UK Board Tracker Build Thread

Paulrxs650

XS650 Enthusiast
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Hi All,

Well it's that time of year again to start building. After a year away from the XS fray, building a Harley, I'm drawn back to these bikes again.

This year I'm going to be building my take on a modern Board Tracker. The style and position of old with modern component suspension, materials etc. Those of you who know me from my previous Bobber and Cafe builds - http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22603&highlight=bobber+build+thread
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31160&highlight=bobber+build+thread
Will know that I have already done the bobber and cafe styles. The tracker design doesn't really appeal to me, I got some inspiration from watching some of the old board track racing and some early Bonneville bikes. So, I thought I'd build my take of a modern version.

The design is still in its infancy and I know without doubt will change. However, the broad stroke is as follows:
Voodoo Vintage frame
Split tank
Rephased engine
750cc kit
USD front end and clip ons
Pamco / PMA
19" rims front and rear

Something like this sketch



Here's the donor bike - a '77 Special with a 447 engine and BS38s. It runs just :)



So the strip down begins. The frame should be coming in a month or so. Hopefully I can use that time to get the engine stopped and the internals rephased, leaving me with a nice light set of cases to get the engine mounts worked out
 
Hi Paul,
the sketch shows teles but wouldn't a board tracker have a girder fork instead?
And will you go for total authenticity and have no brakes at all?
BTW, the donor bike photo shows a vise-grip as part of the fuel system; there has to be an interesting tale you could post about that, eh?
 
Hi, yes it does. However, this is my take on a modern version, so there ll be lot of new lightweight materials / technology employed (hopefully). There'll definately be brakes, courtesy of some modern 310mm rotors and calipers up front. Yes the vice grip is integral to the fuel system ;) its main function is to overcome the dodgy vacuum petcock. It has sadly been made redundant, as the tank is now off :)
 
So, a little more done today. Bike pretty much stripped, engine out and degreased. I also took the starter motor out and replaced the gap with a core plug:






Next weekend I'll start stripping the engine down and get the crank sent out for rephasing
 
You bastard! I want to build one of those!!! Wish I could buy me that loverly frame and tank!

Modern take eh? How comes you are removing the starter motor then??!!:D:D

I'll be watching with keen interest!:thumbsup:
 
Hey Airwolfie, good to hear from you!
Yes, I am looking forward to getting my hands on those:D
Lol - have you felt the weight of those things:eek:
Yeah, one other criteria is that its going to "try" and be very light. So where at all possible I'll be using aluminium or composite to keep the weight down and maximise the output of the 750cc upgrade :thumbsup:
 
Good to see you are doing another 650 build. I would have kept the starter for getting it running after the 750 rephrase. Its your leg save it for later. The sketches of the bike look good and the bike will be even better.
 
Hi Scabber. Thanks. Yes, I'm very much looking forward to it. Yes the starter would be handy but I was weened on Bonnies, Nortons, BSAs and the odd Vincent, so I'm happy to kick away :)
Hopefully the bike will turn out well. I'm still debating colour schemes and a candy red won't leave my head at the moment ??? We shall see.
 
Looking forward to the build, I really like board trackers...and would personally love to build one some day! (When I have the space to store it, time & money of course). To me, they have that perfect retro/steampunk look to them that allows for all kinds of creative art meets practical engineering.

Good luck!
 
Hi Brassneck - Yep, pretty much my view too. Plus not many people are doing them so they're just that little bit different too.

Thanks - I'll keep the thread updated as I go along
 
On to the engine this weekend. Predominately to get the crank out and off for rephasing, plus to have look inside an see what we're dealing with.



Overall the engine was clean inside. The usual suspects of the cam chain guides had done their best to fill the engine and filter with plastic. The rear guide was just worn through to the aluminium backing but the front had completely delaminated.



One thing that did pop out, was that the right hand spark plug threads are pretty much knackered. I suspect a cack handed individual has cross threaded around 3/4 of the threads. My thread repair tool barely touched the sides, so I'm going to have to Helicoil that.



I cleaned the cases out and popped them back together so I have a jig to work out the engine mounts on the new frame.



Tomorrow I will make start on the carbs and see what we're working with there.
 
Yes they do look a lot more robust I do have to say. However, for the kit in the UK, it's a tad expensive. I'll go with the Helicoil repair for now. I've used them on plug repairs before with no issues. So with any luck we'll be OK on this one too
 
277 pamco with dynatek mini coils. I've found its best to have it in a particular place in the firing cycle, you get a feel for it after a few kick backs :) but when you find it I can gently push down prob past 50% of the kick distance and then it's just a little kick to the bottom and it fires surprisingly easy
 
So, today, I thought I would dive into the carbs. Externally, they appeared OK. However, inside was a different story. They were full of dirt and crap, which would explain the free flowing fuel issue out the air boxes :doh:
What was more of an issue, was that it appeared the same cack handed individual that had been working on the spark plugs, has been in here too. Two of the M5 bolts threads on the top cover and the bowls were stripped out and had been secured by a nut and bolt. As the bodies were in very good condition, I wanted to retain them, so I machined some M8 plugs with an M5 core, 5mm long. I drilled out the offending stripped holes, tapped them to M8 and inserted the plugs with a little blue locktite too.



The mix screws were well stuck in and victims of probably standing a long time but came out after a little persuasion with some solvent



I gave the carbs a good blow out and clean to get the thick out and checked the needles and jets. Main and pilot are stock 135 and 27.5. However, whilst the needle jet was stock Z2, the needle was some weird Chinese effort. So, I am going to replace, needles and needle jets as a matter of course.
 
Good save on the bowl screw threads, Paul.
I recently had to fix mine too, but they're 4mm.

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