Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
We noticed you are blocking ads. DO THE TON only works with community supporters. Most are active members of the site with small businesses. Please consider disabling your ad blocking tool and checking out the businesses that help keep our site up and free.
The XS1100 special has enough difficulties in cafe, that I have decided to start another project and leave that one alone the way it is. It is kind of a hybrid of styles,really cool in its own way, but just not a true cafe bike.
So here is the start of the XS360:
I got this from a guy for not alot of money. It has 12K miles on it, and has just had a fresh going over (lots of work, carbs, forks, etc.) I have decided that this is a good candidate for a cafe project. I will be lowering it in the front, raising the rear of the tank slightly, and then adding the standard cafe fare: seat, bars, rear sets, etc. It will be black with an orange metallic frame, and quite a bit of polished aluminum.
I started tearing it down tonight, and am now convinced that this bike has the necessary lines for sure. We will see how it goes!!
Hmmm, looks a lot like the XS400 I almost bought last month. Your looks nicer though. I will follow up on this thread, should be nice to see what I could have done with the XS400 (same tank and lines) the guy only wanted $700 OBO and it was in running condition.
I hate to tell you that I only paid $700 for this one, too I ordered bars, taillight, and seat base last night. I am going to get those coming, so that I can mock up and cut the frame before final disassembly. Then I will bodywork the frame, and get it powder coated. That is the first step. There are not alot of these done as cafe bikes, so this will be unique.
So I have ordered some parts, and begun the teardown. I am not going all the way down yet, since I want to be able to visualize some things with it whole first. I also want to be able to fit the tank and seat together with the engine in. Then I will mod the frame for the seat, and tear everything down for powder coating and paint. But, I am starting to see that this will make a great cafe bike:
Hopefully my seat and taillight show up soon so that I can keep going. It will have some modern touches, as I am a fan of LED lights. I found a cool taillight that has two rear led setups, so the taillight will be turns also, and I won't have to install extra turn signal assemblies in the rear. The center stand is there just for working on it, and then will go. I also need to fab up a new battery box that is much smaller, but that will all come later.
The tailight came yesterday. It is made by Kapsco Moto, but I got if off ebay. I will see if I can post some pics.
I got the battery box fabbed up last night so all of the air cleaner influence is gone from under the seat. I can see now that I will have to do some wire harness manufacturing in order to clean the rest of this area up, but it looks alot more open than it did. I will post some pictures of this and the seat mounted, hopefully by the weekend. Not all of my parts have showed up yet. Not a very exciting update, but it is progress, while I wait for parts...
I got the seat fabbed up and installed tonight. I also reworked the rear of the frame and installed the tailight. I am now ready to start final disassembly. Here is how it looks:
I hooked up the taillight and checked it out. It looks awesome. I am not sure if I am going to use the license plate bracket or not, since it sticks straight out. It is detachable, so I have options. The electrical is going to fit under the seat in my subframe quite nicely, so the under seat area should look really nice once it is detabbed. The rear trim/grab rail is a piece of 5/8 hydraulic line that was laying around the shop.
Here is the latest. The frame and rear sprocket are going in for powder on Monday. I added a grease zerk to the swing arm pivot so it is now greaseable. Then I sandblasted and painted it. Got the holes drilled in the front sprocket cover, so now I just have to finish the polish work on it. The tank is stripped, and I will be working on the paint for that soon. I want to wait to see the powder end color so that I can match paint for the racing stripe. A whole lot of work for not a lot at this point.
The engine detail work is nearly done. The fins are painted with the ends revealed, and the polish and cleanup is done on the rest of the aluminum. Hopefully powder does not take too long! Let me know what you think.
Sorry for the last pic quality. I took those with a Sony Mavica...
looks good I like it. Are you gonna cut the tabs off for the center stand? You could just bend the license plate bracket to straighten out the plate. Your engine is sweet I like the sprocket cover it should give you like 5 mph on the top end It looks good keep it up.
The center stand mounts are going to stay for now, since I like the centerstand for working on the bike. The bike will not normally run with the stand, though. I will prolly bend the bracket like you said, since it is not that hard to do. I have just been looking for other cool options. I just hope my powder coating does not take too long, as I am running out of other things to do! I am going to upholster the seat tonight, and then make up the indicator cluster after that...I might have to start powdercoating too, just so I don't have to wait for other people all the time!
No, this one was for sale by Missoula, MT. It was pretty darn clean, though. The guy just had about $2200 in work done to it, and put all the accessories on it, too. It definately made a good racer platform!
Thanks for the tip! I might do that, or I was going to replace them with stainless allen head screws.
Tonight , for better or worse, I finished my seat upholstry job. I am not really totally satisfied with it, but her in MT we are limited in uphostry shops. The ones that are here are kind of prima donna's and will only work on your stuff "when they get to it" and for their price. So rather than ship it out of state, I took a go myself. Not perfect, but it is pretty comfy...My wife, who this bike is for, did not like the thin pad option, so I had to beef it up a little. I kinda agree that on longer trips, the thin pad would wear a little on the rear. The front looks off with the seat removed, but I have a metal mounting tongue that attaches to the rear fuel tank post that comes out there. So I just tucked it all in at the front for the pic. Now at least I can paint the seat base.
I guess the "I did it myself" look is kind of part of a true spirit cafe bike, isn't it? :-\
Well, I wish there was something new to report. I have the tank and seat in base coat, front end pretty much wrapped up, and now I am waiting on my old slow prima donna powdercoater to "feel like" powdering my frame. The guy has had the blasted (I actually delivered it sandblasted) frame for two weeks, and there is still no promise of a finish. If it is not done here in a day or two, I will be picking it back up, will buy a powder coating setup, and will do it myself. At least I could learn something for my money, then. Once I get the frame, I should be in bidness.
I have the trim color paint ordered, should be here tomorrow or Friday. Then I can finish the tank to clearcoat over thge weekend and be done painting. The rest of the finish parts are also on order, and should be here by middle of next week at the latest. I should be able to ride it by the end of next week. Most of my detail work has been done in the meantime.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
I ordered bars, taillight, and seat base last night. I am going to get those coming, so that I can mock up and cut the frame before final disassembly. Then I will bodywork the frame, and get it powder coated. That is the first step. There are not alot of these done as cafe bikes, so this will be unique.
