81 XV920 "Shredder"

S

Steeze

New Member
Hey guys I'm starting my third bike build and I thought I'd start by showing you the two I've completed thus far...

My first bike build 1978 XS400 11K miles picked it up for $500, put $250 into it and sold it 3 months later for $2400. The special part on this bike is the custom hand made fiberglass seat I made. Lots of time went into it and the buyer loved it. I do a lot of welding and fiberglass work on my bikes. Everything on these bike are done by me with the exception of the paint. My little bro handles that.





The second bike is a 1969 Suzuki TC120 picked it up for $300, put $100 into it. I'm still riding this one around... I bypassed the oil tank to run premix. I've wanted to build a 2 stroke and I had to have it run premix. It's such a fun little bike to puts around on. The special part about this bike is the paint job my brother did on it. He's a tattoo artist and freelance custom painter. The carbon fiber look he paints is spectacular yet subtle. I think it came out great...



Here's the tank and seat before the clear coat.. you can see the detail better in these pics...



This is the largest bike I've done yet... My wife found me the deal of the year. 1981 Yamaha XV920 R in great condition. Everything is complete and all there. The only thing it needs is the carbs sync'd. Very little rust, not a single bolt gave me any problems. Forks are good, compression is good, battery is new a bucket of extra parts included with extra set of carbs and lots of accessories. This is the most legit bike I've gotten so far and I'm most excited for it.

The best part is I got it all for $180... I still can't believe it. I bought it from a tattoo shop owner who clearly had no idea what he had. He knew nothing about motorcycles and that was pretty clear.

I picked it up 4 days ago... there's a bunch of the extra parts not pictured in my trunk...



 
I immediately started stripping the bike... I'm getting more efficient with this aspect so I had it down to the frame, wheels, and engine in 4 hours. Then I pulled the engine, or it was more like pulled the frame. The engine is massive and very heavy and difficult to get in and out. I work alone so I often have to get creative when it comes to these things. Everything went smooth, the only snag up I had was getting some of the internal gears back in place, kinda tight in there. Anyways this is always a greasy dirty process and I usually work right through the tear down and clean-up without snagging too many pics. I spent about 8 hours degreasing and cleaning every nook and cranny. Compressed air at 120PSI was a huge help on this build...

Anyways.. Yesterday morning I got the freshly painted engine back in and put together. This is always a challenge and was especially challenging on this bike. But it's in and done so there's that... Oh and I also cut my own gaskets.. this was a first for me as I wanted to try it. So easy to do and I'll be doing this from now on.



I also wire brushed the front end... I still have a lot more to do but it's starting to take shape and look somewhat like a bike again... I love the look of raw wire brushed aluminum, it break up the black a little bit. When I'm done I will clear coat it to prevent corrosion.



 
Yes I have... My wife found the bike on Facebook. The guy was about to have a baby and had to sell. She told me to come look at this bike and I did.. People were offering him 150, 155, etc.. I was like tell him ill give him 180 right now. She did and I went and got it. I was so fuckin giddy on the drive to get it. I handed him cash got the title and bill of sale, loaded up as quick as possible and drove off like I stole it. I'm stoked!!!
 
Lots of wheel swaps available with the chain drive, those of us with the shaftie will help through our jealousy.
 
"I bought it from a tattoo shop owner who clearly had no idea what he had. He knew nothing about motorcycles and that was pretty clear." I thought you had to learn to ride before you could learn to tat. LOL I joke, I joke. Great deal on the bike. The other projects look great to. Keep us updated.
 
So.. a couple things I'm debating...

1. Delete the airbox or run with it... Performance wise I'd rather run with it. However there's that awful idea of having to cover it up with the old goofy plastic cover. Any ideas or thoughts? I already have a K&N... and I'm kinda leaning toward maybe modifying the goofy covers a bit.. you know make them not so bland...

2. Battery... I have a brand new battery so I'd rather not shell out a bunch of $ for a Li-Ion. The battery is rather large and would require me to mount it in the stock location and cover it up... or put it under the seat hump.

3. Next dilemma is the seat... If I buy a seat from DCC than I'm pretty much limited to the stock battery location. If I make my own seat I can most likely squeeze it under the bump.

4. The chain guard.. what do you guys think of removing the rubber boots and exposing the chain a bit? I love the look but am not sure it's worth the risk. What would you do?

I would definitely like to hear your opinions on the matter. In the past I've built bike for looks... I think I'm going to aim for performance.
 
On another note.. I will be using clip-ons for this bike. I will be eliminating the dash... I'm gonna use my Iphone as my speedo and keep it simple. I got the Awesome HUD app and let's just say that it's pretty awesome. I'm going with the stock exhaust... thought about short pipes but decided it's not worth loosing power for sound. Flat black with wrap on the pipes...

I'll be using universal rearsets... I'll be modifying the stock front fender and putting it back on. The last 2 bikes have been fenderless and it's time to stop eating dirt and rain. I'm still unsure what I want to do about the rear fender.. probably won't be using one but haven't committed to anything yet.

I will be actually using a color other than black for the tank... My first color bike! I'm going with electric blue.. and some sort of black accent stripes. I haven't decided on the stripe design but electric blue is the color. I will also be using the stock wheels... I thought long and hard about this and I really enjoy the stock wheels. I will most likely go all black on the wheels. Not sure on tires yet...

Oh and I opened up the gas tank for the first time. I never bothered to look at it till now, I guess I just assumed it would need to be cleaned. Nope! To my surprise the tank had been kreem'd within the last couple years, there was still about a half gallon of gas and stabilizer in there too. I'm so glad I don't need to mess with it...........

Anyways.. feel free to point out something I may have missed or should consider. Thanks!
 
Steeze said:
So.. a couple things I'm debating...

1. Delete the airbox or run with it... Performance wise I'd rather run with it. However there's that awful idea of having to cover it up with the old goofy plastic cover. Any ideas or thoughts? I already have a K&N... and I'm kinda leaning toward maybe modifying the goofy covers a bit.. you know make them not so bland...

2. Battery... I have a brand new battery so I'd rather not shell out a bunch of $ for a Li-Ion. The battery is rather large and would require me to mount it in the stock location and cover it up... or put it under the seat hump.

3. Next dilemma is the seat... If I buy a seat from DCC than I'm pretty much limited to the stock battery location. If I make my own seat I can most likely squeeze it under the bump.

4. The chain guard.. what do you guys think of removing the rubber boots and exposing the chain a bit? I love the look but am not sure it's worth the risk. What would you do?

I would definitely like to hear your opinions on the matter. In the past I've built bike for looks... I think I'm going to aim for performance.
Click to expand...

My basic advice would be to set in your mind the style you want to achieve - and don't compromise [ too much ! ] There are literally dozens of superb TR1 / XVs on this site - and apart from the "Doc's Shop" clones - all vastly different. Hey, not that Doc's work is not superb and innovative - but you can only be "innovative" once - bit like being only slightly pregnant. My own "Vindicator" is work in progress and I want to achieve a Traditional Brit Sixties look [ ie my era ] - whilst others will fit late Japanese Rocket ship front ends [ R1, etc ] and several others are totally one -offs.

IE - if that GBFO battery won't fit in the tail of the seat that you REALLY want - sell the battery and get a dwarf Gel unit - simples.

Ditch the OEM airbox and fit a couple of cone filters - why stick with the fuggin uggerly stock air box if you don't lik it ?

Take the chainguard off in it's entireity and throw it as far away as possible - or sell it on E-Bay for $100 or so.

Wheels ......... XS650 / XS500 wire spoked wheels will swap in with the minimum of fuss and mods.

Dash - I'm keeping mine, but removing the idiot light housing and polishing the clock covers [ alloy ] as I want to retain an Early 60's Cafe Racer look.

Clip-ons - measure the stanchions before ordering - I was "told" by the great Interweb that they were 38mm - not so - 37mm.

Front m/g - Yep I'm retaining mine as well - modified shape of course. It is incredibly beefy and doubles up as a fork brace. I'm welding some additional strengthening plates underneath mine, again I want to keep away from fitting a 70's / 80's fork brace.

Rear m/g - that really depends on your domestic regs - and the local fuzz. IMO looks much better without, and depending on the style of seat you choose, mounting the rear # plate / lamp can double as an anti-splatter plate to keep your arse dry when it's pissing down !

Here's a tip. Check the lower oil feed union bolt has it's oilways fully drilled and clear. Lots of broken engines with front cam seizures which appear to be related to that. Also Roller conversion to cam bearings helps and is relatively cheap and simple to install.

BTW - $180 ??? That has to be the best value TR / XV I've ever heard of - was the bloke pissed off when he sobered up after the sale ?
 
beachcomber said:
My basic advice would be to set in your mind the style you want to achieve - and don't compromise [ too much ! ] There are literally dozens of superb TR1 / XVs on this site - and apart from the "Doc's Shop" clones - all vastly different. Hey, not that Doc's work is not superb and innovative - but you can only be "innovative" once - bit like being only slightly pregnant. My own "Vindicator" is work in progress and I want to achieve a Traditional Brit Sixties look [ ie my era ] - whilst others will fit late Japanese Rocket ship front ends [ R1, etc ] and several others are totally one -offs.

IE - if that GBFO battery won't fit in the tail of the seat that you REALLY want - sell the battery and get a dwarf Gel unit - simples.

Ditch the OEM airbox and fit a couple of cone filters - why stick with the fuggin uggerly stock air box if you don't lik it ?

Take the chainguard off in it's entireity and throw it as far away as possible - or sell it on E-Bay for $100 or so.

Wheels ......... XS650 / XS500 wire spoked wheels will swap in with the minimum of fuss and mods.

Dash - I'm keeping mine, but removing the idiot light housing and polishing the clock covers [ alloy ] as I want to retain an Early 60's Cafe Racer look.

Clip-ons - measure the stanchions before ordering - I was "told" by the great Interweb that they were 38mm - not so - 37mm.

Front m/g - Yep I'm retaining mine as well - modified shape of course. It is incredibly beefy and doubles up as a fork brace. I'm welding some additional strengthening plates underneath mine, again I want to keep away from fitting a 70's / 80's fork brace.

Rear m/g - that really depends on your domestic regs - and the local fuzz. IMO looks much better without, and depending on the style of seat you choose, mounting the rear # plate / lamp can double as an anti-splatter plate to keep your arse dry when it's pissing down !

Here's a tip. Check the lower oil feed union bolt has it's oilways fully drilled and clear. Lots of broken engines with front cam seizures which appear to be related to that. Also Roller conversion to cam bearings helps and is relatively cheap and simple to install.

BTW - $180 ??? That has to be the best value TR / XV I've ever heard of - was the bloke pissed off when he sobered up after the sale ?
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks so much for all that. You answered a lot of questions and certainly made some decisions easier for me.

I don't use Facebook, my wife does and from what she told me the guy was pretty bummed about selling it. I guess he was just that desperate... We gave him some baby stuff for free and I told him I'd keep him updated on how it turns out. He wanted to build a cafe out of it. I'm gonna stop by his shop in a couple weeks... my brother is flying out and he's a tattoo artist, custom painter and avid bike enthusiast.

He has a couple sets of R6 fairings so he can switch them out. It's kinda like riding a different bike each week. Pretty cool... and his work is fantastic. The clear he uses is bullet-proof.

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I'll have him send me a pic of the newest color scheme... it shows the blue I'm gonna use on my bike...
 
Rich Ard said:
Saw that on reddit - he does the faux CF stuff, right?
Click to expand...

Yes... and that reminds me here's a pic of his latest paint job for his R6. I will be using the same color blue for my tank.. it's kinda electric looking almost changes shades.

 
So as of today I've removed the chain guard... this in turn creates a space I needed to make up for. So I used a castle nut, a washer, and 1" gas pipe to make my own spacer. I welded it up, put a little grease on it and it works great. I have the bike back on wheels for the time being.



When I picked up my little Suzuki 2 stroke the guy I bought it from gave me this mold.. I don't know anything about it or where it came from. He said he never used it.. anyways I had a little fiberglass left over so I thought I'd try it out just to see how it works and what kind of shape I can get. Here it is waxed and ready...



It came out smooth as butter... like as in I won't need any body filler. I was very impressed.... I can't decide If I want to use it to make my seat for this bike though. What do you all think of the shape and does it work with the bike. I can hold it up and post a pic if you need.



Here it is back on the wheels for visualization purposes and I need to clean up a bit.

 
I made a footpeg in about 30 minutes.. It's 1" pipe with a washer welded on... then a brand new grade 8 bolt, lock washer, and nut. It's not finished but here it is on the bike. I've never made foot pegs before.. but you can bet I'll be doing it this way from now on. Very easy to do and simple. I have one more little detail to add and it'll be finished up nicely.

Oh and that spot on the swing arm in the background was a tab I no longer needed. One thing I've learned don't de-tab the frame until you know what you're doing. When you do de-tab, spend the time to blend it and make it disappear.

Also nothing on the bike has been thread locked. I always do that at the very end when the bike is literally being detailed for it's maiden ride. That would be another thing I learned the hard way...

I'll get more pics of the peg when it's done and ready for paint... or actually I'll be using spray on bedliner for the pegs. It's got a little texture and it's a little more durable.

 
Foot pegs I made



Started stripping the gas tank... I love the raw metal look. I've got a lot of little stuff done.. de-tabbed and worked on the electrical. Got the rear wheel painted, still need to tackle the front. Also working on the seat... going custom with the seat. I decided not to buy one.

Oh and I got handlebars.. still need to figure out what I want to do about controls, grips and the dash.



 
Got the seat mocked up last night. I'm using the stock seat pan and subframe.. although both have been modified pretty extensively. I also primed the gas tank... This shot gives you a pretty good idea of how it'll turn out... I think it flows nicely and compliments the tank.



Laid the glass this morning...

 
Ok so I decided to use the stock speedo and tach.. I ditched the idiot lights, modified the mounting bracket and found a pretty cool way to have them sit lower than stock. I also got the brakes cleaned up and painted. They are ready to go on as soon as I get the front wheel done.

I'm using the massive stock headlight.. it's just too cool not to use.

I also sanded the glass last night. I'm getting better with glass and was able to get it pretty smooth so it won't be much more work or much body filler at all. I just skimmed the seat with body filler... I'll get some pics up when I got it all ready for paint.

Today I'll be polishing the exhaust... keeping the chrome as it's in good shape but wrapping the headers.

I hacked up the old tail light mount, I welded it to the subframe yesterday. I'm using the stock tail light as it really fits perfect between the subframe rails and just works with the bike. Ordering small flasher lights today..

For the air filter I have a K&N that needs to be cleaned and oiled. I'll polish the metal on it and have to come up with a custom way to secure it since the airbox is gone.

After looking at some videos on the carbs I've decided not to even attempt to rebuild them myself. From what I know they just needed to be sync'd and I'll just let the pros handle that. It's just not worth my time and frustration tuning and syncing carbs.

Oh and I made a little fender rack for the front... it's nothing special just kinda needed something for the front fender since I decided not to cut it up.

For the paint I'm having second thoughts on the blue... I'm now thinking copper with black stripes... even going as far as using copper lines for fuel.

last but not least... tires... any recommendations? I'm wanting something a little knobby.
 
Finished the seat and it's primed...







worked on the exhaust a bit... sprayed the ends and back half of it flat black.. it was too corroded and pitted to save.

 
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