1980 Rootbeer Bobber

Got my tires mounted up last night, and unfortunately chipped up some spots on the paint. I think I can blent it all back together though, so I'm not too worried about it. If it's unbearable at a later date, I'll take them off, powdercoat them and have them mounted properly at that time.

Send a paypal invoice requrest to Twinns Inn for their hydraulic cam chain tensioner.

Have priced out a Megacycle slotted cam spocket and it's $198 with free installation if you ship the cam to them. Not too bad I think. I like the adjustable sprocket better than removing and re-pressing on each time, seems like it will make adjusting far easier.

I sent my clutch cover to ippytattoo for hydraulic modification and an 8 plate clutch pack. Him and I are partially working on designing a no-modification slave cylinder that can be installed easily. PM me for any questions about this.

Sent my "new-to-me" crank to Dirty Dog for fixing. He will use my old crank (rusted bearings because I'm a dumbass and let them rust...) and the new crank to make one good crank and then weld the ends to keep them from wandering. If anyone needs work at a good price, shoot him a message as he's easy to work for and comes highly recommended.

Also, got my "upgraded" swingarm shaft from Mikes in yesterday and whoever he's using to make those really needs to learn how to clean up their chips after machining... I spent 10 minutes getting chips out and I don't think they're all gone yet! Regardless, it's a pretty decent piece for the price and should offer better lubrication than the stock unit.

Now that I have the pivot in and tires on, I'm really hoping I can get a mock up done ASAP. This should help me figure out where to cut what and how long to make my shocks once I order them. This is also crucial for installing my Visual impact brat kit, air spring seat, etc.

Regardless, I'm SUPER PUMPED to be moving on this. Also got the garage re-organized and cleaned up, so I have a lot more room and motivation to work. "Unfortunately" mu buddy needs me to get a new-to-him 2005 EX500 up and running, so that will take more of my free time in the near future. That and getting my blazer up and running.

Regardless, long post, no pictures (yet), but trying to keep myself motivated to keep moving.
 
Got my DaddyG wire harness, and I have to say, it's QUITE nice, especially for the price! This should make layout quite a bit easier!!

Wires are labeled so that makes things much easier as well!!
 

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Well got started on the brat install. Cleaned up the welds on the lower tubes, just have to figure out how exactly to cut the upper tubes now. Threw some of the bike together for a real quick mock up. Should look pretty spiffy!!

Also cleaned up the right fork lower - shaved off the brake mounts as I'll be running a left brembo caliper up front.
 

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Need to mock up my tanks and see which one I like the best (early and late style stock tanks and a deep tunnel sportster tank)

Also discovered some pretty extensive pitting on the forks, likely from it sitting for so long (still have no clue how long that was!). I've had good luck in the past using epoxy, so I got some JB Clearweld, scuffed up/deburred the pits, cleaned it and then smeared the JB into every pic I could see. It will have a few days cure time before I can take another look at it, so I'm hoping I can buff them back down flat pretty easily this weekend and finish up on the forks.

I also decided that I'm going to paint my fork lowers to match the tank. I think it will look pretty good, at least to break up all the black.
 
Would anyone share some thoughts on short vs. long pipes on these motors? I like the sound of some of the longer pipes (seem to be a little more mellow and deeper in tone) vs. short pipes (louder and a bit raspier).

Anyone have any feedback they could share? I'll be getting one of Pandemonium's builder kits (http://www.pandemoniumc2.com/#!parts-store/cmai/!/Exhaust-Kit-XS650-Premium/p/46227492/category=11951480) and building my own, but I'm just not sure what style I like the best...

Thanks!!
 
Hi wannabridin,
OK, I'll bite.
There's charts you can look up that give you all the pipe diameter vs length vs engine capacity vs performance data that you'll ever need.
But that's only for open pipes.
You are going for the best look and that's something only you can decide.
Me, I'd go for a 2 into 1 leftside low level pipe with a good muffler to minimise the exhaust noise for my sidecar passenger.
Your requirements will be different.
 
So I shipped my head over to Limey Bikes to take a look at the porting work. He said everything looked just fine and he was going to clean it up and give me a 3 angle valve job. Hopefully it shouldn't be more than a couple hours of labor. He is a great guy to deal with, and I highly recommend his service to anyone that needs advice or bike work.

Also just scored a set of 11.5" Progressive shocks on e-bay for $80. they have the HD springs which should be a great combination of stance and ride and are all black. This saves me quite a bit over buying new Hagon's or Progressives. Woo!

Haven't made much progress in awhile thought. Picked up 3 GL1000's which take up considerable space in the garage, am getting married in less than a month and am still trying to sell my superhawk... Needless to say, my garage is overflowing and I've no free time!

Oh well, at least I got some good deals!!
 
Hi kop,
thanks for posting that photo.
It shows that when I thought my workspace had too much stuff in it I was greatly mistaken.
 
Did a long-needed garage clean up and built me a little assembly bench for the XS. Should be handy for the little bobber!!

Also REALLY need to clean up my workbench, as almost no work can be performed on there as it sits...
 

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Got my brat kit finished up for the most part. Still need to dress the welds down more to my liking, but since i'm going to be painting the frame myself, I'm not expecting them to be perfect, just close enough so I can use some filler if necessary.

Also ordered a new seat hinge as mine is not the best. Got my head back from Chris at Limey Bikes (great dude to work with) and he said the port work was pretty decent already, but he cleaned it up and cut some new valve seats for me, so that's good to have back. He's almost convinced me to go with some VM34's too! I'm just about ready to pull the plug on that one...

I kept the brat section pretty narrow. I think it looks pretty decent considering i've never really done much tube notching! One thing that sucks is my house has CRAP electrical so even the 15 amp breakers can't take much welding time on them (it's about a 5% duty cycle on a good day)... God I wish I could afford a subpanel w/ 220 in the garage!!! :banghead::banghead::banghead:
 

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- - - One thing that sucks is my house has CRAP electrical so even the 15 amp breakers can't take much welding time on them (it's about a 5% duty cycle on a good day)... God I wish I could afford a subpanel w/ 220 in the garage!!! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

Hi wannabridin,
nice work so far, eh?
How far is your garage from your house?
Until Toby my bro with electrician's papers did the wiring for me I ran a 220V extension cord from the dryer plug in the basement to the Lincoln buzz-box in the garage.
Admittedly it's an attached garage.
 
mine is attached, shares a wall with the dryer plug (on the other side i mean). i'm going to run an extension cord. I found a 25', 8/3 one with the proper plugs on it already for $75 on amazon. can't beat that price. i'll just feed it through the window in the laundry room, should be a LOT better than my old methods...
 
found this beaut (i think it's a member here, but i'm not 100%) as a good piece of inspiration!!

really digging the wassel here!
 

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