Parts for Mike

[xsdogstar]

Parts for Mike

I live outside of pittsburgh and when I order parts off of ebay for my bobber I have the sender label the boxes "Mike's Parts" or "Parts for Mike". I haven't told my wife that I am building a motorcycle in the garage. She thinks that I'm rebuilding a transmission from a car for my brother, and somehow thinks that the frame is from a bicycle (so I keep it covered up, out of sight out of mind.)

I am beginning to rebuild a 75 XS650 B engine (ebay), it came in two boxes all torn apart and in a bunch of pieces. The frame is from a 76 (ebay) that I got a great price on because my brother in cleveland picked it up in his minivan.

A huge internal debate for me is I am still debating between chopping the frame and making it look like a Lorena Bobber or keeping the swing arm (72ish ebay, was sent the wrong one, I like the guy a lot though so kept the part, he's building a sweet bike).

I have a set of carbs (ebay) that are said to work and should only need a minor adjustment as well as cleaned up. I just got a triple tree (81 ebay), although, I like some of the springer kits as well.

I do know that I would like 19in front and 16in rear tires with about 3 of stretch. The Lorena Bobber is said to have a 38 degrees of rake but from the pictures that I've gathered I don't believe that to be the case and believe that some how the bike has been angled upward with the new hard tail to increase the rake. Not sure? Opinions?

Right now I'm going after advice...

- Would like to soda blast the top cover and valve body and then paint. Advice on should these be masked or fully taken apart.
- Gasket set I think that I am going with Athena so far because there are some o-rings in the kit. Not sure how many oil seals I need to get and where as well.
- Advice on DOM steel source.

And going after parts...
Front forks (Not sure if it is 34 or 35 mm)
Although the R6 conversions look really nice as well.
Hubs and wheels

everything else...

Will post some pictures

If someone has a basic teardown buildup bullet list that would be awesome, because I know I'm not going about this the easy way...

AJ

 

[XSLeo]

If your 81 set of trees are indeed XS650 trees they use 35 mm forks.
Did the frame come with a Title? If not do as you will but find out how easy it will be to get a Title before you invest money in a frame you can't get a Title for.
If you have built many bikes before then collecting a bunch of odd parts and putting them together can be a challenge.
If you have little to no experience in building a bike then you are going about it wrong. I would suggest you find a complete bike, preferably a runner, with a good title. This way you have all the parts you need.
Get the bike and ride it to sort out any issues, then start the mods.
As you do the mods you can sell off the parts you don't use. This can help you pay for the mods.
Doing it this way would be cheaper than piecemeal like you are doing.
Leo

 

[nj1639]

Hey Leo, first paragraph explains the accumulation of convoluted parts and pieces due to deception.
So when this bike eventually sees the light of day and you on it you're going to tell your wife it's Mikes transmission? Good luck. Man up and get right with your old lady. Deception is like juggling bowling balls, eventually they're going to fall.

 

[XSLeo]

I was trying to explain the best way to acquire a project.
If he lies to his wife, that's between him and his wife. Lies lead you no where. Enough said.
Leo

 

[ippytattoo]

Deception is like juggling bowling balls, eventually they're going to fall.

Nice analogy nj. When i met my wife I didn't have a bike but she knew I used to. When I told here I was going to get another one to build she was less than thrilled, as a matter of fact she tried many times to convince me not to, but once I got mine and she saw how much I enjoyed building it and how much I like tinkering with it she came around. Now she just worries about me riding around with the idiots down here.

xsdogstar, I am not going to tell you what to do but if you tell your wife she may not be happy now but if you don't tell her she will be really really not happy later, when she finds out.

 

[Iowa Mark]

After being with my wife for the last 35 years, no matter how stupid she seems, she's still way ahead of me and all my dumb ideas. Maybe you got one of those super smart ones than believes you.