My bobber build

[oneup]

I know there isn't a lot of love here for bobbers, especially a fat rear tire bobber, but how boring would life be we all liked the same things. My first bike ever was an '81 XS650 Special-II. At least I'm not chopping up an otherwise good bike. Frame was custom ordered from Cycle One Mfg in OK.

Drop seat and 4" stretch and I think 30* rake, pics from their shop

Couple of mock ups now that it is home. Going to run a 200mm rear

And the donor bike (bought it Wed) of which all I'll be using is the motor. (Everything else will be up for grabs and yes, I do have the title.) I had planned to put it on the platform today (just bought it Fri at HF) and pull the motor but I have to take the front tire clamp to work Monday and "improve it's design" before I'm comfortable putting the bike on it. Donor runs quite well but neutral is a bitch to find once you put it gear. Bike kicks easier than electric starts. Will be getting a 2 under springer front, TC Bros air ride seat bracket and a ton of goodies from Revival Cycles. Build will be slow going since I'm paying as I go vs throwing down a CC, I rather enjoy my 100% debt free status.

 

[CoconutPete]

Bobbers aren't my style, but I can appreciate good craftsmanship in any form. Looks nice!

 

[oneup]

Since this build could realistically take a couple of years, if I buy tires now for mock up purposes will they still be road safe once I'm done? I dont know squat about bike tire lifespan.

 

[oneup]

Today's baby step. Bought a 200/50/18 tire and had it mounted. Dunlop Elite 3. Small local shop had 1 and it was priced right....165 w/tax mounted and balanced.

With it in place for mock up I have about 5-3/4" of ground clearance at the rear most flat area of the frame. Forward most flat is showing 5-7/8" of gc.

The shop today didn't have a matching 90/90/21 so I'm using axle centerline measurements I got from where I ordered the frame. Looks like 20" from axle centerline to bottom of neck.

My chunk of wood seat is showing 24" of height but until I get the TC Bros air ride seat bracket and decide on a seat this is just a guess.

This seat is the one I have my eye on at the moment.

https://store.road6customs.com/Black-Solo-Seat-by-Redtail-Leather-00126.htm

 

[Jim]

Since this build could realistically take a couple of years, if I buy tires now for mock up purposes will they still be road safe once I'm done? I dont know squat about bike tire lifespan.

The two biggest killers of tires are petroleum products, and UV light. Minimize that and they'll go a good 4-6yrs. for your build.

Watcha' gonna do with the mufflers from the donor?

 

[oneup]

The two biggest killers of tires are petroleum products, and UV light. Minimize that and they'll go a good 4-6yrs. for your build.

Watcha' gonna do with the mufflers from the donor?

Thanks Jim.

As for the mufflers, if I don't get any bites on the entire rolling chassis (ad in the classifieds now) the entire bike will get parted out.

 

[Jim]

As for the mufflers, if I don't get any bites on the entire rolling chassis (ad in the classifieds now) the entire bike will get parted out.

Keep me in mind if ya go that route. I might be interested in 'em.

 

[oneup]

Will do Jim. Going to let the ad run a few days before dismantling.

 

[oneup]

I've never been a fan of apes and I don't intend to do any crazy long distance riding with this when I finish it, but I do want it to be as comfortable as a rigid can be made to be. I found this thread here

http://www.xs650.com/threads/does-a-spring-seat-make-a-rigid-comfortable.8894/

and I have to agree with what Punkskalar is saying here

You folks aren't gonna like this, but I spend ALOT of time with charts like this.... Spending 5 years studying Product Design helped for sure... A man can go crazy studyin'

Just don't do forwards and drag bars, thats a big no-no for ergo... If it looks like you are trying to tickle your toes going down the road, you are doing it wrong...

Think more like this:

And less of this:

Everything has to work together... Bars, tail section, seat dimensions, controls, etc... Just 1 of those being off is a pain in the ass - literally

In this pic I'm trying to get a feel for my arm position while seated in order to achieve as upright of a position as possible. In order to make this happen the yardstick is at the height needed. This translates to around 12" of handlebar rise. (Pardon my wood pcs for mock up, using what I have on hand) I was intending on going with some 6" rise Z bars but that height puts me reaching too far.

So some 12" Z's with some slight pullback may be just the ticket.

 

[oneup]

I ordered this today, should have it in 6 weeks or so
https://www.dragonsoulcustom.co.uk/product-page/custom-classic-springer-front-end

 

[Jmann8686]

Looks like an awesome build. Looking forward to watching this one.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

I like that springer, it replicates the Harley wishbone, strong mainlegs. It especially addresses the weak spot of springers, wobbly rocker pivots. The rocker length is short, that'll keep the trail long for a non-raked neck, but gives a stiff suspension. Provisions and/or plans for a front brake? Where to attach a brake stay?

 

[oneup]

Front brake absolutely Two Many. They asked which side I'd be running it on, I told them right. They sent me a link to the setup they have used but that was on my work computer, not here at home.

 

[Robert Reed]

Wow, I usually don't like springer front ends but that thing looks BA!

 

[oneup]

Rubbed on the stator cover today
500 grit first

Then I did 1000 and 1200 then polished it with this stuff I bought years ago at a vendor stand at Friday Night qualifying when our dragstrip was NHRA, now it is IHRA. Not really going for full on mirror, leaving some "character".

Front tire came in yesterday but the tube and rim strip didn't show or I would have gotten it mounted today.

And apparently Gary Poh is either too busy to get back with me or he simply isn't fooling with the wide tire kits he used to offer (strangely, none of the emails I sent bounced back as undeliverable so I don't know what's up) and Sprocket Specialists talked to me like I was crazy when I inquired about an offset sprocket, I contacted a place in The Netherlands called VVMRacing. They can supply me with an offset sprocket with a support bearing, waiting on an invoice. They can do two different styles, one solid and one with a support ring that allows for
more room for a support bearing and nut. The solid won't work for my application. The pic of the solid one is actually for a Kawasaki but it was the only pic he had of that style to show me. With the other style you can just swap out the sprocket when need be and they can make one with whatever tooth count you can feasibly run/fit.

 

[oneup]

Did a few more pieces today. Maybe tackle the right side cover next weekend. Anybody have a spare stator cover laying around, this motor just had what looked like a paint can lid for a cover.

 

[Jim]

Nice!!

 

[oneup]

Went to call it a day, go inside and garbage needed taking out. By the time I got it out of the can and went out with it USPS Priority showed up with my TC Bros air ride seat mount

 

[oneup]

 

[oneup]

The guy at VVMRacing finally got back to me with a price on the offset style below.....118.11 shipped @ today's exchange rate
View attachment 123558

And more goodies showed this week, forwards, rear brake set up, front rotor, all new engine and side cover hardware. Tube and rim strip too so I had the front tire mounted today.