fabricating

I picked up this nice, low mileage xs650 special a little while ago to build into a modern style cafe racer. I have hundreds of ideas, but the main plan is: inverted forks, wide spoke wheels, custom made swingarm, new subframe, new rear frame section (down tubes cut below engine and build new...

I'm at a crossroads on whether to keep the stock seat hoop or install a brat kit from Visual Impact. I love the flow of the kit, but don't really know how functional it would be on longer trips and the occasional passenger in-town. I would install a rear fender and strong struts to...

I found an 1980 XS650 on Craigslist that I am interested in purchasing. The guy selling it is the second owner and might not know who hardtailed it. I want to know what to look for when inspecting the quality of the hardtail. Are there certain things I should look for? Any tips are greatly...

Gotta share this with you all :) I just bought a used lathe for the garage. I really enjoy machining, so it was a suitable 50 year birthday present for myself, and also a strong motivation for getting the wiring done in my garage. Winters are long, dark and cold here at 70 degrees north, so...

For those of you that have replaced your forks with gsxr forks, two questions. What are the dimensions of your spacers for running a stock xs spoke front wheel? What rotor did you use? and with or with out a spacer? I have an 07-08 front end coming and before I jump in and figure it...

Ok so some of you may have read my intro post, let me introduce myself again. My name is Travis Lawson. I own a small one man Fab shop here in Houston TX called Iron Spade Cycles. I specialize in building commissioned one off cafe racers, race bikes and the occasional dual sport from most...

I have a Sportster rear master cylinder Im going to use on my build and I was wondering if anyone knew the banjo bolt size for it and also what size brake line fitting it takes, would it happen to match whats on an XS?

Thought I would share some pictures of my Visual Impact kit brat build. Used 12" shocks from a 1978 XS400 to get enough suspension travel. Rear fender is mounted to swing arm. Handmade fender struts combined with sissy bar. Planning to use a king sportster tank to finish the look.

This here is going to be a build thread dedicated to the restoration and preservation of old (read: they don't build 'em like this no more) machine shop tooling. The only thing is, I'm not going to divulge ANY info on the machine/tool in the spotlight (unless someone figures it out). I will be...

I have just about tripped over this rather long detailed video with a guy extending the swing arm. Now I can't seem to find it. Anyone got a link? It had him doing a 3" extension. Just in his home garage, and he starts by disconnecting the arm and sliding it back to where he wanted it. The...

I am looking into options for something around a 3" wide, 21" Heritage 64 spoke front wheel to use as a rear wheel on a project. Online searches haven't turned up much along the lines of someone being able to make me a custom wheel. If anyone knows a company that could make me a custom wheel...

Hi all! Here I am again, at sea, and with time left over for an hour or two at the lathe! I would like to remove the speedo drive on my 1977 XS, and would need some measurements from the axle and the tacho drive unit, in order to make a spacer ("speedo delete") I have a hub at hand, and I...

Hey guys, I have an issue with a slightly leaky filler neck of the fuel tank. Its right at the base, but it doesnt leak tremendously, just dribbles only on a full tank. But here's a pic for reference; I was wondering if JB weld can be used to seal it. I don't want to resort to welding unless...

Hola XS freaks! I'm going to chop up my '82 heritage special and i'm going to make it one hell of a bad ass bike! I was planning to start the build late this fall. But when i was riding yesterday the bike started to be a bitch to me so I tore her apart today! I just couldn't wait to...

Fast & Flow will be all about long, sleek, low and flowing lines with a little bit of an aggressive edge to it. The donor bike I found sitting in a guy's garage, no carbs, tank and a few missing parts here and there. Brought it home for $700 only to find it needs an OOP (out-of-province)...

I bought an EMGO Viper cafe fairing (this one to be specific) to put on my '79, knowing it would require some modification and fabrication to mount. Received it today, and two things are immediately apparent: 1. I'm going to have to do some "body work" on the fairing to get it to fit...

hi, just wanted to share with everyone how i reshaped and covered an old special seat i had laying around. here is the before pic: i'm not a huge fan of the double bubble seat and i had another ratty seat laying around. figured i would try to customize it a bit...

Hey guys, I have an 03 xs650 custom and looking to make my first bobber. I hate buying things straight off the shelf because I like being different. :banghead: My question is, how much clearance should I allow between the rear fender and tire for suspension travel? I don't want the fender to be...

hi, So Ive got an 82 xs650 that I plan on cutting up and hardtailing. I plan on using the TC bros hardtail kit and I've been thinking making a pogo seat setup like on old Harleys. I cant find any bobber threads where someone has done this before so I'm looking for ideas on how to accomplish...

Not going to win a nobel prize for this, but thought its a cool way to get a low profile mirror when you dont want those long bulky mirrors or when you dont want to cut holes in your grips