Bobber Build by a total Newb

[The-Buck]

Nice work on the fender struts, and the bike as a whole!

I know this might be going back in time on this build, but how did you mount the rear brake pedal? I'm in the process of mocking mine up and from what I can tell the location of yours is about where I would be doing mine.

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

 

[dilbone]

hey thanks man, here are the posts of what I did, much of which was "borrowed" from John and others...

I cut the old brake pedal mount out of the frame to use for this

I've gotten a few more things done on the rear brake setup. I cleaned up the pedal mount a little more and welded it in

Then I cut down the brake stay and welded it back together

I used some 1/4" x 2" flat bar to make a tab for the brake stay...I should have used 3/16" oh well

My brake pull rod is gonna be way too short now so I picked up a 4 1/2" carriage bolt to add the length, crimped it in the bracket, and welded it up

all that's left is a bracket for the switch, return spring, and a stop for the pedal...I need to stare at it for a while and make sure I can get all three of those from one bracket and make it as small as possible

That was a clean look for sure. I think I ended up with a decent finish...although I think I'm going to change the switch mount a bit...I should have angled the top of the L bracket so the switch body would follow the same line as the spring itself. It works like this but it bothers me that the spring pulls at an angle.

Now that the brake linkage is done I may start working on the tail light/license plate mounts. The headlight and turn signal brackets will crank out pretty quickly. The fender is going to have to be re-radiused so I'm kind of putting that off...that may be one of the last things I do. I started with the seat and brake linkage because I figured once I got the things with moving parts done the tabs and brackets would be quick and easy part...we'll see I guess
I'll have to tear into the carbs here soon and see if I can get this motor running. I'll need to do some reading on where to start for jet sizes and get some ordered.

 

[The-Buck]

Thanks for digging up those old posts, they will be a huge help!!

 

[dilbone]

No problem The-Buck, I hope it helped.

Well, I finally got some work done on the bike today.

I drilled and tapped the holes in the ends of my fender struts

Then I bolted them on at the frame end...need a bit more of a bend

I locked them in the vice and game them a tug, much better

Then I cut off about a 3/16" length of 1/2" round bar to weld onto the outer end of the strut bung to cover the hole and make it a true bung...

It went from this

To this

One down 3 to go...It'll work. Of course I could have bought real bungs...but what's the fun in that?

 

[Johnt3]

Lookin' good dilbone! Hell, you'll be ready for some paint soon man!

 

[dilbone]

Lookin' good dilbone! Hell, you'll be ready for some paint soon man!

John...this is taking forever!!!!! If I could just find the motivation to get it done I'd be painting right now!!!!!

 

[dilbone]

Well yesterday I finally got enough motivation to get out and work on the bike. Before I could go any further with the rear fender mount I had to take down the wiring to get the pamco and regulator off, so I made several notes on my legal pad and ended up with this

Then I lined up and tacked in the front lower bracket for the fender

I think it looks ok...whether I like it or not, it's done and isn't getting changed!!!

Now the exhaust was next(and last) on my list but I kinda forgot about the chain tensioner. Here it is being held on by hose clamps, but I needed a more permanent bracket attachment.

I already had the other half of the frame tube my initial piece came from, so that plus some 3/16" plate for tabs and we'll see what happens.

Welded the tabs on...it ain't pretty

Drilled some holes, tapped the lower half's holes, and shortened the "tube" on each end and it's looking better already

So all in all I've got about $7 or $8 in this between the skateboard wheel and stainless hardware...of course I have several hours...but I won't count that...way cheaper than a $120 I could have spent on one and I like that

 

[dilbone]

Here's the finished product, I cleaned it up a little more and knocked down the sharp edges(could use even more cleaning up...or just better welding skills)
I call it FRANKEN-TENSIONER

seeings how I'm going to be breaking this down for paint as soon as I get the exhaust built there's no need to have put this back on, but I wanted to make sure it was gonna tighten up right and look ok...painted black I think it'll look just fine.

 

[neanderthal]

with my first bike build, i was running low on funds and tired of the nickle and diming towards the end. i was lucky enough to find, probably the same thread you found on that build idea for the chain tensior. this site rules. it works well and beats spending a 100 bucks on one.

 

[dilbone]

with my first bike build, i was running low on funds and tired of the nickle and diming towards the end. i was lucky enough to find, probably the same thread you found on that build idea for the chain tensior. this site rules. it works well and beats spending a 100 bucks on one.

yeah, I'm glad I stumbled upon that thread...I think he welded his on, but I wanted to be able to remove it if I wanted to. There are several things I could have just bought but #1 I'm cheap...#2 I wanted to actually build everything I could possibly build on the bike.

exhaust is last and I'm really wishing I hadn't bought the pipe bends to build it myself so I could just take the shortcut and buy something from Gordon Scott...oh well, if this doesn't go well I may still have to buy a set anyway.

 

[dilbone]

I jumped into the exhaust this afternoon. First I cut apart the old headers and left an inch or so of the inner pipe on it

I cut the 180degree bend in half and put the short end onto the header flange. It was such a big radius that the "horizontal" section was angled up substantially and was nearly laying on the side cover, so I really needed to get it lifted up and a little more level. I took some small sections out from the middle of the 180 but tried not to take too much so it would still look like a smooth bend.

I was also trying to find a balance between having oil dip stick access and not having the kickstart sticking out too far...after a lot of tweaking I finally got here.

Once I tacked the 180 I decided how much length I wanted on the end with a turn out. I wanted it well past my leg but not too close to the key so I didn't have to worry about hitting the pipe reaching down.

It's not exactly like I wanted, but with only a 180 and a 90 for each side it's the best I could do. I really didn't want them up at my legs at all, but with the mid control positions I couldn't run them along the bottom frame rails either and I didn't want to take them under the motor either...I was running out of options...

I think it'll work. I'll be using fiberglass tape on them and I'm still not sure about being able to slip a baffle in there because I know these are gonna be FREAKIN loud.

 

[FrkyMnky]

Good looking build for someone who has never done this. Curious though, why go through the trouble to make the chain tensioner a bolt on affair when you have the ability to weld it? I have always been a fan of welding brackets on to clean up the frame when I can.

 

[dilbone]

Good looking build for someone who has never done this. Curious though, why go through the trouble to make the chain tensioner a bolt on affair when you have the ability to weld it? I have always been a fan of welding brackets on to clean up the frame when I can.

Thanks FrkyMnky,

Good question...I guess I always viewed my decision to try out a chain tensioner as a bolt on non permanent decision. If or when I need to modify or try a new spring etc it'll be a lot easier to pull it off and play with it.

 

[Airwolfie]

Your bike is awesome dude! It will look good once done!

I was in two minds on doing my pies like yours, but I'm not a massive fan of the kick out slash cut. Looks good on yours though! I can fully get why you did them too.

If I were to build a hardtail, it would have to be something like yours!!

 

[dilbone]

Your bike is awesome dude! It will look good once done!

I was in two minds on doing my pies like yours, but I'm not a massive fan of the kick out slash cut. Looks good on yours though! I can fully get why you did them too.

If I were to build a hardtail, it would have to be something like yours!!

Thanks Airworlfie,

Yeah, I suppose this exhaust will grow on me...less than $40 in it so I can't complain too much and it's one more thing I can say I built on it

 

[dilbone]

Well this morning I set out to build the left side exhaust...I thought after getting the right side done this would be a piece of cake...not so much.

It didn't take as long but not by much. It was tough to make sure I had symmetry but I got about as close as I can tell by looking from behind.

Now I've just got to finish the welds on the exhaust and start blowing this thing apart. Once apart I'll finish all the welds and clean up everything that I couldn't exactly get to with it assembled. I've got a portable sand blaster I'm going to try out on it and hopefully I'll be ready for paint before school starts back up!!! My goal is to have it back on the road before the weather turns so the clock is definitely ticking. I better get the paint ordered!!!!

 

[Airwolfie]

Yeah man! Get going! I need to get mine done too before our loverly summer ends!!

 

[dilbone]

Yeah man! Get going! I need to get mine done too before our loverly summer ends!!

you challenging me to a race???

 

[dilbone]

I got the exhaust welded up and ready to grind down...only blew one hole in it but filled it with weld pretty well. Now I need to order some fiberglass tape and some PAINT!!!!

Boy it comes apart a whole lot faster than it went together!!!!

 

[Airwolfie]

you challenging me to a race???

Hehe! If I do,I will certainly lose! I don't have a lot left to do, but it will take a while. Also depends on my clutch issue! Let's see how it goes!!