Swingarm chop project pics

I rented a wire welder and bought some hack saw blades, a carpenters level and chopped the swingarm on my 650j. I had a oversized drive shaft made by a Bethlehem Steel machinist and thought i would post some pics of the project. I took me eight hours last Saturday and i had a heck of alot of fun doing the project. The bike is a blast to ride.

 

dang that is one mean looking xj. post up some more pics of this beauty. i love that kind of style. really good job

 

I like this bike alot. Did you buy those tires with white walls or did you have to paint them yourself?

 

That is awesome! I have a 81 xj550 and its chain driven. I would love to do this to my bike. How did you make sure that the swing arm was truely straight when you welded it? just wondering.

 

Flippin NICE! I like what you've done to your bike. I wish I had the talent to make mine look as nice as what you've created. I keep telling myself that I'm gonna take a welding class. You've inspired me to take another look at my lack of skills. Oh and by the way, I have yet to mount the fender that I got from you. Thanks again for the deal you gave me on it!

 

Very nice looking custom ride! Should you maybe cosider welding up a new SS exhaust system to gain a little cleara
rance? One of those leg burner types. It looks like a tall curb cut could bend a pipe! Maybe the Tuttles woul gen you one up for free! Gotta go now so I can look at your pics again!

One last thought. Has anyone had their insurance co. ask if there had been any mods or welding done the frame? If so, I wonder what they would do.....

 

where did you get that rear fender?

 

That's looking good! Well done! The handlebars are not my taste, but your bike is one of the few beauties posted on this forum. More pics please!

 

Nice job, I have been working on one myself. Swingarm is stretched 6 inches. I made a jig on a steel table to hold everything in place. I like your idea of welding straps on the swingarm to hold it all together. I wish I could get more time to finish my project.

 

Man that bike is awesome!

But i was wondering, doesnt the bike bottom out and hit the pavement if you hit a bump or something at speed?

 

What length are the shocks? They look to be at least 15 inches. I used shocks from a Harley but the springs are a little stiff. Yours look like they will work better. Got a source so I can check them out?

 

The tires are Maxxis wide whites from Oneidasuzuki.com (pretty cheap prices). I put the 14" shocks on before i spot welded and used a 3 foot carpenters level to true up the wheel before i permanently welded anything. I used a rented wire welder, which are pretty easy to use. The fender is from Crc2onlinecatalog.com. The 3 inch clearance is ok, i slow down for speed bumps though. haha. My next project is bondo,painting and installing 2" straight exhaust pipes. Not sure if i will leave the pipes 48" or cut them down to 30" or so. I'm having a ball experimenting with chopping. Thanks guys.

 

How much longer is the driveshaft than stock? I love the look of your bike and may just take a few things from it for my build

 

Rdbhere2,
Looks good, but how do you corner on that thing without the pipes scraping?

 

Sweet ride. Did you use TIG or MIG?

 

I used a rented Lincoln wire welder, not sure if it was a mig or tig. (Shows my experience with welders) I just made sure to make all my welds hot.

 

:? um tell me your joking right?

 

Probably mig. I've never met someone that just 'picked up and used' a tig without messing stuff up.

 

well kinda worries me when 1 you were cutting and welding on your bike but had no idea if you were using mig or tig 2 worry about the safety of you, bike and others... its kinda like packing your own chute and jumping out of an air plane for your first time ever you might make it out of the plane safe and the chute you have never packed before might open and you might have a safe landing but if you omit one of those "mights" doesn't come out real well for you. I by no means am trying to talk down to you or smack you hands for modding for bike but somethings have their cut off. I would at least have the welds inspected for safety reasons cause if those would happen to break and i really hope they don't you dont have an extra wheel to ride on back there..best wishes and good luck

 

God - I can't believe that is an XJ! Just amazing man.

 

My thoughts exactly. Many people have told me all of the "wrong" things I did to my bike, but you simply can't slack when it comes to the welding. Making your welds "hot" is not good enough. They need to be CORRECT. I appreciate your efforts and wish you the best in your endeavors.

 

TIG isn't wire feed. So it was definitely MIG. Unless it was the flux core wire. But, harldy anyone uses those things anymore.
Man, those XJs just look so much nicer with some stretch to 'em. There's some fine bikes out there that's not stretched. But when ya stretch 'em, they're in a class all by themselves. Looks great. Love the flat fender and whitewall. how much did the tire hit ya up for?

 

that thing is f***ing awesome looking. my only beef with most xj chops, is they're still short. that thing looks sweet! way to go.

 

bought some copper pipe and car exhaust pipe to make my new exhaust. My cat Renfield watched

 

How are you going to make the exhaust from copper pipe?

 

I used JB weld to connect my head pipes to the copper fittings, and the car exhaust reducer to connect the copper fittings to the 4 foot exhaust pipe.

 

Nice clear picture rdbhere, the other ones were a little fuzzy. Amazing bike! Very inspiring... keep up the good work and post pics of that beauty whenever you can! Cute cat too

 

Love the look. I'm going to do a 5" to mine someday.
How does it ride?

 

Flippin killer. Nice bike.

 

yeah how is the stretched shaft holding up, and was it a buddy that did it for you or can I just go down to beth steel and get one made...pricey?

 

Hey nice bike!!! did you rake out your front?? if so what is your degree

 

I love the look of the bike! It's the use of jb weld and beginner welds that kinda spook me though . I congratulate you on being the first stretch I've seen on a shaft drive bike though. That is just plain SICK!

 

Hows the bike going after a season using it??