How do I build this!

W

WillCarter002

New Member
Hello all. The short of it. Live in New York. Photographer. Noob when it comes to bikes. Quickly falling in love with them though.

A friend of mine has been shopping around for bikes in hopes of one day creating a "cafe racer." To be honest i hadn't given motorcycles of any sort thought until as of late. The more my friend and I talked it over the more I wanted one. I grew up mostly working on hot rods with my dad so I'm not completely lost when it comes to the mechanics on an engine. I do however, lack any kind of motorcycle vocabulary so please bare with me.

After looking at motorcycle after motorcycle I came across this. The Sacred Cow.

http://www.deus.com.au/#/bikes/motorcycles/customs/deus-sacred-cow-w650/

To put it bluntly.... How do I build this? Or can I ever get close to it. What do I start with? Etc, Etc.

Thanks all.

Will
 
Welcome to DTT!

My phone won't let me follow the link (could you use photobucket please?), but you already have 1 thing - desire. Knowledge can be learned, experiences can be made, but to want to do something.....

Let us know if u need any help!
 
Thats actually pretty easy to replicate...

Start with a Honda CB 350,360,550,750 or a Yamaha XS650.

Hardtail the frame, do a springer seat, raw the gas take, bob the front fender, make a rear fender.

Lose the turn signals, mirrors, ..

It doesn't take a whole lot more than that, You can make something that looks alot like that for $1000 (with the cost of the bike included)
 
To start with you have to find a W650, which may not be easy or cheap, an XS650 might be a better starting point , even a Triumph T120 or T140 or a busted Hinkley Triumph. They weren't imported into N.A. but a few years and are quite expensive, here in Fl. the W650's run about 4500 to start when you can find them. Then find the the Triumph tank and fab the mounts etc. not even talking about the hardtail! I've got a 72 XS650 that's almost back together and a 70 Bonneville tank that I keep thinking will look real good on it, but can't bring myself to do the cutting required for fitment. Can't remember anyone making a bolt on hardtrail for the W650, probably have to be a custom job. A lot of work indeed!!! Good luck, sounds like a two year project! However having said all that, Dues does do some nice looking bikes, maybe the guys from OZ would have something to say. But Aetsh is right you can get close with a lot less!!!

Terry
J'ville, Fl.
 
how do you build it? pretty easy. they tell you half of what you need to know:

Deus Sacred Cow W650

This is the same as our bobbersake BUT with Triumph T120 front drum brake, T120 petrol tank, classic headlight with stainless bracket, internal throttle assembly, steel rear fender with "sparto" stop light, pea shooter pipes, 733 big bore kit with flowed head and clear coated bare metal.
Click to expand...

So if you want to be dead-on:
  • get yourself a triumph t120 front wheel (complete, or disassembled)
  • find a headlight you like, with brackets to match
  • internal throttle - couple of options, but it's a bit of a gimmick. then again, wrenchmonkees do it on all their builds and it has grown on me. see below.
  • get a triumph t120 fuel tank as undented as possible, strip the paint off and clear coat it. you might need to ninja it to fit, but that's part of the process
  • steel rear fender: - why? get one of our site sponsors to make you one in aluminium :)
  • whale penis tail light ("sparto") - easily found, hit ebay or whereever. search for sparto light, or whale penis light. it works on ebay australia! :)
  • pipes are easy, and you might find something you like better as you go. get chris (motofiaccone - another site sponsor) to make up some stainless mufflers
  • the big bore you might or might not want. hit google for a kawasaki w650 big bore kit. engage your local bike mechanics if you're not confident
  • get a hard-tail kit if you want to copy the look. a better idea if to think about how much you're going to use it, what kinda roads you're riding on and figure if you want comfort or style. a hard tail will kill you through your testicles, one cell at a time... you might want to consider leaving it soft tail, thereby saving yourself a chunk of change.


internal throttles are old hack on imperial choppers, but they have 1" handlebars instead of the metric standard of 7/8". honda did them, so you can adapt the setup. here's a thread: http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27008


at the end of the day, do you want a copy of a low-volume production bike, or would you rather your own custom?
price is inversely proportionate to effort here. the more you DIY, the less the overall project will cost.

learning to weld, paint, degrease, reassemble, grind and other basic mechanical skills go a long way on simple bikes.

biggest piece of advice i'd offer is: look around, check out other peoples builds. know what to expect. as you look, you'll find bits you'd like to incorporate into your own bike, and you'll end up with a very individual ride that you'll love (even if others don't)

honda cb's are probably the easiest bikes to start on, purely due to the sheer volume of builds, and therefore parts and knowledge
 
Here's the scoop.

The Kawasaki w650 was only made for a few years back in the 90's, and it was a retro bike designed to look like a 1960's Triumph. Nice bike definitely, but hard to buy as there aren't many of them.

As many have said, the xs650 is going to be a good start. In fact, for that style of bike, it's your best choice unless you have deep pockets and want to go with a Triumph.

So here's what you need:

1. 1973 - 1980's XS650. More or less any year in there will do. The earlier models have spoked rims vs the mags on the later bikes. Running is good.
2. TC Brothers weld-on hardtail kit - http://www.tcbroschoppers.com - they're more or less the leaders in this but there are others making them
3. Find a good welder. TC Bros will I believe weld the tail onto your frame if you ship it to them. You want this done RIGHT - in a jig by a pro welder. Your life depends on these welds.
4. Solo seat - you can get this from TC Bros also
5. Tank, exhaust etc. - easy to get - just depends on what you want.

Then it's just about taking the XS apart and putting it back together on the hard tail frame. You'll have to re-wire the bike which is pretty simple (I did mine from scratch).

A lot easier than it sounds - TONS of parts available for the XS650. It really is your best bet for a first build. The more you do yourself the cheaper it will be, but be prepared for a few $1,000 or more, depending on how much you do and how fancy you like your finishes etc. For that style of bike, you can stick with nice rough finishes. On a good running neat bike, rough finishes work well.

Check out www.wrenchmonkees.com for more inspiration.
 
Tim and Sebatron nailed it!!! But Look for a standard XS 75-79 with the flanged spoked rims in 19" front and 18" rear wheels, not the special's with 16" rear mags.

Terry
J'ville, Fl.
 
Been doing some reading on the xs650. It all sounds pretty solid. The topic of "rephased motors" keeps coming up. Do all twin motors have the pistons traveling in the same direction at the same time or is this just an xs650 mechanic. Should I be concerned?

ps. Thanks so much all for all the input. It really is filling in some info gaps for me. ironically my dad had a 74 xs650.
 
Rephasing the XS650 motor is a LOT of work. The XS engine vibrates a good deal, but by the looks of the bike you want to build, it's not going to be a long distance cruiser anyhow. And, you'll be using the stock handlebar mounts, which are rubber mounted as well as the stock footpegs, which are also rubber mounted. Those coupled with springs on the seat should keep you from vibrating to death.

On my XS, it's different as my handlebars and footpegs are all bolted to the bike hard, and there's no cushioning in the seat.

If you want to build a bobber and keep it simple and cheap, the XS is the way to go.

IMG_1763.jpg
 
you can do all that or...

Just do what a few others in New York are doing.... hand $12000 over to Dutra and give him a few weeks... and he'll bring the bike to your front door..

simple..

;D
 
Should body weight / bike weight have anything to do with bike selection? Why I ask is because I only weigh 150 lbs. Is this something I should consider or is it all riding experience related?
 
I'd be much less concerned with weight than inseam. As long as you're comfortable holding the bike up, I'd think you'd be ok.
 
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