Large Spine Frame XS650 / Egli / Rau / Cafe Racer

[rehar]

This weekend, Headlight mount and some cleanup around the Electronics Tray/Bracket.
Some pics of the headlight. Finally got the "simple" brackets to work, found some 2mm rubber stock - they now mount.
Drilled a couple of holes for the turn signals and ... Think I will tie the speedo mount into the headlight mount... Maybe...

 

[rehar]

Last week after mounting the headlight with the fork mount brackets... I was playing around trying to figure out a good way to mount the Speedo... I started to realize it doesn't look good with the speedo mounted high - directly off of the top triple clamp. There was a huge space between the headlight and the speedo... Looks like a "high forehead"...

I like to keep the headlight low, so while considering how to mount the speedo lower, I started to rehash an older mounting design and came up with this:

Kind of fills up the gaps, spaces things out a bit. Then I realize, it's also lighter, about one pound lighter. Just one of those fork mounted brackets is .96lbs.
So, I'll play with this a little this weekend. Fun stuff...

 

[rehar]

Reiterating a problem... High forehead, Weight and additionally, I really don't like clamping items to the fork legs. Believe it or not - you can impact slide performance/stiction if your not careful... My thought - just best to avoid if possible.

So - The redesign - slight update:


You may have heard of, done this yourself or seen others do it... save time, especially on sheetmetal bits, a convenient method to layout the part is to print it 1:1 scale and glue down onto the work. Cereal boxes make great prototyping material, and a paper hole punch is .25inch - perfect for those M6 clearance holes! After the paper is exercised, drawing updated - repeat on the sheetmetal.



Now for the upright, had some 4130, 1.5 X.75 X .049 sitting around... Cut hack, weld, grind... and end up with this:


Then put it all together:



And back onto the bike:


For now - done. Not completely done though. Was going to blow out some stylish circles in the aluminum - but feeling the weight of the LED headlight... That thing is SOOO Heavy... I might hunt around for something lighter, then go for the circles... For now - losing material on the brackets might not be a good idea. I was going to rubber mount the aluminum piece, which I can still do later... TBD.

 

[MrBultaco]

amazing build, rehar..."me likey"

 

[rehar]

Any good ideas out there for Plastic 5-3/4" headlight/bulb? I'm afraid the glass lens on most lights would crush/crack mounted in the CNC/Billet frame...

 

[rehar]

Slight distraction this weekend. Received and built up my 12T Press Brake Kit.
A year ago - I bought the 12T press, finally buying more tools to use with it...
(if you buy a press - go for the 20T. At the time I bought this, the price was not so different, and ignorance - I didn't think the 20T was necessary.)

This is the finger brake kit, comes with 1", 3" and 9.5" fingers. All three together 13.5" length bends or down to 1".
I think I would like to have a 2" finger as well - doesn't look to difficult to make.

Anyway - next time I need to bend up some sheet... Should be no problem.


Poking around the garage for wiring harness bits and pieces - decided to order up some connectors, etc... Maybe next weekend get started on the wiring harness.

 

[Jim]

OK. ya sold me... I need one for my press...
Where'd you get it from?

 

[Beags64]

Jim, a guy with your skills should be able to whip up a press brake like that in an afternoon.

 

[Jim]

I built my own 4ft. bending brake for sheet metal work on airplanes. I learned sumpin from that.... sometimes it's easier to just buy the tool...

 

[Beags64]

I hear ya. From what I've heard those Swag Off Road kits are pretty nice. I think you can get them fully assembled or just all the parts & weld 'em up yourself.

 

[Mailman]

Rehar,
You've got some mad skills there brother! I'm loving your bike. I sure would love to see it in person.
Hey just a thought on that dent in the top of your gas tank, I've been doing a lot of research on paintless dent repair lately and that dent on top of your tank ( I believe ) could be easily repaired by a qualified shop.
Search YouTube for paintless dent repair motorcycle gas tank and see for yourself. I've seen some amazing saves.
Keep up the nice work
Bob

 

[joebgd]

I want a bike like this. Old school heart rides liken a 2018

 

[rehar]

Jim, Beags,
The Brake: http://www.swagoffroad.com/12-TON-Finger-Brake-DIY-Builder-Kit-_p_126.html

It wouldn't be that difficult to make, But it's very true - where do you want to spend your time, and sometimes, it's just easier to buy.
I did have to weld this together (no cutting, machining though), SWAG will do it all for you for around +$100.

I'm definitely going to get my money's worth out of this.

Mailman,
About the tank - thanks. I am hoping to have that straightened out and not use any filler. The tank's kind of a shell/swiss cheese yet. a ton of work yet to do on that. I've got to get all the electrics, cabling, etc in place before I put more attention into the tank. The tank is really going to be challenging. My welding skills aren't up to the task. Very thin wall, cosmetic... Hopefully, I'll end up with more than 3 gallons (the more the better).

Joe,
Exactly! Additionally, it should look like it could have rolled off a production line. Yamaha - are you listening? I hear Yamaha might be working on a new XS650. There was an interesting article, it also mentioned Motorcycle Project Coordinator at Yamaha, Shun Miyazawa up in LA might be working it. Someone I'd like to meet. If they are - hope they don't go with twin shocker, weeney forks and single disc up front. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with twin shocks, weeney forks and single discs... (Well Just say no to the weeney forks.)

Article: http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/yamaha/2018-yamaha-xs650-concept.html

 

[rehar]

Held for parts this weekend...

 

[rehar]

Got a new tool, received cabling parts, wrapping my brain around the schematic integration of the Power Dynamo, Motogadget M-Unit, M-button, GPS Speedo, switch gear, etc... scavenged a connector body from an XS650 wiring harness, tore a battery apart...

The Power Dynamo Regulator uses a 6 pin connector that will mate with the stock XS650 wiring harness. So, I scavenged the connector body out of an xs650 wiring harness, which I'm not going to use.

Digging in and trying to gracefully remove the connector I was shocked to find one of the wires had melted the insulation up and down most of the length of the wire. Wow! The bike that harness came off of - must of been right on the verge of total melt down.


Once cleaned up, it looks pretty good. And yep - this wiring harness is going to take some time.


Digging in to an older LiFePO4 battery...

These are pretty simple. This one has an external connector on the top/center - which the "smart charger" plugs in to and monitors the balance between the cells for safety during charging. The individual cells in this battery are probably the same used in the other battery, ANR26650M1A LiFEPO4 (Lithium Ferrite Phosphate).

This configuration is easy to scale up 4cells, 8cells, 12cells, etc... As I have pictured below.
3.2V each, 3200mAh. 4 cells = 12.8V, 3.2Ah, 8 cells = 12.8V 6.4Ah, 12 cells 12.8V 9.6Ah.


Not sure I will do this, but considering ditching the housing on the 12 cell that's going on my project bike. Maybe flatten it out a bit. TBD...

 

[Mailman]

Very impressive bit of engineering there Rehar! I truly admire your skills.

 

[rehar]

Wire Harness... Received most of the parts that I ordered, still held for a couple of pieces. Can't make too much progress yet.

I was wrestling with the starter relay location. I liked a position on the tray at the rear, but - cabling gets pretty long. From POS Battery terminal to the relay and back to the starter - 40". Stock is about 28" long.


Decided to relocate the relay between the battery and the starter. I had to weld a small bracket onto the frame. New cable length will be around 28", 8AWG.


Some of the parts I received were simpler switch gear for the hand controls. The Motogadget M-Unit and M-Button are fairly simplified, so - trying to keep with that theme I ordered some simple switch gear... Nothing is permanent... but for now, this is what the switch gear looks like (See the turn signal cluster (left) and the starter button (right).


One of the other reasons I selected this switch gear - they are very thin, consuming minimal space on bar. This will give more freedom in mirror selection/mounting position (potentially). I'll use bar end mirrors if I have to, but I'm not a real fan. I'm going to try and place the mirrors in a more conventional location.

These are some mirrors I had, and being surprised by how heavy these were, decided to weigh them.
Found the rectangular set - don't even remember ordering these! Bought the small round Bar end mirrors recently (as back ups) and had these Rizoma bar end units kicking around - unused from a project about 10yrs ago.

I'm going to try to mount the Rizoma directly on the bar, next to the switch gear and see how that functions. That said, these were heavy! (1.4lbs without the little bar end pieces).

grms Lbs 2X
222 0.49 0.98
193 0.42 0.85
316 0.70 1.39

 

[rehar]

Rizomas directly mounted... Hmmm don't look too bad...

 

[mrtwowheel]

That bike will deserve a more modern engine when you're done.

Scott

 

[rehar]

I like the idea of old engine, but with a more modern handling chassis. That said - ideally, I'd like 1000cc, dry clutch, shorter engine front to rear, counter shaft sprocket in a completely different location... But, we work with what we have. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.