Another xj650 bobber build

Well got a little more done on the bike. slowly but surely.
After taking a step back and looking at things.. decided to do this another way. Instead of mounting so far back on the swing arm, it will be more upright. There will be some gussets in the to help with reinforcement and distribute some of the force away from the welds. I think it will be perfectly fine for the occasional Tuesday afternoon trip to the pub.




Had to cut the bottom part of the tank off...so I'll most likely be repainting the tank an off color.. I think i'm out of that paint at work and its not something used often..so whatever is laying around will be used once the tanks done.

I have to get some more pipe..i had a section that was the perfect length for the other side...well was the perfect length ha. I was pretty bummed.

Picked up a nice sheet of Stainless to do the battery box etc. Of course I was out of argon for the TIG welder -_-

Once the left side is on there I will finally take the motor out...if not before then. I keep saying i'm taking it out..im taking it out..im taking it out.. but I get to excited to work on the frame and that doesn't happen. Ill most likely blast the frame at work and powder coat it. I'm pretty fortunate enough to have lots of resources and friends with equipment to do this stuff on the cheap.

Hopefully by the end of this week ill have the frame done and battery box and TCI/Rectifier mount squared away.

 

Here is some progress over the weekend. The bottom gusset will get a radius in it to match the gusset at the top frame rails

Here is with plate to mount the seat pan

 

here i finally am getting around to taking the motor out and everything off the frame for lots of grinding and cutting of unwanted tabs and center stand

 

I took this after I got the motor out...I did quite a bit of work after this point and didn't get any pictures. Later on this week I will head back down to finish a few spots I have to grind down yet and lots of sanding smooth before prepping for paint.

I have on the way new jets (since I already rejetted for the straight pipe..but not thinking I was going to end up going to pod filters). Pod filters are on the way, new throttle tube from dime city cycles that wont be crappy like this ebay one. Also so stuff to dress it up a little and clean up the wiring(new connectors and a all in one ignition that is "car like". I have the plates cut for the battery box, but need to make a mount for it..waiting for my buddy who has a bender to bend the plate that holds the R/R and ignition box.. that will go to the back side of the battery box.
I expect the frame to be done this week and that damn bolt out the head haha. Tinkered with that a little bit but its a really P.I.T.A.

 

Looks sweet. Can't wait to see it hard tailed

 

I like the originality and craftsmanship. You said it'll be a pub runner so hopefully the hard tail won't create back problems. I'm following this.

Gary H.

 

Thanks guys!
This is most definitely taking me longer than I originally expected / wanted it to take. But its just something for me to mess around with that I enjoy doing.

If the hardtail is really to much I might go with a springer seat. But most likely will just deal with it. Plus I don't plan on driving this much anyway ha. Just some garage decorations haha

 

Hey you had talked a while ago about selling those Suzuki shocks to me. Crap came up and I couldn't buy them but if you still have them in a week or so I'm still interested

 

Also interested in the shocks if Shanesajda doesn't take them.. sent you a PM.

 

Got the frame painted and started putting it all back together.. Have not had anytime to really work on this thing..after work today I'm putting the engine back in and taking the bike back to my garage at my house. Since all the "hard work" is taken care of I can finish everything up there. Hopefully in the next couple weeks she will be running again..

 

Really enjoying watching this Build, very unique from the other hard tail styles I've seen.

 

You should really truss the back end of what used to be your swing arm, you've created a rigid pivot point right where the vertical support connects, meaning that a few hard bumps will distort that square tube section of the original swinger.

 

one heck of a bike!

 

I agree. Also imo gusset the bottom of all four down tubes. Looks real good. By the time you finish it won't be just garage decor.

Gary H.

 

This really all depends on the thickness of the metal tubing of the swingarm. If its thin, then it wouldn't be a bad idea, but being thin can be misleading because square tubing is stronger than round tubing of the same size. If a gusset is needed, then the rear down tube only would be enough.

 

Looking closer I see that you do have some gusset plates where the vertical members join with the swingarm, but there are some problems with your geometry back there. The reason most hard tails form a triangle is to send the shock of a road bump up into the backbone of the frame where it can be either absorbed, or transferred forward to the front forks (imagine the entire bike pivoting on the front axle). By taking away that structural triangle, and yet not beefing up the structural member to carry that unsupported load, you are asking for a metal failure. Another question comes to mind, did you weld up with the swingarm pivot, or can it still move? Because now you run the risk, if one of the welds beneath the seat supports fails, of your saddle hoisting you up up and away from the controls of the bike.
Good luck.

 

Not to mention sending the bump-shock straight up into the back. Didn't think of that before.

 

Where to begin with an update for this thing...
I moved the bike to another garage (where I was working on it the lease was up so we had to move out of that one) Quite a bit of time was taken moving all the equipment and getting a new garage setup (we still don't have 220 ran to supply power to the welders -_- )
I had the head off of the bike and machined out the broken bolt from the intake boot.
Clean off all the surfaces and bought new gaskets, the head is back on the bike. Trying to make time to get to the garage has been quite difficult. I have the cams fitted back in the bike, but nothing is torqued down (got pulled away)
So as it stands.. I have to finish reinstalling the cams, assess valve clearances, put back in the carbs. Sync carbs and check over everything.

Of course a box of goodies I bought went missing during the garage move... time just hasn't been on my side for getting this thing done.. And I picked up an 82 GS450 to get started on.. but that wont be until after this bike is "complete"

As for concerns of the structural integrity of the frame, I actually second guessed all the work I had done. Once the motor is back together and everything is "fine", I'm going to re-visit the back half of the frame and modify as necessary.

 

Well another update for this seemingly forgotten bike - sitting in the "corner of demise" in the garage.. Well I got my butt in gear with my projects and I am finishing up both projects I have going on (motorcycle wise) over the next couple of months! ..bare with this long update, or well idea turning into an update..

The 82 gs450 I picked up a little bit ago is currently getting the previous owner's hard tail job whacked off and a simple, clean, "standard" hard tail welded on. I know this isn't a Suzuki forum but I'll post some pictures when I get that one complete. That is all that bike needs to be on the road.. so yay for that one.. and should be done actually by next week.

Simultaneously the Yamaha is getting finished, or well worked on. Before I get into that update I guess I could give a background on why I am doing what I am doing now - I was sitting down one day on the couch - cold beer in my hand of course, watching some bike building show, while perusing through images on Google of scramblers and other off-road capable bikes made from unexpected candidates. I thought to myself.. why the heck do I have two awful to ride motorcycles?! And I WANT A SCRAMBLER! So I thought to myself..which would be the better option for a "scrambler" style build and the other hard tailed.. I went with the GS450 as the hard tail - it's 2 cylinders, has a Harley peanut tank on it and I think just fitted the bobber look better than an XJ650 maxim. So, where does this leave my first abortion of a project? To be completely redone - YAY! So those who doubted my hard tail design can cast your doubts on my new proposed plan/design!

After looking around my bike while putting the head back on I noticed some scoring marks under the cams and just little odds and ends I didn't like very much. So with half a load on and just a click of a button on my handy smart phone; I ordered another engine from Florida for a great price and with 10k miles. The engine looks super clean from the outside and I'll of course be checking valve clearances, etc. before putting that engine in and trying to turn it over. I'll tear apart the previous engine and clean up some parts and list them on eBay to most likely make no money (something is better than nothing) or just throwing it away pretty much if nothing on there. So plan for the engine department... check! I think..

Since I will be taking the triple tree back out to make it easier to work on the frame - I will head down to All Balls Racing (yes they are in my hometown) and pick up some of their bearings to replace the crappy ball bearing style from the factory. I think they also have some bearings for the swing arm and wheels. So I'll be grabbing them for just about everything I can on the bike.

The two post that are attached to the current swing arm will be whacked off. Leaving the seat mount located behind the tank still there. Think of a "floating seat" if you would.. So what does that leave me for the suspension without the hard tail? I ordered a rear shock, complete with linkage and bolts, from a 2014 gsxr1000! I will do a mono-shock suspension for the rear! Eye to eye the shock is around 12".. that will get mounted from under the seat to center of the swing arm with some mounts - either modifying the factory GSXR1000 mounts, or fab something new. Speaking of swing arm mounts - I found on eBay a really clean swingarm..and was thinking about picking it up just incase I messed something up with this one.. or not.. I don't know. I figured if I'm throwing a bunch more money and time into this, why not right?

The exhaust - I was kicking back and forth ideas with my buddy who helps me out with fabrication (much better welder than I am and he shows me a few tricks and tips along the way) we didn't come up with a solid idea and plan to wait until the rear suspension is put together so we can get an idea for how the stance of this thing is going to be.

The engine is expected to be here tomorrow (10/20/15) so I'll be tinkering this week after work when I have time with removing everything down to just the frame.

I have a vacation planned to New Orleans in a couple of weeks.. so my ol' lady has been complaining about me spending money of course.. So after the trip I'll buy some finishing touch items like: foot pegs, throttle tube, grips, fuel line, on/off road tires, and any other items I might need (or want).

I also am looking into options to slim the tank down.. probably beat the sides in to give it "knee dents" like what café racer guys do.. not sure.. open to suggestions..

But pretty much restarting this thing is for the best and I'm really stoked to bring the ideas in my head out.. hopefully my hands can create what's in my mind LOL.

I'll update in a couple of weeks with any big progress.

 

Diggin the solid mount for the rear...very original