street tracker guys

I agree with a lot of what you said. I've seen a lot of builds with a lot of parts just thrown together. That's why I look at 650motorycles.com! mostly for entertainment value! haha… Not that there aren't some nice builds there too. Some people just don't have the eye for what looks good in a complete build. Or maybe they just don't think out of the box or have the time, money, or resources to create a bike where everything balances and just looks right. Not saying that I have that eye either, but you certainly do! Maybe if the Cycruiser had a tank it would help that motor not look so wide. Or maybe the bike would look better with an SR500 engine.
 
I have a couple more thoughts on that. It wasn't that the motor was too wide, but just way too short far a streched out frame. I'm extremly anti-stretch except for stability on a Bonneville bike.

The whole board track trend, I feel, is wrong. If you look at a real boardtracker from the 1900-1915 time frame, the front and rear wheels were as close together as they could get them. Same as a current Velodrome (modern boardtrack) style track racing bicycle. It served a and serves a purpose. Quick response and power to the ground. They were rigid because the tracks were smooth.

So now everyone is building a "Boardtracker" style chopper and they stretch them out to these crazy long wheelbases and take standard handlebars and flip them upside down. Both of these trends look extremely stupid to me. Now that white Harley engined bike is the only short wheelbase one I've seen and it looks well thought out and not a member of the copy-cat brigade. Unridable, but it looks good.

Also, I believe what should be built is a bike with a 650 engine (being that this is the Premiere 650 page), that follows closely the Jawa Grasstrack style of bike. This is a current generation "Boardtracker" with minimal, yet ridable front and rear suspension systems. Now, take it a generation further and update the suspensions a few clicks where it would actually be a nice ride, yet retain the Jawa/grasstracker theme! Now you're talkin' my friend! If I can figure out how to post pictures again, I'll put a couple up.
 
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Travis said:
If you have the skills and resources (lathe and mill) to make your own conversion kit, figuring out how shouldn't be too hard. Just take a stock rear XS650 wheel and measure the hub. Figure out what you need to make for spacers to bolt onto the front hub to make it match the rear. Your spacers should hold new bearings and you'll need the spacer that goes in between the bearings and also the rear axle and spacers. You'll have to decide how you want it all to go together. I'd bolt each spacer to the hub using recessed allen head bolts. Then have the spacers contain the correct holes to mount the sprocket and brake rotor.
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I have all the resources readily available, I work in an aerospace machine shop. As for the skills... I like to think so. My experience is mostly in CNC lathes, but I can hack stuff out on manual lathes and mills also. When it comes to CNC mills, I get help from someone who knows more than I.
 
Jmcgowan, that is awesome! make two sets and send one to me! Or make several of your own design and start selling them.

Mule, do you know what size those wheels are on those jawas?
 
Travis said:
Jmcgowan, that is awesome! make two sets and send one to me! Or make several of your own design and start selling them.
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I don't want to reinvent the wheel (spacers), I just want to "reverse engineer" some for myself :D.
If I copy someone else's design I don't mass produce them to make a profit, I just make myself some because I'm cheap. I might however draw up a blueprint of them and share with others who want to make there own.

Those spacers are expensive because of the labor and engineering, the materials are fairly cheap.
 
very true, but the spacers themselves don't seem too complicated... It just wouldn't seem right to get a set of Omar's spacers, measure them up, draw them in a CAD program and post them on the internet. If you took some measurements of the wheels yourself and designed your own spacers then posted the drawings on the internet, that seems okay, even if they end up being almost exactly like Omar's spacers. :shrug:
 
Travis said:
very true, but the spacers themselves don't seem too complicated... It just wouldn't seem right to get a set of Omar's spacers, measure them up, draw them in a CAD program and post them on the internet. If you took some measurements of the wheels yourself and designed your own spacers then posted the drawings on the internet, that seems okay, even if they end up being almost exactly like Omar's spacers. :shrug:
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yeah, it all just boils down to me being lazy. I don't have a rear wheel with a disc, but I will be using a disc on back when I do my wheel swap.
 
mule said:
I think one of the key factors in building a bike is thinking about the overall package instead of buying a bunch of unrelated components and hoping when it's all done that it comes out looking right. Proportions, accents, etc should be looked at first, not after it's all done.
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...this i wholeheartedly agree with, imo it is a fundamental fault for many customising projects whether its bikes or cars...its kind of like ones choice in women...its all well and good having a trophy wife but if you cant communicate with her over lots of levels, youre far better off-legally, financially and personally-to have a small stable you can rent for specific purposes...i always like to have at least 3 operational bikes, all personally prepared

...interesting discussion on style and boardtracking...and one after my own heart...being a streettracker oriented rider i have my own opinions on frame stretching and fork raking, good for hillclimbing - if that is what people are into its fine by me, i can appreciated the bike without riding it, i too went through a chopper phase in the 70's - today, my thing is sleeper-like performance and handling - doesnt need to be the fastest bike around but has to handle, be able to hold its own and feel right-and within these constraints you can do a lot

...nice speedway pics...this style of riding, whether on cinders or ice, emphasises the synthesis between rider and bike...if you cant get on together youve lost before you start-dont even start with a trophy wife

...there are many nice examples of xs styling out there now, and this current resurgence in interest has been very interesting ... one of the most unappreciated bikes imo was bob triggs ascot tt prototype from 77-write up, classic bikes dec96-i liked the way he forward tilted his motor to help bring the weight closer to the sweet spot...another well created bike is this from frances caiman racing

P6140031.jpg
 
The wheel sizes on the Grasstrack bikes are 23" front and 19" or 22" rear. The 22's look very cool, but I doubt that you'd ever be able to find a decent road tire.

My "Vision" is a cross between one of these and a Bobber. Low seat height, shorter than a traditional Bobber's wheelbase(but no shorter than stock), minimal diameter rear shocks, and a low, if not side by side aluminum fuel tank. Maybe re-do the backbone to be exposed barely above the tank. Solo seat, skinny or stock forks and a chrome or nickle plated frame. Wow! Thats "woody" material!
 
- would you build a frame from scratch? use the engine as integral part of the frame? hang the swingarm from the rear mount? how about going with the look and keeping the track tyres? 22 is then no problem

- woody?...i understand cars and vans done woody?...woody guthrie-woody woodpecker-woody allen-woody from cheers

--sometimes my brain takes too many steps...the reference makes sense now
 
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Mule you're stealing my vision! :wink2: haha just kidding...

big skinny wheels, short wheelbase, minimal suspension, maybe have the backbone showing :thumbsup:

Travis said:
My next project will be running 23's front and rear! :D The bigger the better!! I'm am in no way calling it a street tracker though.
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Travis said:
.... I have the bike and the rims but now it's on hold.
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Travis said:
Spokes and skinny rims. Wide 23" rims are hard to come by and extremely expensive. Finding tires that big isn't easy either. Avon makes a 130x23 now but a 23 inch rim that wide is too expensive. The wheels and tires will look like this http://www.bikernet.com/bikebarn/PageViewer.asp?PageID=1583 The bike will have a short wheel base like that bike too but probaby have a girder front end.
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Travis said:
I think pretty much the only thing available for pure street tires are from Avon. Cheng Shin and Bridgestone make 23’s for the trials and enduros that have a 23" front.

Crash, I like that look a lot but I’m not 100% sure what I'm going to do yet. I want to make it a little more rideable that one by going with the girder front (or something with at least a little front suspension) and a cantilever sprung seat to save the back a little.
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Travis said:
Yeah, now it'll be Schwinn meets Yamaha. I love the lines of a schwinn frame. That's why I like the Cycruiser. Mine might look like a cross between the Hulster and the Cycruiser
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I was thinking a tank like the hulster or something where you can see the backbone also. It will have to use enduro tires like I said above becuase that's all I can find for the 23's.
 
It'll be like the hulster. Not really something you're going to put the miles on, but would be fun to ride around my small town, and something to talk about with friends and on the internet.

Hmm.. Maybe I could design it to use two sets of wheels… 23's with the enduro tires and 21's with decent tires, but keep the overall look to go with the 23's and have the 21's as an option.
 

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