My '85 XJ700 Bobber Chopper Build

My beetle is a '67 but i changed the fenders, decklid and hood to a '65 & '66
I prefer the older style
Purists tell me i should have kept it a '67 since it will bring me a higher resale value since the 67 was "One Year Only Bug"
The last year of the metal dash
1st year of the 12 volt
Wider rear axle
1500 cc motor upgraded from 1300cc
One year only front fenders ( In '68 the front fender changed again til 1976)
One year only rear decklid (In '68 the rear decklid changed again for another couple of years)
The doors were one year only
You can see my VW bug build below by clicking on the link in my signature below.

So yes i could have resold it for a lot if money but you have to think about it this way,,,, if i was a purist i would have kept the Maxim stock but yet i am building a chopper bobber with Apes !

Post a thread of your build and if you need any tips let me know, if you look at my build i fabricated several items... I also just had a buddy of mine make me a set of forward controls for a lot less than what you would get online plus you can make your own from stuff you can buy at Home Depot and NAPA Auto parts... It is so simple

 

I actually just got my wrap around fender on the bike. It was a 8" fender which caused some issues but I got it anyways. I live in the boondocks so there is not much to choose from. I am going to get this bike built and then redo the rear fender with a 6" from ebay later on. For not the 8" is on and looks great. I am doing a 140 rear tire and bending the swingarm dive shaft tube in a little for clearance. I luckily know how to weld a little and borrowed my brothers welder. I just got my custom bars delivered the other day also. Cannot wait to get this thing going.

 

Post some photos !
TC Bros has a nice bobber fender and if you want to place an order let me know because i have a coupon code that you can use that will give you 10% discount and if your order is over $100 then you get the shipping free..

 

Latest pic

 

I have a question about oil..
Whst should I use..
I bought castrol gtx 20W-50 but I read somewhere that I should use semi-synthetic ?
Any suggestions?

Also I noticed the Spring is under the filter in the oil filter housing but yet in a YouTube video it's on top...

Where should it go ?

 

I tried my best at welding this battery box that i made..











Installed the forward controls... somehow i like the other ones that a friend made up for me out of flat stock aluminum... i will post pics soon.





Left side


Hiding the wiring in this tool bag

 

I'm running 10W-40 Yamalube, but I think most people will tell you any motorcycle/wet-clutch compatible oil will be fine. Regular oil will ruin your clutch.

 

Is the Yamalube Semi-Synthetic ?

 

I thought of hiding the wiring in a fake tank but the going price for one of those is about $120.00

So i thought since it is a bobber chopper then make it raw ...
so i bought a Vintage Aluminum Coffee Canister for $ 8.00
on ebay.. I wet sanded it and polished it to a gloss.
It measures
COFFEE 7 1/2" TALL BY 5" DIAMETER




Now here is all polished nice... might have to move the battery tray some..





Looks pretty neat i think...

 

Dude, that's awesome. I've been trying to figure out something similar, but haven't cruised the cheap eBay antiques yet. Now I will!

Also, can you tell me where you got your crankcase breather filter? I have a red one, but my accent color for my bike's theme is blue. Your filter would be perfect.

 

How the eff did you get those side covers to a mirror finish!
I've never been able to achieve that

 

Nice man!

 

There is a bracket on the left side of bike that i didn't cut off because i can attach a coupler nut as a spacer and put the bolt from the inside of the canister to hold it in place. The lid will be facing to the right side and in place of the knob im going to attach a crest or a junction produce metallic blue wheel center decal... I have an extra one if you want it.



Maybe this pic is bettero



Also to keep the lid from openin up a simple small PK screw will do the job just fine... One at 5 o'clock and the other at 11 o'clock (looking from right side)


The crankcase breather filter i got on ebay for $5.00 Free Shipping from Walnut, CA

12mm Crankcase Vent Air Intake Breather Filter Blue - Universal

Ebay Item# 1512 4390 2834

I separated the item number so it would be easier to read

 

I wet sanded the covers with the following grits

500, 800, 1500, 2000, 3000 cloth disc

Then i took a yellow buffing wheel only bc the white ones are no good..
I attached it to a drill and used the green , blue and then finished with the white stick... ( Harbor freight tools)

After that i used a microfiber polishing cloth

That is all it takes.. Just take your time and wear gloves because it gets messy

 

p.s nice bug!

 

8O
My initials are JP (in case my Photobucket links weren't enough of a give-away). I may just have to take you up on that offer. Thanks.

Also thanks for the crankcase filter info. I'll be snagging that one soon.

 

Nice job on the coffee canister for your extra wiring! I'm also going to be trying something like that one mine with a piece of 4" pipe and some caps

 

This is what i have done so far with my bike

This is how I cleaned up my wires.. I used a vintage aluminum coffee canister 7.5" × 5" diameter
Let's see if I can post pics from my android cell phone



Now I cleaned it with Baking Soda and Lime Juice , then wet sanded and buffed the Coffee Canister







I made the hole with a Unibit or Xmas tree drill bit


Then i used a rotary bit to open it up some more to put the cables and wiring through


I used a Coupler nut to serve as a spacer and at the same to bolt it to the bike and a bolt washer combo on the inside to hold it together.




I covered the lid hole with the Junction Produce wheel center cap decal.. blue is my favorite color


All the wiring is inside nice , neat and tucked away


Here is the finished product with the custom tread plate battery box i made...




The battery box i made and i used my vice and 2x4 to make the bends

Made the lines where i will cut and then bend the pieces on the edges to form the box.. have not figured out yet how to keep the sides together. Maybe i will use Liquid Nails and then the treadplate will put on via Double face tape.




Used flat bar to hold the aluminum in place on the vice so i could get some good radiuses and not have the piece crack on me while bending over... the wood piece is great to bending the aluminum plus it wont scratch it.

 

I extended my wires between 16" t0 21" because of the 15" Apes



Applying some good solder and shrink tubing to keep nice clean and neat... I am a bit of a perfectionist.

 

I am adding these flat bars only when my wife wants to ride with me...

 

There is a reason those fins are designed on that part, heat dissipation. In a small container that's sealed off with zero air flow you may want to keep an eye on how hot it gets.

 

You can't put solid struts onto a moving swingarm. The way you have set that up you are going to cause serious harm to your wife.
The fender has a solid mount at the frame, the swingarm pivot on bumps and the shock take the impact. the strut will transfer that impact directly to the fender and either snap the fender off or impale your wife with the strut. so unless you make the swingarm a hard tail by taking off the shocks and replacing them with struts you are looking at a catastrophic failure with that set up.

 

Battery box looks great. You need to remove the regulator/rectifier from that can or create an air flow because it gets hot.

 

Yes , i am aware that the fins are to dissipate heat but i didnt think that it would get that hot.... It sucks because i wanted to hide all the wires possible.
I have to think of another solution.

 

I'm using Harley sporster 11" eye to eye progressive shocks and they have nominal travel but i can see that it can pose a problem i just didnt think it would be that catastrophic... I guess i will make some 1/4" thick strut bars.

 

You could mount the regulator/rectifier on the side or end cap of the canister and run the wire into the canister thru a drilled hole. Just as long as you get a good airflow across the fins.

 

For the rear fender, you need something like this: http://www.jpcycles.com/fender-struts-and-covers

 

Hey man, thats a nice chopper project going on there. I see you dont have a speedo. On my XJ650, i tried disconnecting the stock speedo and it doesnt turn on the bike. Can you tell me how did you do it?
thanks

 

Hi Zach'Riah. Congatulations on a very interesting build so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product and hearing all about how she runs. Keep up the good work.

 

Which ones do you suggest from the link you posted?

 

Thanks
I do have a speedometer. . In the earlier pics of the build I removed the cluster ( speedo/tach) so I could elongate the wires and paint tge gauge caps.

 

Thank you,
I had hoped on having her done by this weekend but ran into some snags like the struts for the fenders just so I could accommodate my wife and the first couple of metal battery boxes when it came to welding I wasn't doing such a great job.

Now I removed the center stand becsuse the bike has been lowered and will have a tough time suspending her to get the rear wheel off to change the brake shoes...

Hopefully by this coming week I will start her up

 

OK, here's a thought right out of left field. For cooling the electrics how about you get a couple of L.E.D. case fans, trim off the corners so that you are left with the round part of the fan. Mount one in each end of the coffee can so that one blows in and the other draws out. Not too sure how they would work if you got caught in the rain, but may look quite trick when they are lit up. From what I see they work off 12V and the draw would be almost non existant and on a bike they would be whisper quiet.
Like I said, just thinking outside the box.

 

I don't think I would pull the reg/rectifier out of that cylinder, just cut slots in the sides of it to allow air to flow in, over the fins and out the cylinder to keep it cool. By the sides I mean the cylinder walls, not the end cap.

 

The coffee canister is too pretty for me to cut holes into so I will relocate it to somewhere outside the canister

 

That will probable work, a computer fan/led fan will continuously draw a good bit of power putting a drain on an already tight system.
The link that I showed was more of a suggestion. I would fab something that would flow with the curve of the fender. You could put it on the outside of the fender or hide it on the inside. Would use 1/4" flat steel stock.
I know this late,but If it was me. I wouldn't have chopped the frame where you did. I would have reshaped it to follow the curve of the wheel and fab a fender to fit of it. Yeah I know, LOL

 

What is this wire for ?

I just cant seen to remember where it goes ?

It has a green personality plug with a black wire w/ yellow stripe and a solid black wire.

I dont know if it goes to the clutch lver or the brake lever...

I have not been able to locate a wiring diagram that i can download so i can look and reference the wire.

I have an XJ700

Here are the pics of the wire

 

Guessing but the one on the right looks like the front brake connection.
At the bottom of the lever.

The other???

 

That's the wire for the clutch switch. The green end plugs into a connector in the headlight bucket, the other end plugs into the clutch lever perch.

 

Its the same cable... I just bent it to show both ends

 

I need the wiring diagram for this XJ700. ... Anyone have it so you can share it with me ?

 

I decided to make a custom license plate holder...
I also have an authentic Model A ford Duolamp that i had laying around in my trinket box and made a custom bracket so it can house the lamp...

It is made of Diamondplate treadplate aluminum...

Check it out







Transporting the holes


Nicely done and deburred






The backside that shows

 

DO NOT DO THIS!!! The problem isn't that the struts aren't big enough, the problem is putting them on at all. The swingarm travels upwards when you hit a bump therefore adding these struts from a moving swingarm to an immobal fender will break something, either the fender, mounts or both. I also would not recommend a passenger on that fender without significant support either underneath or a different strut design. This design you have is not safe, I'm not trying to burst your bubble I'm trying to keep you and your wife safe!

 

After reading your comment let me rephrase...if you are going to use the harley progressive shocks you CAN NOT use that fender strut design. If you decide against the progressive shocks and make it into a "hard tail" by making swingarm struts, I can guarantee 1/4" thick steel is not thick enough, it will buckle the first time you hit the slightest bump. There are lots of prefabbed options out there so I'm sure you can find something that will work or have them custom made. This is what I'm talking about https://www.google.com/search?q=hard+ta ... 1&tbm=isch

 

I got it figured out now so I spoke to a chopper builder and he gave the solution..next week I will post pics of the strut solution. .
Thanks for the link

 

Now my bike is 4" lower..
How do I modify the kick stand?
Do I cut it or heat and bend ?

 

Cut out a section from the middle of the side stand and weld the two pieces back together.

 

The problem with cutting is, if you cut too much your SOL.
I would Heat and bend til you get it right. Then if you decide to go back to original or change the height you'll have something to work with.

 

I have been busy for the last month in Israel and also working on my '66 VW Bug and won a couple 2nd Place Best of Show and a 3rd place at another event.









Here is what i have done to my Chopper Bobber Project Bike
I got the gas tank and fenders painted gloss black









Here is the gas tank on the bike.. just mocking it up to see how it would look and i cannot wait to start putting this bike together and firing her up.
So hopefully by next week I will be riding the bike and i will post a video link to YouTube





Once the Chopper Bobber is built it will be up for sale after i ride for about a month...
The next pics are of the bike that i hope to get which is Harley Davidson Softail custom bike after I sell the Chopper Bobber or I may keep both.

 

Putting the gas tank together and I polished the front fender aluminum bracket to a mirror finish

I used allen bolts on both the fuel sender and fuel petcock valve and everywhere else i could replace a bolt i used allen bolts.



I also used RED Hi Temp silicone since the original O rings may be worn upon re-installation.









Here is the buffer that i use from Harbor Freight Tools


I sanded the fender bracket and then buffed it to a mirror gloss














I am thinking of painting the forks black
but i will wait til when i have the bike completely built because i want to fire it up first and then i will tackle that job.