Teebs: If you feel up to it… let me have it.
- 18
Write about your XS650.: I picked my current project bike up as a total basket case last year. 200 bucks and I got a frame and swingarm, 2 wheels, the motor and a box with the coils and the carbs (dismantled and wrecked) Not so much as a turn signal or a scrap of wire with it. I’m piecing it together a bit at a time.
The design, the bending, everything up to the tack-welding are all my own. I have fairly severe arthritis in my hands, and they’ve developed a shake, so instead of having welds that look like I went at the bike with Silly String, I enlist my brother’s help for the final welds.
The swingarm is stretched 4 inches with a brace made of 1/2″ round stock attached. Currently I’m working on the shock mounts for the ’85 Ninja 900 monoshock that I’m using on the rear.
Shinko tourmasters front and rear. Standard 16 rear and an 18″ drum wheel from a ’71 Yamaha YDS7 on the front that will require a little modifying.
I have another tank coming in that I may use, if not I’ll be removing the filler holes from the mustang tank and installing a pop up cap on the right as well as using a piece of half-inch tubing to make a rib up the center of the tank to match the fender. (I can almost guarantee this happening.)
The factory neck gussets are gone, replaced with some nice, clean new ones. I’m fabricating my own signals and tail light out of various objects that I’ve found. I’ve also designed and am making my own pipes, intake manifolds, forward controls and anything else of that nature.
It probably won’t be finished until snow flies, but that’s what happens when you want everything right.
I’ve seen some really cool Monoshock Café racers. I hope your bike turns out the way you want it and you get it finished.
Check this out >>
http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible_bikes.html
Thanks Ted. There’s no doubt that I’ll get it finished, and no doubt it will turn out the way I want it to, eventually. I really appreciate the encouragement.
This will be the first bike I’ve done with a monoshock, and I’m sure it will require some experimentation. I’m going to try setting it up like the older style except the “basket” will be inverted, using the lower brace I’ve formed as support for the lower shock mount. If this doesn’t provide enough suspension, I’ll fabricate linkage as shown in the “newer” shock setup on the site you provided.
As with many garage modifiers, I experiment and fail, and experiment some more and fail, and just keep going until it comes out right. My first build started as a totally thrashed ’71 sportster that I hardtailed back in the late ’80s, but my first mods were on a ’73 Yamaha GT80 when I was 8. While my Dad worked on one of his BSA’s or his crazy fast ’67 Camaro, I tinkered on my GT in between fetching tools and parts, or holding his drop light, or turning a wrench where he couldn’t reach.
As for the site, it is an excellent source material for beginners. Great graphics, and simple, clear explanations of the different suspension styles.
I’ll finally get back to work on it this week. I’ll send more pics after the shock is mounted and the seat is at least partially finished. I’m taking photos of the entire process, but most of them will be going up on my own blog site. I plan on blogging the build as part of the travel blog for my cross-country trip (originally slated for late summer, now postponed until spring.)
Man, I’m a long-winded SOB…
teebs you are a long winded sob among other things…..lol
just kidding bro the bike looks great so far keep it up,looks like it will be a fun bike to ride.
love the spare tire cover for the fender!!!!!if i could find one, that is what i would run on mine
Thanks Frank, I’m going to be in the shop at least a couple of days this week. Hopefully.
Go to eBay, search for “Ford spare tire cover”, sort through all of the vinyl slip covers for broncos etc, ad you’ll usually find 2 or 3. It’ll run you $100-130, if you use shorty fenders you’ll get about 3 out of it. 35 to 45 bucks each; that isn’t too bad for a nice ribbed fender.
I still have the other half of the ring which I’m going to trim down the sides for a full front fender. I may actually leave the cutting to a friend that does tin work.
Yeah, I am “among other things”, no denying it. lol And again, thanks for the compliments. It will be really interesting o see if my monoshock works out right on the first shot.
Love this build. I’m dying to do something very similar… softail chopper with a monoshock and can’t find too many examples or info. I fall into the beginner category so the link that Ted posted was helpful. Teebs, how tall are you? I’m 6’3″ so I’m trying to figure out what my stretch and up should be for a comfortable position.
Damonic, I’m 5’10″, at 6’3″ the drop seat is not going to be very comfortable for you. With the 4″ swingarm stretch, you might want to keep the seat higher and make it longer to accommodate for your height. If you were to do only a mild drop and make it horizontal it would likely be a lot better.
I thought about going with a 6″ stretch, but at that length the chain becomes an issue, may not be too bad with a chain roller though. I’ll probably end up stretching the next one out 6 inches.
Glad you like it. Good luck with your future project.
Man Teebs, you do talk a lot of smack! This is what you’ve been talking about!! WOW! Not that great! BASIC!
That’s it? “Not that great”? That stings. lol
You need to use more exclamation points.
Looks great, and I think it good that you are doing it in spite of the arthritis. I know it’s off subject, but I’m arthritic too and I’ve found this helps:
http://www.noarthritis.com
choindroitin/glucosamine is good, too
If it weren’t for these, I’d be in a wheelchair and there wouldn’t be a 3/4 done biplane from scratch in the shop either.
Hey Larry,
Thank you for the kind words. When I go to my bimonthly treatment, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am. I caught it very early and the treatment is very effective. Although I deal with pain and stiffness daily, I have met guys in treatment that haven’t been nearly as fortunate. Thank you also for the links. I’m always up for more info.
Glad to hear things are going well for you, also. Do you have any pics, links or a blog for your biplane? That sounds incredible. I would love to see it!
Thanks for the tip Teebs. I never thought my lanky ass would look right on a dropseat anyway. The image in my head is a cross between your bike and the one here but with the monoshock added…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketcar/225008683/in/set-72157594251786533/
This was a custom frame but I believe its 6 up, 2 out, and 40 degree rake from stock. Is that doable with the factory frame or do I need thicker tubing? Also, I don’t know how tall this guy is but I want to be able to see over the front of the bike, I figure normal risers would do it. Sorry to hijack your thread, just don’t know where to ask these things. Also, is your blog up and running and if so, what’s the address? I’d love to follow the detailed evolution.
And I second the tip on choindroitin/glucosamine… we used it with an old horse we used to have and it worked so well my wife started using it. There’s a dirty joke in there somewhere…
No problem with the hi-jack, brother. That’s really what this is all about.
It’s doable with the factory frame. use DOM with a .120 wall thickness for any work that you do. Have slugs machined to fit inside both sections of tube (mating the DOM to your frame) as the wall thicknesses are different. They should be rosette welded before final welding. This will give you maximum strength at any join.
It would be simpler to build a jig then cut the backbone and downtubes off and start fresh. You’ve created quite the project for yourself, it’s going to be a challenge. I can’t wait to see what you end up doing. DON’T LET THE DIFFICULTY DISCOURAGE YOU!
That guy is 5’10″ tops, and I’d guess a little shorter. The XS is a pretty small bike. You wouldn’t have any problem seeing over the bars on that chop.
Also, go here: http://www.thechopperunderground.com/forum/index.php?showforum=73
That is maybe the best forum to get chopping information. Don’t be afraid to ask any question. You may get some attitude, but who gives a shit. You will get your answers and plenty of them. There may be somebody that has done something very similar to what you want to do.
I haven’t been in the shop in weeks. The upper shock mount is all cut and prepped waiting to be welded together and mounted on the bike… just sitting there on the bench… kinda sad and lonely. Got up there long enough a week or so ago to set the new tank I picked up off eBay on it. It looks good.
I’ve been siding my parent’s house so they can put it up for sale in the spring, and helping my brother with next year’s fire wood starting next week. So… don’t know when i’ll be back in the shop to work on her, and haven’t had time to start my blog.
Feel free to shoot me an email at god_of_7hunder@yahoo.com. When I start my blog I’ll post it here, but I can also drop an email back to you and let you know.
I should have started this post with “TL/DR”. lol
Teebs… thanks for the kind words man. With a house full of projects and a 1 year old I have very little free time but I really NEED something like this. I used to mod/race my twin turbo Stealth and the poor thing has just sat for several years now. I joined chopperunderground and have had some great feedback in the welcome section.
Right now I’m trying to figure out what platform to start out with… and I’m leaning towards XS650, KZ650, or KZ1000. I know mentioning other platforms may be taboo but I’m trying to think this out from the start. I’m in love with trying to fuel inject and turbo a smaller engine like the 650. I know forced induction but this would be my first bike build and I’m trying to decide whether to keep it simple for the first build, or go with what I really want long term. I don’t need or WANT a 200HP+ bike… I’ll kill myself. But around 120HP on something unique that I’ve built myself is my idea of perfect. Can you offer any advice on the XS650 platform compared to the others I mentioned?
Damonic, you’re more than welcome.
I know how that goes. Still trying to find the time to do some work on my chop. Life gets in the way. But it’s waiting and I’ll get back to it soon enough.
Platforms are a hard thing to decide, unless you just take what you can get and decide to roll with it. I started with an xs650 because it was there and it was $200.
The XS has more readily available new parts and accessories because of the huge popularity surge it’s had lately. That’s a big plus.
What I love about the KZs is that they’re in-line fours. The xs engine has a kind of symmetrical, pretty look to it. the fours are wide and bulky and kind of ugly, Which i like. The xs650 vibrates like a bastard, which can be eliminated by dropping some money into rephasing it, but is easier to deal with by going with the in-line four.
BUT the KZ frames can be a bitch to chop. The xs has that nice, clean single rear backbone downtube, the KZ has a funky backbone rear tube setup, so figuring out how to make that work can be a challenge. You can’t just throw a sporty tank on the KZ, some real chop work is the only way to make it look right. It sounds like fun to me!
Everything about the XS seems to be chop friendly, that’s why it’s so popular for first-timers and guys that have no real metal working experience.
As far as what you should do… do you want a bike you can ride right away, or can you wait? Are you like me? If I rush it, every time I go to sit on it, I’m going to pick apart all of the things I wish I’d done right and didn’t. In the end I’ll have to back-track and fix everything I didn’t do right in the first place. (Take for instance the fact that i didn’t rake the front, and welded the new neck gussets on… I’ll probably be grinding those off soon.)
As far as the turbo… I know shit about that end of things, but it does seem that you would be able to get the most out of the 1000 cc four.
I can build a beautiful bike. I know what “looks right”, know how to make a proper weld and I can rebuild a motor or trans, or anything else mechanical with a little effort. I’ve modified bikes with car alternators and Holley carbs, or whatever because the part was there and I wanted to see if it would work. But the really slick stuff… I wish. Can you get 120hp out of a bike that produces maybe 50(?) at almost 7k RPM stock? I’ve read a few articles on turbo-ing the XS. The only one I really cared about was this one:
http://www.xs650.org.au/kev's%20turbo.htm
Talk about a great read, and an amazing project. It makes mine look like putting training wheels on a bicycle. I keep going back for updates, hoping to get one soon! On one hand it seems like a waste of time to put that much work into an antiquated platform, but the incredible work and commitment just blows me away.
You may find that going with a 750 big bore kit and rephasing gives you enough of a boost to be satisfied. For me, as long as I can hit 75 at cruising speed, I’m happy. Speed is what the gixxer is for.
My next project is probably going to be a KZ1000. I’ve also considered an XS1100, but that will require stretching the drive shaft, which I’m not entirely sure about. They both have their benefits and drawbacks. So, I guess it’s all about whether or not you want and like the challenge.
Modified Stealth, huh? Now THAT sounds fun! I used to sell 3000GT’s, which may have been the best job, ever. At least the test drives and demo cars were. Same basic platform.
I hope some of this helps, brother. Feel free to keep the dialogue rolling.
I hear ya about going with what you have. I got nothin’ though so I might as well put a little thought into the platform since I have the option of choosing up front. A long time ago I really wanted to do a Buell chopper but the costs involved were just too high. In fact my DREAM project bike would be a turbo Buell chopper. But I’m worried I may already be getting in over my head. Especially after your comments on the KZ frame and the “choppability” of the XS650… maybe I should start with a simple, old school, naturally aspirated, XS650 chopper. Make the mistakes I know I’ll make and then know better when I tackle the Buell. The flip side to that is why not build what I want from the beginning? Tough call…
But to answer your question, I need a bike I can ride sooner rather than later. I need to get on and GO. But I am like you, a little obsessive about doing things right and end up re-doing it after the fact if I’m not 100% pleased. I had already seen the Kev’s Turbo thread and that guy is nuts! He’s definitely going in a different direction and I don’t think the custom heads are necessary, just something he wants to do.
So you sold 3GT’s huh? I used to be really active in 3SI (3000GT/Stealth International) and still love those cars. Sexy as hell PITA to work on with all the stuff they crammed into the engine bay but AWD and twin turbo makes for a helluva lot of fun!
I appreciate the dialogue but don’t want to clutter up your thread either. Email me and as long as you’re up for it, I’ll keep bouncing my ideas off ya’. strataproductions (at) hotmail (dot) com
That’s what she said.
thatsa long, interesting read. do these guys still hang here? hmm.