mathil
Been Around the Block
So, I decided to create a build thread!
Mini Bio : My name is Bryan, I'm 24, and I build campers for a living in my family business. I used to work on my bike at home, but I moved to an apartment so now it sits in my family's shop. It's great having the bike at work though, because I get to look at it all day everyday while I work. I work a bit on it, get to a stage where I don't know what to do, and then let it bubble in my mind until the answer comes up. Engaging the peripheries of my mind, as it were. This is my first bike build (and I probably bit off way more than I can chew...).
So, we begin.
It started as your run of the mill 1980 XS650 SG. Super squishy shocks, big sofa seat, pitted chrome, BS38's for the carbs, and no guts nor glory. The skeleton was there though, and I picked up a running, turning, and half stopping bike for 900$ CAD. Thats a steal considering I live in the Greater Vancouver area and everyone seems to think their shit is worth millions. I didn't mind paying that much for a clean motor and a clean title.
So I took it apart, and I mean ALL THE WAY apart. Every part of the bike was in pieces. Don't worry, the pieces were labeled and stashed away in ziplock freezer bags, which were stashed away in giant Rubbermaid containers. Not a fastener was left unturned, and I was left with a bare frame, a gutted motor, and a whole lot of parts I'll probably never use...
So by this time I had made the move to the shop, and it was time to take a sawzall to the frame. FUN! I cut off the seat hoop, front neck gussets (I'll be changing the neck rake; I know, not very cafe racerish), and all the other tabs that I would'nt need, would need to be remade, or I just plain didn't like. While doing this I inspected the factory welds, and HOLY SHIT!. They're awful. I've seen some scary welding come up in build threads on some forums, but these guys at Yamaha must have had way too much sake before their shift. Welds in places they're holding nothing, massive undercut, less than adequate filling, etc etc. At least I can be sure they guy was running the welder hot enough...
So I snagged my buddy's Model 3 Bender, and bought a die set for some 1 1/8" tubing. Ordered 20' of .120 wall dom and it was off to the races!
Since I decided to do a monoshock build, a whole new swingarm was in order. My options were retrofitting a new arm, fixing the old arm, or building one from scratch. I didn't like the idea of a whole new arm, since most arms aren't very accomodating of a 21" wheel. Old arm sucked, plain and simple. So I built a new one. I waited around for Buchanan's to ship my rims and spokes, and laced them to some stock hubs I had sourced off of ebay and a forum. Ordered some avon venom's in a 90/90-21 for the front, and a 120/70-21 for the rear.
The pics will be kind of self explanatory on the swingarm front. I cut out the axle plates from the old arm, and cleaned them up. I then bent a bunch of tube and came up with what I have. There's still a couple short pieces needed to connect the top arms to the bottom arms, and I'll be adding a 1/8" plate gusset to the bottom hoop around where the shock mount is to tie everything together. Everything is tack welded atm, it will be finished with tig.
Here's some pics :
The tubes going from the top of the boxed section to the backbone seemed to be the best way to tie everything back together and give some sort of a base for future building....we'll see.
So, at that point I needed a place to put my ass, so I put together a simple seat hoop. It's not parallel to the ground like they usually are, but I'm thinking I'm going to add a tube running from the backbone where the other tubes join to the top of the tube, in a plane parallel to the ground. That will put the forces from my fat ass in tension.
Seat tube, wheels on. Ignore the front end of the bike atm. Once I figure out the ride height I want I will rake the neck out to bring the fork tubes back down in the trees. This will both save me from having to buy new fork tubes, and it will kick the front tire out away from the motor to balance the bike more front to back. Might end up around 30-35 degrees.
So, with a place (hopefully) sturdy enough to place my ass, I needed something cushy and fashionable to cover it up. I bought some cheap 3" insulating styrofoam from the local lumber yard, and went to town on it.
I did 2 versions, and I won't even show you the first. It was fucking awful. I didn't even think when making it. I took my time on this version, and drew it out in black sharpie on the rough block and let it bubble in my mind while I looked at it from all angles while I worked during the day. I stole curves from the tank, and the tank trim and pads to give it the feel that they belong together. I'm fairly happy with the tailsection part. In this picture the seat is just a squared off hunk, but it's being whittled and curved away a little every day. Once I have it more or less close I'll take the block off and add another 1 1/8" to the bottoms under the seat area so it covers the frame tubes there. The curve from the back will be a long sweeping one from the rearmost point to the lowermost point. Ignore the tank placement, it has since moved back 2", and up 1". I'll get new pics of the finished seat plug up soon.
As it is, I'm not in love with it. I probably never will be though, its too hard to distance ones self from ones own work. I'm always open to constructive criticism or ideas though!
Progress trudges on. I'll update the thread as the bike progresses. Right now I'm dealing with ride height and suspension design. I think I'll bring the bike up another couple inches.
Mini Bio : My name is Bryan, I'm 24, and I build campers for a living in my family business. I used to work on my bike at home, but I moved to an apartment so now it sits in my family's shop. It's great having the bike at work though, because I get to look at it all day everyday while I work. I work a bit on it, get to a stage where I don't know what to do, and then let it bubble in my mind until the answer comes up. Engaging the peripheries of my mind, as it were. This is my first bike build (and I probably bit off way more than I can chew...).
So, we begin.
It started as your run of the mill 1980 XS650 SG. Super squishy shocks, big sofa seat, pitted chrome, BS38's for the carbs, and no guts nor glory. The skeleton was there though, and I picked up a running, turning, and half stopping bike for 900$ CAD. Thats a steal considering I live in the Greater Vancouver area and everyone seems to think their shit is worth millions. I didn't mind paying that much for a clean motor and a clean title.
So I took it apart, and I mean ALL THE WAY apart. Every part of the bike was in pieces. Don't worry, the pieces were labeled and stashed away in ziplock freezer bags, which were stashed away in giant Rubbermaid containers. Not a fastener was left unturned, and I was left with a bare frame, a gutted motor, and a whole lot of parts I'll probably never use...
So by this time I had made the move to the shop, and it was time to take a sawzall to the frame. FUN! I cut off the seat hoop, front neck gussets (I'll be changing the neck rake; I know, not very cafe racerish), and all the other tabs that I would'nt need, would need to be remade, or I just plain didn't like. While doing this I inspected the factory welds, and HOLY SHIT!. They're awful. I've seen some scary welding come up in build threads on some forums, but these guys at Yamaha must have had way too much sake before their shift. Welds in places they're holding nothing, massive undercut, less than adequate filling, etc etc. At least I can be sure they guy was running the welder hot enough...
So I snagged my buddy's Model 3 Bender, and bought a die set for some 1 1/8" tubing. Ordered 20' of .120 wall dom and it was off to the races!
Since I decided to do a monoshock build, a whole new swingarm was in order. My options were retrofitting a new arm, fixing the old arm, or building one from scratch. I didn't like the idea of a whole new arm, since most arms aren't very accomodating of a 21" wheel. Old arm sucked, plain and simple. So I built a new one. I waited around for Buchanan's to ship my rims and spokes, and laced them to some stock hubs I had sourced off of ebay and a forum. Ordered some avon venom's in a 90/90-21 for the front, and a 120/70-21 for the rear.
The pics will be kind of self explanatory on the swingarm front. I cut out the axle plates from the old arm, and cleaned them up. I then bent a bunch of tube and came up with what I have. There's still a couple short pieces needed to connect the top arms to the bottom arms, and I'll be adding a 1/8" plate gusset to the bottom hoop around where the shock mount is to tie everything together. Everything is tack welded atm, it will be finished with tig.
Here's some pics :
The tubes going from the top of the boxed section to the backbone seemed to be the best way to tie everything back together and give some sort of a base for future building....we'll see.
So, at that point I needed a place to put my ass, so I put together a simple seat hoop. It's not parallel to the ground like they usually are, but I'm thinking I'm going to add a tube running from the backbone where the other tubes join to the top of the tube, in a plane parallel to the ground. That will put the forces from my fat ass in tension.
Seat tube, wheels on. Ignore the front end of the bike atm. Once I figure out the ride height I want I will rake the neck out to bring the fork tubes back down in the trees. This will both save me from having to buy new fork tubes, and it will kick the front tire out away from the motor to balance the bike more front to back. Might end up around 30-35 degrees.
So, with a place (hopefully) sturdy enough to place my ass, I needed something cushy and fashionable to cover it up. I bought some cheap 3" insulating styrofoam from the local lumber yard, and went to town on it.
I did 2 versions, and I won't even show you the first. It was fucking awful. I didn't even think when making it. I took my time on this version, and drew it out in black sharpie on the rough block and let it bubble in my mind while I looked at it from all angles while I worked during the day. I stole curves from the tank, and the tank trim and pads to give it the feel that they belong together. I'm fairly happy with the tailsection part. In this picture the seat is just a squared off hunk, but it's being whittled and curved away a little every day. Once I have it more or less close I'll take the block off and add another 1 1/8" to the bottoms under the seat area so it covers the frame tubes there. The curve from the back will be a long sweeping one from the rearmost point to the lowermost point. Ignore the tank placement, it has since moved back 2", and up 1". I'll get new pics of the finished seat plug up soon.
As it is, I'm not in love with it. I probably never will be though, its too hard to distance ones self from ones own work. I'm always open to constructive criticism or ideas though!
Progress trudges on. I'll update the thread as the bike progresses. Right now I'm dealing with ride height and suspension design. I think I'll bring the bike up another couple inches.
