The Texas Scorcher -- a build thread, sort of

DogBunny

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Well, I've kept this under wraps long enough. I actually finished this bike way back at the end of February. I entered it in the Handbuilt Show that is held in conjunction with MotoGP here in Austin each year. It wouldn't have been the most cutting edge or original bike in the show, but they always reserve some space for a few nice local builds. The plan was to get accepted, and then I was going to unveil it on the Forum on MotoGP weekend.

Then COVID-19 struck. Circuit of the Americas MotoGP got moved from April 3-5 to November 13-15, and then got cancelled altogether for 2020. Along with a couple of fun local shows where I think the Scorcher would have fared well.

So, that was a bummer. Anyways, here, at last, it is.
Once unveiled, my intention was to do a build thread but in reverse. This bike has a lot of interesting details and unusual ways of doing things, all of which I documented as I was building it. I was going to share how I did them in many posts over many days. Then my hard drive containing all of the pictures that I took blew up -- actually, it literally burned up. So, that was bummer number two.

I'll see if I can't take some better and more scenic pics in the coming days. I'm particularly unhappy with how the red looks in these pictures. It just doesn't look right. I tried correcting it in PhotoShop, but it's still wrong. I'll also mention that the red contains red metal flake, which has absolutely defied my attempts to capture photographically.
Okay, enough whining.

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I’d like to send a really big shout-out to gggGary, who customized my carb caps for me on his lathe.

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He also customized these valve covers for me. The two on the left are rough polished, and I still haven’t gotten around to polishing the two on the left at all. Somehow, I lassoed Gary into doing this for me back when he was taking early non-o-ring valve covers and converting them into o-ring covers by adding grooves on the back. THANK YOU GARY!!! I've decided to save these for something else I'm working on.

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Another big thank you goes out to Infantilebehavior, who made my “golf ball” dimple oil strainer cover on his mill. THANK YOU JEFF!!!
 
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Wow! D.B. , you’ve been holding out on us! There’s so much going on there, I don’t know where to look first.
96CD2096-7A65-4187-8ADB-1A32AE943B1A.png Does that right side cover allow you to work on the clutch without removing the whole side cover? I’m super bummed that your hard drive blew up and ruined all of your build photos!
 
Nice job DB. I didn’t realize you were into chops. I used to be big into them but my tastes have evolved more toward stockish sleepers and tasteful bobbers. But I still really appreciate all the craftsmanship that guys put into chops. You have a lot of little detail going on there. I like the chain support tube under the tank.
 
Does that right side cover allow you to work on the clutch without removing the whole side cover?
That's a pretty cool idea, but no, that's a cover that MikesXS used to sell that you just bolt into holes that you drill and tap in to the crankcase. The idea is to cover up the Yamaha logo, for guys who are insecure that their bike isn't a Harley. That's not me -- I acquired this engine already re-built, powder-coated black (also not my thing), and with the cover. I did, however, add the pinstriping -- which is actually just a decal (!) which I found on-line.
 
I didn’t realize you were into chops.
No, I am not into chops, but I am proud to now be able to say that I have a hardtail under my belt.
Full disclosure -- this bike is not really me. I acquired it as someone else's unfinished project. From about 10 years ago -- you can see what an old-school vibe it has going on. So, anyways, I got it super-cheap -- you can't believe how little money I have in this build, probably somewhere around $1,500 all told, not counting my time. The story is that it was begun by a painter. He did all of the welding, and all of the paint, which is actually powder-coat. And, he did a really stellar job on both. But, after that it was all down hill. Virtually everything else was done poorly, incorrectly, and ill-advisedly. My artistry on this project consisted of correcting poor work and bad choices, and finishing the bike out.
 
Wood grips?
I am not familiar with Wood grips. I tried Google, and came up with a lot of wooden grips.
I have never seen grips like the ones on the Scorcher. I acquired them probably 10 years ago, on another pathetically failed hard-tail attempt, and have been holding, them, waiting for the right project, ever since.
They are really cool. Exactly like old-fashioned bicycle grips, but definitely made for motorcycles, with the I.D. of one grip bigger than the other to accommodate a throttle sleeve.
 
The great "thing" about this site is that everyone's interpretation of a motorcycle build is accepted and welcomed. In my humble opinion it is sad to live life with only one view of the many "things" going on around us. This applies to the art of building our motorcycles as well - the more diverse the interpretations , the larger the audience in the long run. It certainly appears to me that you became more than emotionally involved, and as you can see by the replies in this thread you and your bike build caused many members to pause and think . Well Done !!

( I have wanted a chopper ever since I saw the movie EASY RIDER, at a drive-in theater at the age of 16 years in small Orygun town)

Who knows ? Maybe some day ? I hope so !
 
Thanks to everyone. Again, I can't take credit for the "vision" of this bike, I just made it all come together and work.

Something that may have escaped everyone and that I'd like to draw attention to:
One of the reasons that the bike "pops" is the double gold pinstripe that outlines everything. Not just the red-painted parts, but also the entire frame is pin-striped on both sides from stem to stern. As I said, the person who started this build was a painter, and he seems to have know what he was doing in that regard.

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I noticed that none of the earlier pics really showed the tank, so here it is. The bike has a really unique and singular Gothic vibe going on with all of the diamond plate embellishments.

Nice as it came out, it is admittedly in many ways an "off the shelf" build. The original builder went to TC Bros and ordered "one of everything." That would be the hardtail kit, fake oil tank, battery box, forward controls, seat hinge and spring kit, license and taillight bracket, and probably some other things that I'm forgetting.
 
The Texas Scorcher made it onto xs650chopper.com:
https://xs650chopper.com/25-year-xs650-build/
I just stumbled upon it. Not sure when it was accepted. I submitted it a long time ago. With the idea that being on the site would be a selling point.
But I sold it several months ago, before it got featured.
I was shooting for the Monthly Feature, which it didn't make, but still, it's pretty cool to be on the site.

Now I need to see if the Super RustBucket will get accepted. I bet it will. xs650chopper.com has a category called "randomness" where it will fit in if nowhere else.
 
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