Do your twins hang low?

[BoneDaddy]

I got this 750 from my father a while age and finally got to do some real work on it. He asked me to chop it since he's getting on in years and can't take on big projects anymore. The old man is about as cool as an old biker can get, always about the bikes and never about being a tough-guy, so I want to make something he'll like.
I've stripped it down and made myself a nice pile of scrap metal in the corner of my shop that includes the tail section, monoshock,center stand, the dumbest exhaust I've ever seen, and various other bits and bobs. The wiring harness is in a tangled mess after being cannibalized for a few pieces to make the bike run. Everything else is getting converted to single wire with inline fuses (a side stand safety switch with it's own relay? Come on...) I've raked the neck out an additional 10 degrees and the rear end is about as low as it will go with about 2.25 inches of clearance at the bike's lowest point. I still have to chop off a few more things, maybe swap on a longer front end with a dual-disk, get myself a new set of bars and figure out the tank/seat combo but I'm getting there. Here's a couple of pics of the build, sorry for the crappy quality.

This is the bike mocked-up before the rake job:

And after:

I need to make a solid strut to complete the hard tail and the old man suggested something adjustable. I was thinking a 5/8 grade 8 threaded rod would be suitably strong and it would be kind of cool to adjust the ride height. I'm still playing with ideas but I'll post whatever I come up with.

 

[luke000]

I need to follow this one. What year is it, I have an '82 and have been tempted to do something cool with it but don't want to sacrifice 2-up riding. Looking forward to see where you go with this!

 

[rattpunk]

This has actually been a goal of mine: to have a son that will build me motorcycles

Good on you dude. I'm looking forward to watching this.

 

[BoneDaddy]

I've been mulling over what to do about the stock tank. The frames on these Viragos are a little on the ridiculous side but I guess they didn't have customization in mind while they were designing them. I hemmed and hawed about what a frisco, wassell, or coffin tank might look like perched on top of the frame but I couldn't envision anything that wouldn't look unfinished. I eventually started looking into later-year tanks and they have a much better look to them, almost classic chopper shape. I found a tank from an 84 on ebay for $45 and jumped on it.The newer frames are a bit narrower towards the seat and different in some other places so I'm in for a little bit of fabrication work.
Here's the tank I bought:

This is what it's tunnel looks like:

And this is the same as what I have:

As you can see, they are a little different but I might be able to hammer in the narrow spot enough to clear the frame. My other options are to cut and narrow the frame, or chop up both tunnels and weld the old one into the new (probably the most challenging option).

The tank won't arrive until early next month so I think I'll look into a rear fender for now. Anyone have a suggestion?

 

[BoneDaddy]

This has actually been a goal of mine: to have a son that will build me motorcycles

Good on you dude. I'm looking forward to watching this.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to ride it without risking imprisonment. Not such a good thing to mess with when you're 68. When it's done, I might keep it in the family long enough to pass on to my son (14 years or so from now!) which is possible, given my allergy to selling motorcycles.

 

[BoneDaddy]

I just got a set of these from Smithtec (Ebay):

I think they'll look great with the style I'm going. I normally would just buy the materials and fabricate my own bars but feeling a little lazy after considering all the work needed on the tank.

 

[BoneDaddy]

Just a little bit of progress as I'm waiting for my tank and bars.

I swiped from work a chunk of 3/16 aluminum diamond plate from work to make a seat pan. I cut out a template from a manilla folder, good and symmetrical-like, and traced it on to my aluminum. I'll cut it out and bend it once I've got some spare time but it's not really a priority (tank first).
It might be a little hard to see my lines so I labeled the import areas of the design:

On my lunch break, I fabbed up a solid strut for my hard tail. It's made from 1-1/4" cold-rolled bar steel with 1/2 holes drilled at either end. I need to drill out the holes in the frame and swing arm a few thousandths but then the grade 8 bolts will fit in there nice and snug. My goal is to keep everything as tight as humanly possible and then locktite the crap out of the bolts and use crimp nuts.

Here's me right after making the strut, looking pleased with myself:

 

[bob_suruncle]

This looks like fun... I'm watching. Man that thing is almost dragging on the ground

 

[BoneDaddy]

Thanks and yeah, I'm thinking I'll have to work really hard at keeping my pipes off the ground!

 

[BoneDaddy]

The tank showed up today, looks like it's going to work out nicely. I can already tell that it isn't going to take much to get it to fit the frame properly but I've got some inside rust to take care of. Here's a mockup (need to clean my shop, sorry).

 

[BoneDaddy]

New bars came in today, looking mean.
8)

 

[rattpunk]

Killer bars man!

 

[BoneDaddy]

Thanks, they were only $50!

 

[rattpunk]

I couldn't find any Smithtec on Ebay. Does that guy make those or just sell random stuff like most ebay shops?

 

[BoneDaddy]

He makes them, I can get you his email address if ya want.

 

[rattpunk]

For sure. I'd be interested to see what he can do.

 

[BoneDaddy]

Sent you a PM

 

[BoneDaddy]

Not really a bike update but I just built this workbench:

Don't mind the mess, I've got a lot of organizing to do. Now that I've got a surface to work on and can set up my belt sander, I should be able to get a bit more done on the bike. I did mark out where I'm going to cut the frame to accept the newer tank. It's going to be even simpler than I thought, just a matter of making the frame more symmetrical where it widens out near the back. I'll have to take it in 1 inch, weld in some flat plate, and then make new mount points up front since the old ones are a bit too far forward.

 

[BoneDaddy]

I scored a set of pipes for a later virago on another forum and got around to mocking them up tonight.

The front pipe is going to work perfectly and will only require modifying the clamp a bit and drilling a new hole in the existing mounting tab. The rear will require a new mounting point to be welded to the swingarm and I'll have to piece in a couple of elbows and a straight pipe to connect the pipe to the stock header. While it's kind of a pain in the ass, it will lengthen the overall length of the rear pipe and hopefully come closer to matching the total length of the front. The only thing I'm worried about is that all the bends involved will create a greater flow resistance than the front pipe, if that makes sense. If any exhaust experts care to chime in, I'd be appreciative as things having to do with air/exhaust flow I deal with on an intuitive basis. Essentially, where the stock S-shaped header pipe ends, I'd be adding a 45-degree that directs the exhaust forward, through a 6" straight, into a 90-degree that directs right into the new pipe. I'll try and get a picture if that helps any.

 

[BoneDaddy]

I kicked a miniscule amount of ass on the bike today but I feel like I'm one step closer to finishing the mock-up phase and tearing her down for the real build. I cut out the seat pan and spent over an hour forming it by hand with a couple of clamps, a dead blow, my porch, and an adjustable wrench. Tonight's result isn't quite perfect so I've got a bit more hammering on it before it's passable. I buttoned up my hard-tail strut with fresh Gr8 bolts after drilling out the holes, nice and snug now. I started to cut out the frame bulge for the right side air hole, but left it connected at the bottom so I could hammer it in to see how much clearance I would need to allow for the newer tank. Surprisingly, it isn't mush at all so I'm deciding how I'm going to slim her down. I also bobbed the stock fender and I'm looking at how I'm going to mount it. It looks like the swing arm frame is asymmetrical at the top so I'll have to get a little creative with the fender mount. Next on the list is to cut off the various frame tabs and hold-downs that I've marked out and then fab up the seat, tank, and fender mounts so I can tear her down. Also, I think I'm going for a jockey shifter and I've got some good ideas (it's a surprise).
Sorry, not a lot of pics this time since both cellphones are dead.