Hello all,
I bought my Bulldog a couple of months back. There are not many (if any others at all) here in New Zealand. I bought it because I wanted to get off crotch rocket screamers that I've had in the past and slow down a little. The bike gets a lot of attention from fellow motorcyclists and a lot of "what is it? and where can I get one?" questions. I love the looks of these bikes. Kinda like a Buell except much smoother engine, no stupid belt drive, and a pillion seat that is actually of some use.
Anyhow in the short time I have owned my Bulldog I have attacked the rear guard with an angle grinder and made a tail tidy to suit. Fitted a lower pair of bar risers and Fat bars to get me a leaning little more forward. I have fabricated a 2 into 1 exhaust out of stainless mandrel bends, and de-restricted the carb's.
Next I want to sort out the bike's handling. It's never going to be an R1 but I wouldn't mind being to pass my mates who ride them around the outside on a corner, he he he.
Anyhow I have an entire front end off a 1992 Suzuki GSXR1100 I figure this will be a better option for the Bulldog than the usual R1 front fork swap for the following reasons:
- The GSXR fork legs are 745mm long (only 35mm shorter than Bulldog ones at 780mm) so I can machine a stepped top yoke to suit that only needs to step down 25-30mm. I currently run the standard front forks slid up in the tripple clamps by 10mm and I have found this sharpens up the turn in a noticeable amount.
- The GSXR1100 weighs 253KG vs the Bulldog 230KG so the spring rates will be pretty close.
Add to these points that the brake master cylinders have the same bore size so the Tokico 4pot calipers on the GSXR forks will work with the standard brake master cylinder. And the steering stem diameter and length looks to be spot on for the bulldog also.
Here's a couple of photo's off my Bully I'll keep you all posted with updates as I have them
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/q71/s720x720/1044901_492302944177421_1389163829_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/q71/s720x720/1001528_492302934177422_1569604356_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/q71/s720x720/1328_492302907510758_1935039634_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hello Jared,
A big warm welcome from Holland to New Zealand in the world's best forum.(I Fink u have a time difference of 10 hours?)
I'm convinced you will have a lot of fun with the bulldog.
The question "what is it? I hear at many times.
Hier some pictures from the 10e internationale bulldog meeting 2013
Verzamel album BOC Jörg m
SPI m
Hotdog m
Luzy m
mrKaehler m
WullDee m
ecki m
ff007 m
Hi Jared,
a warm welcome to the board's first memeber from New Zealand. afaik
I hope the fork conversion works. I am already impressed by the layout of your exhaust system. Well done and absolutely unique.
Have fun chasing your mates with your "noname" bike.
Best regards from the Black Forrest
Ralf
Hi Jared,
a very warm welcome from Germany to New Zealand. How did you get your hands on a Bulldog BT1100 over there? I always thought, that the Italians (Yes, your Bulldog seems to be a pre 2005-model and thus was made in Italy by "Belgarda") did´nt export these bikes overseas :huh:
Blessed be New Zealand : there seem to be no rules or regulations concerning modifications to your bike..!
Very much the contrary here in Germany :evil: Whatever the changes - even the minor ones - have to be approved by engineers in the proper authorities: a lot of hassle and bother that cost a lot of money and nerves..
But all that does not dicourage us from doing it anyway :-D If you look at the pictures from the last "International Bulldog Meet" with an attendance of nearly 150 Bulldogs from all over Europe, you probably won´t find a single "standard" bike.
My Bulldog - bought new in 2002, now with over 70.00 km´s on the clock - has evolved quite a bit in these eleven years (look at my Album) What bothered me from the beginning was the suspension : the front too soft and squishy, the back way too hard and unyielding ..not good for spirited riding :evil: With the help of "Wilbers Suspensions" I changed that right away : a fully adjustable shock in the back and a modified Fork in front (harder, progressive springs, new damping unit and a lot of experimenting with 10wght damper oil hight) That done I "uncorked" the engine with a new intake-plate for the airbox that gives improved airflow to the carbs, then I threw away the stops on top of the slides, changed the main jets to a 132,5 size and the idle jet to a 20 and added a modified standard exhaust that lets the exhaust gasses escape unhindered. As I did´nt want to compromise reliability I left it at that, so no boring, bigger pistons and valves or other carbs.
The result is a perfect bike for my kind of riding here in a rather mountainous part of Germany and even on the Autobahn it´ll do nearly 200kph for hours on end (I know it is not meant for that but I was in a bit of hurry..a few times :wink: )
Even here in Germany the Bulldog is a very rare bike and by no means mainstream... and that is probaly one of the reasons why we love it so much.
Ride safe and keep the rubberside down
regards
Axman
p.s.: the only part on the Bulldog that can cause trouble seems to be the freewheel assembly of the starter. We´ve had some failures in the past!
The best way to avoid this is a proper starting procedure : press the starting button until both cylinders fire up. Then there will be no kickback that damages the starter assy.
Right I need to clarify a couple of points,
Rules regarding vehicle modification in New Zealand.
We have rather strict rules regarding engineering and modification of brake and suspension components on all motor vehicles here in New Zealand. I am planning on doing the GSXR fork conversion and trying to make it look like it is a factory fitment. As my bike is so rare in this part of the world when the bike goes in for its 6 monthly road worthy-ness check (called a warrent of fitness here in NZ) the mechanic who gives my bike a check over will probably never have seen a Bulldog before so I doubt he will even raise a single eyebrow that there is not much that hasn't been changed on the bike.
And even if it does get noticed it's only matter of getting it approved by an engineer (called a modified vehicle certification) and it will be all road legal.
I have modified many motorcycles and cars over the years that so far have managed to stay under the radar. My last vehicle was a 1986 Toyota Cressida sedan that was powered with an engine from a Toyota Supra (1GGTE engine to be precise that has a cylinder head designed by none other than Yamaha  )
I went to great lengths to make it look stock under the hood. It only ever got noticed once by a mechanic who was inspecting the car for its W.O.F. as it just so happened that he used to assemble cars for Toyota when they still assembled cars here in NZ back in the 1980's and may have even assembled the very car that I was driving!!!
So long story short, yes my bike will technically be illegal here on NZ roads but if I build it well enough I severely doubt anyone apart from another Bulldog owner will spot the changes
-- Dienstag 30. Juli 2013, 23:31 --
Hi Jared,
a very warm welcome from Germany to New Zealand. How did you get your hands on a Bulldog BT1100 over there? I always thought, that the Italians (Yes, your Bulldog seems to be a pre 2005-model and thus was made in Italy by "Belgarda") did´nt export these bikes overseas :huh:
My bike is indeed a 2003 model it has just before I bought it been freshly imported into New Zealand. 2nd hand vehicles from all around the world get imported into New Zealand by various companies and private individuals so as a result we are fortunate enough to have models of car and motorcycle that are as rare as rocking horse shit in other countries.
-- Dienstag 30. Juli 2013, 23:42 --
I am already impressed by the layout of your exhaust system. Well done and absolutely unique.
Thanks it took a lot of figuring out. I tried to keep the primary pipes from each cylinder as equal length as possible, hence why the exhaust from the rear cylinder does the loop before they merge together and head down and rearward. I also wanted to remove the right hand corner ground clearance problem these bikes are known for. I managed to get the exhaust to scrape a couple of times while riding the bike home from Auckland to Christchurch (https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&tab=wl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) after purchasing it. With track days in mind that low slung pipe had to go.
It seems to have worked as this system has given my bike a lot more power. As you can see from pics I have heat wrapped it to help prevent roasting my leg. The heat is only noticeable while I'm stuck in traffic. Once moving it never bothers me.
As soon as my new jets for the carbs arrive I'll be spending some time on the dyno to get it all running right.