Bobber Build by a total Newb

[emzdogz]

You're brave about drilling into your frame! I guess maybe it's just fine to do so; for some reason it made me nervous, so I just added mounts (welded on) without drilling.
But it sure would be cleaner in appearance if the frame were drilled like you are doing.

 

[dilbone]

Your tanks look good dilbone. Nice job on your electrics tank man.

You're brave about drilling into your frame! I guess maybe it's just fine to do so; for some reason it made me nervous, so I just added mounts (welded on) without drilling.
But it sure would be cleaner in appearance if the frame were drilled like you are doing.

thanks guys,

emzdogz, everything I've read on the forum here is that threaded bungs welded in are the typical way to mount anything to the frame. I didn't have enough room between the tank mounting tabs and the backbone to just weld directly to the frame without drilling a hole for the bung to sit in. I would rather have not had to mess with the frame at all, but it seemed that this method has been pretty widely accepted.

 

[dilbone]

I've gotten some stuff done on the bike, but not much for pictures. I finally used the permatex gasket remover to clean up the right side engine cover. That stuff is amazing. I will use it from now on to prep all of my gasket surfaces. I also took off the sump cover and did a once over with the permatex on those surfaces too.

Now it's been the choke situation I've been trying to sort out the past few days. This is an '82 with the BS34s and had the choke cable on the left hand control and I'm not using those controls.

I went to the lawn mower repair shop in town, got a length of throttle/choke wire(that stuff is tough as nails), and cut a section of the old cable sheath. I put a crimp in the wire so it would slide through the sheath with resistance and hold the choke open when pulled.

But I was having trouble trying to figure out what I wanted to use for a knob on the end of that thin wire...so as I was out in the barn the brazing rods I have out there caught my eye so I changed gears and went a different route.

I looked through my guitar parts stash and grabbed a knurled knob, cut some 6-32 threads on the rod and the knob, and hammered it over at the end to flare it out so I don't lose the knob.

I used a short section of the plastic cover on the sheath to help provide the resistance I needed to hold the choke open. Works really well.

Now on to the rear axle plate/tail light mount and the turn signal mounts. After that I think I'm going to get this motor up and running

 

[retroLS1]

I like that idea for the choke. I have an '83 with the same cable choke dilemma as you. What kind of rod is that and where could I possibly find one? I have a bunch of old guitar knobs hanging around - good idea with that. Looks nice too.

 

[dilbone]

I like that idea for the choke. I have an '83 with the same cable choke dilemma as you. What kind of rod is that and where could I possibly find one? I have a bunch of old guitar knobs hanging around - good idea with that. Looks nice too.

Thanks...it's probably one of the only semi "original" ideas I've had when it comes to this build...

It's just a brass brazing rod. I just checked the diameter and it's 1/8"...which is technically the size for a #5 screw but my 6-32 die wouldn't start on it. I just checked my 6-32 tap and it's 1/8" diameter so I'm not sure I'd have wanted to try a #5 die. I should have filed a taper on it to make it easier but instead I used my 8-32 die and it when on and cut some really shallow threads. After that I was able to get the 6-32 die started on it. If I'd have had a steel rod I probably would have used it, but the brass rod looks better I think.
Brass can be pretty brittle when bending, so you have to be careful with it in that regard but I think it's going to work out just fine.

 

[dilbone]

I got the plate/tail light bracket out and had to drill a few holes to get my tail light to fit on it.

I was really hoping the nut end of the axle would be on the left side there behind the bracket, but because of the spacing I needed to keep the bracket off of the chain tensioner the washers needed to be on the left side. The step down diameter to the threads on the axle and the smaller hole on the tensioner wouldn't work on the same side as the washers so I've got the ugly castle nut on the right side still...oh well...things could be worse.

 

[dilbone]

Last night and today I was working on the turn signal brackets. The fronts I used 16g sheet metal(hopefully it's tough enough)and bolted them to the triple. I cut both of them out rough shape and clamped them together so I could make them identical with my flap disk in the angle grinder. After bolting it on I used one of my welding vice grips to grab it and bend it out at the right angle.

and from the front...I think it'll work...

I debated on the rear mount whether to weld to the outside of the frame tube, center or inside. I ended up going with the outside...

I hope that the left turn signal can be clearly seen since it's pretty much right behind the tail light.

For these small lower wattage bulbs they seem pretty bright

Now I think I'll start getting some stuff ready for this sucker to kick over

 

[I am Carbon]

Nice setup. Those blinkers look good. A start up will be cool.

 

[retroLS1]

I like the idea for the front blinkers. Was pondering that myself recently too. I ordered a set of fork tube clamp-on brackets that I'll try out but if those are "meh" then I'll try something like what you did.

 

[Johnt3]

Dang dilbone, lookin' good! Those look like the mounts on my bike man.
Yeah,yeah! Go for a start!

 

[dilbone]

thanks fellas,

John...like I said earlier...the choke idea is about the only original idea I've had for this whole build

 

[Johnt3]

Just poking fun. Hell, I didn't come up with most of what I did on mine. Most of what I did is from what I saw in other builds....I'm not that original.
If it works for you, then go for it.
The chock idea is a good one. I'll have to keep that idea for use on something later.

 

[dilbone]

well, I got quite a few things done...no pics uploaded yet...

I ended up trying to get it to fire up and wasn't able to get a spark. I started to troubleshoot and found that the pickup coil had 762ohms on the one side and no continuity on the other...

The coil seems suspect too in that the primary was 3.2ohms but the secondary from plug cap to cap was 33kohm... seems high from what I've read.

I went on to find that the pickup coils aren't made anymore, so.... I suppose I have 3 options from what I understand...if there are more please jump in

1. try to find a 30 year old pickup coil from someone and hope it works and lasts
2. switch to points/mechanical advance
3. go pamco ignition with electronic advance(or I suppose mechanical advance)

thoughts?

 

[retroLS1]

Pamco. Great ignition.

 

[Johnt3]

dilbone, sorry to hear about the pick up and the coil man. I'd go with the latest Pamco setup with the electronic advancer unit,it'll save time and trouble now and down the road.
I'm adding Pete's advancer unit pretty soon myself.

 

[dilbone]

That's what I figured people would say. I've been looking through yamahaxs650.com and mikesxs.net and there's just too many different configurations and I have no idea where too start. I emailed Pete this evening, so hopefully I'll hear back from him soon and place and order. I guess I can start working on some other stuff as I continue to wait...

 

[dilbone]

So on the way to getting ready to crank this motor I had a throttle cable issue. The sheath was about an inch too long...or the cable was an inch too short... My first thought was to pull the ferrule off the end but it was crimped so tightly on the plastic cover that there was no way that was coming off without destroying it.
I ended up cutting the cover and all about an inch back and slid if off the sheath

Then I cut the exposed sheath off at the end of the plastic.

Now I cut the plastic cover back again about 1" and slid the ferrule end back over the sheath...fits perfectly now...

I figured I should have something on the exhaust side of this motor before I fire it so I cut the headers off at the mounting tab so they would actually fit

I even put my new Father's Day gifts on finally...Not sure I like the placement but it'll work for now.

I had oiled up the UNI filters with a 50/50 oil-gas mix as I had read on the forum here from someone, filled it with oil after putting on the right side cover, and then a lot of nothing happened...

I made my order yesterday for the Pamco, e-advance, bushings, and plug caps so in preparation I thought I'd get this thing ready to come off of the table when the ignition gets settled at the end of the week.

First it was the oil tank, 3/4 inch hole for the key switch I picked up from TSC... and then on to a larger hole for wiring to enter/exit the tank.
I used my step drill to get a 1 3/8" hole that over lapped onto the end cap.

I cut through to the end of the pipe so the wires can get taken in or out without having to be unhooked

Then installed my rubber grommet

On to the chain. I have a parts unlimited 530 heavy duty 120 link chain. I put the chain on the top half of the rear sprocket, ran it around the front sprocket, and pulled it as tight as I could to the bottom of the rear sprocket. It worked out that with the wheel all the way forward I needed to cut 8 links out. I used my harbor freight chain breaker and it worked perfectly...really glad I didn't spend big money on some other one.
I installed the master link and backed the wheel out until I had about 1" of total deflection and it ended up being about right about in the middle of the axle slot so I should have plenty of adjustment.
Looks good

Then I cut, bent and re-welded my kick stand. I hope it's short enough. I only cut about 1/2" to 5/8" out of it, but I bent it pretty well.

This is where it sits now.

Next I need to take the carbs off again and work on the left one. It was pouring gas out once I turned on the petcock. I figure needle valve or float issue there. Still waiting on my ss brake line to come in. I suppose I can get the clutch cable and left side cover installed too. The list is definitely getting shorter. One of these days I'm going to have to get to work on the rear fender and either get rid of or clean up the front one.

 

[Johnt3]

Dang, you've been busy dilbone! Your bike is lookin' good man.
That's a pretty neat trick with the electrics tank and the hole for the wires to pull out.
I can't remember how much I cut out of my kickstand, but that seems to be about right with a bend or two.
What are you doing for exhaust on your bike?

 

[I am Carbon]

she is getting there.
the gages look right.
keep up the good work You will be riding be for long.

 

[dilbone]

Dang, you've been busy dilbone! Your bike is lookin' good man.
That's a pretty neat trick with the electrics tank and the hole for the wires to pull out.
I can't remember how much I cut out of my kickstand, but that seems to be about right with a bend or two.
What are you doing for exhaust on your bike?

Thanks John. I wish I could claim that idea too, but I read about something similar here from someone
I'm not sure about the exhaust yet. I was thinking about going with a Gordon Scott set...he sure does a nice job. The way I weld I don't know if I want to even attempt it myself...for now header pipes it is!!

she is getting there.
the gages look right.
keep up the good work You will be riding be for long.

Thanks Carbon, I thought they looked too far apart for as small as they are but maybe not.


I spent most of the day yesterday thinking about wiring...trying to get my head wrapped around it and have some images in my head as to what I'm doing. I'm definitely a visualize it type of person. Being a physics teacher I'm no stranger to wiring, but wiring up something that works and wiring up something that is efficient and clean are 2 different things...I think I have 4 different wiring diagram tabs pulled up from here as I type.

I worked on the electronics tank and got the mounting brackets in place for the starter relay/solenoid and the fuse block

Looks like it might work

Eventually I got the charging part of the harness from TCbros out and hooked up the alternator and reg/rec shoving those clips into the tank as well. Then I sat here and tried to figure out what needs to go where on the switch. I think I'm going to actually use the key for the starter switch as well...one less to run to the bars might help clean things up. I might even run a toggle for the hi/lo beam so I don't need the right side handlebar control I bought at all. I'm not even going to bother with a kill switch...again the key will do that. Of all the motorcycles I've ever owned I don't think I've even once actually used the kill switch...I don't even think about it being there.

Then it was on to the carbs...more specifically the left carb that was pouring gas. I checked the float heights and the left one was maybe 1mm low so I brought it up, but I kinda knew I had some issues with the needle valve. I remembered there being some white corrosion type of crud I had a hard time cleaning up in one of the carbs and I suspected that this was the one.
Sure enough, it was so I got a couple of Q-tips and the carb cleaner out and reamed out the needle valve area and the pilot jet area under the rubber cap. I actually had replacements for those too so I replaced both of those while the bowls were off. I put it all back together and hooked up the gas and what do you know...no leak

Today my pamco with e-advance is supposed to be be here along with my ss brake line...with any luck I'll be able to make a couple of trips up and down the road before I start wiring everything else...maybe I should think about that rear fender too...