June 2013 First time builds Contest voting, discussion

We have 5 nominations for the June XSOTM "first time builds" contest.
A great selection of "built in my garage" bikes!
The poll will close on June 3oth, the winner will have their bike photo posted to the XS650 home page and be permanently added to the XSOTM picture album, not to mention the incredible bragging rights that go with such a feat.

Contestants; please feel free to post details, how you came to build an XS650 project, and MORE pictures, links to your build thread etc.. Let me know if you would like me to use a different picture for the voting.
Viewers and voters may also make comments and ask questions, Please keep all comments positive!

In no special order here are the contestants.


Unfocused


Johnt3


dedede


Teamkandy


Phail

I want to say great lookin' group of bikes guy's!
Good luck to everyone.

I agree Johnt3

Thanks for including me in this months XSOTM. It is an honor to be included with such a fine group of bikes. There has been some discussion as to the legitimacy of my "First Time" build. Let me start by saying that this was never taken to an shop and had work paid for during the entire process.

It started in my buddies 10'x 12' shed in his back yard this is where the majority of the fab work was completed. Just a couple guys with beer having a great time. Jeff is a metal worker by trade and had the welding equipment required to get her where I wanted it. When the most of the fab was completed, i took it across the street to his neighbours place who has a 2 car garage that was heated where i did the wiring. Why you ask? Well let me tell you. The Canadian International Motorcycle Show was quickly approaching and Jeff, my bud need the room to prep his Copper KZ550 as pictured in my build thread.

In its new place of rest is where I completed the wiring myself. Dave did supply guidance when I was having a hard time but I did the work there. In fact that is where the bike is now, awaiting the install of the Pamco and PMA. (expecting the UPS guy to deliver a package from Hugh today)

Was it built by me? Not completely, if I did the welding it would look like chewed up bubble gum and probably fall apart over the first bump I hit. Was the wiring done by me? Yes, but I needed help reading the map to get where I am today. Take it or leave it as it is, this is my first build.

Here is a link to my build thread, click here.

And a couple of my favourite pictures.







Hope you all enjoy, and best of luck to the rest of the competitors.

Nice work everyone some real skill demonstrated here.

I think it so cool that we have a website to bond with people and share our common goal to work on our aging motorcycles and help one another. If it was not for the great people who donate there time answering all the questions on here I may not have had my bike running. All the builds in the contest would be something I would be proud to ride.

ggGary gave some good suggestions to us contestants.

Started out as a 1982 Special.
I chose an xs650 because that is what my dad got me hooked on the XS650. In October 2011 he gave it to me because it was to heavy for his failing arther as he called it "joint pain". I had wanted a XS for a while my buddies were building choppers and bobbers. I had my plans to build a brat-style build. I purchased the Visual Impact kit and well life happened and my dad passed away suddenly. He had already cut the loop off and mounted the tracker seat. I just could not bring my self to chop his bike up into the opposite direction. So I decided to build a Tracker with a little bit of his styling and mine.

Mechanical build items were:
750 kit, cam chain, and front guide. New bronze swing arm bushings, single clutch push rod. Steering stim bearings, wheel bearings, Clutch springs and fibers thrust washer. Starter 4th gear and clip. Pamco ignition. New Gaskets for case covers valve covers. New Fork Seals. Rebuilt the front brake caliper and replaced any bad or worn parts. Did a complete rewire of the bike thanks to all the great diagrams on this site. I did retaine the left and right handle bar controls for know. Manual Petcocks for a 79 tank. I lost the baffle out of my MAC 2 into 1 on the first ride after I got it running. I went to the muffler shop and purchased a glass pack and cut it open and used the inner I am sure I am missing something.

Cosmetics:
I cleaned up all the frame grinds and defects my dad had not felt up to going to detail to fix. I made a better mounting setup for the tail section. The battery box with my fuses I have a friend with a metal roller and I just worked the sheet until I got the measurements close to fitting the frame. Fine tuned it until I was happy.


Stripped all my dad's paint off tail section. I kept his tank he painted for a keep sake. He had an extra 79 tank I used for the build.

I got to spend all the joys of soda blasting my motor and sand blasting everything that I wanted powdered . I have a friend who does powder coating for a living so I took all my stuff to get powdered and he helped me do most of it. My daughter laced the rear wheel spokes from a 18" standard and I did the front 64 spoke original to the bike.



Getting everything work smooth after the powder build up was not fun.

What I did have someone do was I had OldSkool carbs work over my carbs. I also had the Shinko 705 tires mounted and balanced by a local shop.






I still need to polish my motor and upgrade brake lines and rotor. I am going to simplify the handle bar controls and get a digital speedo and LED tail light. I need to take the time and fill in the Yamaha letters in the cases. Those nasty rear shocks have to go . So I have some more to do but I don't think I will every say I am done with it.

Phail gets my vote!! Love the build and his thread was and is still very entertaining!!

Good choice up there though!! Good luck guys!!

Teamkandy you would get my vote, but I'm in it .Nice job and cutting the rear loops as I did you didn't completely destroy a piece of motorcycle history. (I kept mine just in case) Beautiful job Dad will be proud.

I'm usually partial to the bobbers but Teamkandy you built a hell of a bike! vote is in!

Thank you dedded for the kind words, I think my dad would approve . I bet those turnouts you have on your bike make it growl a bit 2spooler thank your for the vote and complement.

I'll add my 2 cents in.
I started my build after I saw a picture of a XS650 bobber while surfin' the web about this time last year. I was lucky enough to have my bike given to me by a customer I had done some paint work for in the past.

I knew I wanted to build a bobber so I ordered the hardtail,electrics tank and Pamco right away. I got her running and did a few miles before I tore her down.


The build took 8 months to do.I guess I built my bike because I always wanted one and I'm a cheap SOB! So buying one was out of the question.





Gettin' running before I blew her apart.

My pile O' motorcycle!

Finish welding and Cleaning up for paint.


Painting parts.


The only "help" I got was gettin' the engine back in the frame. That SOB is heavy!
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Putting her back together.


Finally painting the tins.



A mock up pic because I couldn't help myself.

Out in the sun after paintwork was done, not much left.

Shot of rear brake setup and fender mount.



A few pictures of my son and I cheesing after we got her up and running.


I'm very happy with how she turned out.



And of course the BFH shot for Carbon and the guys.

Hey guys, thanks for the votes!

This is my first bike. I purchased it in Oct 2011. It was already hardtailed but had some issues. I worked all winter on it fixing the problems and finally got it on the road. Rode 4000 miles last year. After getting it on the road it was destroying everything from the vibrations. This year I finally stripped it down and took it to a local shop to have the hardtail cut off and redone. The old hardtail was a death trap. Thin walled tube with 8" stretch. I was lucky I didn't die because it had started to tear underneath. Now it's 120 wall DOM extra stiff steel. Virtually no vibrations anymore. I'm super happy with it.



Here are my tools that I used to build the bike.



I also have an air compressor that someone gave me that was blown up. I replaced the piston and got it working again. I have a drill press that someone else gave me but it has a bent shaft. So I call it the wobble press. I have bench grinder that I use a lot also.

I built the bars, tank, fender, seat, wheels, foot pegs, redid the electrical, PMA, Pamco, battery delete, pipes using my bender, and a bunch of small brackets and misc stuff.

I rattle canned the paint and had my wife do the pin striping. (pretty good for her first time)

I don't think I could have ever got this bike on the road without this site and the awesome people here. Thank you very much.

I found aluminum in the oil the other day so now I have the motor back out and I'm replacing the cam chain, tensioner and stop. Hope all goes well with this swap since I've never took a motor apart before.

Johnt3 and decede, it's pretty neat you and your son or sons did these bikes together, they will remember, those times. Johnt3 that was good creativity on how to suspend you fender and tube to lay your color.


Love the BFH in the tool bags, I used a few my self .

I had to tape up my frame and lay my everything on its side to get my motor in, defiantly
A heavy sob I had a friend from across the street lift everything up and get my bolts and wheels on.

Phial I think you wife did nice work on the strips. Your tail light looks really cool on that fender.

Unfocused I bet that led tail light looks really cool of a night suspended like that.

teamkandy said:

Unfocused I bet that led tail light looks really cool of a night suspended like that.

Click to expand...

It sure does. Click on image for movie. This was taken before the fender struts were completed.

Phail said:

Hey guys, thanks for the votes!

Here are my tools that I used to build the bike.

I also have an air compressor that someone gave me that was blown up. I replaced the piston and got it working again. I have a drill press that someone else gave me but it has a bent shaft. So I call it the wobble press. I have bench grinder that I use a lot also.

I built the bars, tank, fender, seat, wheels, foot pegs, redid the electrical, PMA, Pamco, battery delete, pipes using my bender, and a bunch of small brackets and misc stuff.

I rattle canned the paint and had my wife do the pin striping. (pretty good for her first time)

I don't think I could have ever got this bike on the road without this site and the awesome people here. Thank you very much.

I found aluminum in the oil the other day so now I have the motor back out and I'm replacing the cam chain, tensioner and stop. Hope all goes well with this swap since I've never took a motor apart before.

Click to expand...

Basic tools, lots of heart and sweat, lots of ''1st time trying this'', involve your wife in the build!! Kinda find me in this story, that's why you got my vote! Be proud!

While generally I consider a bike without a front fender to be only slightly less stupid than a bike without a front brake and "bobbers" usually leave me asking "why" ?, I gotta admit that Unfocused captures something unique in a generally cliche genre. So, while Team Kandy's tracker is sweet and certainly a bike I'd rather own, it suffers fatally from "It's been done" in this month's batch and Unfocused gets my vote.

burns said:

While generally I consider a bike without a front fender to be only slightly less stupid than a bike without a front brake and "bobbers" usually leave me asking "why" ?, I gotta admit that Unfocused captures something unique in a generally cliche genre. So, while Team Kandy's tracker is sweet and certainly a bike I'd rather own, it suffers fatally from "It's been done" in this month's batch and Unfocused gets my vote.

Click to expand...

Thanks Mr Burns. I will need that fender for legality issues here in Ontario, I just didn't have it on for the pictures. Also I haven't quite figured how I want to cut the OEM fender up yet. It's kinda boxy and boring. I'll figure something out.

I doubt that the stocker can be made to work aesthetically. You might consider a simple alloy number mounted close to the tire.

Thanks for the kind words teamkandy! Yeah, we laid the engine on it's side and lowered the frame down over it too. I know my son had a ball helping me with the final stages of the build. He still talks about it. I caught him sitting on it yesterday out in the garage.

LAST CHANCE to vote! Poll closes tonight.