Steber's 81 XJ550 Bobber

Spent some of today stripping the wiring out, slowly prepping towards painting the frame.

It's obvious I'm going to need new custom length brake cables. Don't know if Len makes them custom length or not, any ideas?

 

Look at the fork covers for the. 1999 Suzuki intruder vl1500lc. They fasten under the big chrome front shield, and the sliders slide right up inside them. They are a pretty big diameter, and on of them may possibly work for you for the mono-shock. If you can't figure out what I mean, let me know and I'll show ya. I have not installed mine, as it makes the front look slightly lighter and give the appearance of a little extra rake. I"m not selling mine, but I THINK I might have one extra, though I'll have to check when I get a chance.

 

Thanks, not 100% sure what you mean. Think I see it, although not sure on tht part. Almost gives the look of an inverted fork? Might be someone I might like on the build.

 

don't cover the shock, if ya got it flaunt it

 

Good point. I have to reinforce the upper shock mount, it should box off the upper eye more, but just enough to clean things out.

 

I was thinking about installing some sort of mount at the 'spring' mounting points, it would be purely cosmetic. The studs aren't removable from the pan so instead of an empty acorn nut, it would be on a bracket mount so it looks purposeful. Here's what i was thinking, contour this mount to the seat pan and twist it and weld it to the top of the main support. This still leaves the open end of the stock frame pieces, I thought shoving some sort of barend style lights in there, possibly for running lights/brake.. seems to close for turn signals, my other option is to crimp the tube steel flatish to help contour in to the bracket. getting two exact crimps would be a symmetrical challenge. I could just get flat rubber/plastic push min style caps. Tossing around a bunch of ideas, obviously. just things i need to accomplish before i paint the frame.

 

Have you got a spot planned for the license plate? It could tuck in under there. Might look weird, I dunno.

 

I suggest fabricating a bracket to tie those two frame pieces together under the seat and then you can work in the random stuff like seat attachment, tail light and license plate, maybe turn signals unless you have other plans for those.

 

I hope that he'll mount it to the fender that he should be putting over the rear tire.

 

I scrolled up to check out the side view of the entire frame. It looks like those top frame pieces under the seat are hanging out in mid-air. I'd worry about them bending down under load, say you hit a dip in the road and your body weight is jolted down. Even if you are of normal weight, that can put quite a load on those unsupported tubes. Any plans to tie into the tubes you cut down low behind the rear swing-arm mount?
It might depend on the aesthetic you're going for, but I could see doing a long-ish upside-down "U" shape that meets those lower cut tubes (behind the swing-arm pivot) and loops up to just behind the upper cut pieces and doesn't stick up much above those, but you can weld that up and have a pretty sturdy rear frame section to mount things to.

 

Look at the photo at the top of the page.
The seat mount is tied in to both rear tubes, and the main backbone.
The seat mount will be under tension when loaded and should be sufficient to prevent the tubes from bending. Adding gussets where they join with the rear downtubes wouldn't hurt though.

 

I thought up a few ideas on how to sturdy it up. It's deff not going anywhere. I might add gussets just for the peace of mind, and also possible place for an igniton switch or key. I'm welding a few more pieces in possibly next week. I been busy chasing some of the welds around the frame. factory welds are horrific.

Yes, the plate will be mounted to the fender. I should be able to stick a fender inside the swingarm and get a nice close look. being impatient, I photoshopped the engine back in and did a few things for a final idea of the look. Just a rendering so nothing set in stone, just my current mood.

 

I'm also tinkering with a front fender, so i can add back the stability of the fork tubes. Just something small, enough to keep the strength. stock fender has a very nice bracket built into it... might try and finesse it a bit to see if i can get something i like.

but i would also like to convert to forks with dual discs up front at somepoint, fender should transfer though at anyrate.

 

Here's a better picture of whats going on under there.. Crazily enough we forgot to replace the most crucial point in this set up, the upper fork mount. Those were always temp and i wanted to do them last to make sure everything was set. So thats part of the welding next week, i already have new mounts cut out that will box that top rail in to the cross member. Using the same stock as the top plate, so that should be plenty once they're replaced.

 

Looks good so far. But I'd be scared the setup wouldn't support my weight.
Nice rendering skills

 

I clock in around 200. I just got done welding in New upper shock mounts. I think the top plate really supports a lot of the seat weight, mixed in with the side tubes. I'm still thinking some plates on the side but really don't think it's needed. Yet I'm never opposed to over engineering things.

 

Worked tonight to get the frame blown apart, one more step closer to getting some paint on the frame. going to sand blast some factory welds to make sure everything is okay. although we had a few hiccups, and its not as 'perfect' as i wanted it, i'm happy with it. We'll see what we can do with it now.

 

maybe it was just mine but when i hung the frame from the steering tube to paint it, a pint of really nasty water came out the back

 

hmm.. Well that's never good. Haven't come across any water yet, and had the frame in a few different angles... Flipped the frame over and found yeah, definitely need some areas sand blasted. I will have to pick up some media for my gun before i can do that.

 

Watch for holes showing up near the kickstand mount. The tubes were not rustproofed, and water can collect in that area.

 

Not much to show. Still don't final welding, worked on building up the steering stops so the new bars don't slap the tank. (Still plenty of turning radius) plugged a few holes, just a bit more metal finishing and I'll finally be able to get tht frame painted. Still feel on schedule since the temps aren't warm enough for paint yet anyways.

 

Still so much metal finishing before I sand blast. So it'll be dremels, and hand files this week. Here's a before and after of modifying the steering. Will have to fine tune them when bars and tank are back on so I'll leave them long for now.

 

Hey where in gods name did you get that beautiful triple tree? Did it fit the the stock forks? (Sorry if you answered that already in a previous post)

 

They're off an 86 FZ600, they're a direct swap for xj550. Also, Its just the upper.

 

you cut the ignition thing as well? had the same on mine. good looking triple tree top

 

Yes, I wanted a clean look. Now I'm scrambling to find a place to mount it. I'm sure it'll come together at some point. Hindsight!

 

So you're saying you just put that fz600 upper on the existing xj550 (Maxim?) lower and it just fit? No modifications needed? If so, I'll look one up and buy it now lol.

 

If memory serves me right this will lower your bike's front end as the fork tubes had to go up, meaning loosen the lower clamps and let the tubes rise up which lowers the rake of the bike. I went up extra high to mount my clipons and i knew i'd be lowering the rear. You need to pay attention to the geometry or it could handle a little rough. But as for straight bolt up, yes this should work. I think all the mounts for the cluster are there... Although, i'm not using a stock cluster either, so i can't answer for those things either. In the end, for my application it was a straight bolt up.

 

I have one. PM me if you're interested.

 

Okay awesome thanks! I'm planning on lowering the entire bike anyway. Still looking for the right rear shock, which is all I need to lowering the back end I'm assuming. Any suggestions for shocks?

Here's a couple pics of my bike, by the way.

 

Asking me for suggestions? heh.. I went a totally different route, I'm sure a quick search will help you find what you're looking for.

Anyways, so I'm slowly getting to sand blasting. Ran into a hitch the other day with the compressor i plan to use, Had to replace some fitting along with the regulator as i couldn't get the tank to fill. Picked up some media from the trusty local tractor supply co. Sadly, the course media is too big to use in my current cheap-o gun. But the fine media worked great at removing grime and rust on a test piece. So, yes progress is slow, but just wanted to notate that i haven't thrown in the towel.

 

Get a smaller aftermarket one. They fit anywhere. On mine, I put it where the horn used to be. I believe I have a pic in my build thread somewhere.

 

Finally got things in order to do some sand blasting.. Didn't blast the whole frame bare though. My compressor wasn't able to keep up with the demand so I keyed in on all joints, out of reach areas, and any place i couldn't get a piece of sand paper. Focused mainly on the neck area, as some metal work had to be done as it will be much more exposed in this area when finished with the new lines of the tank. Hopefully the rain breaks long enough to warm up so I can start with the paint and then putting things back together to find the next hurdle.

 

wow.. somehow i only get once a month to work on my bike?! Anyways, I did a small patch of body work to fix up some repairs from removing reflector brackets in the neck area. With the taller sitting tank, this area will be moderately visible. Didn't want it to look like complete garbage, also didn't feel like muddling with it too much. After all, the frame will be coated in bedliner, so most small surface scratches will be filled by the build of the liner. I had to make sure any area i didnt want to scrape through bedliner was buttoned up and i also threw a coat of black under most everything thats taped up, such as bolts, engine mounts bores, ect.. I guess its good 'nuff.. Guess its time to spray, hopefully by the end of the week. Here's some pics!

 

Well, came out good. Perfect weather to paint, low humidity, 80 degrees out. Everything set up nice. All the holes are grit free thanks to a good tape job. Overall I'm happy with it, I've come to find I need to settle for less than perfection just for the sake of pushing forward.. So I tapped off the factory sticker on the tube, not sure if i like it or not, im hoping its well enough covered to not be a issue? Hindsight, i should have just left it taped up with the coating on it, as it would have preserved it. I digress, I'm actually pretty happy with it, and excited I can start moving forward again, hopefully this weekend i'll start bolting some things back together.. still tossing around painting the bottom end of the engine.. will see how it looks next to frame and go from there.

 

You chose the correct path. Covering the VIN sicker could land you with a big fine.

 

I think you're okay to ditch the sticker but the stamping must remain. My sticker is long gone due to powder coating but the title office had no issue going off the stamping. I had it titled after powder coating.

 

Yeah she's already titled and registered, hell she's still insured. I'll keep it for now, no harm no foul. If the headlight doesn't cover it up I'll come back and figure something out, as for now time to keep moving forward I guess

 

There's will, and there's might. A younger official once took issue with my old truck not having a catalytic converter, even though it was not required when it was built. This was in part due to a partially illegible VIN sticker. It took ages (and an older supervisor) to get him to read the metal VIN tag on the dash and accept it as being the VIN. Legal is one thing; hassle-free is another.

 

Feeling pretty good today, finally took the frame down to meet up with the wheels and we're back to a roller. Now I need to get down and paint the engine, so I can mate it back to the frame and then it's ready to bring back home to work on my work area. Feeling excited. So close yet so far. I think I asked already, but best high temp engine paint for bottom end of the case? Thanks

 

Looking great! Can't wait to see this one done. For paint, I used VHT primer and paint and it's holding up well after 14 months. As with any paint job, 90% of the finished product and durability is prep work though.

 

Who knowes the dimenzion OF ORIGINAL FORK OIL SEA for
Yamaha xj 550 maxim 1984
And
Yamaha xj750maxim x 1986

 

What a long day.. Finally got a bunch done today. I was able to get down and prep, tape, paint and stab the engine in. Very happy with the paint, damn near close to a match of the stock color. Lots of polishing left to make the engine look the way i want, but everything else can be addressed on the bike now. Pretty exhausted, so i'll just upload a bunch of pics for now. Some before and after on the paint, and then with the engine in the bike.

 

Big thumbs up! Liking the way it is turning out. Well done. How stiff is the monoshock?

 

Thanks ,its starting to look like... well something. As for the shock it feels good, possibly a bit stiff, but I really didn't go into adjusting the shock for preload and dampening as its got a few adjustments that can be made. It's better than a hard tail, which well, was my goal (after I decided not to hardtail it)..

 

I strutted mine so I know exactly what you mean. Buddy of mine gutted an air ride seat out of a dump truck so now even though his frame is rigid he's riding on air. I dig the monoshock look. I had an idea to do something similar on a future build only using a semi cab mount bag and shock

 

Hardest part is monoshock takes up a lot of realeastate.. bye bye battery, airbox, fuseboxes, tci.. unless of course you have a rear tunnel on a cafe. I still have a lot of work ahead of me figuring that out but pretty sure I have a few tricks up my sleeve for that. Also, hardest part of monoshock was finding one that wouldn't raise the back end up from the shock being too long.

 

Yea I could definitely see that being difficult. Buddy conned me into cramming all of his electrical, to, regulator/rectifier, fuse block, and air gauge all into one of those fake oil tanks. That was interesting to say the least. With what I see so far I'm sure you will figure those things out and it will turn out well.

 

I'm really at a loss on what to do with the headlight and cluster. Looking for some solid advice.. I would like to clean it up since i am wiring everything from scratch. So new headlight, maybe with a small all in one cluster inside of it? I've seen a few around, anyone have a good combo for what i'm thinking of? Would love to see examples in any bike.. On the same token i dont want to spend hundreds of dollars, i could very well throw all old stuff back on and shorten cables. Hence why I'm at a loss?

The taillight is going to be a side mount plate combo.. I fully plan to hand signal on this bike (not that cagers know what they mean) and I would also like to include minimal turn singals, no lolipops. My intuition wants me to put some sort of bar end light into the frame pieces directly under the seat, preferably with a dual filament bulb because i feel the distance the lights are together (yes probably illegal even) would make it hard to distinguish if just one light came on. Again, just spit balling. It will have a very small short fender on it that will end maybe TDC of the rear wheel.

Anyways, enough rambling... Its just a lot to visualize. Spent the morning wiping down all the parts going back on the bike. two or three things i need to get down and sand blast before i paint, but the rest is ready for assembly or a quick painting. Also wiped down the TCI and rectifer and other things, just to shake the cob webs out of the 36 year young bike. All in efforts for it to hopefully look a bit more refined when finished.

 

Will you be using a different headlight mount all together? I mounted some small led signals on each side of the factory bucket where the bolts would go in on each side to hold the actual bucket to the mount. The rear signals are mounted to tabs off of my sissy bar and I used a flush mount led tail/brake light mounted vertical on the left side strut with the plate light and plate underneath it