Suddenly I'm doubting my new build

[Finnigan]

After the 360 I really wanted to build something inspired by Classified Moto; just seeing their single sided swingarm conversion and industrial looking style inspired me to do it myself...

I have about 80% of the parts bought, the carbs are built and starting Feb I plan on getting some help to weld everything together . This morning I walk out and look at the mock up, the swingarm is ridiculously fat compared to the vintage frame, the engine is in pieces, the crudded up tank next to the brand new USD forks doesn't even look good and it hits me like a train.

"Am I building something I'll regret?"

 

[DaveMinella]

Probably. But, that's half the fun.

 

[VonYinzer]

Won't know 'till ya build it.

 

[Finnigan]

This is my mock up so far, its in front of my couch and I've been wasting my day drinking coffee and staring at it.

 

[rays650cafe]

I think it will look fine once you get wheels and tires on it. And it's not like it can't be pulled apart and redone. Part of the fun, right? :

 

[2_DONE_THE_TON]

fuck aestetics...go for it...rock and roll...i would think about the tank...too bulky imo.

stop drinking coffee and get some beer and build!

 

[Finnigan]

Heh, thanks guys

I was thinking the same for the tank, but I wanted a larger capacity than the last build (only 2.x? gallons)

 

[mrlvlagic]

if it makes you happy in the end whats to regret? Besides all the work and money spent goes out the window when you jump on and ride it down the street.....trust me

 

[pacomotorstuff]

Good points made so far:
- get the wheels on it and the top fork crown and bars as well.
- tank looks a little chubby, maybe knee dents? The right paint scheme will slim down the look of the tank as well
- maybe slide in the motor to fill in the space and put the bike on a stand or something,
- and dammit man, drinking coffee and looking at it? That's why God invented Jack Daniels.
I know what you mean about little gas tanks, though; the Baby Tracker tank holds about a gallon, so I'm working on a second tank for it that I call the "Miler" tank - a reference to the larger gas tanks a lot of the dirt trackers would run when they were on the mile tracks. Twenty five laps at racing speed uses up a lot of fuel. Drewski saw the little tank one time and opined if we were going to ride into Toronto to see the DTT boys there, we'd have to stop 12 times for me to fill up...
Don't give up yet.
Pat

 

[xb33bsa]

toss that swinger rebush the original and get some good shocks
that swinger is only going to ad weight and make your bike handle like shit

 

[Rich Ard]

^+1

(You asked)

 

[VonYinzer]

If you really want a more modern looking swinger, grab an early GS500e part. They can be had cheap and are steel so you can weld up some mounts for dual shocks. Speaking of which, some nice cb900 (or similar) piggybacks would be rad, plus add some visual bulk to match the front end. As stated (kind of) monoshock + that frame is a recipe for shitty handling without some real heavy duty bracing unfortunately.

 

[VonYinzer]

Oh, and I agree on the tank. It's a tad much, but without the top tree and a seat... Could just be a trick of the old mind. I bet a nice CB450 tank would look killer.

 

[Rich Ard]

I agree with Yinzer on the swinger, but I say keep the tank. You can match the seat to it and get a good flow goin'.

 

[Drewski]

Ahhhh, fergit all those guys!! Damm the torpedos... full speed ahead!! Just build it!! 8)



( Do what you want. Don't be afraid to change course mid-stream tho!! )

 

[NagChampa]

How about getting someone to whip up a concept drawing? That may give you a better idea of how you want things. Plus it is easier to change components with a pencil eraser.

Either way, there is nothing wrong with changing the plans if your vision changes.

 

[teazer]

SSSA will look fine when it's in but it's a lot of work to widen the frame, slim the arm and make linkages and shock mounts. With a monoshock rear end, you can basically lose the "subframe" and come up with something simple, light and more modern looking that will work well with the forks. In reality there's not much of a frame on view in most bikes, so that's not too much of an issue, but while the frame is in for reconstructive surgery, you could add and delete tubes and bracing.

Tanks Is OK. I would avoid dents in the side because they serve no real purpose as a rule and tend to look amateurish unless they are really well done and they match teh frame lines and look functional and unobtrusive. In other words they look OK if they have a purpose and generally look crap if they are just a styling feature - unless they have some incredible style/shape.

I suspect you are mentally stuck with seeing the actual parts as they are now and it's blocking the design juices. Start mocking up ideas on paper and let the ideas flow. I'm crap with Photoshop and not much better in Paint, so I tend to use hard copy prints and pencil or sharpie to play with ideas.

Keep playing with the shape in your mind and go back to the bikes that inspired you and see if you can identify the design elements that appeal to you. Some may not work on this bike and some will need to be modified to make them work, but that's what your imagination is for - to dream new dreams of bikes to come.

On my first custom GT750, the design intent changed completely as I started to develop it because some parts did not go with others that I liked. I now have two and another two builds queued up behind the current restoration and I need another two or three to properly develop and use all the ideas I played with so far and want to incorporate because they don't always work together in one package.

Another trick you can use is Blue tape or paper covering parts of the bike and use a sharpie to try different shapes.

 

[CharlieT]

Get out the sawzall and hack off the entire rear subframe. Make a loop for your seat and ad some bracing if needed. If the frame is sitting roughly in its desired relationship to the ground, then you better check the rake on it, looks too step to me. Looks like you could use a new, longer steering neck for thos triple trees anyway, so you can cut the stock one out and put the new one at at the desired rake. I'd set it at around 26-28deg rake. Also, I second, third or fourth that tank. You can still gt a decent sized tank with more slope to it.

This is the Mongrel we did. Started off with an ATC250r three-wheeler frame. Cut the whole subframe of the thing, made the seat frame work, cut the old steering neck off and made a new one to fit the new front end and changed the rake to 27deg. Frame was already pretty rigid, had an ~2" back bone, so no bracing was needed. Handles like it is on rails! What you want to do would be quite similar.

 

[1969Honda]

Check out the Ducati MH900 swinger, it's a treless/tubular swing arm design. Oh and build it!

 

[620dark]

Personally, I love the resto-mod look and think the single sided swing arm and USD forks look bad ass. There's something about bolting uprated parts on a tried and true frame/core that gives the bike a lot of soul.