Build Update

[denisducati750]

Well I’ve made some changes since my last post. Dropped the old Sonic chopper front end in favour of a Katana front end and rear wheel disc brake. Preferred to spoked wheels but the whole Katana package was too cheap and in good nick to ignore.Brakes and wheels all cleaned, checked and painted. Picked up a Harley tank last weekend but also snapped an archilles so that will slow things down for a few weeks. Loving the look of it and she feels awesome to sit on already. Have exhaust pipe kit ready to fabricate but still considering carby options. Son is sitting on it in the shot. As I’ve said before it’s my first attempt at an engine rebuild so hoping she fires up one day. D

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Good lookin' stretch there. About 40° rake? What's the wheelbase?

 

[denisducati750]

Wheelbase is approx 1.8 metres or a tad under 6’. The frame is a Santee far as I can tell - it was meant to take a CB750 engine and my back meant I needed a spring rear end. I actually started down that route but the CB750 I bought for the engine was too original to wreck so I ended up restoring that about four years back and the frame has just been sitting there since. Here’s a shot of the Honda after I finished it. Looks better in the photos than real life like everything I do! D

 

[Meddy]

Knew you had to be an Aussie when I saw the footwear..
I'm not that far from you, down near Portland, nice looking bikes too.

 

[MaxPete]

I like that CB Denis!

Pete

 

[denisducati750]

G’day Pete! I’d bought a new CB750 K2 about 45 years ago but riding this one after all the bikes in between just didn’t do it for me. Had a Ducati 750 Sport back around ‘74 and missed the sound of a big old twin so ended up going XS. Sold the Honda to help finance this project. All the best! D

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - of all the bikes I've owned, a four cylinder Honda was not among them. They were nice in the day, but I had an XS650B from about 1978-81 which I really loved and then a 1979 Suzuki GS850G which I bought new as a left-over in the spring of 1981 and kept until the fall of 1990.

The Suzuki attracted me because of the shaft, cast wheels, triple disc brakes and huge, flat, comfy (but not goofy looking) saddle plus it handled better than any comparable UJM due to the well-designed frame and intelligent use of fasteners that used the engine as a structural member to help with stiffness (some of the other UJMs were a bit wobbly - but not the GS bikes).

What a machine: really good self-cancelling winkers, gear position indicator, working fuel gauge, the engine was as reliable as a bag of rocks and it was smooth and quiet, plus it had variable damping rear shocks and air-assisted front forks. Even my Honda ST1300 - which is a 2007 model (i.e. 28 years newer than the GS850G) doesn't have all that stuff. I put well over 170,000 km on that Suzuki and except for tires, brake pads, spark plugs and fluid changes and valve adjustments, I never laid a hand on it. I put a Martec electronic ignition on it in LA (I was on a trip and she needed a tune-up anyway) - and after that, not even a check on the timing was needed.

 

[azman857]

What fairing is that? Hanigan?

 

[MaxPete]

Yes Azman, it was 1982 and that was a Hannigan Sport Tourer fairing with lowers. They were made in Toronto where the Hannigans owned a big BMW motorcycle shop. The quality was incredible - beautiful fibreglas work and the paint and striping was perfect.

I think that the fairing business took off and swamped the bimmer business. Eventually, the company moved to the US (don’t recall where) and started making trike conversions.

 

[denisducati750]

Guys this is a bit random but looking for thoughts. I’ve bought one of those exhaust packs with various shapes to build an exhaust system for the XS shown. While I’d love nothing more than slightly baffled straight cuts it’s not an option if I want it on the road where I live. So, here’s the random bit: I reckon the Honda VTR 1000 had one of the best exhaust notes going around in its day. If I’m stuck with running mufflers (I want an exhaust each side) then do you think the XS would benefit from running a couple of cheap VTR mufflers I can get on upswept on the end of the fabricated header pipes? A bit of a ‘boom’ is what I’m thinking they might add. D