Motorcycle Thread

[road_dog]

Dad Gummit!

[KurseD]

that's a sweet looking sporty..

[bustedknuckles]

Here are some pictures of a bike that I built about a year and a half ago. It started it's life as a 1980 Yamaha XS 650. I did all of the work myself including the paint.

[KurseD]

not big on the color scheme, but the bike looks tits none the less, love it man...

[mkparker]

Very nice bro!!

[scott s]

This is on the other motorcycle thread too, but I have no shame...I'm pretty proud of the progress so far.
Here's a before (day I got it for $100) and and after (about 96% complete).

[66 Shorty]

Looks Sweet! Great Job!

[crazyman_stanley]

wow, thats awesome! I like the rear fairing. how much you got into it now?

[HeidelbergJohn4.0]

Knuckles and ScottS. Both are friggin sweet. I love what people do with the XS. They just rock for a cheap starting point, work just as well as a chopper, bobber or a street tracker, and are a good size for a fun little bike to ride, no matter what style. Now that I got my own welder, a hardtail XS is probably my next cheap project and I can actually work on that in my basement, so it might actually get finished!

[KurseD]

nice xs man, friggin love it...

[V8Transporter]

Great looking XS machines! I like what 'Knuckles did with the Sporty tank. I always like to see something different, and the XS is a great looking engine. I was at a bike get together last year and guy cruised in on a bobber looking XS. 'Turned a lot of heads and most of the Harley guys thought it was an old Triumph....'Cause the 'Yamaha' on the covers was filled in.

[scott s]

Originally Posted by crazyman_stanley

wow, thats awesome! I like the rear fairing. how much you got into it now?

Thanks everyone! The rear fairing is Omars narrow cafe fender; not the cheapest cafe seat you can get, but the 'glass work is outstanding and very thick. It included the upholstered seat, too.
The tank is from an XS750. I've done everything myself except mount the front tire and spray the paint (I stripped all the parts and did the bodywork/sanding). I figure I can get it all finished for about $1500....and that includes the purchase price of the bike.

[ThrasherBill]

Originally Posted by scott s

I figure I can get it all finished for about $1500....and that includes the purchase price of the bike.

Outstanding! (this statement and the bike )
Are your signals from another bike or an aftermarket supplier?

[tribalturtle2]

My old 84' Honda Shadow Custom 700C, before i was rear ended by a tanker truck in merriville IN with no helmet on doing 65mph over the handlebars switching highways from I-80 to I-65. That was 5 years ago in August.

[tribalturtle2]

Originally Posted by p-nor

most good jackets have a removeable liner. that will cool you donw some. there are also some makers that use perforated leather in the front panels. not the most important panels for crash protection so it doesn't put you at any higher risk but it lets some air flow through. i now vanson has a few perforated jackets available. don't get lazy and ride without protection though.

paul

I know all about that one. When i was rear ended by the tanker truck on the highway, all i had on was a long sleave tshirt, blue jeans and a pair of Rowley XL 3 Vans skateshoes on and no helmet, it was protecting the sissy bar! but its no joke, my dad sells parts for that stuff for a living to the motorcycle dealers in IL, I grew up meeting guys and girls paralyzed from the neck down or waist down. im extremely lucky to be alive right now. You can get away with blue jeans, jean jacket and some leather gloves and a good full face helmet with a visor dot approved. Its all in the motorcycle handbooks for each state and take the class highly recommended. Most guys who start riding a bike thats to big for them end up dying or in the hospital for quite some time. I've been riding since i was 3 years old dirt bikes and what not. Being too close to the front of that semi that day wasn't the brightest thing in the world. I definitely thank God everyday and have a nasty worm like scar on my elbow to remind me of it all!

[V8Transporter]

Glad you're still around to tell about your adventure...ouch!

I've been picking up freebie Yamahas (and worth every penny!). Got a 550 Seca (bad engine, but all the body work and header) , 750 Seca (bad engine, great dual pipes, no tank, bent upper forks but dual discs) and a 900 Seca engine, with carbs and good compression. I'm thinking of popping the 900 engine in the 750 frame with 550 tank, fairing, and tail piece. Building a hot rod bike, so far cost had been gas to pick the stuff up.

[KurseD]

free old bikes are the shit.

[V8Transporter]

Actually, they're more like a curse. I'll see some bike sitting in a side yard and with a few bits missing, and I can picture it back together and running. So, imagine how it is for me when three bikes of the same make come together, and a lot of the parts interchange.
One day my wife was looking under a tarp where I had a couple of bikes, um, stored, and said, "I guess it could be worse, you could have a passion for every old abandoned Grayhound bus you spot."
Of course, we'd need a much bigger yard......

[tribalturtle2]

Originally Posted by V8Transporter

Actually, they're more like a curse. I'll see some bike sitting in a side yard and with a few bits missing, and I can picture it back together and running. So, imagine how it is for me when three bikes of the same make come together, and a lot of the parts interchange.
One day my wife was looking under a tarp where I had a couple of bikes, um, stored, and said, "I guess it could be worse, you could have a passion for every old abandoned Grayhound bus you spot."
Of course, we'd need a much bigger yard......

The greyhound bus would be a rad storage for those bikes or maybe a bug or two! Just have to modify the back end with a flip top end and a solid ramp.

[KurseD]

first ride, after some clutch adjustment... still needs some fine tuning, but good enough to get it down the road and back...

[ThrasherBill]

Picked this up on Saturday for $500. It's a '78 KZ650 with an '81 KZ750 engine stuffed in it. It's been sitting for 3 years and hadn't been started in a year or so.





I dropped a new battery in her last night and had her cranking over but it looks like I'll be pulling the carbs apart (which I expected to have to do anyway). Gas pours out the float bowl overflow tubes as fast as the tank can supply it. I suspect a stuck needle and seat in one or more of the carbs.
I'm hoping to have her running by next weekend. I'm going to leave it pretty much as is until I'm done with the testing for my license and then I'm hoping to have it looking something like this:

[KurseD]

sweet score man, can't wait till you break out the



keep us informed...

[p-nor]

well, mines gone now. sheridan (max16v) and his buddy nick came out today and picked her up. they left here in the early afternoon, i hope they made it back to the desert in good shape. sad to see it go but i gots ta dive into the triumph. having only one bike it kind of nice is a low anxiety sort of way.

now i just need to get rid of some of my other junk, i mean treasure.





paul

[p-nor]

oh, and cool bike bill. it looks pretty clean, not much you can do about the carbs if it's been sitting for that long. you should have it running just in time for winter.






paul

[matthewsuckerpunch]

i got mine running over the last 2 days. i think my build cost is at about 150 or 160 tops (thats including the bike)... i need a real seat and need to install the rear fender to make it street legal and im on my way! 73 honda cb350.