bobber hardtail ideas? ANYONE?

so after looking at fellow xj bobbers, i was thinking cutting after the tank, and rewelding straight piping right to the rear tire. on that note, qanyone have any ideas? was going to use dom piping for structual support.... where it will hold all the weight of the rear of the bike. i got one local guy but he wants to charge me $600 to hard tail the back. I figure the pipings worth 80 bucks, labor shouldnt be $520!! comments, concerns, ideas? i thought welding two pipes would be the easy part... so far its proven to be the most difficult

 

It is a little more involved than just welding on some DOM tubing to make a hardtail. There are a few guys on here that have hardtailed their bikes. Vanimal is one, and his build thread has some good pics of how he did it. The guys at chopperunderground ( www.thechopperunderground.com ) have a lot of experience on this subject. The main problem with hardtailing an XJ is the triple backbone. With lots of research and planning it can come out nice as well as safe. There are also several universal hardtail kits available you can use.

 

i appreciate it. ill look into it.... do you have any 1 ups on where those kits are located?

 

TCbros sell a universal hardtail kit. Know body sells a pre made hartail kit for XJ yamaha's. And it depends on what XJ bike you have. Its different if you have a 550 chain drive or a 650 or 750 shaft drive.

 

650 shaft. 1980. from the ones ive seen, it only looked like it was cut after the tank, and welded straight back to swingarm

 

I don't know if you looked at this build yet but it is about as good as your going to find on how to hardtail a shafty.

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... crath.html

 

thats exactly what im talking about... if you look at the very last pic... all you would have to do from that point is add the dom tubing from where he cut up top (by where the tank sits,) down to the tabs off the back wheel. right???? or am i missing something?

 

www.xjbikes.com/Forums...crath.html.... for those who are just joining the convo... the last full frame picture on the bottom

 

Go to page 15 on this build he lay's the hole thing out with color code on where to weld everything.

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=28769.html

If you are going to do it. Do it like this guy.

 

im just not seeing how its not "easy" to just add the two straight tubings. if you go to http://www.clubchopper.com/forums/showt ... hp?t=77683 you can see that all it was done was cut and weld on the rear. I can weld.... i just dont trust my weld to support 60% of the bikes weight and bumps.. btw... anyone have a good file downsizer program? i would rather add pics for you guys instead of sending you to links, but no pics are "small enough"

 

Go to photobucket and you can resize them on there and post them on here. But it is not hard if you can cut can weld and do some fabrication work. You also want to weld the swingarm solid this will help take up some of the load.

 

On the hardtail you are referring to the swingarm is also welded solid at the pivot point.

 

thats not a bad idea. i could cut and all that, but i really dont trust my life with my welding skills. lol..... atleast i can admit it. a local guy quoted me $600, and i know hes good and all, but for whats in that picture, i dont see it being that much? am i missing something?

 

For $600 he may have been quoting for the hardtail style like in vanimal's build. That is the right way to do it.

 

he could have, but i sent him the pic of the link i posted here of what i wanted

 

I don't think your missing anything. Just follow that post I gave you and if you read it he will tell you everything you need to know. But if you don't trust your welding ability I would have a pro do your welding even if it is pricey you can't put a price on safety.

 

bobberaha... although i agree life has no pricetag....... well lifes got a pricetag. lol. i just cant afford 600

 

If you can find someone to build you a hardtail like vanimals for 600 I would jump on it in a heartbeat that is the right way to do it but not everyone has a machine shop in there garage.

 

May I suggest first replacing the rear shocks with solid struts to see if you can actually stand riding the biek withsno rear suspension. I did it with a spring seat on mine and couldn't go very far with it like that. Some can ride'm that way, but some can't (me for one)
Unless your just scooting around town (and missing the potholes) you may be alright. But for any distance at all, you may just want to go with shorter shocks to still have some kind of suspension in the rear. It can really take a tole on your back and a$$ over time.
I do like the looks of a hardtail frame however, but I just can't ride one very far.

 

although i believe the hardtail will eat me alive... i think its gorgeous. i picked up an 82 xj650 im going a completly different way with... so ill have my "show" ride.. the hard tail, and my cruiser for long trips. i saw "apes" on ebay for these things... thinking nothing huge, but know any good sites for extended cables for them? im thinking 10 or 12 inches from triple tree would look kind of cool

 

12" apes are about just right (for me anyways) My arms are straight out from my shoulders and it's a very comfortable riding position with forward controls. Go for it!

 

Thanks... that's what I'm looking for. I don't want to hurt... just be comfy.. atleast on thyis one. Lmao