Project... "Fast & Flow"

[fox23]

Last night I finished welding a few joints, then let it cool down while I got my HHB 2" lowering kit installed. Couldn't help but to put the wheels back on and place the bars/tank on it for a quick picture. I think i will try bring the front of the tank down a bit from these pics and also I think I will ditch the drag bars for some lower speedster style riser-less bars. Also not super stoked about my seat. I purchased a Biltwell Thinline but I think its too short for the amount of gap between the tank and rear wheel, it makes it look too empty IMO, no pics of this unfortunately. So I might have to custom fab a longer seat pan as well.

 

[fredintoon]

Fred,
Not to mention how a hardtailed bike handles......

Hi arctic,
that depends on the bike.
My rigid frame girder fork 1937 Velocette didn't stop worth a damn and would only go about 70mph but provided that it was on smooth blacktop it cornered like it was on rails.
OTOH, my plunger frame tele-fork 1953 BSA Gold Flash had reasonable braking and would do 100mph if pressed but it cornered like a pig in a gale.
Handling characteristics of a hardtailed XS650 could go either way depending on how the frame geometry was altered.
Mind you, finding a smooth curvy road in Saskatchewan for a cornering comparison is not an easy thing to do.

 

[CDNTX650]

Hahaha, only another person from here truely understands that fred.

 

[fox23]

Guys, while I appreciate the input, this isn't an OEM suspension vs. hardtail thread . This bike is being built as a hardtail, lets leave it at that.

An on topic note; my last shipment of parts is to be delivered today, can't wait

 

[fredintoon]

Hi fox,
OK then, back on topic.
WTF is with the banana bend cross frame brace under the new seat tube?
Gotta be several hours-worth of cut/weld/grind work to do that.
No reason I can see not to take it straight across.

 

[fox23]

Hi fox,
OK then, back on topic.
WTF is with the banana bend cross frame brace under the new seat tube?
Gotta be several hours-worth of cut/weld/grind work to do that.
No reason I can see not to take it straight across.

Hahah, just something different to add some more geometric aesthetics to the frame. Honestly it took me about two hours to have it built and installed. But probably over half that time was figuring out the height and angle of the notches and getting such a short curved piece of steel clamped into the tube notcher all square and true.

 

[fox23]

Well last night I was able to get some new bars mocked up. Center plate cut from 1/4" and some bent 7/8" DOM on the ends. I'm much happier with the way it turned out vs. the drag bars on stock risers. It also enabled me to lower the tank a bit and have it still flow with the height of the top triple clamp. Here is a side by side comparison picture (drag bars with mid mount tank vs. custom bars and low mount tank) as well as some close up shots of the bars.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

First time I've seen bars like that.
Opens the doors to some interesting opportunities...

 

[goodgollyjosh]

You work clean and you have some nice fab skills. I like the look of the bike so far. Good job! Oh, and I dig the Four Square flag.

 

[fox23]

Alright, didn't make as much progress this weekend on it as I wanted to, but still got some stuff done. I got a new seat pan pounded out of 10ga steel which is about 2.5" longer and 1" wider than the Biltwell Thinline. Springs, hinge and crossmember also were installed. Got the tank mounted and also was able to tap my rear axle plates so I can thread in a M6 bolt and start using my cam adjusters. I then disassembled everything and put the frame back into the jig to finish welding the last couple joints and a few brackets.

 

[fox23]

Small update; got it all pulled apart and back into the jig to weld out the crossmember under the seat. Finally now I was able to disassemble the frame jig and get it off my table so I can put the bike up there. Got the forks, wheels, tank and motor half installed. Need to cut out some revised motor mounts for the rear of the engine and then ill be onto the license plate bracket, tail light bracket, pegs and exhaust.

 

[Vansnxtweek]

Man, you sure make quick work of it!! Looks really awesome so far.

 

[fox23]

I wasn't able to work on the bike much this weekend, but I did manage to get the tail light bracket and license plate bracket cut and tacked into place.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi fox,
betcha realise by now I'd rather nitpick at your bike than work on my own, eh?
Just love the fancy chain adjusters and the eyeball-on-a-stalk rear light bracket.
But there only being one light bracket, plus the side-mounted plate bracket, offend my need for symmetry.
Put another bracket on the other side for a second tail light.
Rig them to be combination stop/turn/tail lights.
All it takes to arrange the rear lights that way is a 6 to 4 way trailer light adapter. ~$20 from NAPA.
And put the plate mount in the middle someplace.
Behind the seat or under the rear fender or wherever so long as it's centred.
And does Alberta still insist on bike plates the size of a pillowcase or can you opt for a smaller one?

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

... offend my need for symmetry.
-----------------------------------------------------
1984 XS650 Heritage Special....Now a sidecar rig again...

Ermmmm, huh?

 

[fredintoon]

Ermmmm, huh?

Hi 2Many,
of course sidecars are symmetrical, there's a bike on one side and a wheel on t'other.
what could be more symmetrical than that?
(given a blip on the throttle with a dab of the sidecar brake for right-handers and a squeeze on the front brake for lefties, of course.)

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Haha, yeah, I understand the 'symmetry' thing. One arena which adores symmetry is aviation.



Then Burt Rutan blew us away with his "Boomerang"...

 

[fredintoon]

Haha, yeah, I understand the 'symmetry' thing. One arena which adores symmetry is aviation.
Then Burt Rutan blew us away with his "Boomerang"...
View attachment 47351

Which is a mere update of a BV141

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Yeah, it's crazy out there: http://www.kristofmeunier.fr/Asymm_addition.htm

 

[fox23]

Hi fox,
betcha realise by now I'd rather nitpick at your bike than work on my own, eh?
Just love the fancy chain adjusters and the eyeball-on-a-stalk rear light bracket.
But there only being one light bracket, plus the side-mounted plate bracket, offend my need for symmetry.
Put another bracket on the other side for a second tail light.
Rig them to be combination stop/turn/tail lights.
All it takes to arrange the rear lights that way is a 6 to 4 way trailer light adapter. ~$20 from NAPA.
And put the plate mount in the middle someplace.
Behind the seat or under the rear fender or wherever so long as it's centred.
And does Alberta still insist on bike plates the size of a pillowcase or can you opt for a smaller one?

That's fine with me fred. I'm opposite of you on the symmetry. I'm building this bike from a minimalist's point of view so I would much rather see unbalanced rear than twice the amount of crap installed. Plus, my tail light was expensive enough on its own, I don't need to spend double on it.

That plate I have cut is basically the exact size of the license plate. I'm not sure if there are smaller sizes available, this is just the size of the one I got when I registered the bike.