xj650 hartail bobber project

Hello everyone,
My name is James, I'm from Chicago, IL. I'm in the process of rebuilding an 81 xj650. a few years back i chopped the rear fender and rode her as a cafe style bobber (don't mind the vanity of the image, a buddy of mine took it, ha)

But 2 years ago i got into an accident during a move to chicago, the bike was in a uhaul trailer that flipped on the highway and destroyed a good deal of my belongings, and seriously messed up my bike... so after I got settled, i decided to take a look at the bike to see if it was salvageable, or if i should just scrap it for parts. amazingly, the frame and the engine were just fine! I began tearing her apart piece by piece. I scrapped all the excess and broken parts, gas tank, fenders, headlight, etc. and cut down the frame in preparation of giving it an extension and hard tail.

I bought a set of new forks, 4 into 1 exhaust, gas tank off of a yamaha xs1100, driveshaft off of a vmax12, i intend to put forward controls on her with a springer seat and drag/straight bars. but I can't possibly do it all alone. I've read over the manual like a bible, but I could really use some help in other areas. I have some welding experience, and just bought an old lincoln arc welder (my new toy). I haven't found a whole lot of places here in chicago that are very enthusiastic in helping me along... any suggestions on places that specialize in carb rejetting, driveshaft specialists, places to look for cheap used parts, (i fear ebay may make me go broke,) and wiring would be greatly appreciated.

i may be new to motorcycle fabrication, but this is something i have dreamed about for years, and I will complete this bike by next summer if it kills me. I rode all over the country on my old bike a 2003 honda vtx and not riding right now is killing me, ha.

I'll keep posting as I make progress on the bike, unfortunately this harsh winter in chicago is keeping me from doing anything in the garage.

thanks again, the information from what i've read on this forum is priceless, and I look forward to your advise and insight!

Thank you,
James

 

I'm a new guy too, so I'm afraid I can't offer much advice on the motorcycle stuff, but if you've got welding questions I've got a pretty good grip on that.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but your bike was pretty sweet before the wreck! Do you have some more pictures of it before the accident?

 

thanks man, I'm not too worried about welding, I've got the gear for that, and patience for trial and error. here's a few more pics.
this is her after cutting the frame, before painting;

here's another one, from LA before the crash;

here's one during disassembly;

here's a projection for what i want her to look like;

 

those red fork lowers look awful. good luck with your build. I'd join thechopperunderground forums if I were you.

 

The "search" function here might be your NEW friend. There is a simplified wiring diagram floating around somewhere and chacal has a chart for getting an idea on rejetting (it's gonna be "trial and error"). GOOD LUCK on your build and WELCOME to the forums :wink: !!!

skillet
BTW :evil: WINTER :evil: SUCKS!!!

 

whts the tank frm< Seca? Loose the red, then it will look GNAR!

 

The tank is off of a 79XS1100, it doesn't quite fit the frame, but i'll modify it and make it work... I love the look of the engine and the tank together, it makes it look front heavy like a bulldog.

I probably wont go with the red on the forks, i'm not really thinking about paint just yet anyhow, just wanted to mess around with it in photoshop... i have a tendency to want to murder things out. black on black on black, but hey, a little color never hurt nobody!

 

thanks man! I looked up nice thread by kabduke on minimum wiring that looks like it's gonna really help.

 

The tear drop shaped tank looks alot better for your project than that old tank does by far. Your on the right track! It looks good so far.
Any idea for a rear fender?
Your old Lincoln welder will work just fine. That's what I've used for the past 10 years for all my projects. I can turn it down to weld exhaust systems if need be or turn it up to weld 1/2" steel. The important part is using the right diameter and number rod.

 

You need to check out www.thechopperunderground.com I think this would be up your alley and you can check out some of the work being done over there some really talented guys lots of good ideals.

 

Guys, kind of OT, but bear with me: when you come to think of it, this is one of the finest things about XJBikes: people points you to other forums, like DxoperUndertaker , and no one goes ballistic about "trolling for 'those other forums'". I've been around, and have seen lots of insecurity from administrators from 'those other forums'... As if they owned anything!
Here people do the right thing: "if you want to trap flies, use honey, not vinegar"!
This is certainly one the many, many reasons I feel so comfortable here at XJbikes!
James, go for it - there are amazing projects there and "man of good will" too! I am sure that you will be coming back here, just as I do. And your photoshop skills are pretty good, congrats on your project!
Aharon