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Just picked up this xl350 for free. It is a nice rolling chassis, but the guy said all the engine parts have been sitting out in the weather for years, so I am on the hunt for an xl350 engine with good compression. There is nothing on ebay right now. I have never built a motorcycle before, and my knowledge is pretty slim, so I hope you guys can help me out when I have trouble. I'll try to update this as much as I can, but living on campus..I only come home once a few times a week.
My inspiration for this build is Jake's ford blue brat tracker. I want mine to look similar to that. My biggest issue is going to probably be trying to figure out how to lower the front end and fab an exhaust. I don't want this to look like a dirtbike at all when I'm done with it.
You have your work cut out for you, young padawan!
I think your front end lowering will be most easily achieved by using a Honda street bike front end,
like a CB / CL350. That won't be a big issue at all.
One of the coolest things about the XL is that you already have the rear frame hoop, which will make things much
easier on your going for the "brat style".
You can't go wrong with a zero dollar bike! Good luck with it.
It might be wise to buy a book for it. Most parts will be salvageable, like engine parts. It's much cheaper to use the parts you already have and get only the parts you really need. Plusside is also you'll learning while you go. Everybody can slap a running engine in it, but the feeling you get when she fires up first time after you've build her is worth all the time, money and bruised knuckles. fo sho bro.
Thanks guys, I do have my work cut out but I'm down for the task. I will update the thread this week. I am going to cut that hoop off and move it up closer to the tank. I'm also going to grind off all the unnecessary things on the frame. @MaddMatt, yes I am lucky in regards to the loop, but how the hell do you get the up-slanting bend on it?
Okay, just for the record- I'm not the expert on this, I'm sure somebody else here is...but my best short answer:
Cut the hoop off of the frame where you wanted to give it the "upsweep". Get a couple of short pieces of tubing
(obviously the same specs as your existing tubing) Have them bent (muffler shop? someone with a tubing bender...) the way you want them. Then you'd have to plug weld them in. Or it might just be easier to have a new tail section made the way you want it. I'm pretty sure that plug welds, or rosette welds are the way you want to go here.
I'd get two benders and do the bending on the bike. Or a propane torch and some big-arse leverage.
But since you want to move it up forward more, cut it as log as possible, bring the loop to a machine shop, let them bend it and after that chop it to according length.
Have fun! These are neat platforms for a custom -That looks to be a '76, my 76 XL250 has (or, had) all identical parts except the motor. Can't help you on exhaust I just paid the bike shop to fab me a low pipe with a Supertrapp. My build thread in in my signature
That is a sweet bike Seattle Mark! I'm loving the handlebars! You can tell you put a lot of hard work into it. I'm going for the stripped down brat tracker look though, just got in from disassembling most of the bike. I have a cb360 complete front end that I just bought on ebay for a steal...and I am going to try to work on that hoop this weekend.
Finished disassembling it today... I was working on the forks when I looked up and noticed what looked to be a bend in the frame! I never noticed anything weird before when looking or sitting on the bike. However, I don't see any damage there and it has all the original welds. What do you guys think? Is it supposed to look like that?
Notice how the left side sweeps in a little, and the one bar going across the top sweeps down
I think thats normal. I checked my pics and it looks like mine does the same. Also any hit big enough to do that bend would show up and crumple the tube. You're good to go!
coupe68 how is it coming?.....we emailed back and forth a few times
you asked for pix and i finally got pix of the progress on my bike up
not sure if we fall into the tracker, bobber, brat or what catagory
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