Here goes nothing

[pwizl]

sounds good man but im liking the line of the bike so far. yous siad you were going mono shock right ?

Yes I'm doing a mono shock rear end but a bit different then standard. If I can make it work, the shock will be mounted horizontally under the seat and push rod actuated, similar to and F1 or Indy car suspension. I've done a lot of research about the layout and the angles and everything, the only issue is going to be having enough room above the rear tire. I'm picking that up today after work, so I'll throw it on and get a better idea if it will work or not, here's hoping

 

[pwizl]

fantastic job .!

i just read through the entire thread over breakfast. Awesome attention to detail but having a deep pocket sure helps on the quality of the finishing .I can't believe you managed to get so much done without having a clear finished concept . Its looking great so far

I hope you put plenty of threebond on the crankcase oil seals and on the head gasket between the cylinders and around the bolts etc . You've done a nice job on facing the mating surfaces I see but these engines can leak oil like the Exxon Valdez..just ask Anlaf

I thank you for compliments sir but I will disagree about the deep pockets helping the quality of the finishing. I could see how someone could just drop a bike off at a shop and say I'll come get it when it's done, for me, I'd say it's more time and hard work than money. The only things I've had farmed out have been the powder coat and getting the head rebuilt and the only reason I did that was because I didn't have the equipment or ability to comfortably do that, everything else so far has been done with smoke and mirrors I thoroughly enjoy the process of building, do as much as I can by myself, and take a lot of pride in the finished product. Seriously though, no offense taken, I understand what you're saying.

As far as the finished concept, I have an idea on my head but building and customizing bikes, or anything for that matter, is a very organic process. Things evolve and change as the build goes on, you may see another bike that has something you really like, or put a part or color on that inspires other changes. the picture will become more clear in the next few days as the wheels get put back on and the rear suspension gets sorted out. I only hope it looks as good on asphalt as it does in my head.

One of my biggest fears is getting the engine and bike all together only to have oil leaks so I was VERY generous, but not too generous, with the threebond. I cannot stand oil leaks! Time will tell if it worked

Thanks again for the kind words peanut

 

[pwizl]

Hi everybody, I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. It's spring in the beautiful pacific northwest so of course it's pissing down rain, a great time to get some building done!

Finally got the rest of my front end parts back form powder, my little job kept getting pushed aside for bigger more important jobs. I wouldn't mind if they would just tell me ahead of time, but it gets really annoying when they say your stuff will be done tomorrow and when tomorrow comes, you drive over there only to hear, sorry a bigger rush job came in. Needless to say, I'll be finding another powder coater.

Got the shocks back together and put them in the triple trees for a little mock up with the wheels

Got the seat frame welded up, I ended up lengthening it 4 inches and I like it a lot better. Tacked it to the frame and will be making some gussets for added support for the front to frame area. Also will be adding some plate in the inside front where the rear of the gas tank will mount to and some strips across for seat mounting

I wanted to clean up the area in the middle of the frame to try to achieve the wide open look, so I welded a temporary support in between the frame in case anything tried to move, and cut off the 2 lower horizontal supports

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I got the seat support tacked in and the shock location mocked up. As you can see I'll be running a horizontal pushrod actuated mono shock. I still need to cut out and mount the bellcrank and support for the push rod on the swing arm. I have the design all laid out, just need to cut the pieces out of 1/4 inch plate and weld them up. The push rod is going to be adjustable for length with heim joints at both ends.

Design wise I was throwing around the idea of a forward seat support so I tacked one on to give me a visual and compare. I like how the forward one gives the seat that hanging, levitating look. I like how the rear one keeps the middle and rear of the frame open, and I like how you can see the whole shock. Please offer up opinions

 

[xs650dreamer]

the closer ones look good reminds me of this of of my favorite customs.
https://www.google.com/search?q=vir...a-virago-cafe-racers-by-docs-chops%2F;530;353

 

[DEMORALIZER]

that frame brace looks like it will interfere with the chain.

 

[xs650dreamer]

that frame brace looks like it will interfere with the chain.

i believe he said it would be temporary

 

[peanut]

with the strut in that orientation I can't see how you are going to achieve enough movement of the swingarm to accomplish enough cushioning effect unless the frame hinges like a pair of scissors ? looks good though!

 

[pwizl]

the closer ones look good reminds me of this of of my favorite customs.
https://www.google.com/search?q=virago+cafe&tbm=isch&imgil=pr8K0bh9DPoZ6M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRQt4FLzxAVwSnsq_9-aAJRz59V8F8adWvWDh7Pl1RYjJjiOPQ7wQ%253B530%253B353%253BBhSOanclvfxDpM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fthekneeslider.com%25252Fyamaha-virago-cafe-racers-by-docs-chops%25252F&source=iu&usg=__KWgDKt6oFly1pQaKdxW5XiHEV7Q%3D&sa=X&ei=Bz9nU6-EGIvpoASC44G4Cg&ved=0CCsQ9QEwAA#facrc=_&imgdii=pr8K0bh9DPoZ6M%3A%3BghrDfIPqWWCa7M%3Bpr8K0bh9DPoZ6M%3A&imgrc=pr8K0bh9DPoZ6M%253A%3BBhSOanclvfxDpM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthekneeslider.com%252Fimages%252F2012%252F03%252Fdocs-chops-virago-4.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthekneeslider.com%252Fyamaha-virago-cafe-racers-by-docs-chops%252F%3B530%3B353

Always loved that bike

that frame brace looks like it will interfere with the chain.

It's temporary

with the strut in that orientation I can't see how you are going to achieve enough movement of the swingarm to accomplish enough cushioning effect unless the frame hinges like a pair of scissors ? looks good though!

Smoke and mirrors peanut, smoke and mirrors

Seriously though, it'll be a pushrod and bellcrank set up similar in function to those used in open wheel racing. The pushrod will actuate (be pushed up) by the movement of the swingarm, which will in turn actuate the bellcrank and compress the shock. The pushrod will be attached to the brace that will be added to the swingarm, if it works it will be a thing of beauty, if not...
If all goes as planned the shock will compress about .5 inches for every 1 to 1.5 inches of swingarm movement. That will be achieved through the bellcrank which will have about a 2:1 ratio built into it.

The remainder of the parts are trickling in this week so I should have it mocked up this weekend.

 

[xs650dreamer]

sounds awesome !

 

[peanut]

Smoke and mirrors peanut, smoke and mirrors

clever stuff !

I'd never seen a horizontal orientation before ..but then I know nothing whatsoever about modern bikes

 

[pwizl]

clever stuff !

I'd never seen a horizontal orientation before ..but then I know nothing whatsoever about modern bikes

Not done on modern bikes or any bikes really as far as I know. It's used quite a bit in race cars and high end sports cars...trying something different, custom, outside the box. We'll see if it works

 

[Airwolfie]

Something like this???!

 

[pwizl]

So I spent most of the last month or so figuring out the rear suspension. The biggest problem I was running into was the design and placement of the bellcrank. I needed the bellcrank to provide a linear (straight line) motion so I wouldn't have any up and down movement of the shock as it compresses. The design I finally settled on provides me with around 2 inches of linear compression of the shock, which is just about perfect as my shock has 1.75 inches of travel. Once I got everything figured out I started sourcing parts to mount the shock. I'm making it so the entire mount that will hold the shock can be removed from the rear subframe. I got some counter sunk and threaded bungs from Bung King as well as some brackets made from 1/4 inch plate. Originally I was going to fabricate my own bellcrank but I found one from a 2008 R1 that has a captured needle bearing where I will attach the mount to. I was able to get a couple of hours in the garage on Fathers day and got everything started.

2008 R1 bellcrank

Bungs and brackets from Bung King

Countersunk bung, one on each side of bellcrank

They will be welded to 1 inch .120 wall tubing

Then I cut slots into seat rails for the brackets

Brackets tacked into place

 

[fredintoon]

Bung King, eh?
sure beats chewing them out yourself.
Check the bores and threads after welding.
Things tend to shrink &/or go out of round when the weld metal shrinks on cooling.

 

[pwizl]

Ya, Bung king. Prices are reasonable and they have a very good selection, plus I don't have a lathe.
Thanks for the heads up, I will definitely check after welding. I may end up doing each joint in a couple passes giving it time to cool in between.

 

[pwizl]

Tacked up the bellcrank mounts and did a quick mock up. Bracing, rear shock mount, swingarm brace/pushrod mount are next.

 

[pwizl]

Hello everybody, hope you all had a nice weekend. I got a little bit done between yard work and enjoying the sunshine. I was able to cut and tack the two forward braces onto the bellcrank mounts. They're angled and welded to a 1/4 inch bracket that is bolted to a clevis that I welded into the frame.

That giant booger of a weld is actually 3 passes connecting the tube to the bracket. I want to be sure it's plenty strong

 

[pwizl]

Did some work on the swingarm yesterday. I was originally going to fab up a hoop and a pushrod mount for the brace but I had an old XT400 swingarm that had a brace and mount already on it, so I used that instead.

Forgot to take a pic of the XT swingarm before I cut the brace off but, this is what it looked like.

Cut off

Then I tacked it to my XS swingarm and welded in a forward brace

 

[Airwolfie]

Nice! Nice!Nice! Keep it coming!!

 

[pwizl]

Progress...