Unfortunately, the RGV/Banshee hybrid project is no more. One of the primary drivers for this project was the lack of a RGV250 engine for my rolling chassis. Over the course of the past year, I have since accumulated two RGV250 engines. One came as a spare with the 93 VJ22 that I purchased and the other came as a complete motor from Japan.
- Both will require some rebuilding, but not nearly as much work and money as the 350 was going to be. After gathering 350 engine parts including the crankcases, several transmissions and many other goodies, I decided to sell it off and focus my money on rebuilding the RGV with a RGV engine. The plan right now is to rebuild a stock motor with plans to send it off to Colin Skillicorn in the UK for one of his 325 or 350 conversions. Since this bike is to be a dedicated track bike and not intended at all to be a restoration, it does give me some freedom with component selection and modifications. Here are a few of the tasks ahead:
- Rebuild front suspension which are currently stock right side up VJ21 forks
- Replace rear shock with rebuilt Penske double clicker shock
- Remove oil tank and go with premix
- Remove lights, horn, etc
- New custom wiring harness
- Zeeltronic ignition
- Bodywork: This is still where I have a decision to make. I have two sets of VJ21 original bodywork in decent shape(basically free but not ideal for crashability and I would still have the rear pillion. I could also put a fresh set of Tyga track fairings on which will give a more modern and fresh look.
- Check and replace all bearings if necessary (Swingarm, linkage, steering stem, wheels)
- Rebuild brake calipers: I am looking at more modern replace calipers as the existing caliper pistons are in pretty rough shape. For what it will cost for new pistons it may be more cost effective to replace the calipers.
Stay tune for details on the build.