WickedKlown2's Brat Build ( '79 Special Frame and '81 Motor )

[WickedKlown2]

You guys have probably seen me around here in some of the threads but I think it's finally time I started my own Build Thread... I did some horse trading with a guy back in Oct '11 and ended up with a Basket Case... It consisted of a '79 Special Frame ,,, '81 Motor and about 6 milk crates worth of parts to include a spare set of wheels and tires... He started to Brat it and I just kept on with that theme...

Because of some Military Schooling ( NCO Advance Leaders Course ) I had to put this project on hold until now... I have been ordering parts like mad from 650Central,,, MikesXS,,, Lowbrow Custums,,, Monstercraftsman,,, Visual Impact,,, Hughshandbuilt and Probe Engineering... Thank You everybody that I ordered parts from for the great service !!!

Here are the Before Pics :

'81 Motor on the stand that I built

Some of the parts I have been receiving

Trimmed off all the un-needed stuff by going through here on all the threads I could find

Visual Impact Brat Kit lay out

Starting to tack the visualimpact2 Brat Kit in place

Notching the tubing and tacking in place ( you can also see the rosette welds I did on the insert slugs )

Final look before total weld up

I will continue with pics and progress reports as I get the time

 

[mwp309]

NICE! Port-a-band madness! can't wait to see more on this great build! Keep us posted!

 

[visimpact]

Looking good, keep up the pics

 

[Poverty]

Hell Yeah !! the easy part is over .. now comes all the tedious shit ! lol ..

 

[bradshaw106]

Nice syncrowave ! Very jealous

 

[WickedKlown2]

Here are some updated pictures after the weld up... I also cleaned up the welds and still need to buff them out...

I still need to do the shock mount tabs,,, seat rail end cap slugs and the seat tabs but that's for another evening...

More updates when I get the time

 

[WickedKlown2]

A little update : rear shock mounts and seat tabs complete

Me daydreaming of the day it's finished and riding

More updates as time allows ( also more pictures located in my album : http://www.xs650.com/forum/album.php?albumid=838 )

WK2

 

[WickedKlown2]

Here are some more updates

Better pic of the cross brace and seat tabs with front pivot seat mount

What I have been up to the past couple of nights :

Cutting down a Harley Davidson Fender to fit the rear tire ( can I say it's now a Hardly-Davidson )

Mocking up the Sissy bar brace for the rear fender

Mocking up the 1966 Yamaha 305 "Big Bear" Scrambler gas tank ( 4 gallons,,, oh yeah )

Once again daydreaming of ridin' down the road ( this time with a rear fender and gas tank )

more updates as time permits

WK2

 

[WickedKlown2]

Sorry for the delays as I had a issue with catching a piece of metal with my right eye that was unrelated to this project... All is better now and I finally got around to making the fender struts and finished trimming the fender... I hope everyone likes

Fully floated fender that follows the swingarm

( sorry this one is out of focus,,, I will retake this pic )

I will continue to progress slowly but surely

 

[shaunster]

Liking it so far. Quick question though - did those shocks bolt onto the swingarm straight up, or did you have to fab up mounts?

 

[WickedKlown2]

Thank you and those are the factory mounts that I opened up a little to let the shocks drop in...

 

[WickedKlown2]

A little update : dropped the motor in so I could mock up the gas tank only to find the gas tank didn't fit right or look right for that matter... Off to find a Peanut or King Peanut...

Also added some seat springs for my bum

more to follow as time allows and wish me luck on the fuel tank search

 

[pratstyle]

looking great .. i had a brat once.. i have a non titled frame i plan on bratting here in the near future .. keep the post coming..

 

[TheFish]

Turn the heat up on your welder. Or your wire speed down. Looks a little thick and ropey. The scoot looks good. I like the rear lines. And that tank is killer. Must of looked for that for a while and paint a mint for it.

 

[WickedKlown2]

Yeah I was in a little bit of a hurry but have since made corrections ( 100* plus in leathers with sweat draining and I got impatient ) ... Thanks and it did take awhile to find that scrambler tank... It is too big for this project and I will be putting it up for sell soon.

 

[Ackaroth]

Wicked - First off, looking awesome! I bought an 82 that has had incomplete chop work done on the frame and am looking at these brat kits, which I have read only great things about.

I'm curious, is there good structural integrity above the rear gusseting where you weld on the little 3-4" piece? Mine has been re-welded there, and while I am worried about it, if you end up cutting right there above where the supports come back, I can get away from all that. Pics can be found in the thread in my signature about 1/2 way down if you are curious as to what I am referring to.

 

[WickedKlown2]

Ackaroth,,,

With the VI Brat kit it has a slug that slides down in the frame of the rear uprights... Using rosette welds on the slugs will not only hold them in place but will add the support needed in that area... Once it is all welded up you will be good to hook and not have to worry about that again... If you are worried about your welding skills get the VI Brat kit and take it to a reputable welding shop and have them install the kit for you ( shouldn't take them more than 4 hours to do it esp. if they tig weld it ),,, make sure you stick around so that you can tell them the angles you want for the seat tubes and take your seat with you as a guide as well ( also helps with adding rear seat support tabs )...

I hope that helps answer your question and Thank You for the kudos

 

[atomic22]

nice work so far!
did you make that little bracket holding the spedo in place? I like the look of it.

 

[WickedKlown2]

Thank You very much and the bracket was on the speedo and have no idea what type of bike it came off of ( the bottom of the speedo face does read Seki City Japan )... When I got the bike it was a dis-assembled and partial chopped frame,,, motor out and 4 milk crates of parts and I went to sorting the milk crates for the parts I wanted to use...

 

[WickedKlown2]

Well I ordered a King Sportster tank as a replacement back on 8 June and it finally arrived today... Guess I can get back to working on this project