac though.  The DR400 is easily converted to 12v lights but slightly differently wired, having a different alternator and no points. Even if you do convert, unless you can up the alternator wattage you may not get a huge advantage. The engines are easy to tune. Getting a straight through pipe with an end can silencer and drilling holes in the airbox will up the power substantially, though you'll almost certainly have to get a pipe made up
 The carb uses standard Mikuni main jets and the  jet needle  is adjustable, though surprisingly you may need to jet down rather than up.

[mx250]

An interesting project although I think your proposed book title will attract the wrong buyer/reader - "Doing a Line" .

I disagree with Cloggy about the handling off road, working with the limitations of weight and suspension quality they were great trail bikes with an emphasis on high speed handling rather than bending it between the trees. This emphasis translated into a great street bike as Cloggy said (I wish I still had mine a restored 'run around' bike).

They would be limited as an Adventure bike with limited speed and fuel range. However, it should work for your intended use, maybe upping the gearing and using a backup vehicle .  I used mine as an Outback Adventure Tourer using a Malcolm Smith Fat-Skinny universal tank, a gearing change, a rack and not much else.

Any of the Yammy 500's of the period would be a better choice but I'm guessing you are working with what you have. A modified Rickman Triumph, XS650, Kawa 650 or Bemmer would make interesting alternative although a lot more work and ingenuity would be required.

[WulfeRyder]

Thanx heaps for the feed back guys, it's greatly appreciated 

Cloggy - The re-wiring is just a thought going thru my head as it seems to be a bit 'spaghetti like' at the moment. The bloke who gave her too me didn't treat her too well  The straight thru pipe idea will also give me the option and added space to put in a totally different airbox. All that's there at the moment is the airfilter - NO airbox at all.

MX250 - The title 'Doing A Line' is meant to be a bit of an eye-catcher. The sub title is going to be something along the lines of 'Chasing The Brisbane Line'. Witht the limited speed and fuel range, once I mess around with the gearing I'm hoping to get a good cruising speed. As most of my daily sections won't be over 500ks each fuel shouldn't be a major problem. The tank that's on her at the moment is off of a CBR (I think). Kind of suits it, I think, so I may even stick with a larger tank much the same as it.

I know, it's not pure and original.... but the bike needs to be slightly different to catch peoples interest.

I'm trying to get back to the basics of adventure touring. One bloke and his bike, whatever they can carry between them and not much else. No support vehicles, no camera crews, just getting out there and riding.... with the 'Doing A Line' ride and the others, i'm trying to focus on how easy it is to get out there and do it with out huge backing. Just get out there and do it and meet new people, ya know?

My first book 'Dirtbikes And Dreams' let people know how to set both them selves and their bikes up, but how to do it cheaply.

Hence the subtitle 'A Poormans Adventure Touring Guide'

We're not all Charley and Ewans   

She looks pretty rough, but that's mostly 3 years of neglect and sitting under a house. I've only not long got her and stripped her back to frame... now i'm just looking at options on which way to go

[WulfeRyder]

And here's another question.... I realise that theirs not much difference, apart from engine size, between the SP 370 and 400 but.... How bout between the SP370 and the DR370/400 of the same era. Are parts relatively interchangeable? If so it'll sure open up my possibilities and options for finding parts for mine hey 

[mx250]

And here's another question.... I realise that theirs not much difference, apart from engine size, between the SP 370 and 400 but.... How bout between the SP370 and the DR370/400 of the same era. Are parts relatively interchangeable? If so it'll sure open up my possibilities and options for finding parts for mine hey 

Same bike different designation. SP = Australia/Europe? DR = USA. SP370 became DR400 in Oz as well. Why?

[WulfeRyder]

Oh i was just thinking it'll make it easier chasing parts down. Now that I know for sure that the SP/DR's were basically the same bike it opens up my options a bit 

[cloggy]

USA did get both SP and DR370 but the latter was no more than a makeover
UK didn't get the DR till the 400
Super Hunky said something along the lines of  "A 47 ford pick up truck with 3 flats and a bent axle" in reference to the 370's offroad prowess. A better rider than me [not difficult] might bend the early frame to his will, but for me it's chalk to the DR400's RM  based frame's cheese.
I picked up an Acerbis overlander tank for £17 [the vendor threw in an engine and bits for a further £5]
Two Brits did London to South Africa on a DR400 and a SP370 without a single problem. I'd say the 370 is a better bet than the XT. There's far less to go wrong [wet sump, high volume low pressure oil pump]
Clarks still do a tank and Acerbis do auxillery tanks.you have to keep a daily eye on the oil level, it seems to burn a bit on rough ground
The 370 had a very good record in the Paris Dakar, though nearly all had RM forks

[WulfeRyder]

mmmmm, a Dakar SP370..... now ya got me thinking 

No Ryder, keep to the script. It seems that the SP was one of those love/hate bikes hey. Some folks loved em, others hated them. I guess it's horses for courses.

When I first threw my leg over this one it just felt RIGHT! I'm 6ft tall but the height of the seat in relation to the bars feels comfortable enough for reasonably long hauls without cramping up in a hurry.

I'm hoping to keep her relatively stock, but without being too anal about her being 100%.

[oldfart]

Wulf ....all bullshit a side a dr 400 motor will fit where a  Sp 370 came from . A DR 400 barrel and head will also change over.
Many parts will inter change motor wise ......they are a bullet proof motor and will do you proud.
Oh bye the way they have a tendacy to flog out cam journals.

[cloggy]

Yeh this is only due to people not keeping the oil level up
I've got 5 or 6 motors and they've all been fine, but in a very hot climate....

[TT5 Matt]

a 34mm tt500 carb will go on with maybe having to port out the manifold/intake trac to the new enlarged size,i sold alot of them to the super pig guys also tt500 longer shocks were popular for a buget back end mod and worked well for the heavier types

[David Lahey]

I used my modified SP370 from 1979 to 1994 as an enduro racer and a long distance dirt road tourer.
Dirt road touring is very good with the gearing raised high enough. Mine was bored to 400cc, 34mm Dell Orto pumper and a custom exhaust and was pretty much flat out at 145km/h on dirt so was no speed demon.
If you are serious about fuel range, keep the standard oval bore Mikuni carby. They are amazing for fuel economy. I would use the Dell Orto and the RM250C tank if it was going to be a fast ride and the Mikuni and the PE250B tank if the fuel range was going to be iffy (I lived in North Qld where the fuel stops were a long way apart)
Standard carby and staying below 100km/h would give 100 MPG on dirt roads while I never got better than 70 MPG with the Dell Orto pumper.

[LWC82PE]

Here is a bolt on 12 volt 180 watt system for DR/SP370
http://www.powerdynamo.biz/eng/systems/7282/7282main.htm

I just sold one of these systems for a Jawa the other week, they are good stuff.

You could also try just changing to a 12 volt regulator and see what that does.

also ask www.bettabikes.com in Adelaide and see what they can do for your budget.