A ripp'n hardtail bobber build from a seized, desert rat: CALLING ALL DESTROYERS

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RpNSht

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Reaching the tail end of the my first build (cafe racer) i couldnt help but begin craving my next bike. Naturally i heard the faint calls of an xs650 not too far outside of the Los Angeles area. Stalling on the purchase, a friend Jimmy the Captain, kicked me into gear; 50 minutes later and a few hundred dollars lighter the 1980 yamaha xs650 was loaded up in the back of the captain's truck.... this is the story of a down and out, seized desert rat brought back to ripping the roads of southern california as a sporty hardtail bobber: CALLING ALL DESTROYERS!

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Cant help myself:

my cafe still needs a little tightening up, not to mention paint, but the vision i have for this bobber is so luring that i cant help but fall into temptation and get busy stripping the xs

gently laid on its side allowed me to get straight to business:
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a few moments later the engine delivered and the frame cut in the general area for a tc bros hardtail frame:
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not needed:
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needed:
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Closer to the point:

decided to go with the tc bros hardtail frame. in preparation i pulled out the acetylene torch to trim up the frame a bit...i did however leave all the safety attire neatly where they were...in the store...

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ended up coming down with a case of bronchitis which has slowed things down a bit. yet, it hasnt kept the parts from arriving and i couldnt be more excited. now with this build in effect and my cafe tins about to be pulled for paint, im going to be trapped to the cage of four wheels and i couldnt be more bummed.

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in researching all the options available for the xs650 of course ive come across hugh's handbuilt. truly impressed with his work, ive reached out to him with questions as im real intrigued to have him build my engine. i know i have the skill set to do such but time is something of a luxury that i just dont have much of. im also operating from a philosophy motivated as a filter of taste rather than a need to fabricate every itty bitty piece from scratch. of course i understand the value of this, its just not my main concern.

a wood engine stand mickey-mouse'd together for crating and shipping the xs engine out to hugh:
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eating my words:

so turns out hugh has a lot of business which is awesome! based on his current schedule my engine wouldnt be ready in time for my self imposed deadline. he was generous enough to encourage me to take the engine rebuild on myself and so ive decided to eat my words of my previous post and make the time for the rebuild. i plan on sending out my cam and crank to hugh for the rephase (info here: http://hughshandbuilt.blogspot.com/2011/01/re-phased-goodness.html); replacing anything showing wear; skipping a big bore; pretty much keeping stock other than a few updated goodies.

after loading the engine up in my car for transport to a different location, i almost beat myself up; a motorcycle engine in the back of a prius!?!?! what the!?!?!:
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not as bad as it seems:

the xs engine has been torn down and case split. the tear down is pretty easy and not as intimidating once the ball gets rolling. of course i may change my tune once the rebuild begins...

notice my xs engine torn apart in front and my cafe in back (please ignore that embarrassing front fender):
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cam and crank ready for hugh:
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(oh! here's the blog of my cafe build if interested: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1304297812/0#0)
 
you have been busy bro.
are you sure that is an 80 engine?
I saw points.
don't chuck those parts you will need them to use with the Pamco when you rephase
good luck with the build
 
I am Carbon said:
you have been busy bro.
are you sure that is an 80 engine?
I saw points.
don't chuck those parts you will need them to use with the Pamco when you rephase
good luck with the build
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. Could be a 79 said the owner who didn't have a title. But I do know that it is a Special- good looking out. Thanks for the tip!
 
front mount:
in hopes to loosen the desert grime coating my engine, i spent sometime today prepping various parts for a hot chemical bath. while shifting through things i grabbed the hideous radiator looking front motor mount and instantly remembered this aftermarket motor mount: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13174 the craftsmanship is pretty righteous but it got me wondering if i could hack up the radiator mount in my hand, producing my own version of this fine aftermarket alternative:

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a few minutes after hacking away with a cut-off wheel:
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grinded and steel wheel'd:
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a few nicks and scars but i think that will do it!
 
stupid old rusty drum:

my rear drum brake wasnt letting up. turned out it was tightly rusted shut but once it finally pried open it exposed just how corroded it had become. looks as though it sat at the bottom of a lake:

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it was a fight getting the parts loose. so much so that the guide tabs broke in a few places....ugh! now i have a valid excuse of running a front hub as rear and doing a rear disc brake conversion using the omar's kit ....? or just find a replacement stock rear hub? either way i dont feel comfortable using this hub:
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The part in your second pic is not a hub, it is the brake backing plate. Most any year will replace that.
There are some on Ebay, item #260873387010 $35 even has brake shoes.
Leo
 
jefft said:
Just curious why you decided on a rephase?
jefft
Click to expand...

a few reasons, most of which hugh explains here: http://hughshandbuilt.blogspot.com/2011/01/re-phased-goodness.html; even though im not doing a big bore i am interested getting the most of out the engine as possible and cutting down on its vibes. also im intrigued in the modification's craftsmanship. the last reason is that this build is my learning curve-im planning on building an all-out cafe racer on an xs650 platform and am using this hard tail build as an introduction to the bike and all of its in-and-outs
 
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