1980 XS650 Cafe Build

My buddy has a 80 xs special as well and he really likes the ohlins shocks he put on the rear. He also did the R1 fork conversion and says that combo works really well together. Not sure what length his ohlins are but they are longer than the stock rear shocks.
 
CoconutPete said:
Looks great! Love the mix of modern and ... ok i'll just call it "old" w/ the wheels / tank etc.

Cognito makes nice stuff. I'd hate to see your bill lol.
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Thanks!! I have definitely been supporting Cognito on some level fore sure.. I travel through Richmond often so have been to the shop, great guys and happy to support them and they provide great product and service in return..

Stuck in the phase of what to do for a seat at the moment.. Leaning towards the Tuffside XS Cafe seat for now.. To be seen.. Slow going on the project due to lots of work travel, but updates to come soon..
 
I just learned of the Tuffside seat the other day, they look nice!
The Counterbalance one would allow you to keep the hoop intact, not sure what you're shooting for. The Tuffside is flat on the back I think.
 
CoconutPete said:
I just learned of the Tuffside seat the other day, they look nice!
The Counterbalance one would allow you to keep the hoop intact, not sure what you're shooting for. The Tuffside is flat on the back I think.
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Looking at the "cafe" style w/ the hump.. Their seat also has a "hole" where the hump is, so good place to cover electronics/battery is what I am thinking..

And, cut the stock hoop off 2 days ago.. Haha..
 
Went with the Tuffside seat. Ordered it end of last week, along with their rear hoop meant to go with their seat. Pricey - but looks like a nice seat and well made - as well as I liked the fact you can pick from tons of color options in the material - as well as the stiching. Not 100% sure the length will be exactly what I want - but - once it comes I’ll see how it looks. Also cut off the stock hoop last week as mentioned above.

Also - Ordered up the new rear shocks. Went with 490 Series Progressive Suspension shocks. Again - higher end bits - but - I didn’t want to have invested in the 2016 R6 front end and then go half ass out back with some cheap retros. We will see how these work out - spoke with progressive and they say they come with 3 sizes of bushings - and I should be OK. I’ll post some pics once they are loose fit and see what they look like and how the stance is.


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Tuffside seat and hoop came in - and - I will say I am pleased with the quality and fit overall. Went with the ‘English Toffee’ color with natural stitching. Considering it is a ‘stock’ base they use the seat for - the fit is pretty darn good. Benefits are a nice large area under the hump for electronics, battery, etc.

Will need to add some 3/4” square steel on top of the frame for mounting - as well as a ‘pan’ under the entire rear hoop (that’s the direction I would like to go at least), and weld up the hoop (don’t mind the duct tape - was the most handy thing at the time).

So - since I have zero welding experience and don’t want to F this up - I need to find someone that can machine and weld local to Baltimore. So - stay tuned - and then we can start making some progress once I get that problem solved.

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Baby’s first time standing on her own in her new shoes!!

Welp - been a minute since I’ve posted - but got hung up in some other things and had a longer than anticipated wait on some things related to the bike.

Got the frame back from the fab shop today. They fabricated and welded on a seat pan - cross braces for the Tuffside seat - and spacers between the pan and seat - as well as the rear hoop. I’m very pleased with the work from Urban East over in Lorton, VA on the frame. Great guys - check em out if you are in the DC Metro area.

Also - dry fit the Progressive suspension 490 series shocks - and finally got to see the stance - which is exactly what I was going for.

Pondering using the Cognito swing arm extenders - but - kind of like how it sits for now. The extenders would allow to run a wider rear tire - and extend the wheelbase - but again - not sure I will go that route at the moment. And liking the 120 up front and 130 in the rear look to be honest (could get up to a 160 by extending the swing arm).

So - let’s call it progress.

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gggGary said:
looks very cool.
Can those shocks be mounted spring ends up? :sneaky:
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Thanks - and interesting question.. I literally just ripped em out of the box, put the proper spacers on, and threw them on because I was so excited to finally see the proper stance.. I threw them on w/ the lettering oriented properly, assuming that is how they were meant to go on..

That being said, I have reached out to Progressive Suspension to see what they say..

Do you asked based on looks?? Or function??
 
Brassneck said:
Was thinking the same thing. Can't tell from the pics, but may help with chain clearance too.
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Note - just looked.. Could be tight as is - but not certain as sprocket and chain are not on the rear wheel currently, but if I had to bet - it would be close.. .. Flipped them, and zero clearance issues at all.. So, hopefully they can run with springs up.. Gas shocks - so shouldn't be an issue..
 
Like that shock design. Is the idea that the shock rod is long travel and is effective through the extended spring range?
 

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