Street Tracker
Dirt Track Mentality
Looking good so far I got one of these damn things going too thanks to that fricken Pregrid! Looks like there is going to be quite a few street trackers rolling out soon.
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Street Tracker in works!
- Thread starter coneeng
- Start date
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- Tags
- build exhaust fabricating tracker
jd750ace
Front Toward Enemy
You Cali fellas love ya some street trackers! I do too. Make 'em sweet, and post plenty of pics!
coneeng
XS650 Addict
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Trying to decide what to do about the flanges/headpipe collars. The stock flanges look really cool so we are using them. But trying to reuse the the stock collar assembly looks messy so we're going to hot rod some new ones.
Started with some thick wall mild steel DOM, turned to correct ID/OD on lathe. MS is much more friendly to your tools! Then we nickel plated them. In case you're wondering, nickel plated mild steel is a great solution to using SS for thick parts. It looks a lot like SS, welds beautifully to SS and actually has several advantages besides cost.
One problem, made them before I had the exhaust apart so they were too tall. Easy fix, split them in half!
Tap everything together to properly set the collars in the head and on the pipe, pull them out and tack together.
Started with some thick wall mild steel DOM, turned to correct ID/OD on lathe. MS is much more friendly to your tools! Then we nickel plated them. In case you're wondering, nickel plated mild steel is a great solution to using SS for thick parts. It looks a lot like SS, welds beautifully to SS and actually has several advantages besides cost.
One problem, made them before I had the exhaust apart so they were too tall. Easy fix, split them in half!
Tap everything together to properly set the collars in the head and on the pipe, pull them out and tack together.
Attachments
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Things really got rolling now and pictures jump to a mostly fabbed up exhaust system. Right now the debate is whether to fab into a slip-on collector or put a slip joint in the left side header behind the frame rail? Each has advantages and disadvantages.
I might get some argument over the header design. If we were building a true race bike it would likely have been built a little different. But we wanted something that wouldn't look like an off the rack exhaust. I can tell you that there is now way it could be done profitably as an aftermarket exhaust - but that's exactly why you fabricate, to have something that can't be bought in a box! Now mufflers and such are a different story, there is a lot of engineering and components that can be too tough to fab in the average shop. So we went custom header fan and a universal fabricator muffler to finish it off.
By the way, all this exhaust fab is being done by my buddy Ben Boyle at Benderwerks in ATL. http://benderwerks.com/ watch for his new website coming soon.
I might get some argument over the header design. If we were building a true race bike it would likely have been built a little different. But we wanted something that wouldn't look like an off the rack exhaust. I can tell you that there is now way it could be done profitably as an aftermarket exhaust - but that's exactly why you fabricate, to have something that can't be bought in a box! Now mufflers and such are a different story, there is a lot of engineering and components that can be too tough to fab in the average shop. So we went custom header fan and a universal fabricator muffler to finish it off.
By the way, all this exhaust fab is being done by my buddy Ben Boyle at Benderwerks in ATL. http://benderwerks.com/ watch for his new website coming soon.
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therealjamesdean
XS650 Enthusiast
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I like the exhaust!!!
racerdave
^ Gone not forgotten ^
Nice work on the exhaust, but I'm wondering if you will have tuning problems with what looks like very unequal length head pipes?
coneeng
XS650 Addict
No, I don't think I will have any tuning issues in the broad sense. On a four-stroke you really don't even need a header for it to run like you do on a two-stroke. I am guessing that I probably have sacrificed a small amount of top end horsepower, ASSUMING that we didn't get lucky and exactly accidently time the pulse with the unequal lengths.
We kept the exhaust tight (1.50" header) so that there isn't a loss of velocity in the pulse. If we had done a 1.75" header then we may have found bigger issues with the lengths.
If you ever want to see an exhaust that violates every "conventional rule of wisdom" of exhaust theory, just look at a Harley. Those things shouldn't even start, let alone run! Diameters too large, unequal length 2-2, unequal length 2-1, not enough backpressure, too much backpressure, mufflers too long, mufflers too short, too much/too little chrome, ad nauseum!
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Here's a peek at the new upper shock mounts. We decided to go with a tube and bung so that it carries the look of the new subframe rather than the usual square edged brackets.
We are getting close to the point where we'll hold until I decide what to do with the tank. Now just going to clean things up and take it to the Barber Vintage Festival to display in booth. http://www.barbervintagefestival.org/
If you are going to Barber, stop by the Fan Zone and say hello. We'll be there with displays of exhaust components, several finished and project bikes, and a couple of pro fabricators to answer questions. http://www.coneeng.com/motorcycle_components.html
We are getting close to the point where we'll hold until I decide what to do with the tank. Now just going to clean things up and take it to the Barber Vintage Festival to display in booth. http://www.barbervintagefestival.org/
If you are going to Barber, stop by the Fan Zone and say hello. We'll be there with displays of exhaust components, several finished and project bikes, and a couple of pro fabricators to answer questions. http://www.coneeng.com/motorcycle_components.html
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coneeng
XS650 Addict
coneeng
XS650 Addict
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Oh and here is a shot of another XS650 we had in our booth at the Barber Vintage Festival.
You can also check out a photo album of other bikes here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...8685769142983.99189460.167857709892459&type=1
You can also check out a photo album of other bikes here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...8685769142983.99189460.167857709892459&type=1
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coneeng
XS650 Addict
DickECCP
DickECCP
Very interested in seeing more of this bike. Looks great !
GoldToothGarage
XS650 Addict
Any info on the rear wheel conversion? Did you fab the set up or order a kit? what all parts needed to be fabbed? It would be greatly appreciated
pregrid
XS650 Guru
Looks like Omar's.
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Yes it's an Omar's kit. Not super complicated, all you need is a mill, lathe, knowledge on how to use them and a design to build your own. I chose to buy the kit even though I had the first and second items.
coneeng
XS650 Addict
Time to start tearing down the motor. If you see the first pics of the bike you can see why I am nervous! I think it was stored in a pond for a couple years!
What a pleasant surprise! No frogs or even tadpoles in there! No mud, rats or spiders (I have found thise in other engines). Cam looked great. Going to replace pistons and bore just because it has been sitting for years. From up here the bottom end looks great but going to tear it all the way down. Got to polish the cases.
Has anyone tried media polishing rather than hand polishing? I am thinking about trying that on some parts for a little different look. A little concerned on how it might effect machined surfaces internally.
What a pleasant surprise! No frogs or even tadpoles in there! No mud, rats or spiders (I have found thise in other engines). Cam looked great. Going to replace pistons and bore just because it has been sitting for years. From up here the bottom end looks great but going to tear it all the way down. Got to polish the cases.
Has anyone tried media polishing rather than hand polishing? I am thinking about trying that on some parts for a little different look. A little concerned on how it might effect machined surfaces internally.
Attachments
Last edited:
Street Tracker
Dirt Track Mentality
coneeng,
looking good glad to see no critters in the cases! On the media polishing are you talking aqua blasting? Hugh is doing that on his lower end builds he is doing and says that it leaves a nice natural metal finish. He has a link to the guy on there also.
looking good glad to see no critters in the cases! On the media polishing are you talking aqua blasting? Hugh is doing that on his lower end builds he is doing and says that it leaves a nice natural metal finish. He has a link to the guy on there also.
coneeng
XS650 Addict
What I was thinking about was the polishing that is also used when they do polished ceramic coatings. They are round non-abrasive pellets in a vibrate/tumbler, usually it is a dry polishing. I want to get more of a satin sheen, on the outer cases I plan to do a machine hand polish with a brush look instead of a bright finish.
