XS500C Project Idea

[BucketRacer]

So I got my first bike this summer. It's a 1976 XS500C, and the thing is a bit of a beater. The guy totally ripped me off (I didn't know what to look for... damnit) so I figure the only thing to do is build it back better than ever. Here's a picture of the bike as it stands today, and a mockup of what I'd like it to look like. Please, throw your ideas at me! This will be my first design/build, so I could use all the input I can get.

Thanks for taking a look!

-Wolf

 

[SONICJK]

Looks like a pretty nice bike my man.
I like your design, simple and effective.

 

[DreadRock]

Believe it or not but you do have a good base to start from ! There fairly simple to work on dont need any odd tools either . Like above I like your idea but always remember it will change as you go along lol if you haven't looked check out the TX/XS 500 forum good info on the 500s there also. Looking forward to seeing it done !

 

[BucketRacer]

Thanks!

Dread - Your build is the holy grail of XS500's. I spent a few hours yesterday reading all 44 pages of it... wow. That thing is seriously kick ass! And yeah, I'm totally prepared for it to come out looking nothing like the mockup hahahaha. We'll see how time changes things!

I'll keep this thread going as the build develops along with the idea.

 

[DeanJ]

welcome to the dohc 500 club !

 

[caferay]

Nice Photoshopping skills.
It's a 76...to me, Yamaha had the coolest racing colors in the 70s with the chrome yellow and that distinct back and white stripe, and gold wheels. Consider an homage to Kenny Roberts.

Cool HD video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77ZrYYH1IQs

 

[johnu]

The bike looks pretty cool as it is aside from the hideous rear fender/rear light arrangement. Personally I would keep it similar to how it sits but just tidy it up and paint. Those xs500 tanks are a seriously cool shape, probably the best stock tank around along with the Euro style RD400 from the 70's.

Your inspiration pic looks great and you know how you want it to look so go for it. Good luck, i'll follow your build.

 

[BucketRacer]

Dean - Hell yeah! Gotta love it.

Ray - Thanks man! And I do love the black and yellow, but I want to go for something that looks a lot less pro, and kind of beater. It's gotta look stripped and simple, but like it'll still do a lot of damage in the left lane. It's gotta have vroom, but be a little grungy too. I want it to make people a little nervous hahaha, kind of like a butchers cleaver. A well made blade is a beautiful thing, but it'd be stupid not to respect it as a dangerous thing.

Johnu - I see what you're saying! But I really want to strip it down and go naked. I'm also not a huge fan of the brown color. It's a little too... well, "1976 veneered walls" hahaha. Like I said, I'm looking for the black and silver cutting-edge look. It's gotta be clean, mean, and hardly seen. A stealth biter, sort of.

What would you guys think if I got some straight pipes made for it? Get some baffles in there to keep it from being TOO obnoxious, but keep that streamlined look. It'd be cool to run the pipes under the engine too. Have 'em only an inch or so below the frame, just to keep it suuuuper slick. I'd also love to get some fatty tires on there, like the one's in the pic below. And in your experiences, would you go for clubmans or clip-ons?

Thanks for looking, and for the suggestions!

 

[caferay]

Clubs or clips depends on how you want the top triple clamp to look. You can fiddle around more with clips.

I've always thought with some builds that the bike looked best at the raw metal stage. Maybe just urethane over the scuffed metal.

Fat tires will make the bike handle like crap. It's not a 100hp bike. Same with removing the fender. Those metal fenders were fork braces as well, so you're better off just trimming it, or replacing with a fork brace.

I would keep the side covers.

 

[BucketRacer]

Well then I guess the fat tire idea is off the table hahahaha. And yeah I've got a fork brace under the fender that's on there now; don't plan on taking that off. I may try to get some metal and hammer out a fender myself, but that might also be a bit more than I'm capable of... in fact it definitely is. But yes, I totally agree with the bare metal look. I'm just going to strip the tank and cover it in clear coat after the black goes on - gotta pay homage to Yami.

Also, with regards to the side covers, I was thinking of doing a translucent mesh over that entire triangle. Pretty see-through, but also thick enough that I could get the "DOHC 500" on it in black. Sort of like screen door mesh, almost.

 

[DreadRock]

MMMmmm..... I say stay with a tire that fits right for handleing those fat tires are for looks . As for clip ons or clubmans think it comes down to feel when your on the bike but think the clip ons are more adjustable .
Pipes are a tricky thing as it can help or hender tuning and how the bike runs. If it was me I would keep the ones on it they look good don't know how the sound is but after a day of loud pipes youll come home and rip them off after the ringing stops LOL Had a WR450 I did X country on and after first race pulled the stock one off and replaced with a quieter one drove me nuts LOL

 

[DreadRock]

With the side covers check out Two-Smokes 500 build think hes doing something close to that idea ! And how do you know you cant make a fender whats the worse that can happen ? Give it a go man and see......

 

[BucketRacer]

Yeah I don't need it to be loud. The pipes on there now are some Harley mufflers (I know I know, the shame...) and since they didn't fit on the headers perfectly, I had to wrap some aluminum foil around the headers before the clamps would tighten down properly. I saw an xs400 with straight pipes, and loved the look. Honestly, I'm not really sure how mufflers affect the performance of the bike. Anyone have any good resources that'll give me the basics? I've been trying to find a "Here's what motorcycles are and how they work, with a list of terms and definitions" but have been less than successful...

Dread, I love that attitude. You're damn right. What metal would you suggest I use? And probably just hammer it out with a nylon beater? Also, I was thinking... since the bike's look is based off the squared tank, would a squared fender look fitting? It could end up looking messy and chopped, but maybe....

 

[DreadRock]

I would do some looking around on the net bud as to what to use and how to go about it . Remember its your bike if you build a fender that is to your liking then its right ..right ?

 

[BucketRacer]

Right! Hahaha. I was also thinking of doing something extremely small and simple - not much more than a disk to go over the fork brace, hammered out to a dome-like shape. Also, that way if I fuck it up, it wasn't a whole lot of metal wasted lol. I'm stuck between form and function on this one... I guess it'll probably shape itself as things progress. Maybe I'll give it a little hood ornament :

Also, found an old set of clubman bars in my step dad's garage... so it looks like that's the way I'll be going. Free stuff, eh? And I can always replace the bars later with clips if I don't like how the clubs sit, or if they screw with my tank. (fingers crossed)

I'm getting really excited to start making all of this happen... my biggest issue is going to be the motor. It's leaky (not just a little, either) and the clutch isn't perfect. It has a little trouble shifting sometimes, and that has to change. I've never taken apart or put together an engine before, so I'm wondering if I should have that bit looked at by a shop...

This is starting to look like a big project, and more than intimidated, I'm feeling charged. This is going to be a real experience.

 

[two-smoker]

With the side covers check out Two-Smokes 500 build think hes doing something close to that idea ! And how do you know you cant make a fender whats the worse that can happen ? Give it a go man and see......

I appreciate the mention! I've actually moved on to using some leather ammo pouches from a 1939 Mosen-Nagant rifle as side covers, but I can always get more mesh. It is what I do for a living. Lol.
Bucketracer, if you want some mesh, let me know. I might have something I can send you.

 

[BucketRacer]

Smoker - I checked out your build. Awesome stuff! I love the rear shock setup you've got going.

 

[two-smoker]

Thanks, man. It was a ton of work. Lol.

 

[DeanJ]

I'm getting really excited to start making all of this happen... my biggest issue is going to be the motor. It's leaky (not just a little, either) and the clutch isn't perfect. It has a little trouble shifting sometimes, and that has to change. I've never taken apart or put together an engine before, so I'm wondering if I should have that bit looked at by a shop...

This is starting to look like a big project, and more than intimidated, I'm feeling charged. This is going to be a real experience.

There are a bunch of us over at the XS500 forum that dead mentioned, it's here: http://www.xs500forum.com/

For XS500 specific issues ... there is no better place to be .. there are many common issues and fixes ( like leaks ! ) some of us have multiple 500's and parts stashed too

 

[BucketRacer]

Smoker - that's awesome! You're a boss, my man. And I bet it was hard... that's a lot of work to get that EX swingarm on there.

Dean - I'm on that forum, too! Subwoofer is my username over there, but Wolf is my real name. (I swear... it's short for Wolfgang) And I'll definitely look into the leaks section!

Looking forwards to getting expert opinions from all of you! And maybe some mesh lol. That'd be really clutch.

Actually, speaking of mesh, I was thinking about placing it in a few areas -
1.) Where the side covers are currently. It'd allow me to keep the "DOHC 500", make for a little bit of hiding space (If I even need it) and also go with the whole silver/black naked-as-a-knife scheme.
2.) I notice that the front of my engine gets a little grimy from kick-up shit. Since I'm losing the part of the fender that protected the motor at all, I was thinking about running some mesh over the front of the frame under the headers. This'd protect from bigger rocks and debris, but might be an issue for cooling... I'm not really sure how much airflow the engine needs to keep from getting heatstroke.
3.) As a texture on the top of the tank. Some tanks I've seen have rubber/leather/whatever padding down the center, but I thought it might be cool to run some mesh over it in a similar stripe pattern as what's on the bumstop. Thoughts on leaving it clean? Better to just paint on the stripes? I do want it to be obvious this is a racing machine, but I want it to definitely look a little "Road Warrior", too.

Thoughts on all that?

It's a Wednesday night! Cheers and beers boys, we're over the hump.
Wolf