My 81 xj650 bobber build.

Got the taillight in. Not really what i was looking for but i bought it sight unseen so i guess its the best i could hope for. Seems like a nice piece though. Solid aluminum and bright.
Im still working on the blinkers and now the bigger problem of a plate mount. Pretty much only option is a side mount with led lights for the mount. Im going to try to reuse the oem blinkers on the rear but im not sure how its gonna turn out.
Bike rides great though. Tad loud with the open headers. Stops great and goes good.

 

Looking sick bro. just have a few questions for ya. I have an 82 that im doing the same type of thing too,and was curious about changing the bars and how much is involved with that. Also, the alluminum plates the hold the rear pegs and are bolted down near the swingarm, do they give the bike any added strength? i mean i want to get rid of them as well as my gauges,(i want it as simple as possible),but i dont know what to do with the clutch cable and whatnot. Your bike looks great, and the rear fender is exactly what im going for with the stock one. But im going to paint my stock shocks flat black i think. I have already cut the pipes and wasnt sure about getting the cone filters and getting rid of the stock air box. Will that require changing timing or the jets at all? Thanks for your time.
Ben

 

i love the bars too. but yeah, what to do w the cables would be my issue too.looking good.

 

The bars can be a bit of a hassle but not too bad. I used it as an excuse to replace all my cables which should have been done anyway. I went from the factory high rise bars down to those broomstickbars and thats about as radical as you can get. I ditched the choke cable entirely, shortened the clutch cable 6in i think (had to do this because the oem cable was binding no matter how i put it) and got a new braided brake line off ebay thats about 6 in shorter as well. My oem brake line was in sad shape and while it still worked it didnt look clean so away it went. The throttle cable was super long but i could have left it with no ill effects and it easily tucked up under the tank. Im still using as a matter of fact with the r6 throtle and it works fine. I will be getting a new custom one soon just because mine is worn abit.
The master cyclinder may be an issue depending on the bars you get. Its fairly angled for the high rise bars and doesnt really sit right on most other bars. Mine about as extreme as a bar as i think you could run with it. I wouldnt run it on any downturned bars.
Aluminum plate holding the rear pegs on just pops off but it does leave to small issues. One is the exhaust hangs off it. Not a big deal, just get some flat stock and run it from the muffler to were the plate used to bolt on to the frame or just leave it as is. Im worried about the muffler leveraging the headers but i plan on keeping the headers open so its a non issue for me now. The other issue is the lower engine bolt. Without those plates it leaves alot of it exposed. Youll have to find something to take up unthreaded parts so it can still fit. I guess ideally youd cut it down and rethread it to fit nice but for now i just have a few 1in spacers being used as washers.
Guages are easy enough to get rid of but you need to buy a kit to close up the tach cable hole on the motor. Costs about 30 bucks i think. Youll also need to pull the timed turn signal box under the tank so your blinkers blink.
I would paint the stock shocks. Itll flack off in minutes id think.
I really wanted to do pods but these bikes just never run right with them. No amount of jetting can ever really get it right. If i could pull the stock airbox with out pulling the motor id try it but im not going to drop my motor multiple times to try to figure it out.

 

Thanks so much for your time boss. I think i understand everything. Other than the alluminum Piece Part. Maybe thats because my pipes are already cut down 18 inches or so. Haha. So i need a tach hole filler huh? And the paint wont stay on the shocks. Bummer. Ive seen em painted too. I didnt know i would have to pull the motor to add pods. Thanks again.

-Benny

 

Im not saying the paint wont stick to the shocks but i do doubt it. Maybe just painting the end caps will stick but the coil itself will just crack any paint you put on it.

 

Hey where did you get the rear fender? Thanks

 

Thats actually the oem one. I cut about 8in off it and it fits right between the rails. im still using the oem plastic guard too thats been cut down.

 

Finally go tthe bike all buttoned up and registered. Im pretty much done with it for the rest of the year. It runs great and everythign works as it should.

 

Nice job so far. You have side covers? Maybe paint the battery black.

Cool 4-1. I'd like to know if it sound like a sports bike?

In the one pic from behind the front forks appear to be gold in color almost matching the rear.

 

Oh, I dunno...

It looks clean, trim, practical; and it has fenders and a front brake. Plus some serious rear shocks; I'm not thinking those came off a Suzuki Savage.

And NO PODS??? 8O How dare you! You're liable to get drummed out of the Corps.

In all seriousness, nice job. I like functional customs. I'd recommend some sexy turn signals though. NOT cutesy little LEDs, just something more "modern" in a Yamaha pattern.

 

thanks.

I dont have the side covers anymore. I sold them for almost what i paid for the bike and they wouldnt have really fit with the seat anyway. I may paint the battery but im going to hold off till i get some time to fab up some nice side covers.

The 4-1 sounds just like any other sport bike. Its a touch to quite for my tastes but its good for day to day riding. I do have another muffler i can put on it but its just crazy loud for my ears. It sounds nasty and isnt loud for people near me but for some reason on the bike its horrendous. If i move my head a few inches in any direction its fine though. I tried playing with the resonance and direction of the output but i could never get it right.

The front forks are just cleared but have yellowed with age. In the winter i plan on tearing it down to the frame and redoing everything and i know im gonna splash some gold on it. stuff like the rims and some bracing.

 

Im glad people like it. I tried to keep it as functional as possible without going over board and making sure it was 100% street legal in my neck of the woods. I reused what i could and got new when needed.

I really, really wanted to do pods but i knew better. If i didnt have to drop the motor to get the airbox out intact i probably would have bite the bullet and just tossed them on and dealt with the running isuues.

Im up on the air on turn signals for the bike. I dont mind and even like the look of the front ones but the rears i just couldnt get right so i used what it came with till i figure something out. I really wanted to build some leds in the rear of the frame tubes were i put the shot gun shells but they end up being to close to be legal by about a 1/4 inch. Im sure i see something i like on a parked bike somewere eventually.