9 1/2" stretch and 20 inch seat height

Well if that got your attention then wait till you see the finished bike shortly. This is a 9.5 inch stretch to my newly hardtailed 82 xj650.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

I can never understand hard tailing a bike. Your roads must be heaps better than ours. I'm considering putting Kenworth springs on my XJ.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

It's a style thing. Not a bit of practicality, and our roads can be horrible.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

I've repurposed one of my shocks as suspension for my seat I'll be adding more pictures soon. It definitely is just a style thing, but hopefully I'll still have a ride that won't beat me up too bad. This has been a budget build to the extreme. I've done some things similar to what others have done but no doubt about it there won't be another bike like it anywhere near me lol. This has been a long drawn out build, I just keep obsessing over details and life always interferes whenever it can, but it's all coming together now and I'm happy with what I've done with the bike so far.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

The roads are so bad in MI, I ALWAYS am thinking about ADDING suspension, not subtracting it.

Hardtail? Only if it sit's in your living room.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

There is no (serious) winter in Georgia.

Roads north of the Mason-Dixon suffer frost heaving that simply doesn't happen down there.

They must not have railroad crossings either.

My advice to anyone contemplating a hardtail anything: find somebody that already has one and trade bikes; and go for a for a ride.

 

Re: 9 1/2 inches

I actually do quite a bit of traveling around the US and I have to admit Georgia roads aren't nearly as bad as a lot of places I've been. That being said here is a sneak preview of the seat suspension. I think it is going to be ok, but I guess I'll be finding out soon enough.

 

howdy,i did a similar thing with my seat but made a frame under the seat that mounted 6 inches forward.this allows the whole seat to move and gives not a bad ride.hope you plan on putting something around the tailshaft , i was advised not to weld around mine but to plug weld instead .i added 300mm to mine and is working ok at this stage.good luck cheers scruff

 

Hey I am doing a hard tail on my 650 right now and I am seriously lost on how to do it! Do have any advice or tips or drawings or something to help me out? I would be so grateful if you could pass on any info that would help me on mine!