Lost my s#*t on the highway

[domi_nate]

Hey everyone, new here my names Nate
So took my hard tail 78' sx650 on her maiden voyage today and ended up pusher her too much (cause I love to go fast) and ended up losing my rear fender and one half of the sissybar and half of my back seat was eaten up idk how that happen. But anyways... I have some questions on getting what I need to weld back on again.

Are most seats universal or would I have to buy a specific one? And where to find one? Cause I'm not quite sure about the different mounting brackets.
Looking for either a solo seat that would be good. Or looking for a king and queen seat to take my girl out on rides as well

and what kind of rear fender should I get? And where to find one?
I don't have fat tires, kind of skinny

This is my first cruiser/bobber. I switched from riding dirt bikes. Would love to learn more about the Xs culture

Thanks !!!
-Nate

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Hey everyone, new here my names Nate
So took my hard tail 78' sx650 on her maiden voyage today and ended up pusher her too much (cause I love to go fast) and ended up losing my rear fender and one half of the sissybar and half of my back seat was eaten up idk how that happen. But anyways... I have some questions on getting what I need to weld back on again.

Are most seats universal or would I have to buy a specific one? And where to find one? Cause I'm not quite sure about the different mounting brackets.
Looking for either a solo seat that would be good. Or looking for a king and queen seat to take my girl out on rides as well

and what kind of rear fender should I get? And where to find one?
I don't have fat tires, kind of skinny

This is my first cruiser/bobber. I switched from riding dirt bikes. Would love to learn more about the Xs culture

Thanks !!!
-Nate

Welcome, Nate.
Well, I've got some similar stories from my early years, one where I was riding my chopper on LSD when the rear fender got caught.....never mind, lets get back to yours.
How about some pics to show the damage and what you are working with?

 

[domi_nate]

Damn, sounds like something I would've done haha! At least you're still with us.

Seats not really in a bad shape just got to get it reupholstered.

But yeah, the fender is definately gone. Half the sissybaris there so I Warped the remainder cause the bolt going from the frame to the bar holds up the tail lamp and plate

 

[xjwmx]

Welcome, Nate.
Well, I've got some similar stories from my early years, one where I was riding my chopper on LSD

The three ppl I know who mixed LSD and machinery have all been skeletons for a few decades now.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Sorry Nate, I'm not the best person to ask your specific questions; I'm into stock restos these days, mostly. I'm sure that you'll get some answers eventually. You might start looking at the parts houses like TC Brothers to see what is available.

 

[upthemaiden]

I'm guessing from what it sound like, you bought this bike already built? Normal motorcycle seats are made specific to the model, a bike that's been rebuilt like yours would just take a general seat. If you look around any of the sites selling custom XS stuff you should see plenty of examples you can pick from. You'll likely have to do a little work to get everything to line up again. Your frame might have the mounting tabs welded on specifically in place for that seat. Did the fender rip anything off with it? Or was the mounting hardware just not properly torqued and the nuts/bolts let loose?

If that's the first ride on a new bike, I'd definitely try to get a hold of the previous owner and point out what he sold you... Chances are good he'll just dodge all of your phone calls and say it's your problem now, but selling someone a bike that falls apart on their first ride is kind of a shitty thing to do, especially if it's a custom bike and you're selling it to someone who doesn't have the skills to fix it(I have no clue what your background is and what you're capable of building/fixing, so don't take that as me making a comment about your skills, you just didn't tell us what your skill level is with that stuff). Luckily nothing structural let loose, but after an event like that I'd definitely want to give the entire bike a good once over(a good idea with any new bike you buy) to make sure nothing else is ready to go.

Take a look around google images at xs650 bobbers, some guys have fenders, some don't use any. You can find a double seat, but being seated directly over the back wheel of a hardtail might not be your girlfriend's idea of a good time, but it's always worth a try. Maybe spend a few weeks/months on the bike to make sure it's holding up well and have someone you trust look over it well, because, well... imagine if your girl had been sitting on a seat mounted to that rear fender when it went tumbling down the highway.

Nice looking bike though, I hope you get everything sorted so you can get back to riding soon. If you can get some better pictures of how the fender was mounted we should be able to give you some better ideas as to what needs fixed. It's hard to tell how it was actually mounted from the pictures. Were you able to grab the fender and bring it home? Might still be usable depending on how bad of shape it's in.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Nate,
It will be important once you find a fender to study up on locking fasteners. There are a number of types of locking nuts. You can also use Locktite Blue compound (Permatex). Locking washers can also work to avoid losing things in the future.

 

[domi_nate]

Thanks a bunch, I used to take auto shop like 7 years ago back in high school. Taught me how to weld. Looking at welders online and holy crap they're expensive.

Yeah I bought the bike from someone who had no time for it anymore.

Thankfully I have a toolset so I fastened every bit and bolt down, it was just hard to notice the ones built right under the seat. Everything else was pretty solid, probably he didn't have enough time to get solid welds to hold the struts on.

Nah, the guy was really cool. It's my fault that I didn't give it the good once over before taking her out. And the bike isn't completely finished. That would be bad if my girl was on the back of that when it happened.

I just ordered a new seat and actually found the fender that are with the bike along with a bike jack so I can actually take it apart now.

The property I'm living on has a bunch of welding projects that need to be done, so I'm waiting on them to get it.

I just wasn't sure if the back end of the frame would take any seat. Spent the last couple days doing a bunch of research

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

This Century stick welder is highly recommended, and is only 213 bucks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Century-...ck-Welder-Single-Phase-120V-K2789-1/100672845

 

[Ratranger]

If you want mig I would check out hobartweldshop.com they sell factory refurb units. 2 year warranty, $9 flat rate shipping. I bought a handler 140 from there, and after you add in bottle and cart I have $700 total investment.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Nate and welcome,
note that the XS650 engine vibrates like a paint-shaker and things bolted on solid tend to fall off.
My trick with mounting stuff on rigid-framed motorcycles is the same trick that Yamaha used on the stock XS650.
Rubber mount everything!
Plain ol' kitchen tap washers from a hardware store work well.
Stack-up sequence for attaching parts to the frame is:-
bolt head/plain washer/rubber washer/fender or stay or plate or whatever/rubber washer/frame lug/rubber washer/plain washer/Nylok nut.
I have owned a stick welder and an oxy-acetylene welder this past 30 years but if I were starting over I'd get a good used MIG instead.

 

[650Skull]

Welcome Nate, .............Either good luck or bad which ever way you want to look at it. Having a good look i see your brake rod is bent.........the PO 90degreed the hub brake arm and it looks like it maybe pushing instead of pulling............Shoot some good pics of the bike from different angles, not to close or to far away, seems the guy may have done some questionable things if you regard safety as important.........i guess if you are taking your girl on the bike its either bump up the life insurance or get the bike sorted...........not a hard-tail guy but do know mechanical stuff. I said stuff that should fill you with confidence, lol.

On the welder there are reasonable cheep ones but don't look to real cheap........ a 160 amp welder is the range you need. means when welding around the 80-110 amps the duration is going to be in the 80-90 range.........that's what to look for .......a long duration at normal welding amps.

I did the real cheap portable welder to do a small job making a canopy for the back of my ute. i was warned but thought hell its only 25mm, (1") box steel. surely it can handle that. The welder would cut out after 2 min welding and i would have to wait 10 min or so before i could do another 2 min.........

Pics please