building a bike-differently

I have a longer than desired resurrection going on with my 82 xj650.I will love the day I get to ride it.I am basically doing a stock restomod.The only mod is the mufflers.The original ones are rusted out in places with holes.I will just go with some aftermarket shorties or something.i will be 69 soon.I have always wanted to design,build something different but not complicated.There is a handbuilt motorcycle show every year her in austin, I want to go to that,it may have already happened.I have no experience in metalwork, dont know how to weld or paint.I guess I am a wannabe.More of a designer with no physical evidence.I am the kind of guy that buys something different,an offbrand, or not even liked by others lots of times. Some of my favorites are the hubless monster, the wraith confederate, anything denny berg does- he doesnt build for cobra anymore, the yahweh chopper by amen, the amen catalog that only exists on the internet. I see the xs 650 has the aftermarket that I wish our bikes did. Now there is a springer frontend and use of a harley front wheel to trick out the frontend.I wonder how interchangeable their parts are? Springer frontends are icons.And probably not a very good front suspension. Form over function.

So where am i going with this? I would like to take my parts bike as my pallet.I cant hurt it now.If I screw it up no one will notice. Then transfer that to my rider. Our bikes have such a limited number of things that can be done due to the shaftdrive rear wheel. I can see figuring out a way to put on a spoke front wheel.I dont know if there has ever been a shaftdrive spoked wheel. But thats one thing, I want to have spoke wheels.Not different to the world, but different to the xj world.I want a lower seat,like 27 inches without harming the ground clearance or handling. Ohlins suspension.Very expensive. Maybe gold valve emulators,cheaper improvement. But our front forks are boring. I like the wraith frontend. I like the solid wheels on fatboys also.I like dakota digital dashes.I like popup gas caps.I like comfortable handlebars.never drag or clipon or stupid apehangers.
I would love it if a blacksmith could make some twisted steel handlebars. A solo seat is a must.But not some stupid bobber thing with little springs holding it up.No more chrome fenders.I found a headlight on ebay that has builtin signals.On the rear fender I would like runestyle tailights and a frenched license plate.If I could get a perfect tank I would strip it to bare metal. Get some pinstripes put on, then clearcoat it.I suppose then the plastic sidecovers would have to have some sort of anodized paint on them.If not, then candyapple copper with electric blue pinstripes,minimal. These are not original items,many fabricating and adaptive measures would be necessary.Not really handbuilt.But have you ever seen an xj like this idea? If it wasnt for the motor the whole idea would be a no go.Thats what makes bikes popular mostly.The parallel twin, the inline 4 like ours, the v twin, its about the motor.Truly function before form.I would have megabucks invested if i built what i dream about.But it would be unique in my opinion.

 

Different you say?



Not at all your vision (though the front fender is twisted steel) but I've picked up a couple prizes (in the ratbike category) at shows I've gone to (well, one prize at each of two shows... I don't go to many). Worth noting the "handbuilt" show is invite only... if I went there, it would be the parking lot for me. I started with about the skill level you express, did a lot of research, boned up on welding, eventually some machining, even a little engineering / load testing. Freakbike looks aside, its a rolling experiment in suspension design... specifically targeted at working well in urban traffic and on crappy roads.

If you want spoked wheels on your XJ, the easy options are spoke XV (Virago) wheels. The best ones are from the 920, only made a couple years, and go for a LOAD of cash on ebay. I think the ones from the 250 also fit, but.... well, myabe if you shave a lot of weight and don't push em. Some of the V Stars might also have compatible wheels. Beyond that yer probably looking at trying to swap the spline from the XJ wheel onto something else, make custom axles, maybe a whole custom hub... I know guys who do that kind of thing, but its not for the timid.

 

I assume that is your bike with the spike fender? I know its thunderdome on 2 wheels but i love it.My kind of different,a work of art.Awesome job.If it wasnt for the wheels I would have never known what it is.Or was perhaps is the better phrase. I would love to know some specifics of what you did to it,pictures helpful. I am near dallas.One of my daughters lives near south bend indiana.Every year they have the madmax indy rally.Motorcycle required.Yours would be perfect there.awesome work.

 

ps,where did you get that headress?

 

There should be a picture above. I have a write up in IMGUR but can't reach it from work. I basically replaced the body work, then went mad science on the suspension setup, loosely adapting the BMW monolever and duolever designs. Electrical system is... operational. Drivetrain and wheels are stock (excluding a custom airbox & exhaust) - as you say, its what makes the bike recognizable as an XJ.

The fender is less spike and more "bird cage". Was made for ice racing, to keep the spiked tire from hitting things / people. I was worried it contributed to speed wobble, so I took it off.

The "head dress" is a hockey goaltenders helmet painted black. I replaced the face mask with stainless perf metal and drilled a bunch of holes and zip tied on the "dreadlocks", as well as mounting the antlers with some screws and glue.

I've been to the Indy Mad Max run (on a different bike), but they hold it so &$%# early in the year that I was literally riding in freezing rain. I'm riding this bike to the Milwaukee Mad Max run this coming weekend!

 

thanks for your response.Milwaukee.Hmm.I will check into that.So the indy run os long gone it sounds.I could see myself being run over by a bunch of harley guys in milwaukee

 

Yeah, the Indy run took place at the end of May. He (Seth, the organizer) did a second one last year, around this time. But TBH, 600 miles each way is just to damn far for me to want to do again, especially for a single day run. Milwaukee is much closer for me, about 400 miles.

You won't get run over, far from it. The folks who organize the Milwaukee run are on good enough terms with HD that they have pictures from the run in the HD museum. I went out there in Feb to ride with them in a flat track / bike show event sponsored by HD - that's what the picture is from!

 

I was there and recognized the bike immediately!

 

I cant imagine riding your bike that far.if it has a comfortable seat,handlebar reach,maybe.Certainly no wind protection. HEY! What about that front end.I so very much want to know what that is from,how you did it

 

Just a slight correction, the 920's all had swirl pattern mags. The 1984 750 Virago is the ideal candidate for spokes, however the 15" rear may have clearance problems with the XJ swing arm.

You could hunt down a front wheel from an 85 FZX700 Fazer and combine it with the Maxim-X rear. Not quite fat-boy solid wheels but close, different anyway.
I did some research long ago on the FZX front wheel, it may be wider than the XJ hub, I recall the forks were further spaced, as I said you'd need to do your own research.

 

+1 It was the Virago 1100 that had the laced rims for the one year.

 

this thread is very informative

http://viragotechforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=49595

http://viragotechforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=54342

 

This video demonstrates the challenge to mount a 900 Diversion rear wheel to a 1st gen Virago.
I suspect this procedure would be same for an XJ.

 

wow simmy that is real good info.Thanks everyone for the responses

 

Yeah, work with a lathe is the sort of thing I had in mind when I said "not for the timid". If you got very lucky you might find a wheel that you could adapt with a spline carrier swap, spacers, etc... still not an easy task, and likely to require a lathe, just not such a big one.

The ergos are based on bicycles I've had that I did multi hour rides on, pretty much exact same reach. Seat is plenty soft and directly over the pegs. The wind ... eh, at most I'm doing 75 or so, I even wear an open face (mx) helmet. The tiny ass tank forces me to stop every hour anyhow, and I can do maybe 5-6 hours before I feel like maybe I need a longer break or even should call it a day. There's certainly more comfortable ways to ride, but having a bike custom built to your dimensions goes a long way even when its otherwise very spartan. Its not really ideal for such trips, but I've done 450 miles in a day (knowing I had the next day to rest).

 

one of the elusive wire wheeled Viragos.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-crui...50/1366101254?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true