2 years later, im back and still working on my bike

[Yamaha_chop]

Hey guys, been a long time. I've been lurking from time to time but haven't posted in awhile. Some of you will remember my Sportbike project;

Since I got that together I finished up my tracker build.

Put together a Honda shadow build for a coworker.

I'm currently working on turning my dirt bike into a road race bike as well.
But this thread is about the turbo bike and finishing it right and redoing the things that didn't work right. As we all know, once a bike comes together and you ride it, there are some glaring things that needed to be fixed. Basically this entire bike was based on some math and guesswork, so I'm surprised it works as well as it does, but that being said, it needs some changes.

The basic specs:
1979 xs650
Fuel injected using mega squirt
Turbocharged and intercooler
Mono-shock rear and USD front forks
Custom frame, swingers, suspension linkage, intake manifold, fuel rail, exhaust, ect....

Things still to do:
Finish tuning
Powdercoat and paint

Things to fix:
Better more visible boost gauge
Different bar position, possible superbike bars
Support front fairing better, top portion cracked paint from vibration.
Engine oil leaks
Sounds like chain tensioner guide has failed
Pops out of first gear under load

This bike has been by far the most frustrating bike I have ever owned. EVER
Doing all my own tuning has not been the fulfilling experience I thought it would be, rather its been my own personal nightmare. Coming up with all the tables, fuel and ignition from scratch has been far tougher than I anticipated. Which in turn has led me to put the bike in my shop under a cover for close to two years. My frustration level got so high that several times I thought I might tear the bike apart and use the parts for other projects. My own personal stubbornness has not yet allowed me to do so.
A month ago I sold my daily rider motorcycle, and it made me look at this bike again, I've been working on it on and off for a few weeks, and today I actually rode it around for about 20 minutes, which sadly is a new record for this bike. The good news is that it handled spectacularly, the rear suspension I'm really happy with. Also for the first time ever I got it into boost. I don't know how much because my gauge sucks and I can't see it, but I could definitely feel it come on, it was awesome! As a downside, the angle of the clip one was absolutely killing my right wrist, so I'm either going to come up with a modified riser clip on or switch to upright style bars. Tuning still needs more work but it actually rode pretty well and it convinced me that this bike is worth saving/finishing. So if you're interested, follow along as I hopefully finish the bike properly!

Thanks for reading along!

Oh, by the way, after the bike is warm, when it's idling you can hear the turbo whistling. It's pretty cool

 

[gggGary]

Cool! A long lost xs bud resurfaces. lay some pics or U TUBE on us when you get a chance,

 

[weaselbeak]

What's the seat height on that bike, 4 feet? I'm not sure my short but could even climb on.

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Thanks for the welcome Gary! Been too long I know.

The seat height is 37.5" or about the same as a crf450 but its wider too so you've got to have stork legs like me if you want to ride this thing

 

[angus67]

welcome back. We've been waiting for you.
Sometimes I go thru your old posts. I even use your threads to show people what can be done with a 30 year old standard bike. All have been impressed. get it together so we can ride along.

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Agreed, this needs to be a rideable bike. I do miss all the knowledgeable people on this board. Things have been really changing for me these last couple of years, I now have a home, live in the town I always loved, and have a career I enjoy. My daughter is finishing up kindergarten, and I recently celebrated my nine year wedding anniversary. So suffice to say, after quite a few rough years, I'm happy as a clam these days
This helps me to be refocused on my old projects. I always felt like I let you guys down a bit because I never really finished this thing. Time to rectify that!

I'll get some pictures soon as well, sadly it looks a little worse now because I had to store it on the coast for about six months, and whatever you put things in over there, the corrosion comes through!

 

[xskid]

Hey! I seen a you tube video of this bike. Thats badass a turbo xs, can't wait to see some videos and a finished bike.

Posted via Mobile

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Its funny, I still get random questions from those videos that I posted three years ago!

 

[crashcourse]

I'm excited to see how you finish this off; I've wondered what happened to it. Someday I want to do a turbo bike just for kicks. Until then, I'll be following this thread.

 

[I am Carbon]

Hey Chop. good to see everything is going good for You!
It will be good to see you build something.
My skills are nowhere near yours.
I did finish my build one month after contest ended.
welcome back Sir.

 

[Screaming Meemie]

Not to flatter, but seeing what somebody could do with a bike like this is what made me pounce on my '79 when I found it. Haha. Not that I went anywhere NEAR as ambitious. Glad to hear all the great news man! Welcome back.

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, my goal with this build, as with all my builds, is to show people that when building a motorcycle the only limit is your imagination. If you have the patience and the time to learn new skills, there is nothing you can't do.

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Ok so one of the major issues I figured out on my last ride is that the angle of the bars is just too aggressive. I'm a huge fan of clip-on's, and usually I will sacrifice comfort for the look I want, but in this case the angle of my wrist was flat out painful after about ten minutes. That's not going to get it done.
So, solutions? Well I still wanted the clip on feel but the upright bar look. Something similar to the ducati streetfighter. I had a spare set of clip-on's for another build, so I lathed them down:



Cut off the excess to make a stub shaft for each side. Then I flipped them over to change the angle from down to up. Then I had some dirt bike bars that I had cut in half previously, I mocked those up:







Far too wide for the bike! So I cut them down some more....



Had to add almost two inches to the end of the bars after this, here is a shot of one I just welded next to the other already smoothed one.



And a couple mostly finished shots....







So, one thing down, a bunch to go!

 

[xskid]

That thing looks mean! I like the bars too, keep wrenching I wanna see some more u tube videos

Posted via Mobile

 

[gggGary]

I would love to see few more shots of that tracker build. especially how you dealt with the chain offset and monoshock set up.

 

[Yamaha_chop]

Chain offset was handled with a 1 3/4" custom made offset sprocket from Gary poh. The swingarm is 100 percent custom. The pivot is actually a front axle from a modern jap bike.

Mono shock from Buell 1125cr

 

[Chopper Gary]

That thing is looking incredible..

How close does the chain come to the frame with that Offset Sprocket and Swingarm

Thanks for the mention also..

Gary

 

[racerdave]

That red tracker style is a beauty. Great work.

 

[oldbiker]

Chain offset was handled with a 1 3/4" custom made offset sprocket from Gary poh. The swingarm is 100 percent custom. The pivot is actually a front axle from a modern jap bike.

Mono shock from Buell 1125cr

................... hi that red bike looks great good luck regards oldbiker