midnightcafe
Been Around the Block
Hello,
I was surprised to find this forum- never thought there'd be such a deep, involved forum for cafe/streetfighters/whatever else you crazy people build on this site. Looking around and I like what I see, REAL, sweet builds, none of the hacksawtosubframeHERPDERP slugs selling for $5000 on craigslist. DAMN!! I'm a long time member at other bike forums (midnightcafe- thegsresources.com, emmeto17- yamaha-triples.org) which are great sources of specific bike knowledge, but lacks enthusiasm for cafe builds. This place is just what I need to learn some creative knowhow for my projects.
Here's what I've got: Long term, 1979 Suzuki GS750L. 7500 miles, bought for $200, about $900 into it so far. Was hoping to finish this summer but fell ill with mono and then SWINE flu, so it's in my house at school while I'm at home for 6 weeks (trimester school). Needs a few things, mainly have to build a solo seat, paint the tank and side covers, and adapt my fabricated rearsets to it. Some pics:
when I bought it:
when I left it:
rearsets I designed/fabricated:
Moving on, my first bike was a 1980 xs850LG midnight special, barn find that was given to me. unfortunately, i went ahead investing my time and money getting it to run without hunting down the paperwork. I tried everything, but could not source the title. Four years later and I found a 1980 xs850 special for sale in state (the same bike i almost bought two years prior but the owner couldn't find the title then). I haggled down to $150 and the bike was mine, title in hand. It's a little rough (an understatement ;D), and I need to get it running.
My plan is to get the titled yamaha running, take whatever parts off the midnight special (sat in a barn for twenty five years, last registered in 1984- it's a 1980 model... parts in excellent shape). Make it a cafe racer, which will be tricky with the cruiser model tank and shaft drive. Some pics:
first bike, the midnight special:
titled bike, so ugly!
Any other Suzuki GS or yamaha xs850s on the site? Thanks!
I was surprised to find this forum- never thought there'd be such a deep, involved forum for cafe/streetfighters/whatever else you crazy people build on this site. Looking around and I like what I see, REAL, sweet builds, none of the hacksawtosubframeHERPDERP slugs selling for $5000 on craigslist. DAMN!! I'm a long time member at other bike forums (midnightcafe- thegsresources.com, emmeto17- yamaha-triples.org) which are great sources of specific bike knowledge, but lacks enthusiasm for cafe builds. This place is just what I need to learn some creative knowhow for my projects.
Here's what I've got: Long term, 1979 Suzuki GS750L. 7500 miles, bought for $200, about $900 into it so far. Was hoping to finish this summer but fell ill with mono and then SWINE flu, so it's in my house at school while I'm at home for 6 weeks (trimester school). Needs a few things, mainly have to build a solo seat, paint the tank and side covers, and adapt my fabricated rearsets to it. Some pics:
when I bought it:
when I left it:
rearsets I designed/fabricated:
Moving on, my first bike was a 1980 xs850LG midnight special, barn find that was given to me. unfortunately, i went ahead investing my time and money getting it to run without hunting down the paperwork. I tried everything, but could not source the title. Four years later and I found a 1980 xs850 special for sale in state (the same bike i almost bought two years prior but the owner couldn't find the title then). I haggled down to $150 and the bike was mine, title in hand. It's a little rough (an understatement ;D), and I need to get it running.
My plan is to get the titled yamaha running, take whatever parts off the midnight special (sat in a barn for twenty five years, last registered in 1984- it's a 1980 model... parts in excellent shape). Make it a cafe racer, which will be tricky with the cruiser model tank and shaft drive. Some pics:
first bike, the midnight special:
titled bike, so ugly!
Any other Suzuki GS or yamaha xs850s on the site? Thanks!
