the point of no return

I painted the spark plugs. I plan to put in new plugs before I get it on the road.
I came. I saw. I conquered. That is what the banner means. The logo is from a Marlboro box. I changed the PM to AH because that's my initials. It's a pretty standard Phillip Morris logo. It's on all their cigarettes. I think maybe each brand has a slight variation to it. Funny thing is, I don't even smoke. But for some reason I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Marlboro Man. Maybe because it was a time from long ago. He's kind of old school, too.

 

I made a quick set of bars this weekend. I guess they'd be called mini apes. They're 12' high. They were built to get the most comfortable riding position of my hands. I kinda wanted to go with some drag bars, but I think this bike needs some bars with some height to them. I could have bought some off ebay relatively cheap, but these were made with almost no cost. And I like to do things myself. The stock top triple tree of this bike is hideously ugly. It's killing me. Does any of you gurus out there know if there's another front end that will fit the 550 frame? I've heard the Viragos are a direct bolt on. I believe they are also spoked wheels, which I wouldn't mind putting on my bike. How do those trees look compared to the XJs? Or would my best bet be to try to get one machined? I'm pretty sure there's no aftermarket trees out there for these bikes. But that top tree is killing the look of the whole bike. It has got to go. The uprights of the bars are bent at a 90 degree angle so the lines are straight up and down. Looking at them from directly in front, they follow the same lines as the forks. I never understood why the taller bars were bent so the uprights weren't plumb.

Ok pics later. I can't seem to load them. After I browse for pic and then hit add attachment, the file address just goes blank. Oh well.

EDIT: Pics took this time....I think!

 

Mean

 

bike looks good man cannt wait to see it completly finished

 

Hey 16ozbud I really like wha you've got going together there! You gotta have some more picts by now! Maybe some arm pit hairs flappin in the breeze :lol: I do have to say, You've done an outstanding job there! Hope some day I'll be able to gather the skills to put something together as sweet as you have. Very nice attention to detail.

Cheers
Ken

 

I like the color scheme! I was thinking along these lines for my own paint job...good stuff.

 

Thanks, guys. As Cheech and Chong once said, "Things are tough all over." Don't really have much time or money to sink into the bike right now. I'm at the point where the bike needs more money than time. I usually have one or the other, but never both together. I just ordered a few parts from EBAY and am waiting for them to arrive. Nothing expensive, just some levers, throttle, and grips. It's gonna take a while buying a piece here and there. But on a positive note, I have brought the bike home from my buddy's shop and it now resides in a much nicer locale. I get to look at her everyday.

 

bike looks sweet great good love where you parked it

 

So's I got me a little extra cash and spent a little time on EBAY. Bought a few little things I need for the bike. Still got a ways to go, but money ain't what it used to be. But I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Going to the NASCAR race in Texas in November with some buddies. We gonna trailer the bikes and do a little riding once we get there. So, there's a date to shoot for. And if the bike ain't ready by then, I still know where a few good strip clubs are around Dallas. I'll just spend my extra money there.
So here's what she is looking like now. I can now work on her in the A/C while watching TV. And as always, there's cold beer in the fridge.

 

sooo... any updates?

 

Other than a few stickers I put here and there for character, not a lot has been done. The economic downturn has affected my bike modifying abilities. I didn't lose my job or anything, but overtime was cut out. 40 hrs a week pretty much pays the bills with VERY LITTLE left over. What was left over went into getting a shed, so the bike no longer resides in the living room. Spring is in the air so maybe I will be motivated to finally finish. Who needs to eat everyday anyways?. Thanks for asking.

 

Re: the point of no return (It's alive!!!)

Now that it's Spring and since Schooter brought this trhead back from the dead, I've been able to do some work on the bike now that it's out of the living room. The wife wasn't too thrilled with me doing much to it in the house. Hated it being in the house. I used the basic minimum wiring diagram that's floating around on this site to make my wiring harness. I have to admit. I was skeptical of the diagram being correct for my make and model, skeptical of my abilities to follow the diagram, and skeptical of the 30 year old equipment to work after a nearly 2 year lay off. The battery was dead beyond charging. So I took the battery out of my truck and hooked some jumper cables to it. Tried to fire it up and......nothing. After getting the old trusty meter and doing a little troubleshooting, I found the push button to be bad. Funny, I was worried about the 30 year old equipment and it was the brand new Made in China stuff that was faulty. After getting a new pushbutton, she spun over. Pulled a plug and checked for spark and was pleasantly surprised. Have some extra holes in the gas tank that I had plugs for but somehow misplaced, so I used a spritzer bottle to squirt some gas into the carbs. SHE RAN! Anybody who is skeptical of the minimum wiring diagram, don't be. It really works. Really. Nothing like hearing a motor fire up to supply a little extra motivation. Money is still tight, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Quick checklist:
*Throttle cable. Need to get custom cable made longer than original and 3/8" barrel end on EBAY throttle.
*Clutch cable. Same boat as throttle is in.
*New brake lines and front and back brake pads.
*Jockey shift fabbed and finished.
*New sprockets and longer chain.
*Battery.
*Wrap or paint exhaust.
*license plate bracket and lights for plate.

I'm sure there's a few other things I've missed that I will find out about soon enough. Oh, yeah. A few pics of her now.

 

that bike is what its all about for me. taking something that is good and making it unbelievable with nothing but a little time and a lot of ingenuity.

cheers from one fellow backyard builder to another!

 

very nice, cant wait to see it finished, she's a doll

 

How about a pic of you sitting on it to get an idea of the size and of the riding position?

It really looks great!

 

must be out riding, if he can't finish the thread. haha great bike man

 

Wish I was out riding. This is going to be one of those SLOOOOOOWWWWWWW moving projects. I haven't given up on it, but I just don't have the fundage to continue in a timely fashion. Plus what little extra cash I do have has to get split up amongst home repairs and my kid's orthodontist bills and other such life stories.

Koolaid, sorry man. Didn't get around to taking a pic and it slipped my mind. I'll try to get one.

Thanks, everyone for the kind words. I'll get her in the wind one day.

 

that's ok man.... I know how life gets in the way a lot of the time. Plus.... I'm lazy too

What size apes are those? 15"? Have you measured what length cables you're going to need yet? I'm away from my bike this week and would like to order my cables, but I didn't mount the apes to measure yet. anyone help me out with that one?

 

I know where all his money is actually going :wink:

 

They're only 12" apes. Stock bars have a 5" rise so I'm looking at 7" over stock length on the cables. Who were you planning on getting your cables from? Think I'm going with Motion Pro unless someone knows a better place. $35 for the throttle. $40 for the clutch. And whatever they charge for shipping. I installed the original clutch lever and throttle back on the bars so I wouldn't have to guess what size/type ends and adjusters were needed for the EBAY Chinese crap that I had. I've dumped the idea of jockey shift. Chacal is going to love me before I am finished with this bike. The list of items I need to make this bike road-worthy is long and distinguished.

Yeah, Schoot, I've been to see the single moms once or twice, but that's not where the money is going. Now, my bar tab at the local watering hole lately had been staying kind of high. The owner is a close friend of mine and it just wouldn't be right to buy bike parts without knocking my tab down to under $100, which I managed to do last week. I still plan to wire in a light and a few receptacles in my shed/shop for the air conditioner and fridge. Then maybe I can get back to the bike.

 

I have no clue who I was going to get my cables from. I didn't get that far yet

CRAP....now I want to go to a strip club

 

Cables you can get form:

A Bicycle Store -- They will make you one. Throttle
Bicycle Parts Online: Cabling Kit - Throttle

Professional Landscaping Machinery Outlet
Clutch Cable
Rear Brake activating Rod

I've looked at the Pix of your Bike.
Don't you think you need more support structure to keep the Rear-end from folding toward the seat?

I think you need some Cross Members and Gussets.

$0.02

 

what's the cheapest and best route for the cables though? I don't do well with too many options

 

I'm going with Motion Pro (motionpro.com) for my cables, they seem to be able to make what I need. $30 for throttle. $35 for clutch. Plus shipping.

Rick, I think I've got enough structural support. It very much follows classic rigid frame design. Only difference is instead of one center vertical tube under the seat I have two on the sides. Should be enough. Hope it is. Thanks for looking out.

 

Here's some recent pics. These are cell phone pics and it was starting to get dark. Pic quality may not be that great. Got a pic of me sitting on the bike to give some idea as to rider position. I'm 6 foot 1 inch and 245 lbs, so it kind of looks like a circus bear riding a unicycle.

 

looks great man....

 

Thanks. I don't know if it's my ADD kicking in or I'm just the dumbest person on the planet, but I traded a running truck with ice cold a/c for 3 project bikes. It's been 2 years and my first project bike isn't finished. The truck is 13 years old and has over 200 thousand miles on it and it's just been sitting up collecting rust. The body is straight and solid. I really wasn't wanting to part with it, but a friend of mine has recently come into money/job/vehicle problems, so I worked out a deal with him. He knew somebody that had 2 old KZ1000 cop bikes on the cheap that owed him a favor, so we went over to the place to get the bikes and just sitting there under a tree collecting weeds and wasps was a Maxim 650. Long story short, I wound up with all 3 bikes and my financially burdened friend didn't have to come out of pocket. Sometimes it's better to be owed a favor than cash, and now he owes me one. I can save $20 a month by not paying insurance on the 3rd vehicle truck. I consider it a win/win situation. My wife doesn't quite think so. One is 90% complete. The other was a parts bike for the first, but has just about everything but the carbs. My buddy that let me use his shop when I built my bike is going to get the second KZ, because I owe him a favor. The Maxim is in very rough shape. I'm going to part it out and EBAY it to raise cash to finish my 550. At least I got a plan. Maybe I'm not so stupid after all.

 

are your foot pegs the same size as the frame tubing? Im making a budweiser suicide shift... and i wouldn't mind buying a 6 pack and adding touches to my bike

 

I would just change the brand to yuengling or something OTHER than shitty budweiser

 

Schoot, it's one inch OD tubing, and yes, it is the same size as the frame. The caps fit on there very well. I only used 2 bottle caps, but for some crazy reason I needed to buy much, much, more than a 6 pack to get the right 2. I believe I also read on here that shotgun shells fit inside the tubing quite nicely.

Koolaid, Bud gets the job done for me. I've never had any complaints. To each his own. As long as it's not non-alcoholic beer. You know what they say:
"Drinking non-alcoholic beer is like going down on your cousin. It tastes the same, but you know it ain't right."

 

but what if your cousin is REALLY hot? It's ok then, right?

 

Of course.

 

Hell of a job man! Everything about it is bad A!

 

It's been awhile since I've worked on this project. It's just entirely too hot. I work in a steel mill. Enough sweating is enough. I did manage to score some freebie XS650 wheels, so I decided to see what they would look like on my scoot. I really like the look of spokes. I think they add a certain look and feel to the bike. I'm even digging the no front brake look, but do not think I have the cajones to pull off rear drum only braking. It seems they will fit without much headache. I'm going to need to get a machinist friend to cut a few spacers for me, but other than that, shouldn't be too many hassles. The sprocket on the rear is much smaller than the original, but it appears the sprockets are interchangeable. Hopefully, I can order some cables real soon and get one step closer to getting this thing on the road.

 

:twisted: Dude this pike looks friggin saweet :evil:

 

16 more Oz. to you man nice work....

 

Nice job man!

 

So Schooter, how many years before you can legally start building your Budschwiller shifter?

Are you back to class yet or are you still enjoying your summer?

Loren