my 82 heritage special bratstyle bobber build

[Taylor72]

hi, this is my first time joining a forum.thought i would share my long term build.i have looked at this forum for awhile and you guys have a wealth of knowledge,my goal is to build i nice bratstyle bobber from my 82 xs650,

 

[Taylor72]

this is what i started with.all stock 82 with 8500 miles on it,it belonged to a friend of mine who let sit and started it just 2 gun the engine,took me a year to get him to part with it,traded him my 93 xv535 yamaha for it even,he just had front forks redone and 2 new tires added,i have worked all my life for everybody else,i decided it's time to work on something just for me

 

[smurph]

Welcome, I am fairly new here as well. Though you have landed in the right place for XS650 knowledge. Oh and pics are always a bonus.

 

[smurph]

Looks like a clean scoot to start with.

 

[Taylor72]

it was,little oil leaks on the bottom but overall a clean bike,now its a bare frame,waiting on money to buy frame material for seat rails

 

[Taylor72]

this is what my bike lookes like after a month of weekend playtime,all tabs are gone frame cleaned up and seat rails chopped off,i have taken pics of almost everything i have done so far since this is my first build.

 

[Taylor72]

my king tank i got from a buddy for 50 bucks.needs repainting

 

[Taylor72]

my king tank i got from a buddy for 50 bucks.needs repainting
.last pic wouldnt load

 

[Taylor72]

has anyone used standard(non dom) 1 inch tubing for seat rails,there 16g,wondering about strength.will be getting dom 1 1/8" for main rails the shock tabs weld to.any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[Taylor72]

sure is quiet in here

 

[ecmo92]

I really like the gold on the tank! I used the visual impact kit for mine

 

[Taylor72]

i was thinking there product would be good,buying the tubing and shipping and extras to do it myself would cost around as much,just trying to get good ideas and photos to see what i can build

 

[Taylor72]

was there kit as easy to install as it looks?

 

[ecmo92]

what the kit gives you is the nice bend. It flows really nicely with my seat. I made sure to get one with a kick up in the rear. My redtail leather seat was pricey but damn nice. Lowbrow(I think) is carrying some seats with a nice kick up now too. And the kit was a breeze. Youve got options on how you want to do it, too. Pretty sure he has some pics on his site of some different options on how/where to weld it up. Plus, the dude is a pretty nice guy. He answered my questions and didnt make me feel like a dumbass

 

[Taylor72]

thanks,think i'll just get there kit,i may build a seat

 

[Tayno]

Pop some more photos up of your progress.

What rear shocks are you planning on? And what drop for the front?

 

[Wolfchen]

I've used 7/8ths tube w/ heavy wall for accessory add-ons, bars, welds up nice.
Most any local welding / machine shop / metals yard has access to tubing (or old crusty stuff) for reasonable $.
As long as its straight you can apply old tubing and if its heavy enuff wall thickness.

My old XS had a cracked / repaired frame at mid-section. Yammi used pretty thin stuff in the back and along the seat area.
Other XS bikes seem to have suffered similar frame cracking.
Wondering if the factory knew about this fatigue problem and continued the same mfg. process.

Haven't measured it; what sizes tubing does the XS650 frame use?

 

[Taylor72]

my xs frame is (erw) .075 wall thickness,i want the 10.5"shocks,leaving the front in place just dropping the rear,i'll get more photo's soon,budget limits progress.none of this bike seems to be dom tubing,i have the frame cleaned of anything not usefull,wont get the engine done till first of the year or so,it runs great and could reinstall after frames done but not in a rush.

 

[Taylor72]

here are some pics from start to were i am now

 

[Taylor72]

i made a bracket to mount the speedo alone,dont need a tach