xj600 project.

ive already done a post on here under the title of xj600 chobobber project,but i didnt really know what i was doing with photo's etc,so i edited it and changed the pics,then realised its basically a loada pics with no real description.so ive decided to start it again and add a little bit more description and thus make it a little bit more interesting.so this time it wont be done all in one hit.so here goes:
the bike is an 83 reg xj600,tho i have been told it has a 90/91 engine fitted.i bought the bike from a colleague at work for £125,i dont know exactly how much that is in dollars but i guess 85ish?
the bike came with no road tax,but had 8 months mot on it.i bought it with the intention of riding it for the 8 months it had mot,and then cutting it about a bit.i used the bike for about 2 or 3 months,and a few minor probs became apparent.firstly was the handling,it was a lil bit twitchy,nothing dangerous,but twitchy nonetheless.this turned out to b the swingarm bolt being little moe than finger tight,and allowing the swingarm to move slightly in its mounts.the shock was leaking but i think it must have drained itself completely,because there is no oil leaking now,and absolutely no damping whatsoever.(the bearings for the unitrak linkage are totally shot aswell.the forks ai have been told are bent.i have not checked these yet,but when i loosen the front spindle they go up and down as they should,not down when compressed and back up 10 mins later,as they do when the spindle is tight.this may just b a case of the top and bottom yokes being aligned.()triple tree's) but maybe the forks are bent.the tank has been repaired because it rotted through,and it appears it has the contents of the local quarry swiming around inside it.obviously this silt/gravel/rust found its way into the filter and clogged it up.i cleaned it,but it started happening every couple of days,giving me a sweat riddled push back home/rest of way back to work.this was the final straw,so i decided sod the 8 months mot,im stripping it now.anyhow,heres some pics of how the bike came to me.
this may well b a long winded affair,but hey ho,u can always skip it if i get too boring.

 

the bike did come to me with airbox attached,but i started stripping the bike then decided to take pics to log my progress.so i slapped it back together minus the airbox just to take start photos.the first job was obviously stripping the bike down to see what was beneath and what was my best form of attack....

 

i had already got myself another fuel tank,this came from a yammy xs650.i need fuel taps and a new fuel cap for it,but its a start,and hopefully it will have better lines on the finished bike.






as you can see,there were some clearance issues with the xs tank,due to the tunnel not being as wide,or the tank being of differant shape,not allowing it to drop all the way down at the front.the backbone part of the frame being too wide to allow the rea of the tank to drop down fully.

the bracing tube parts of the frame being the culprits up front.....

the twin spars being the culprit at the rear.the solution up front was to cut the bracing tubes out for now.i will re brace once the tank is mounted and i can see how best to route them.so the frame went from this

to this




this allowed the front of the tank to drop down better.thats it for now folks,i will update in the next day or 2.thanks for reading.please feel free to comment(good or bad)/ask q's or offer advice.i am new to this,and am a complete novice,so any input is good input as far as i am concerned.

 

I'm thinking you should have braced the frame before removing those pieces because the frame could sag or warp in that area. Especically under the wait of the motor.

 

your probably right.i thought the same thing .......after i cut them.the motor came out soon after tho,so hopefully it will be ok.im not exactly sure how 'straight' the frame was in the first place,it looks to me like the downtubes have been welded before.and as the fork legs are allegedly bent,its poss its been front ended and repaired in the past.the bike came cheap enough to throw away the frame and start afresh with another frame if needs be.but for now i'll keep plugging away and see how it goes.it will give me a lil experiance if nothing else.

 

Sounds like an excellent frame to make a chopper out of, hope things go well with your build. P.S. It took awhile for me to think of bracing before cutting so don't feel bad. :lol: