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I just picked up this bike a week ago. It needed steering head bearings and fork seals but it is a runner otherwise. I am just doing a mild cafe transformation as I use it as an around town beater ANNNNND as I slowly try to work on my gs750
The day I got it home...
This front end is terrible to work on. This is what I came up with to support all the crap i unbolted to get the triple trees off. Large ladder + ratchet tie downs
This is after todays progress. Bearings in and clubmans on. Need to unstick one of the front calipers, change fork seals, and change the oil before I can start riding it.
Looks just like mine! I'm doing a similar mild cafe/brat build. I'll definitely be following this.
I can't decide if i want to do euro/super bars or clubmans/clip ons, I guess I will have to finish the seat and see what will look the best. This is where I am currently at with it and how I'm welding the frame loop to the frame. I lathed some plugs to fit the inside diameter of the two pipes.
Nice! Now that the clubmans are on, I don't really like them. Maybe I just have to adjust them but I can see my hands and wrists going numb after anything but a short ride..they were the cheapest option at the time though.
Cables fit fine. It seems as though I am a bit limited on the positioning of the bars up and down but I didn't get a chance to play with them too much. I just slapped them on and sat on it for a min..
did a little more work today. Chopped the tail and mocked up the seat pan. I need some ideas on how to mount it to the bike. I need some sort of frame that will sit about an inch and a half off of the frame rails. The tail is ABS so I am worried about it flexing and breaking while riding it without enough support..
I love the look from behind with no tail..
I need to find someone in central CT that can paint the tail. I have no painting skills whatsoever. I also need to find some tail lights. Something that mounts on both sides of the tail like the stock blinkers would be ideal since I don't have any room directly under the tail piece.
did a bit more work yesterday. I made mounting brackets for the seat. I used square stock across the frame in 2 places. I drilled holes and flush (sorta flush) mounted t-nuts. The underside of the seat pan has a half inch of dense rubber that I glued to the bottom so the abs doesnt get torn up by the steel.
How the pan sits when attached-
Because the tail is so close to the tire, I can't mount a brake light under it. I have to find another option.
I also changed my oil yesterday and I can't see anything in my oil sight now. Oil light hasn't come on and the bike seems to run fine. I def put the correct amt of oil in it. Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong?
Check the oil with the bike running? Could you see it in the oil sight before changing it? Maybe you filled the oil filter as well and the level is low?
All simple solutions so you probably have gone through them but sometimes we forget!
I did check with the bike running. I watched the oil in the sight drain out and I remember thinking how clear the glass was (I have heard that the sight needs to be cleaned so you can actually see the oil). I put in the correct amt of oil for sure....
You might take a look at "M" bars by Norman Hyde also used on the late model Triumph Thruxton
I have a set on my CX500 Honda and like them a lot FWIW.
Cheers, 50gary
Thanks I will check them out. The clubmans really are not that bad. I have taken a few quick rips around the block on it and I am getting used to the riding position..the last few bikes i have ridden have all had apes on them so it may take some time...
Now that would be an adjustment from apes to Clubman's. I notice you have the grip part pointing quite a bit downward. You may try rotating them back a bit so the grip is more horizontal (not flat but more than you have just now?)
Cheers, 50gary
It's coming right along, I'm not too sure on the clubmans though. With the headlight lowered and new gauges it might change it. Good to see another XJ out here though. This might be a no-no but you can check out my cafe-ish build here. I went a different direction with the seat, it's been labor intensive but pretty fun.
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=36269.html
got a few things done.
My father stitched the leather for the seat.
I installed a 4 into 1 pipe that I snagged off of ebay for a steal.
It is tough to see but I also lowered the headlight using the ears that fuggers suggested. It lowered the light prob about 3-4"
zip tied the plate on for now...need to make a bracket
I still need to do a few things like securing the modded baffle a bit better. Wrap the headers and repaint the collector. Fix the paint on the tail (the clear melted right off and the paint is still tacky a month after painting).
It runs great (but idles a bit low after adding the exhaust), sounds great, and is a blast to rip around on.
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