Brat/rat first chop

Trued and mounted. I got lucky in that they are non directional tires. Because of course I didn’t check until it was mounted


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
IMG_1185.JPG



Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Good looking rubber and great looking wheel - great job


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Thanks man! It’s been one hell of a ride so far...... I messed up and added up all my invoices this morning.... holy crap. If I were to add in labor, it would be the worlds most expensive motorcycle. ‍♂️

Here’s a candid shot of the pair. I’m attempting to touch up the paint now. In hindsight, I would have left the polished aluminum but oh well, live and learn
IMG_1197.JPG



Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
With everything ready to go together now, progress has basically come to a stop. I’m still waiting on the frame to come back. It’s given me time to think about everything more and take inventory. There’s an ocean of xs650 builds out there and I’ll probably just blend in, right? Probably.

Over the past several months I’ve spent countless hours searching for things that are unique. I’m not crazy about cnc’ed products. It all looks to clean or too perfect. I did, however, find this guy that is sand casting tappet covers. I’ve been communicating with the guy for a while and finally scooped up a set. I really like them. I feel like it’s a better match for the factory castings. I’ll try them on tomorrow and post a pic.
IMG_1251.JPG



Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Love sandcast, and the texture it gives the metal. These’ll look lovely.


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Those castings look great, I'd be tempted to give them a go on my bench wire-wheel...the burnished finish is nicely understated, but clean.
I agree, billet has its place but it can look out of period.....of you commit to a lot of it everywhere.
Your wheels/spokes do look cool.
 
Last edited:
Tried them on today. They fit but not perfect. I’m going to massage a few spots. “Not perfect” was what I was looking for tho, so I’m fine with it. My biggest concern with the motor is that everything kind of blends in. I’m entertaining ideas of how to break up all the “silver”


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Final fit. Still got to brush up a few spots, but they look good. Definitely has a rustic feel, maybe more than I envisioned but I can always switch back if I want


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Not much to report lately. I’m just waiting. Waiting on the frame to come back, and waiting on the tank still. Boredom did strike today, so I experimented on one of my covers
IMG_1305.JPG



Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Still no frame...... in the mean time I’ve been working on the honda.

Finally mounted a proper headlight on it. I’ve been working on a tank for it. An oem replacement costs an arm and a leg. Looks like the Yamaha will be the brat and the honda will be the rat. At this point the honda is literally composed of every random part I deemed necessary, so at this point a resto-mod seems pointless. The damned thing keeps running great, however, putting big smiles on my face. So I’ve got to do something......

IMG_1317.JPG


Speedmotoco headlight. Not bad for the price. It does dial into a vibration frequency and is making a wicked vibration noise. I’ll have to figure that one out. It is miles better than what I had before though
IMG_1318.JPG


With a little back woods engineering, I came up with a peek-a-boo mirror.

IMG_1322.JPG


Rode to the dojo to catch some skateboarding.


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Nice F mate, must've missed that you had one of these too. Give it a thrash for me - god only knows when mine'll finally see some asphalt
 
Nice F mate, must've missed that you had one of these too. Give it a thrash for me - god only knows when mine'll finally see some asphalt

Thank! I will for sure. I just switched to Murrays dual carb set up. It really brought the bike to life. It’s definitely time to burn off these chicken strips


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Nice, I have not ridden in damn near 3 weeks, I need to get out soon and blow the cobwebs off the bike and me.
 
Back
Top Bottom