A pair of Suzuki X6's - 1 Resto, 1 Cafe

DvoSpeed

New Member
A few years ago my dad decided to pick up a '67 Suzuki X6 Scrambler project for a couple hundred bucks. After we dismantled it and got all the tins and the frame painted, a guy at a bike night said he had the same bike just rotting away in a barn. Dad picked that one up for free with the intent of using it for parts but it was too complete to tear it apart. After a day at the local shop, they got the new one up and running so it became my bike. Although they are the same basic model, mine is a '66 X6 Hustler. I went away to college and am now back home after a failed attempt to find work in DC.

We decided that now is a better time than any to get the bikes back on the road and have some fun this summer. Dad has ridden for most of his life other than the past ten years or so. This will be my first bike and after having a few rides around a nearby parking lot as well as up and down the block, I feel comfy with the capabilities of the bike in my novice hands.


A few weeks ago we started working on them side by side -the '67 in parts being put back together and the '66 next to it just being cleaned and used as a general guide for finding where everything goes. That's when the cafe bug bit me, so along with getting the '67 an honest resto, the '66 is getting a mild cafe look.


Quick X6 facts.
-247cc inline twin
-2-stroke with a separate oil tank so automatic fuel mixing
-First mass produced motorcycle with a 6-speed!
-Also called TC250 and T20 in other markets
-Scrambler model has high exhausts and was thought of as an "off-roader"
-Hustler model has low pipes as a "street model"


Bad pics-


'67 frame
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'67 Engine
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Restored wheels/brakes leaning against '62 MGA (our previous project)
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'67 Engine in frame
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Carbs and breather tube are on
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Rear fender is on
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Carbs go to airbox behind oil tank
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Rear wheel, hubs, brake and shocks/springs installed
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Gas tank is on and it's really starting to look like a motorcycle
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We just got the seat on earlier too and are waiting for the shop to redo the front shocks that we happened to bugger up. He's not happy with the tires or rear springs he has so we're gonna have to redo those at some point and i may inherit the springs. I've only got a few shots of the '66 so far since most of the work has been on the '67 but here goes


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The tins are now all off the '66 and I'm painting them the same old english white as the MG. I've gotten rid of the rear fender and and mocking up plans for a rear light/lic. plate mount. Oh... I've gone with clubmans because i like the look.
 
Got the seat for the '66 all together . Started out as a generic ebay seat. The original seat had begun to rot away so i took its frame and cut it to fit the new seat. anyway, all painted and put together now.


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Frame
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The forks, front wheel and headlight are on the '67 and it runs!


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and this is the '66 as it sits now, just engine, frame and electrics:


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Waiting on new spokes for the '67. Dad's not happy with the ones he had put on earlier. That'll prob be the last step for that bike before it's got a plate and on the road so we're just waiting there. It has been a busy week for the '66 though.


I've been busy painting pieces and taped the engine off to paint the frame.


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Now that the gas and oil tanks are down to the metal, I bondo'd some dents. including a massive one on the top of the gas tank. I hope it was the previous owner's chin and i hope it hurt. ;D


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Last thing i got done was ordering a full set of rims and spokes from Thailand and removing the ones previously on the bike.


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Anyway I feel this week was a big turning point for the '66 becausee now everything can start being put back together.
 
this is very cool. My dad hates bikes, so this was never a possibility for me, until now, I love bikes and i am a father of a boy who also loves his bikes. We ride to school every sunny day on the bike and he already has his first project , a 50 cc to rebuild for riding in his grand dads (inlaws) fields. He is only 6 so it will be a while before his first street bike but we will be building together when that happens. Love to see this thread.

Cheers

Maritime.
 
Thanks guys! Maritime, it's great that you've got your son involved already. I wish I'd gotten involved with motorcycles earlier. No new pics yet but i'm pretty much just polishing and painting items still.
 
1 step forward, 2 steps back update!


I've been polishing like a madman the past few weeks and the parts are coming out ok but the '66 was obviously beaten and neglected in it's previous life so it's bits and pieces aren't gonna turn out perfect.


The '67 was up and running just fine! for about 30 minutes. Then as we were adjusting the front brake cable it snapped. :mad: Oh well I had another new one for the '66 lying around so we were putting that on and snapped the piece of the brake lever that hold the end of the cable. The LEVER ITSELF! :mad:


To make the week even worse, We finally got the gas tank of the '66 looking like it was the right shape so I decided to clean up the inside too. One word: KREEM! Never use this stuff! the inside of my tank looks like a cookies 'n cream bar. Only after i coated it did I then go read it's reviews online. It looks like i may have to get this one professionally looked at by the local shop


Any advice on getting KREEM out of the gas tank?


On a positive note, I just got rims and spokes in the mail and am going to try to lace them myself.


Also, I was bored the other night and decided that my brand-new Biltwell DOT helmet looked a little boring so I put some racing stripes on it and it actually turned out ok. Striped are the same Krylon Ivory Gloss I'm painting my '66 and I think they look pretty damn good on the matte metallic platinum the helmet came with.


Pics: (a la DOT vs novelty thread)


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that same company, Kreem, makes and usually includes in the big kit, a remover for its own product. Not a good sighn if you ask me. Yes you need to prep and follow the directions very well with any liner but i have heard so many times about kreem separating.


I have used a POR-15 kit on one tank with pinhole leaks and bad rust and it has held fine for over a year.


good luck and lookin good on the resto, better have those parts brake now in the garage than as you lean into a 60mph hairpin, Right?
 
For a more generic method of removing Kreem, use acetone and some old hardware (nuts, bolts, screws, etc).

Put about a half gallon of acetone into the tank along with a handful of the hardware and let it sit for a day. Shake it vigorously for a few minutes every couple of hours.

Drain out the acetone and remove all the hardware. Rinse out with another half-gallon of acetone to get any anything left inside. Do a final rinse with denatured alcohol and either coat the tank with something quality (RedKote or POR-15) or get some gas into it so that rust doesn't begin to form.

Obviously, alcohol and acetone are very flammable, so be careful. I'm not certain on this one, but I think the alcohol and acetone may be pretty hard on the rubber seal as well, so replace those afterwards, if you can.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! As far as the Methyl Ethyl Ketone that came with the kit, I think I'll give that a try first with nuts n' bolts before going out to get the acetone.


Updates:
I watched this video on youtube: Oakys Garage Motorcycle wheel respoke lacing
and learned how to spoke my own wheels!


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also, put together a big order on a site called reproduction decals. You've all probably heard of it before but here's the link:
http://www.reproductiondecals.com/default_frameset.html?content.html~main
 
After a busy weekend of work/father's day stuff, I got back around to the bike today.


Currently M.E.K.ing the KREEM in the tank


Got a custom plate made and bent for the taillight/license plate mount:


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I don't now why people blank out their plates but I decided to do it anyway.
I tucked the original lens into the seat a bit because the clear piece of the lens at the bottom will illuminate the plate.


Next step: paint the tank.
 
I REALLY gave my gas tank HELL today with chemicals and a few handfuls of nuts/bolts. To my surprise this THING came out! Well... a number of them really but nothing as big as this.

I don't know what it is but but i think i've just found the Hope diamond of them.
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It almost looks like a hunk of petrified amber (from Jurassic Park)



Anyone have any clues?
 
Updates:


Hubs, spokes, rims, tubes and tires have been trued, mounted, installed and balanced. Brakes are in their hubs. Swingarm and rear wheel are on:


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Fork tubes are apart for painting/cleaning/resealing. Here they are in a bucket:


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p.s.
yeah i went with avon roadriders. I saw that plenty of others were doing the same so I figured that they must be pretty good even though they're probably WAAY too much tire for the bike.
 
Report from the road!

The '67 is inspected and I've been been riding all over terrorizing the local neighborhoods. The experience of riding a 45 year old bike as my first has been amazing. It feels very primitive and slow but that's a good thing given my history of speeding tickets. The controls feel a little vague and throttle response is not all that great. Braking is good when I'm not snapping cables like it was my job. The shifter is gonna need some attention because it slips out of gear sometimes. Being a two stroke it's supposed to smoke a little. It does but only under heavy load. Other than that I love it! I've gotten compliments at stop lights already and while it was in the shop for inspection, a collector made an offer on it.

What a fun first riding experience! Having wrenched on it from the ground up, I've really gotten a feel for what it's doing whenever I give an input. Everyone should have to turn a wrench on any vehicle before hitting the road.
 
Went for a ride today and as i was going up a pretty steep hill, the '67 lost power and stalled out. Luckily I was able to pull off at a very scenic spot to snap a few pics and figure out what the hell went wrong. After about 20 mins of kicking and some help from a friendly harley guy, she was up and running again. anyway pics from the ride.


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If anyone is EVER sealing their gas tank, I will only ever recommend POR-15!


This is as trouble-free as KREEM was troublesome. A few afternoons, a few handfuls of nuts/bolts and a can of acetone later, the '66s tank was finally ready for a good coat of the stuff. If anyone's ever worked with POR-15 they'll know how straightforward the stuff is. Make sure the tank's clean and this stuff will dominate. 96 hours to cure later and the first few coats of primer were on.


The gas tank is finally ok on the inside and I can finally get the last piece of the puzzle painted. Pics of painted pieces to come soon then.


Thank you ALL for your suggestions!
 
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