Nuckingfuts Custom Build (XV750 Done!)

[redwillissuperman]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Thanks. There is a guy that makes a battery called "Speed Cell" that I was going to try as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Had to take care of some housekeeping before I could play "Come on baby light my fire". Though the friction plates look mid-road the springs are shot so decided to change everything out for a fresh start.

Took a better part of a week to get some parts in along with the new custom throttle cable and throttle housing from Motionpro to show.

After slapping on the bits I primed the float bowls with a few ml of high octane love and kicked her over. First try she came to life and after 30 sec of fiddling with choke/throttle it purred without issue. Very happy with the deep thumping note.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Quick vid...

https://youtu.be/-Q2L2k7SnbI

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Alright folks, as George would say...."last call for alcohol!!!"

This project has been a labor of love, patience, fury, pain and excitement. It's been well over a year ( 14 months to be exact) since I started this decision, this sudden whim, this....hair of the dog if you will.

I'll start off by boring you with some of the final details before the desert. Completing the final details on the bike included installing the new brake reservoir, modifying the kick stand stop (too long for the new stance), and installing the Acewell speedo pick-up. I also decided to lend a heat-exchanging hand to the R/R by mounting some additional heat sinks to the backside. Hopefully this will help dissipate a few more joules of energy.


Of course the one component of a throttle monster you can't live without needed to be painted up. The stock tank is no peanut at 3.2 gal so I sent it off to a local SJ paint guy by the name of Kurt Brunshwiler for some extra attention. Kurt worked his extensive magic and for half the cost of those 'other' corner spray booths. Here's a shot after Kurt worked over the base coat...

While waiting on the tank paint I decided to meet up with my older bro and go Bday shopping for our Dad. Back in the day my Dad's first mode of transportation was a 1964 BSA Spitfire Hornet (you know, the paint shaker that kicked the ass of all other bikes of it's time). We found this '64 Spitfire pre-production factory special (Mark I, yes 1 not 2) with the rare GP carbs down in Watsonville of all places. Beautiful bike that was owned and raced by the original owner who now has this thing propped up in his living room as a piece of art. Yes, that's original rubber from the late 70's still on it. Unfortunately this guy was not willing to budge on his crazy high asking price so art it will remain.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

About midway through the build I began to finalize the paint scheme but was still in search for ideas of tank emblems. After searching ebay for ideas until my eyes bled, I was left with either very expensive OEM vintage emblems or down right cheezy stuff. Since the project was waaaay over budget I decided to design my own emblem and have them die cut from vinyl. This was my initial rendering which incorporated a white racing stripe which will match the paint theme.

After getting the emblems cut I gave them to Kurt who made quick work of preping the tank and lining the two sides up.
Now that the emblems were on, the tank was masked off for the final racing stripes. So back to the paint booth she goes...

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Final paint phase getting finished up in the booth. Can't wait to see it first hand.

Man I was super excited to see the finished tank, I couldn't be more happy about it! I ended up going with a Porsche silver & pearl white on the racing stripes to compliment the natural pearl of the silver. In the sunlight this thing comes to life!:rad Pictures just dont do it justice.

Emblems turned out really nice too!

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Since I was down to the final short list before road testing I needed to take the bike off non-op status and get it registered. Decided to go with a customized plate and upgrade it to the newly re-issued 1960s California black & yellow plates (1960s Legacy). Going to have to wait 8 weeks but it'll be worth it.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

Well yesterday was the day! Went out for the first test ride.....actually several rides since I couldn't keep my ass out of the saddle and the stupid grin off my face.
This bike is frickin' AWESOME!! Way beyond my expectations. The rumble of this motor DOES NOT match the look of this bike which is my favorite part of it. I got double takes from just about everyone while out on the maiden voyage.

Power delivery is spot on, no dead spots and pulls hard during quick roll ons. The big question was going to be the new geometry and suspension components. The steering is a bit heavy & twitchy at the same time but because the bike sits so low its not a problem at all once you get a feel for it. Rear shock is on the harsh side so I'll be fiddling with comp damping over the next few days but its totally rideable (is that even a word?). There's still room for some fine tuning of the carb, float level could come down 0.5mm or so as I can sense the carb is loading up when coming to a stop. Other than that is just plain fun to ride around.

I'm looking for a good photo shoot location to get some final shots of the bike. In the meantime here are a few shots from the driveway.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build

I've had this GoPro for a year and I finally decided to take it out of the package and use it.
Here's some footage of the actual first test ride. Sorry for the poor quality, need to find some better video settings.

https://youtu.be/cRO6H89f53w

 

[Alex jb]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Super sweet bike.
What a position change, love it.

 

[lchris21]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Stunning transformation, you should be well happy with the end result..................

 

[Powderfinger]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Wow! I hadn't been following but looked back at where you started. That's a hell of a transformation. Looks great!

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Super sweet bike.
What a position change, love it.

Yeah the ergos are similar to my modern track bikes so it's familiar ground, not planning any 500 mi rides with this new beast.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Stunning transformation, you should be well happy with the end result..................

Thank you sir! I truly am stoked on the final product. In the confident words of the late Hannibal Smith...

 

[Alex jb]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Loving your plate position too, very tidy.
I was toying with the idea of putting my plate on a steep angle behind the seat, yours is a great example, I'm gone try it and put back turn signals.

Just got to sort out my crappy 6v electrics!

Again, well done, it's a lovely subtle bike.

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Loving your plate position too, very tidy.
I was toying with the idea of putting my plate on a steep angle behind the seat, yours is a great example, I'm gone try it and put back turn signals.

Just got to sort out my crappy 6v electrics!

Again, well done, it's a lovely subtle bike.

I appreciate the compliments.
Yeah, there really isn't a good way when it comes to clustering up the simple lines of the tail (a travesty I tell ya), just gotta try to get away with as subtle of a plate setup as I can get away with. Great looking bike btw!

 

[Alex jb]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Cheers.
I'm looking at your last half dozen pics and I can't see any rear turn signals at all, do you have any?
I thought your front ones were the half moons in the headlight unit?

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Cheers.
I'm looking at your last half dozen pics and I can't see any rear turn signals at all, do you have any?
I thought your front ones were the half moons in the headlight unit?

Heh, the elusive 'waldo' escapes again. Take a closer look at the license frame.

 

[Alex jb]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Tada!

Cool, I forgot you mentioned that a couple pages back.

My son loves where's Wally!

 

[Nuckingfuts]

Re: Nuckingfuts Custom Build (Done!)

Was able to get my to-do list done early this morning so I decided to cut out of work late a.m. and shake down the bike for a longer ride to d/t S.J. Figured it was a good time to dust of the photo gear and tow it along in case I found some locations to document the bike.

Bike ran exceptionally well in the cool air today and was super stoked with the power delivery. Only issue I had was after the bike was well warmed up, could tell bike wanted to stall out while sitting at lights in town for longer than 60 sec. Definitely a rich condition in the pilot circuit which should be an easy tweak. Totally pleased though for the ~30 mi round trip! Ready to graduate into the mts.

Here's a few 'wrap up' shots to finish off this build thread. Thank you for all the kind words and feedback, glad you all enjoyed!