How I bought a $50 Motorcycle

[akwon]

Tires are shinko 110/90/18 front 140/90/16 back handled awsome. very good ride.
as far as mods i cant remember alllll of them but the main stuff was , shortened frame, lowered front, chin, longer stiffer shocks in the back, exhaust, made some bars, headlight, tail light, paint, a VERY good cleaning, made a tail, seat, i cant think of anything else right now. i did sell the bike though. made quite the profit.

Awesome awesome. How did you fabricate the seat and tail?

 

[loudest143]

Ascots are difficult to find, in any condition. It's always been a favorite of mine, and was probably the first bike I thought about actually buying back when they were new. Of course life has a way of sideswiping you, and I never got around to buying one. Do a good job with it, and have fun with it. And most importantly, RIDE IT.

loudest143

 

[akwon]

Ascots are difficult to find, in any condition. It's always been a favorite of mine, and was probably the first bike I thought about actually buying back when they were new. Of course life has a way of sideswiping you, and I never got around to buying one. Do a good job with it, and have fun with it. And most importantly, RIDE IT.

loudest143

Thanks for the words! I will be taking it apart this weekend. One thing is for sure, I will not butcher this bike.

 

[sebatron]

take lots of photos!
do you have any electrical spares by any chance?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Ascots are difficult to find, in any condition. It's always been a favorite of mine, and was probably the first bike I thought about actually buying back when they were new. Of course life has a way of sideswiping you, and I never got around to buying one. Do a good job with it, and have fun with it. And most importantly, RIDE IT.

loudest143

Almost exactly word for word what I was going to say. I drooled over the Ascot singles (FT instead of your VT) when they were brand new in the showroom, would love to find one today for twice what you paid ;D
Do whatever you want, it's your bike and NOTHING can stop you... well, maybe $$$. But even that can be overcome eventually!
I'd cafe that thing in a heartbeat if thats what you want. I'm cafeing / bobbing a Goldwing for christ sakes and I know some Purists are screaming "NOOOO!" but it ain't their bike. Let them strap a Teddy Bear to their luggage rack, I wanna make some jaws drop!
Even if you do really "fuck it up" beyond all return, you could part it out on E-bay and make a killing!
Congrats and keep us posted.

 

[killerdwarf]

Almost exactly word for word what I was going to say. I drooled over the Ascot singles (FT instead of your VT) when they were brand new in the showroom, would love to find one today for twice what you paid ;D
Do whatever you want, it's your bike and NOTHING can stop you... well, maybe $$$. But even that can be overcome eventually!
I'd cafe that thing in a heartbeat if thats what you want. I'm cafeing / bobbing a Goldwing for christ sakes and I know some Purists are screaming "NOOOO!" but it ain't their bike. Let them strap a Teddy Bear to their luggage rack, I wanna make some jaws drop!
Even if you do really "fuck it up" beyond all return, you could part it out on E-bay and make a killing!
Congrats and keep us posted.

Some sound advice right there :. Take a perfectly good bike, take it apart, start cutting up the frame with big cafe dreams, and no plan, run out of money once your hacksaw blades, and dollar store spray bombs disappear! Now you have no bike, no money, and a pile of parts which you put on Ebay, and get little bits of money here and there, which are quickly pissed away.I've seen it happen many times! The first thing that should be done with that bike, and many like it, is to get it running good, saftied, and on the road. Once it's being used, then change things up here and there, as time and money permit Customizing a bike properly takes time, money, and tools which equal even more money... lots more. Do it smart, keep it simple at first, and learn while you go,and you'll end up with an even nicer bike than what you started with.

 

[akwon]

Some sound advice right there :. Take a perfectly good bike, take it apart, start cutting up the frame with big cafe dreams, and no plan, run out of money once your hacksaw blades, and dollar store spray bombs disappear! Now you have no bike, no money, and a pile of parts which you put on Ebay, and get little bits of money here and there, which are quickly pissed away.I've seen it happen many times! The first thing that should be done with that bike, and many like it, is to get it running good, saftied, and on the road. Once it's being used, then change things up here and there, as time and money permit Customizing a bike properly takes time, money, and tools which equal even more money... lots more. Do it smart, keep it simple at first, and learn while you go,and you'll end up with an even nicer bike than what you started with.

I don't plan on cutting it up (maybe ever) until the bike is running perfectly. The upgrades that I'm doing to it as of now are pretty basic. Clipons, new tires (old ones are rotted), round headlight and taking off the rear fender (open to suggestions of a right seat/tail combo!!)

But I do see your point, the most important thing is to get this bike running perfectly. Agreed. Despite your concern, the bike will also be going under moderate upgrades so the chances of me truly fucking up the bike, as the majority has implied, is somewhat unlikely.

So right now, the first thing to go is...
-handlebars for clipons
-squareheadlight for round headlight
-rear fender/seat combo for ???? Anyone have suggestions for this?


I'm working on taking the bike apart, cleaning it up, cleaning up the carbs.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

*SNIP*...
The first thing that should be done with that bike, and many like it, is to get it running good, saftied, and on the road. Once it's being used, then change things up here and there, as time and money permit Customizing a bike properly takes time, money, and tools which equal even more money... lots more. Do it smart, keep it simple at first, and learn while you go,and you'll end up with an even nicer bike than what you started with.

That right there is a very good advice.
Probably would have been enough to say in the first place

 

[hurley209]

Awesome awesome. How did you fabricate the seat and tail?

the seat was made drone the original seat, I cut it to size and shaped the foam. The tail was made from sheet metal, I rounded it in the top by using a shot bag and hammers them smoothed out, added an undertail light mount.