Another xj650 bobber work in progress

EDIT:

Pretty much done now. Last page has more pictures.
















First off i apologize for the large pictures i have no idea how to make them smaller..

I picked up this 1980 xj 650 in January and have just been doing what i can when i have time. Between school, work, weather, and money i havent gotten much done but heres what ive got so far.

First impressions




Got her cleaned up a little and threw on some cheap mx handlebars i had laying around.







Cardboard seat pan mock up i made





Cleaned and temporarily repainted the wheels with anti rust paint








Brought her back to my house to work on in my dads shop and keep out of the weather. Chopped the back of the frame off painted the rear fender and also got the seat i ordered. Just need to figure out how i want to mount them.






Also while i had time with my dad we checked the valves (all were in good shape/spec)

She runs like a champ with no starting problems or idle problems!

Carbs, master cylinder and brake lines were rebuilt by PO.

Still lots of work and customizing to be done though.

 

Nice, looks alot like my bike.
How did you go about mounting the rear fender? Im still trying to figure it out.

 

i second that question. lookin goood!

 

Thanks. Spring break is next week so ill be able to do a lot more. I cant really explain how im mounting the seat and fender but ill take some pictures and maybe that will help.

 

Dude keep up the good work. Are you planning on doing anything to the carbs? Hard tailing or keeping it sprung? BIG PICTURES RULE BTW!

 

Thanks man! The carbs were rebuilt by the previous owner so im going to leave them alone for now unless i decide on a 4-1 exhaust. I think im just going to stay with a soft end but im going to get shorter ones (11" eye to eye) Id really love to do a hard tail but i think ill save that for my next project.
What i plan to do over spring break
-Mount the seat and rear fender
-Cut the front fender down
-Different throttle housing without the start button/run stop switch (dirt bike style)
-Different gauges, probably the single speedo from mikesxs
-New paint all around
-LED turn signals

 

You should check out my thread. Looks like im a step or 2 beyond you but we are doing almost the exact same thing.

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=35556.html

 

Sweet, sounds like your building a brat style bike. I did the Mac 4-into-1 exhaust and jetted the carbs with a stage 3 Dynajet kit and ran pods (not sure what brand). I like the single speedo deal although mine isn't hooked up it came from a '75 RD. It just shows that my headlight is on high or low and blinkers which I took off.

 

Great lookin project.

 

Some updates:

Got the rear fender mounted using these bolt rivets





They have threads on the inside so i just drilled a hole and used a special tool to pop them in and bolted the fender on through the existing holes.





Also got the front fender, rear and front wheel, and valve cover painted

 

I'd suggest capping/blocking the holes in the rear where you cut, otherwise you will get a serious rust problem.
Just for the hell of it, put a rag on the end of a straightened out coat hanger and stick it in there now, you may be surprised/shocked at what comes out.
If it's bad soak a rag in oil and swab the inside of the tube, it might help.

 

Yeah im planning on capping them either with the shotgun shell idea or making some myself. Thanks for the hanger idea though ill give it a shot.

 

Don't be scared chop that frame

 

Looks nice and please do cap those rails.

 

hey man thats looking mighty nice. thanks for clearing up that fender mounting question. i really appreciate it

 

Almost ready to ride...
To mount the seat i welded two tabs on the sides to bolt to the outside of the frame and one hook in the front to go where the old one slid into it fits really good. Ill post pics if that's not clear enough.
Also one of my dads friend messes around with machining parts a lot and he made some silver shotgun shells for the end caps on the back of my frame and instead of the usual words on the ends he can put whatever i want it to say. Its going to be awesome!



I just cut up the old seat cover for my seat pan and thats what im going to wrap it in but for now its just sitting on there to see what it will be like.

 

Things i still want to do..
-License plate mount/brake light
-Small turn signals
-Shorter rear shocks
-Different handlebars
-Different throttle assembly/grips (have one on the way in the mail but not sure if it will fit yet)
-New tires

Also on the rear brake adjuster bar thing that goes from the back of the brake pedal to the drum brake i need to find a new wingnut to replace the old one (it was striped) but i have no idea what size it is...... if anyone can help me out that would be great.

 

where did you track down those rivots?

I could really use something like that to get my rear fender mounted on my bike.

 

did you replace the gasket on your valve cover when you painted it? mine leaks all over my exhaust!!!

 

Harbor freight sells the rivet kit for 15 bucks. Or you can buy your own rivits and make the tool using a few scrap piece of metal and a bolt.
Look up rivet nuts or threaded rivets to find them.