Architecterre
Been Around the Block
Hey all,
been lurking the forum for quite some time with only a few infrequent postings so I felt it was time to make a thread and introduce myself/my build. I am a 22 year old student from Toronto, Ontario so I have very limited knowledge for bike building. This will be my second project bike as I already have a '76 KZ400 that is in the process of being cafe'd. My girlfriend wasn't too impressed with the solo/cowl combo I put on that bike so I purchased this bike to build for her. To this point the bike has been converted to a rolling hardtail. I have purchased a wassell peanut tank, ribbed solo seat, chrome clip-ons (33mm), chrome headlight bucket (needs custom mount), new clutch basket/lever, added a chrome front fender/stay from a kz400 (to be used as a rear fender), taillight (needs custom mount for the rear axel or frame), a new oil tank/battery tray combo (the typical cylinder oil tank shape) and new bolts for the engine. The inspiration for my build is saras triumph:
but as of right now it looks like:
Any/all advice for this build is appreciated, I know dirtbike to bobber conversions are rare but there are a couple I've seen on this forum so I'm not first to attempt it. Some specific question I have however are:
1) The bike needs a new exhaust setup. As a two-stroke dirtbike engine it has the prototypical ding-ding high pitch sound whereas I would prefer a lower registration for the exhaust. Are there other 250cc exhaust systems from other bikes that would work with little modification? Should I instead look towards getting a custom exhaust mocked up? What would a reasonable ballpark be for the cost of a custom setup like that?
2) I plan on getting the peanut tank custom painted. I have contacted a couple painters on this forum for quotes but I have not limited my search. If anyone has had good dealings with reasonably priced painters I would appreciate their contact information.
3) I haven't purchased springs yet for the seat, are there any differences between scissor/traditional coiled springs other than purely aesthetics that I should consider?
Thanks, I'll update this thread with progress / more questions so please favourite it. Also, I can post my kz400 build if anyone's interested in following that?
Adam
been lurking the forum for quite some time with only a few infrequent postings so I felt it was time to make a thread and introduce myself/my build. I am a 22 year old student from Toronto, Ontario so I have very limited knowledge for bike building. This will be my second project bike as I already have a '76 KZ400 that is in the process of being cafe'd. My girlfriend wasn't too impressed with the solo/cowl combo I put on that bike so I purchased this bike to build for her. To this point the bike has been converted to a rolling hardtail. I have purchased a wassell peanut tank, ribbed solo seat, chrome clip-ons (33mm), chrome headlight bucket (needs custom mount), new clutch basket/lever, added a chrome front fender/stay from a kz400 (to be used as a rear fender), taillight (needs custom mount for the rear axel or frame), a new oil tank/battery tray combo (the typical cylinder oil tank shape) and new bolts for the engine. The inspiration for my build is saras triumph:
but as of right now it looks like:
Any/all advice for this build is appreciated, I know dirtbike to bobber conversions are rare but there are a couple I've seen on this forum so I'm not first to attempt it. Some specific question I have however are:
1) The bike needs a new exhaust setup. As a two-stroke dirtbike engine it has the prototypical ding-ding high pitch sound whereas I would prefer a lower registration for the exhaust. Are there other 250cc exhaust systems from other bikes that would work with little modification? Should I instead look towards getting a custom exhaust mocked up? What would a reasonable ballpark be for the cost of a custom setup like that?
2) I plan on getting the peanut tank custom painted. I have contacted a couple painters on this forum for quotes but I have not limited my search. If anyone has had good dealings with reasonably priced painters I would appreciate their contact information.
3) I haven't purchased springs yet for the seat, are there any differences between scissor/traditional coiled springs other than purely aesthetics that I should consider?
Thanks, I'll update this thread with progress / more questions so please favourite it. Also, I can post my kz400 build if anyone's interested in following that?
Adam