UPDATE on page 2. 9/6/14
I figured it was time to start my build thread even though I have not gotten too much building done yet. I bought a running 1981 xs650 special II in October for $750 with the plan to do a complete bare bones bobber.
The day I bought it.
Then I tore it all down
Here is some inpiration. I love the stance of this bike, but I will be running red powder coated spoked 16's front and rear with whitewalls
Right now I'm waiting for my Ardtail hardtail to arrive which will be any day now. Also, Buchanan's built my front wheel for a staggering $300 after shipping both ways
...pics soon.
I figured while I'm waiting on some big items to arrive I will start with some smalls. As the title of my thread states I am a firm believer in the Built Not Bought moto taking into consideration everyone has a different level of skill. Yes I paid for Buchanan's to lace my wheel as that is something I've never done and even if I did lace it, it would not have been trued. Having said that I'm trying to build a bike that is one of a kind and as many hand made one off parts that is feasible. I have seen a lot of members on here do some incredible work and would like to see that continue as it is just too easy to order mass produced parts and slap them on.
I'm not going to say this is my orginal idea. I saw that seven sins choppers makes a really cool Elvis style microphone tail light but I thought A) it was over priced and B) I could do better. So I went on ebay and snagged one for $80.
I then bought an 1157 bulb socket for $1.50 on ebay and put it all together.
I'm not done yet, I'm going to line the inside with brass screen and red laminex or paint the bulb red.
My next project is my headlight. Bought this 1915 Cadillac Brass headlight for $75 on ebay. It was painted black so I have spent hours with a brillo pad and wire wheel removing the paint. Next I'm going to yellow the glass that came with it, drill in a toggle switch, and maybe do an LED bulb.
My next project is going to be my electronics tank. As usual I'm going with the Built Not Bought moto and also trying to stray away from the common ammo can or fake oil tank.
I got this awesome vintage fire fighter flashlight for free! It's perfect for my build because I am a fire fighter.
Hope you enjoy and hopefully I will have many more photos to come.
I figured it was time to start my build thread even though I have not gotten too much building done yet. I bought a running 1981 xs650 special II in October for $750 with the plan to do a complete bare bones bobber.
The day I bought it.
Then I tore it all down
Here is some inpiration. I love the stance of this bike, but I will be running red powder coated spoked 16's front and rear with whitewalls
Right now I'm waiting for my Ardtail hardtail to arrive which will be any day now. Also, Buchanan's built my front wheel for a staggering $300 after shipping both ways
...pics soon.I figured while I'm waiting on some big items to arrive I will start with some smalls. As the title of my thread states I am a firm believer in the Built Not Bought moto taking into consideration everyone has a different level of skill. Yes I paid for Buchanan's to lace my wheel as that is something I've never done and even if I did lace it, it would not have been trued. Having said that I'm trying to build a bike that is one of a kind and as many hand made one off parts that is feasible. I have seen a lot of members on here do some incredible work and would like to see that continue as it is just too easy to order mass produced parts and slap them on.
I'm not going to say this is my orginal idea. I saw that seven sins choppers makes a really cool Elvis style microphone tail light but I thought A) it was over priced and B) I could do better. So I went on ebay and snagged one for $80.
I then bought an 1157 bulb socket for $1.50 on ebay and put it all together.
I'm not done yet, I'm going to line the inside with brass screen and red laminex or paint the bulb red.
My next project is my headlight. Bought this 1915 Cadillac Brass headlight for $75 on ebay. It was painted black so I have spent hours with a brillo pad and wire wheel removing the paint. Next I'm going to yellow the glass that came with it, drill in a toggle switch, and maybe do an LED bulb.
My next project is going to be my electronics tank. As usual I'm going with the Built Not Bought moto and also trying to stray away from the common ammo can or fake oil tank.
I got this awesome vintage fire fighter flashlight for free! It's perfect for my build because I am a fire fighter.
Hope you enjoy and hopefully I will have many more photos to come.
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