81 xj550 bobber build

Well i picked this bike up in pieces from the previous owner taking it apart. I paid $180 for it and have been forever working on it since. When i got it the motor eas spray painted black and in awful condition, carbs (luckily its the mikuni carbs) came in a bag all taken apart, it had no seat the rear fender was all sliced up, and to say the least the bike was hacked and in very poor condition, so i stripped it down n started to clean,everything up, painted the frame black with vht gloss black chassis and roll bar paint, and cleaned the motor down and painted it gloss black with aome VHT gloss black engine enamel, made some hard tail links n lowered the rear end quite drastically, made an exhaust for it as it had none when i got it, i made a custom rear fender from a beat up 1960 harley duo glide rear fender that i got from a bike that was in an accident, i made a custom springer seat set up and custom seat pan for it from some sheet metal and valve springs from a Volkswagen i had laying around the shop, took all the wiring down to bare minimum, aftermarket speedo & tach. I still have alot to do but its come a far way from when i got it.

Plans are
Tc bro's foorward controls
3.3 gallon axed mustang style dual cap gas tank
Steel braided fuel line
New fuel filter
Port N polishing intake exhaust ports
Carbs being rebuilt & rejetted
Pod air filters
Ngk plugs
All new fluids & filters
Exhaust wrapping header n exhaust
Aftermarket head light lens with HID bulb and amber LED running lights built in
Side mount plate bracket with iron cross tail/brake light
(Not running any turn signals) i know the hand motions
Road 6 customs holey roller black 7/8 8" rise z bars
New Black throttle lever & longer throttle cable
New Black clutch lever
New Black front brake master/lever
7/8 mirror brackets
After market black mirrors mounted to the underside of the bars
New bar mount head light switch
Black spike handle grips
Custom made kick stand
White wall tires
All custom painted tank n rear fender (black with tribal n skulls om sides of tank)
(Eventually will have a custom leather cover made for the custom seat pan)
New red chain
Upgraded sprockets (to get a higher top speed)
Steel braided front caliper hose
Rebuild rear drum brake
Rebuilding the forks
And a few other odds n ends hopefully have it about done in the next few months.

I made hard tail links in case i ever wanted to ride longer distance i can throw a set of shocks back on & take it back to stock height for comfortability reasons. But this was the day i brought it home after making the hard tail links and installing the gauges since it had none

you can see the mess of wiring that it was and the red loom the previous owner put on everything


The custom exhaust i made


Another pic of the exhaust painted with some gloss black grille paint













Custom springer seat set up and 1960 harley fenders i picked up




Playing around test fitting fenders on the rear which i endeduo cutting down later

Side pic of the fender after being cut down n decided not to run a front fender

 

Another shot of the rear fender after being cut down

Painted the rear fender black just to keep it from rusting for the time being. Will be completely stripped down to bare metal again when i get a chance to n fix a few spots n finish smoothing the edges where it was cut and being prepped for paint

Stripped it down to repaint the motor n frame n go through the wiring n eliminate all the unnecessary stuff
after repainting the motor n frame and going through the wiring and putting it back together for now and i covered the seat pan
picture of the seat after being covered

Pic of my bike n my boss's 1960 harley duo glide we have to start rebuilding soon

 

This is the tank im planning on using

The bars im planning on using

The forward controls im planning on using

 

Paint design im planning on doing on my tank (or at least close)

 

You're going to have to do a thread on the panhead as well. That's a pretty sweet ride!

Not sure if you are going with painted bars, but I believe that there is a ground in the controls that goes through the bars. You'll need to remove some paint in order for it to work.

 

Take the pods off of your list, and you'll have a sound plan.

 

When i start helping my boss start rebuilding his harley i defintely make a thread on it. Was redone about 20 years ago, has an 8 degree rake on the front end n lots of chrome n custom paint but it lost compression on the rear cylinder and he parked it n its been in storage for the last 5 years til a week or so ago he decided tl get it out n all thw chrome needs redone, its got a pretty bad oil leak coming from the check valve by the oil filter, and the paints pretty rough so its gunne need alot of work. As far as my bike goes the carbs are being done professionally to be set up for the pod filters also has the 4 to 1 exhaust with no baffling just an open pipe so its going to need rejetted regardless n also porting & polishing the intake n exhaust ports, so think im probably going to go with a stage 4 jet kit

 

So, it's a vintage Harley!

 

i might have to invite myself over to see this one

 

Gayges on my bike, still gotta wire them in n gotta get some tubing to change the back bone of the frame for the new tank set
got it just about torn down to start doing the back bone as soon as i get some tubing to start on it. Gotta find some 1 5/8" x.134 mild steel tubing. Ordered a mustang style dual cap tank, a new battery, blue LED's, black spike grips, new mirror brackets, mirrors, exhaust wrap, adhesive spray and bands for the exhaust wrap, TC Bro's forward controls and a few other odds n ends.

I did pull the rear wheel n rebuild tbe rear drum brake today and got it all,back together and working properly.

 

Going with a set of black road 6 customs 7/8" holey roller 8" rise z bars so i have to find where i can get longer clutch n throttle cable, along with longer front brake hose which id like to change the front brake hoses to steel braided. Also need to get new front brake master cylinder, new clutch lever, new throttle lever, and a switch for the head light/ tail light.

Other thing i need to get figured out is a brake switch for the rear brake since my bike doesnt have a brake light switch for the rear brake on it.

Have alot of wiring to do on it as im going with all aftermarket lighting. Using a 7" head light with amber LED running lights built in n street fighter style head light brackets with HID head light kit, and im going with a side mount plate bracket with iron cross tail/brake light with LED bulb (bike is a bobber, it will not have turn signals or horn) also eliminating the kickstand switch and a few other odds n ends.

Tires im going with shinko 777 wide white walls 130/90r17 rear 100/90r19 front and painting the wheels red

Motor is getting the intake n exhaust ports all polished, ngk plugs, i havd tbe mikuni carbs getting rebuilt with stage 4 jets pod filters, i have the 4 to 1 exhaust with 2 1/2" piping from header back to a 3" chrome tip all being wrapped in black exhaust wrap, back to the chrome tip. Motor is all blacked out. Valve cover will be painted red. Red breather filter on the crank case vent. And want yo find chromed engine side covers for it

Tank and rear fender will be all custom painted, chrome fuel caps, seat will be getting re covered with s custom made leather cover

Have alot of plans n alot of work ahead of me but will be worth it when its all done.

 

Got the exhaust wrapped and put back on

New grips came in, new mirror brackets n mirrors



Forwadd controls had to be custom fit, had to redrill the bottom hole cause they were for an xj750, still need to get linkage kit but slowly its comin together.

Tomorrow im painting the front caliper, and the valve cover red, and putting a red breather filter on the crank case. And soon ill be painting the wheels red.

 

I would change your hard tail setup on shaft side. I broke the stud on mine. There is now a bracket welded to the axle.

 

The 550 is chain driven.

 

Yeah that’s true. I’m just saying that a lot of people that hard tail these bikes should beef them up more.

 

Is your swing arm welded in place or can it still pivot on the bearings?

 

It can still pivot in case i ever wanna put shocks back on it

 

All i got s chance to do so far today. Hopefully get time to work on it more later

 

got a little bit done tonight, having mixed feelingson what to do in white. Vakbe cover, generator cover amd crank side covers will be painted white. So this is wherei need everyones help.

Motor: white n black with red breather filter
Frame n main part of motor: gloss black
Front caliper: red
Rear fender n tank will be satin black with matte finish clear n jack daniels logo on sides of tank
Using white wall tires

Now my question, paint wheels white?? Or red??

 

Or should i paint the wheels white n paint the tank n rear fender white as well.

 

Started workingom my harness relocated the ignition n got the wiring just about all finished but can't get it to crank. Thinking i may have a bad solenoid being i bypassed the solenoid with the power probe n it cranks, i tried to probe the solenoid n i got nothing.

 

Bars and tank should all be in by friday

 

i see a flat bar going back from the brake pedal back. i don't care for that setup, flat bars that long can flex or bend when pushed on. get a pipe and flatten the ends, it might look better and will be stronger

 

It's ridiculously strong steel it's like I could barely bend it had to heat it n beat it with a hammer to get the shape I wanted

 

Alots been done on the bike since I last posted but it's still not done. N still need carbs n pod filters and alot of parts I still do not have

 

How the bike sits currently with the new road 6 customs holey roller bars, xj650 macom tank n battery cover, electrical is finally all done n working (besides lighting that still needs done)
Brake linkage is made out of flat bar steel bit it's super strong it won't bend, I had to heat it n beat it with a hammer just to get it where it's at now, had copper bushing in it so it pivots properly, getting ready to paint it. Not doing anything crazy paint wise like I was originally planning. Doing it satin black with a matte finish clear and Jack Daniels logo's on it after i smooth out the tank.

Another pic of how it sits currently

Got the color changing LED lot all hooked up and wired in n mounted. Finally starting to come together but still a long way to go

My bike next to my buddies xj650 rat bobber he's building whikewe were working on the electrical on my bike

 

I did get the TC bro's mustang style 3.3 gallon dual cap tank but i didn't like the way it looked, didn't really fit what I was going for n felt it looked out of place, so I swapped my buddy for his original xj650 tank that I like much better on my bike.

 

Next project is paint. As I said I'm doing a satin black matte clear and white jack daniels logo's on the tank n rear fender.

This is the plan for the top of the tank

Plans for side of tank

Plans for top of rear fender
And doing this on the side cover for the battery

 

Still haven't decided as to what to do with the wheels. Leave them alone, paint them red, paint them white, idk

 

Also while I'm painting the bike, at the same time I'm going to be painting my sbc 95 Chevy s10 project truck to match the bike. Doing it satin black with jack danikes logo's on the doors to cover up the ugly flame job that's on it now and it'll be getting lowered and a stained woodem flat bed. I have another parts S10 that I'm cutting the rear section of frame off and using the bed off of my truck to make a trailer to put my bike in. So ill have a matching truck & trailer to go along with the bike when every thing is all done

My 1995 chevy S10 sbc porject truck
How I'm planning on painting the truck to match the bike

 

My next project after paint is going to be the lighting sustwm which i finally figured out what all I want. The switch I'm going to be going with, I feel it fits the style I'm going for with the bike,

The turn signal/brake light module I'll be using to control everything.

12 volts latching relay for the head light n tail light

Brake light modulator I'm going to be using
the rear brake switch I'll be using

Front clutch lever and front master cylinder with front brake brake switch

Copper style head light com going with with fork mount brackets

Copper bullet style front n rear turn signals

Rear tail/brake light with side mount plate bracket
throttle lever I'm going to be using along with my black spike grips

After this is all done n the bike is painted and assembled i need to find longer throttle and clutch cables and someone to make me custom front steel braided brake hose from the master cylinder directly to the Caliper hoping to have a black steel braided line made with red ends

 

Hoping to have the bike painte and lighting all finished in the next month.

 

Ok so current plans and projects for the next month
-All the white parts on the bone need to come off n be painted red
-Tank needs to be stripped n smoothed where emblems mounted to the tank
-Rear fender needs stripped, and some body work done
-Paint tank and rear fender and side covers, satin black with white jack daniels logo's on the sides and top of tank, all jacked up logo on rear fender and striaght outta Youngstown come battery cover and then cleared with a matte finish clear coat
-need to make linkage for the shifter side of the forward controls and drill out holes to mount the forward controls properly
-get head light/turn signal switch
-get turn signal/ brake light module
-get brake light modulator
-get latching relay for head light and tail light
-get rear brake switch
-ger red n black clutch lever and master cylinder with built-in front brake light switch
-get copper housing head light and matching turn signals
-get Maltese cross tail/brake light with side moint plate bracket
-get black biltwell whiskey throttle 7/8 throttle lever
-ger rid of metal bracket ignition switch is mounted to and mount it to the side cover for the other side
-get wire, solder, shrink tube and tape to make lighting harness
-get harness all done and lights all on n working and reassemble the bike
-find correct length cables for throttle and clutch
-get meausrement amd find someone to make custom black steel braided front brake with red anodized ends and get front brakes working

I know it seems like alot to accomplish but I feel if I get all the parts ordered and I spend my weekends when I'm off work cranking out work on the bike this should be achievable especially if I can find a friend to help.

 

Brought my bike home tonight so i can work on it at home. Got the ignition and the head light switch put in the side cover

 

Going to finish up the rear fender tomorrow , I need to even out where I cut it n then weld a spot where I nipped it with the plasma cutter when I was cutting it and then primer then sand it all down and primer it, and then I'm going to sand and prime the side covers as well, and then going to start smoothing the tank and fixing the dents in it n get it in primer then prep everything for paint. Hoping to get the paint n clear coat this weekend, and hopefully have the jack Daniels logo's next weekend so should be able have it all painted in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Then onto the lighting system.

 

After paint and lighting are all done, my next step is going to be the throttle lever, clutch lever, front brake master cylinder, one piece front brake hose, turn signal turn signal switch, finish making the shift linkage, and getting new sprockets n chain. Really hoping to have the bike 100% complete by spring.

 

Well more plans for my xj550 seca bobber project, currently trying to locate an fj600 bike for a donor for my bike. The motor is a direct swao onto the xj550 except for the rear motor mount bolt which needs to be longer which I could just use from the other bike. Want to swap because my bike stock has 50hp the fj609 has 72hp stock, so with that being said I'd like to port n polish the head and do a 3 angle valve job, I can transfer my custom exhaust from my 550 to the fj600 motor, pod filters, rejet it and have it professionally tuned and hoping for around 80hp when it's all said n done which is a 30ho gain over stock on my bike, then plan to regear it also. So I will need the complete motor, wiring harness which I will have to use to make a new bare minimum harnesses for it, and all the electronics from the fj600 as well. Also I'd like to use the front forks and wheel so I can use the dual front disc brake on my bike as well which will be a significant brake upgrade iver the stock single front disc brake that's on it now to compensate for the extra 30hp.

Currently the bine is torn down. Getting ready to have the tank, rear fender, and side covers painted which should be done in the next few weeks. So hoping to find an fj600 for parts asap.

Maybe next year id like to try to find a 652 big bore kit for the fj600 motor which I know is discontinued but I'm assuming sometim has to have one laying around. So hoping m to be able to find one by next winter so I can build the motor. Figured with the big bore kit, port n polished head, 3 angle valve job, custom exhaust, carbs jetted, pod filters, have the bike professionally tuned im hoping to be able to get 85/90 hp, if I can even find big bore kit but it's worth a try. If not I'll probably pull the motor, n go take it n have it bored n have the cans reground for higher lift n more duration, and just have the motor all built professionally.

 

One item not sure if your aware , the front fender help to align and brace the front forks . Without this in place handling might be effected , either you could cut down fender leaving the center in place or fabricate a brace .

 

I was going to fabricate a brace I actually just found that out recently but it didnt have a fender when I got it

 

Almost ready to go to paint

 

Picked up another bobber project from a buddy who lost interest. Pics are older pics when we were working on our bikes together. It's an 82 yamaha xj650 maxim, unsure of mileage, needs work still but it's pretty complete bike besides some odds n ends that it needs to run n move but will probably end up tearing it down to the frame and starting fresh.

 

Have lots of plans for the 650 as well, need to get forward controls, a seat, want to get a set of drag bars n a few other odds n ends. I still need alot of stuff for my xj550 bobber project as well so hopefully come spring I'll find time to start working on them again

 

Some more pics of the xj650 I picked up from my buddy

 

Can I make a suggestion ( I do not like pods but anyway just me) you should fabricate a bracket fitted at back of the carbs to support rack . The reason is it is alot of weight on the intake boots , with the airbox in place carbs are supported front to back . Just something to ponder , keep us informed on progress with pictures cheers.

 

As I've said I still have alot of work to do on both bikes my xj550 seca needs
- everything needs to be primered and touched up with spot putty
- needs to go get painted (gloss white with blue pearl and black jack Daniels logo's and gloss clear with lots of blue pearl)
- need to order the gold chain and upgraded sprockets
- need to order the copper head light and copper bullet style turn signals
- need to order the side mount plate bracket with iron cross tail light
- needs tires
- need to make linkage for the shifter side for the forward controls
- need to get carburetors and pod filters
- need longer throttle cable and clutch cable
- need to order black throttle lever
- need to order front master cylinder and clutch lever (using after market black billet aluminum ones)
- need to order a one piece blsck steel braided front caliper hose
- need to get steel braided fuel line and filter
- need to order the new springer seat (going with a brown leather seat with an iron cross in it)
- need to order the springer seat bracket
- need to get the copper hair pin style seat springs
- need to get the motogadget m switch for the lights
- need to get the motogadget lighting module
- need to get the brake switch
- need to make a lighting harness
- need blue LED bulbs for the gauges
- once I get carbs I need to have them rebuilt, jetted and synced
-need to to make a front fork brace where the fender went

Im sure I forgetting some things that im doing still but I'll post as in making progress

 

The 82 Yamaha xj 650 maxim i just picked up i plan to tear down to the frame n start fresh just like I did with my xj550

 

Plans for the xj650 are generally the same, frames being painted gloss black, except tank n fenders are going to be satin black with matte clear n thinking about doing the joker on the tank. Bike will be all blacked out this time tho. Going with another 4 to 1 header and I'll make another exhaust like I did with my xj550 n wrap in in bkck exhaust wrap. Doing black z bars, and tc bro's forward controls, but that's just what I know at the moment so planning everything out before I even start tearing into it. Want to make sure I have every piece planned n procee before I even start tearing into the bike