My motorcycle.

S

sclay115

Been Around the Block
Haven't been up here in a while, so thought I'd post what I've been up to. No cafe this time, and pleeassseee don't call it a brat style. I won't go into why for the reason of sounding like a douche, but it's just a motorcycle that I built because I thought it'd be cool to ride. Something that looks almost factory to someone not really looking for the details, but something that is clearly different if you start to look closer. Wanted to try and build something that looks like it could have been a factory custom dirt/flat tracker that one could buy off the showroom floor. Engine got some gaskets and seals changed, was going to tear it down, but for other reasons I'm just going to spend the time rebuilding the spare block I have when I have the time. So since this is the project section, here is a before, and then a current picture. No the tins are not mounted, they are also not cleared, or anything else for that matter, just color. Seat is nearly done, think just a simple, flat, Triumph-esque two up seat. Questions? Sure, Comments? Sure. Lemme know what you guys think.

Before:

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God I know, how could I possibly fuckin' improve upon that!? Don't hold it in, I know you love it!


Haha, but no, seriously, here is where it sits now:

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Steve.
 
Wow......just a bit of paint work and tires makes a huge difference and that's just he easy stuff to spot!
I've always been against bikes that are lowered, you lose cornering clearance and generally upset the chassis, but looking at yours and some of the Bratstyle bikes I could be lead toward a lowered hotrod.
I dig your bike man!
 
Swagger said:
Wow......just a bit of paint work and tires makes a huge difference and that's just he easy stuff to spot!
I've always been against bikes that are lowered, you lose cornering clearance and generally upset the chassis, but looking at yours and some of the Bratstyle bikes I could be lead toward a lowered hotrod.
I dig your bike man!
Click to expand...

It's not bad, the lowering thing. Haha, I've got a gnarly little Honda as my corner machine:

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This one is more of my distance machine, as being perched up on that Honda at 80mph at like 8k rpm for any length of time is just fuckin' ridiculous. But I haven't hit the pegs yet, but it's not one of the ever so common hard tailed XS's with solid mounted foward controls that are going to pitch their riders off at the first corner...these pegs still fold, which was a sever priority, because even though she's my 'cruiser', it's still going to get ridden hard.

And yes, that's exactly what I wanted, I want people to notice the big things first then slowly let the small things sink it.

Steve
 
monteboy84 said:
Looking sharp!

Any reason for ditching the twin carbs?

-matt
Click to expand...

Shit, sorry forgot to answer this. Had it running really good before in couch mode with the VM's, but once I moved up north, just couldn't get the damn thing running correctly. Was looking around at pictures of older Triumphs, and started to think, "Well shit, if it worked for them, and HD still does it, why can't I?" So upon some research, there are a few guys with XS's with singles, but very few, quite a few guys with KZ twins with singles, but it was hard to get concrete info on anything really. But the concept is simple. The XS is a 360 crank, so only one combustion chamber is filling at a time. Bump the jets a little for the increase in manifold volume to help with roll on throttle, and um, that's it. And I swear it, it runs as good as or better than the twins VM's. I mean really think about it, this is an archaic head design, with straight bore VM carbs, is it really going to utilize every bit of efficiency the Mikuni has to offer if each cylinder is sucking from it's own teet? And now both cylinders are receiving the same exact amount of fuel, and if I ever drastically change altitude while on a ride, as in across the country, that float bowl comes off while the carb is on the bike, and you change what you need to change and bam, done. No syncing, no nothing. Ask any other questions you got, I had a gazillion when I was throwing ideas around for it, and know it can be a pain in the ass to find info.

Steve
 
monteboy84 said:
You've got a good eye, I really like that Honda too. Keep it up...

-matt
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Matt, damn your fast with the replies. Thanks for the compliments. It sounds cliche' but really half the fun is building the damn things...

Steve
 
hey bud, nice bike, what size tires are you running?

close up on the single carb conversion? did you make that yourself?
 
BOTH bikes are very cool! 8)

I like the way you think! One bike for solo rippin' and another for 2 up cruizin' at a "spirited" pace! ;D

I like the XS because you have several different styles goin' on, but they work well together! That's not an easy thing to pull off! Good job! 8)
 
brewtown16 said:
the paint scheme looks just like the old racing GEEBEE racers.... too cool.
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That's it! I knew it was making me think of a plane!
geebee_400x307.gif
 
sclay115 said:
And now both cylinders are receiving the same exact amount of fuel, and if I ever drastically change altitude while on a ride, as in across the country, that float bowl comes off while the carb is on the bike, and you change what you need to change and bam, done. No syncing, no nothing.
Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense, thanks. I think throttle response is very much key on bikes like these, moreso than revving to the moon, and I'm willing to bet your single carb feeding two cylinders through a common manifold has better throttle response than the twin carb setup you removed.

There's obviously a back to your head, I'm interested to see what you cook up on these, and further projects.

-matt
 
brewtown16 said:
the paint scheme looks just like the old racing GEEBEE racers.... too cool.
Click to expand...

Haha, I guess it wouldn't be a surprise to know I watched the movie "The Rocketeer" just a few days before paint would it? It was a favorite movie of mine when I was a kid, and the racer he ends up with at the end always held a little place in my heart. The off color isn't white however on mine, more of a beige/tan. But similar! And I dig it.

Thanks for all the comments guys, it's good to know people can get down with the style. Obviously I like it, since I built it specifically for myself, but to know other people think it's pretty cool is always a good feeling. The seat is going to be a sort of "plank seat", really simple, which um, if you haven't noticed, is the overall theme for this thing. ;) Wanted a two up scoot for me and my lady friends.

And on the single carb manifold, Monte. Yes, a big ass 650 twin is not my first choice for revving up to the sky, but I want that bottom end. And it works perfect for that. When I was test riding this bike during mockup, with the Firestones, I constantly had to keep my wrist under control coming away from stop lights and out of corners because the power is just right fuckin there. I'm used to the Honda, which is a 350, where you are basically riding it like a two stroke, but the Yamaha is like a 454 Chevelle, power, RIGHT NOW, tapering off at the top. Because obviously, this manifold and single 36mm carb is not going to be the most efficient when both cylinders are demanding fuel and air at a ridiculous rate that the higher revs will require. And in my opinion, I believe that manifold is going to be the chink in the armor in that situation. I feel the carb is probably just fine as far as throat size, and can supply the fuel, but I believe the manifold, in it's design, will cause too much turbulence in the air charge to be efficient up there in top end of the tach. I could certainly go and design an equal length intake manifold with a smooth collector on the carb side to split the charge perfectly. There is a guy on TCU(The Chopper Underground) that has an XS with a single manifold, and his is amazing, basically just what I described, sits off to the side with equal length tubes with a smooth split on the inside. I can see this design working just as well, if not better than the two carbs. Some people may disagree with me on this, but until someone proves me distinctly otherwise, this is my hunch.

I wish I had some pictures of the manifold off the bike. Maybe I'll roll her out today and take some detail pictures of it. I'm glad you guys can get on with that manifold too, I wasn't sure how it would be accepted as some people think it is going to reduce performance. But I think most of you understand the reasons why I went this route.

Again, thanks for the comments everyone. If you have any other questions, just ask. I'm waiting for my paint to cure before I can do anything else with it, and with nothing else to do on the bike at all, I need something to keep me busy!

Steve
 
Ok, roller her out and shot some pictures of the manifold. Here they are. Nothing complicated here.

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Disregard the crappy joints. My welder blows, it makes sound welds, but it looks terrible, so there is high temp epoxy on the joints to make it look semi-presentable.

Steve
 
It occurs to me that you could build your manifold the same way you have it, just come up from the bottom.
a couple 90* bends forming the top of a narrow 'Y' with the bottom being a third 90* from the carb to the divergence of the other two.

CYL...
CYL... .
. .
. .
..
.
....CARB
That's high fuckin' art right there!

Obviously you'd need to keep it tidy but that could be a way for you to keep runner length under control, keep it equal length and a smooth divergence.

I've been saving a 77 6fiddy for a project, I think you've inspired me! I really don't need another one at the moment, six bikes going, only my Triumph ready to ride this season and off we go....heh.

Similar to yours: firestones, lowered, minimal body work..though I think I'll run a fender (it rains here in Oregon sometimes).
I have a 2ls front drum that I think I'd switch to in place of the disk, wide bars, long low pipes with fish tail outlets, same dropped suspension, a mini speedo clamped to the fork leg and a mini tach sunk into the tank....

someday...
 
Swagger, I think I understand what you are saying. But I really don't think it's too much or a problem. In my head I thought about older straight six domestic power plants and their irregular runner length. I think the principles at work are similar, I like to think the manifold is being filled with the fuel/air mixture before the cylinder is demanding it. Which I believe to be true. Is equal runner length important? Absolutely. But I believe I am ok in this sense, considering we are sucking air into an air cooled single over head cam engine. And the proof is in the pudding with it's fantastic road demeanor and throttle response with this setup. I'm also a huge fan of the keeping it simple theory with engines. So I think that this manifold works great on that principle.

And I should also mention, as it has been brought up on another forum, that rear fender is simply sitting on the tire, not in it's final resting spot. It will be up against that top hoop, so yes, there will be plenty of clearance, and no, it's not going to smack that hoop. But I wasn't mounting it for the pictures for fear of destroying the paint before it was cured.

Steve
 
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