Wisconsin Jeff
New Member
Hey all,
It is finally time for me to document my build.
After gaining inspiration from Cafe Racers Dreams, CRD19 "Apollo". My quest for a donor bike began
In Wisconsin, a bike that isn't titled originally, can't be titled for the street. So instead of an XR600, I had to look for it's street legal predecessor, an XL600.
While surfing Craigslist, I happened across this beast for $1000. I had an exact budget of $800 for the donor itself. After insisting, I'd walkaway at $800, I loaded up the bike and I was off.
I tore the carbs off and got the bike running and riding. I cleaned up nice with the assistance of an ultrasonic cleaner. The bike has about 10,000 hard ridden miles on it. After reassembling the carbs, it starts on the 1st or second kick. Not bad for a bike that was build one year after my birth.
A few months of head scratching and planning. I tore into the bike.
I started by stripping the bike down to its frame.
After her clothes were off, out came the angle grinder equipped with 3" cutting wheel. Subframe no more!
After grinding the remnants of the welds, the fun would begin on constructing the new subframe. I enlisted help from a professional welder I met at a maker's space and we went to town with cutting the tubing to length. I purchased a pre-made hoop off of ebay and build the subframe around it.
The gratoutious grinding shot. Notice Mike wearing the grinding shield and glasses? Safety first, kids.
I picked up the ubiquitous CG125 tank for a build of this type. Not too shabby for a dude that's never tackled a project like this.
We welded in the seat mounts to the sub.
I started by making a template out of cardboard then poster board for the seat pan.
I picked up a slab of 22ga sheet steel and used one factory edge of the sheet metal as a straight edge. I then used the cut-off wheel on an angle grinder to cut the other side. The curve was a series of straight cuts. (Glad I got my tetanus up to date). Then off to the bench grinder to round out the curve. Not bad for some basic tools.
Continued...
It is finally time for me to document my build.
After gaining inspiration from Cafe Racers Dreams, CRD19 "Apollo". My quest for a donor bike began
In Wisconsin, a bike that isn't titled originally, can't be titled for the street. So instead of an XR600, I had to look for it's street legal predecessor, an XL600.
While surfing Craigslist, I happened across this beast for $1000. I had an exact budget of $800 for the donor itself. After insisting, I'd walkaway at $800, I loaded up the bike and I was off.
I tore the carbs off and got the bike running and riding. I cleaned up nice with the assistance of an ultrasonic cleaner. The bike has about 10,000 hard ridden miles on it. After reassembling the carbs, it starts on the 1st or second kick. Not bad for a bike that was build one year after my birth.
A few months of head scratching and planning. I tore into the bike.
I started by stripping the bike down to its frame.
After her clothes were off, out came the angle grinder equipped with 3" cutting wheel. Subframe no more!
After grinding the remnants of the welds, the fun would begin on constructing the new subframe. I enlisted help from a professional welder I met at a maker's space and we went to town with cutting the tubing to length. I purchased a pre-made hoop off of ebay and build the subframe around it.
The gratoutious grinding shot. Notice Mike wearing the grinding shield and glasses? Safety first, kids.
I picked up the ubiquitous CG125 tank for a build of this type. Not too shabby for a dude that's never tackled a project like this.
We welded in the seat mounts to the sub.
I started by making a template out of cardboard then poster board for the seat pan.
I picked up a slab of 22ga sheet steel and used one factory edge of the sheet metal as a straight edge. I then used the cut-off wheel on an angle grinder to cut the other side. The curve was a series of straight cuts. (Glad I got my tetanus up to date). Then off to the bench grinder to round out the curve. Not bad for some basic tools.
Continued...