Artie's Custom 400 True Hard Tail Bobber...

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

got my pods from ebay. they say are bikes are 52mm pods, that BS. order 48 or 46mm pods for a much better fitment.

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

We all have the same bike! I've completely chopped mine down and am about to hardtail it. eBay is king for finding all of the little things for these bikes. 7/8 handlebars, 49mm pods, stainless engine bolts, exhaust wrap, etc. I decided against hardening up the mono shock only because I love the way a hardtail looks. I'll post pics of my "progress" if you want?

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

yeah man post em up... you doing the hardtail yourself of get'n a kit?

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

That's the decision I'm trying to make. The kit would make things a lot easier, but I'm a tall guy on a slim budget and I wouldn't be able to customize it the way I want. I'm thinking about using the stock axle plates and the swingarm as a template and building one from scratch. PSW Customs sells a weld-on hardtail, but of course the xs400 maxim is TOTALLY different from the xs400.

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

so it's been a little bit since i wrote anything... update thus far... i picked up a welder (i'm going to make it a real hard tail) and a couple other tools so i'll be working on it bit by bit.. it's been super hot out this late in the year so i'm hoping i'll keep riding till late october/early november... before really tearing it apart...to the frame

but here' s what i'll be working on in the mean time... i got a seat off e-bay for 25 bucks.. a bit rusty and worn out... i'll post pics tomorrow when i have some time to work on cleaning it up.... so that's the project for the weekend... fiberglass the seat since it has a few cracks in it... remove the rust...paint it... foam it.. and look for a place that sells cheap fine leather..

also in the works.. i'm gonna make some custom footpegs next week when they come in...

also i was thinking of running it with straight pipes.. but with issues about backpressure i ordered up some short pipes... super cheap... also in next week...

where's a good place to order some exhaust wrap?anyone order coil springs for their solo seats..who's got a good deal for em?

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build.

so there has been some progress so far...finally!...

i worked on the seat all day yesterday..and a bit today.. being so old i ran into issues with it.. bolts snapped off so i had to drill them out... the rubber is super soft and cracking on the seat itself..and it was rusted as F*&!...

here is the seat.. something like a 1920-30's seat...









so i got rid of all the rust pretty much by grinding it down and sanding.. a lot of work! i also cut off the lower brackets on it (it had a type of mono spring that was seized) painted it up..and glassed it..

her's after i got it clean and fiberglassed the seat to make it stronger as a base for when i cover it with leather...





so now i'm waiting for the resin to dry and in the mean time i worked on the broken fins.. the previous owner dropped it or hit something with it..and it cracked a lot of the fins and it looked terrible..



so i took some nail cutters, and a metal chisle and kinda worked it to a better looking piece... (so for those that have the same issue..her's a solution for you) here's the cut'n of it...




after i cut it and shaped it with the chisle i took a file to it and filed it down... took a bit of work but i'm happy with the result.. once i paint the whole thing you wont notice it really...



so that's about it for today... gotta finish the fiberglass on the seat tomorrow and find some foam or cut the old seat and cover it..

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

wow, thats pretty nice work you did to clean up them fins. Now its definetly not the eyesore that it use to be.

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

i picked up some scrap metal...so i'll be slowly working on building a jig for the hardtail... tail light, turn signals and pipes should be in next week..so i'm excited about that..seats almost done.. just gotta find a place that sells leather in pieces to wrap this baby...then that'll be off my list.... soon enough this bike will be stripped down...can't wait...

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

Well my insurance is up for this year.. that means it's time to park the thing for the winter and start tearing apart and cleaning... i ended up getting a fiche for it..and i put it on my computer as well printed it out... so if anyone needs a copy of it just let me know i can e-mail you it (xj400)!...
anyway.. it'll be a fun weekend..or possibly thursday when i'll be tearing it down.. so i'll post pics up when i do... then i'll be sync'n the valves and cleaning the carbs..so i'm sure i'll be asking a lot of questions about it...

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build.

So i decided to tear it down today... here is how it went...
first i took off the handle bars and light and stuff... funny how when you tear things down you find other things... so here's a pic of my clutch lever assembly... you can notice how it's bent away from the lever just above the bolt...the previous owner must have crashed this thing pretty good (not just like they told me "it just tipped over..") bullshit...


when i was taking out the cable.. it snapped it pieces..




all the electrical is unplugged and come'n off... i definitely want to do a minimum wiring on this.. this is ridiculous!..



down to take'n out the engine... everything has been come'n off smoothly...nothin stuck or seized... i'm super stoked i picked up the motorcycle lift for 50 bucks... definitely helps with take'n out the motor


taking out the motor wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be... the only issue i had was taking off the chain since it was old and the chain link was a bitch to get off... after that it dropped right out!... pushed it off to the side and tackled the MOST challenging part of tearing it down... taking out the air box.. frig that thing does not come out without taking off the rear section... i just cut out one of the cross bars under the seat and tugged it out in one piece... DONE... now it's down to bare bones pretty much...



as luck would have it... my headlight came in today.. i was super stoked!... so i put the tank back on and the seat which i'm waiting for the leather to come in still to finish it off... and placed the headlight on the front... it's gonna be sick!.. here are a couple of pics...






I had to try it out...feels pretty good... i don't know what i'm going to do with the ass end yet.. hard tail for sure.. but don't know how much lower it's going to be and how much of a stretch i'm wanting to give it... the calculations will have to be figure out.. i'm no mathematician so this is gonna be the hardest part... it's good to have a mechanical engineer to help me out hopefully! haha..


finally.. here's what i'm keeping off the bike...



And here's the throw aways/sell pile... funny how one outweighs the other by a tonne. lol




That's it... lots done.. but a lot more to do still.. the next 3 weeks are dedicated to welding up a jig for the hardtail. research a little about building a hard tail.. if anyone's done one.. let me know the important issues....figuring out measurements..i want it to be beefy..so i'm going to use 1 1/4" DOM tubing... i know it's overkill but it'll look rad... just wondering if there is an offset with the ass end to align the chain?? then just weld up the tail... finish the seat when the leather is in... going to find out if someone can CNC some axle plates for me .. does anyone know what the diameter is of the axle for the 400?..

any input would be greatly appreciated guys...

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

Oddly enough my brother in-law keeps trying to convince me to sell him my bike to do the exact same thing.....

Until I find another reliable bike i ain't giving in....

By the way I like where you are going with this.....

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

thanks man.. yeha it's a great bike for sure... easy to rip around in town..i mean it doesn't boast a lot of power but it's fun and just wait till the end.. i've already got it mapped out in my head what it's going to look like.. being an artist i'm a perfectionist..so it's gonna be a long road ahead haha... it's funny cuz even though this one isn't done i'm already looking for donor bikes (under $500) to create for the next project... lol

If anyone's got pointers on the geometry of the tail and axle plates..or websites to help guide me i'm all ears!

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build.

I didn't notice before that the frame is simular to a Virago frame. Maybe you could adapt a 750 Vtwin Virago motor.

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

yeah it's something to consider... but the one i've got is working pretty good and i don't have a lot of desposable income for this thing... hopefully keeping the build relitively close to a $500 budget...

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

I can relate.

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build.

not gonna happen nothing even close the key might interchange but nothing else

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

Anyone know where i can get a nice shorty clutch perch and lever.. since mine bunked out?

second question... would i have an issue with using a different clutch perch and lever for a different bike.. saying this i'm hoping that most bikes have the same sized end piece on the cable but i'm not sure???

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

JCWhitney,Bikebandit

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

So there's been a little more movement with my project... first i finished padding the seat... if you remembered this is what it looked like when i bought it... it's 80 years old so it was a little worn out and falling apart...

before


and here's the after...

after i fiberglassed it and painted it..i then used some paper to trace out the top.



with the paper i traced out the foam to use for the seat..i cut it out



it and used gorilla glue to adhere the foam...the foam was just lining that you'd find in a tool box... after i glued it and pressed it for the night..i then grabbed my palm sander and sanded the edges of the foam so that it was fairly flush with the seat... now i'm just waiting for the leather and it's all done...




now on to the tank..this thing was brutal... the paint was a home job i believe cuz it was all chipped and scratched and easily flaked... i put on some paint stripper and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes...



it stripped off most of the paint and i reapplied the stripper to take the rest off... i also used a wire brush to take off the rest... looks so good all bare...




i then decided that i wanted to changed the tank a bit cuz i didn't like how it went flat and all weird...plus i was going to fill in where the tank logo was.. so i used short strand fiberglass to build up the body to match up with the tank...

for those who wanna give it a try here's what i did..

¬- short strand fill , which was super easy and dried quick (both the bottom or the tank and the emblem holes - the pic only shows a bit at the bottom with the short strand)



- filed it down with a basic file (before it completely hardens you can start working it down to make it easier!
- reapplied more to get a smoother alignment with the tank.
- filed some more to get it just right on both sides (the short strand is good to fill holes because it provides a hard enough coverage with limited breakage)
- after i got it to where i wanted it, i then used mastic fill (this stuff is thinner and more like gum) this is great to fill the smaller imperfections and to run it along the tank in a larger surface area to blend the two together. you can see that even though the area where the logo was is small..i went far beyond it with this stuff to make sure there wasn't a huge bump.



- let it cure and use a 100grit sandpaper to star sanding it smooth. i used a palm sander to get it down to a thinner base. then switch to 150grit and to the same... then i used 220grit..then 380 grit sanding foam block..this is good to used because your fingers might make uneven irregularities in the fill. you might have to fill it in more than once..which i did just to get it perfect...



i cleaned it down with mineral spirits and started to wet sand with 600grit. i did a onceover with the 600 and then i did another with 1000grit. at this point i used just my hand to sand it down since it requires a soft touch so that you don't take too much off. just smoothly and softly sand the edges until you can't feel that there is a ridge.


the second mastic layer is dry in this pic and the other layer has been sanded...

- next i primed it with sandable primer. this is just to see what i missed and to get an even look at the smoothness of the fill.



- after it dried i used spot putty and filled the tiny holes and any ridges i found. just like the filler you want to go beyond the area to get that smooth transition. so i didn't get a pic...
-wet sand the putty with the 600g and then the 1000g paper. the best way to see if you are getting a smooth transition is if you so its transparency go from very transparent to the more of the solid color. don't worry if in some areas the mastic fill comes through. this just means there was a raised part in that area and you smoothened it out but the spot putty.
- again prime the tank with a good primer (the more expensive it is usually means it's got more pigment in it which will cover nicely. (shake it well if you're using a can)
- i primed it 3 times and wetsanded it once more after it was completely dry overnight (it was late)

then i painted it today..this is only the first layer of what i'm planning to do.. i'm an artist (as you can see from the painted surfboards in the back) and do graffiti and stuff a bit so i like using spray cans. if you plan on using cans then do this; find a head shop or a skateboard shop to find MONTANA Spray paint. this stuff comes from Germany and is made for graffiti artist! this stuff never comes off!!..it's a high end paint running about $8 bucks a can.. they have 190 colours.. so you're bound to find the colour you want... also the do have a clear as well..all the paint is satin finish which is super nice... ***pick up extra CAPS at the store when you buy it!!! use the BEIGE ones which offer a smooth application** there are like 10 different caps to choose from, each giving you a different spray... big tip.. SHAKE THE HELL outta it... like for at least 3-5 minutes to get the pigment to mix.. makes a huge difference...don't be lazy ..you already put so much work into it thus far..don't ruin it now!




so i'm let'n it dry and going to do some fun stuff to it later..can't wait!...


anyway that's all i got for now...picking up some metal and scrap stuff in the next couple weeks to make my jig for the hardtail..then weld that up within a month or two.....


more updates in a little a week probably...

 

Re: Artie's 82' XJ 400 bobber project...research then build...

We are doing the same build! BTW, the axle is 17mm. Good luck!
If you get someone to CNC the axle plates, mill the axle holes. If you don't, your axle will only make contact with a tiny bit of the plate.