The start of something new...85 Tecate Repli-Racer

[tecat-z]

After the original purchase of of this bike back in fall of 08, i immidiately tore it down to the frame to uncover years of neglect, misuse, and general ragged out condition. However, there were many cool items on this machine which made the acquisition a no brainer. I paid a fairly large sum just to get my feet wet, but figured on this being a long term build that would have no corners cut when it goes back together. This bike originally came from So Cal, and had a host of goodies from famed tuner Harry Klemm. Including the very rare "KR327" engine. With that said, i have acquired enough parts to justify complete assembly throughout winter and spring. I have chosen to change some things in interest of modernizing and improving certain aspects of this machine, but it will all be done tastefully with a nice tribute to 3wheelings past. I hope it's a success...

[dirtface]

That my friend is a very nice Tecate. Love it!!!

[TheBlueWale]

Just seeing your other Tecate parts that you have, I can't imagine how this build will turn out.

[dcreel]

Can't wait to see the rest of it... Awesome.. Having seen some of your other bikes first hand I can't wait to see the end result..

What size carb did he use with the big bore?

[cochran]

What is the length on the Westcoast? +2 or +4?

[Swinger]

That is gonna be sweeeeeet!! Im curious to hear about the KR327?? What all mods are in that beast?? What kind of pipe you plan on running with it? I could go all day with questions but thats enough for now. Thanks for sharing and am anxious to see more

[tecat-z]

Cochran, the swingarm is a +4 westcoast ready for installation. A very cool piece from a rarity standpoint. Doug, it had the old Mikuni 38mm "box" carb that was smooth bored and hand blended. It was the original carb that came with the KR327 kit. Really nothin to special about it. In all honisty, i despise that style carb. And from a tuning and performance standpoint the PWK series carbs are superior in every way. I sold it on ebay a while back, as my plans don't include that style carb. The KR327 consisted of a Tecate cylinder core that was machined out to accept a steel liner that had a finished starting bore size of 80mm. It is an amazing thing to look at from a size and design standpoint. The cases were clearanced to allow the liner to drop down, as the standard cylinder skirts had a much smaller o.d. The stock stroke of 64.9mm was retained. The cylinder currently sits at 80.5 mm and in great shape, as is the spacer plate, custom machined head, and reusable copper head gasket. I have kept the set up for possible future use, but will not use it this time around. In speaking to Harry about this setup, he stated it was designed as a very robust "mid" range motor designed for smooth and confidant dune cruising out west. A drag engine it is not. Anyone who knows me, knows i love high strung small bore engines. This would not be an engine that suits my style currently. He also mentioned that the custom pistons he had made back then, simply were not availiable any longer. But, offered that if i sent dummy cases and the top end, he could certainly make something work with all of the custom PWC pistons and combos he has done. So maybe sometime? I have chosen the path that all my bikes run. Small bore "71mm" nicom coat, and stock stroke. I love them at a conservative 256cc's They scream and piss people off. I'm happy to finally have this thing in the basement for serious work, and sometime in the next few weeks start hashing through my engines and prepare to get started on that end of things.

[cochran]

That swinger is incredible. I am doing a A2 build right now and will be following this thread very closely. Thanks for sharing.

[bkm]

Very cool build Ed, this makes me miss my Tecate even more now.

[atc007]

Very cool indeed !

[cochran]

Any updates or pics?

[TheBlueWale]

Bump, how's this build coming along?

[tecat-z]

I've been hard at work the last week wrapping up the engine. I just recently got all of the necessary engine related components finished and ready. I hope to have it 100% complete and in the frame by the end of this weekend. It appears as though i'm in for a wait on my carb however, as ESR is currently out of stock of PWK's. I was told hopefully i'll see it by next Friday... I still have lots of small things to get sorted once it's on it's own legs, so that will likely add a few weeks to that. I have some engine pics, but for some reason i'm having a tough time loading them?

[tecat-z]

Allright, here are some piks i actually took about a month or so again while i was assembling the engine. I first indexed and made some flow enhancements to the cases after i got the cylinder back from U.S. chrome. I did some cleanup to the cylinder as these are truly some of the poorest cylinders ever cast from a repeatability standpoint. I spent quite a bit of time in the cases making sure things would work together. These are the original cases and crank from the KR327 engine, but as mentioned, i prefer small engines. This one is the same size as all of my Tecate engines. .040 over and nicom plated. This one obviously uses a KX cylinder. I had the crank prepared by Crankworks with oem rod kit, new oem bearings throughout, new nos, steel and fiber plates, nos basket, and the best hub and pressure plate i had on hand. The trans is oem and uncut, it was infact the one that came out of the KR327. It showed very well, with no signs neglect or abuse. I was getting nervous at this point wondering if i would be able to assemble a completely new machine and have it ready for TF.

[Bryan Raffa]

come on ...get on it!!! you could get..Best Custom Build award....