New to the area...liking what I see.

[Beau]

Good day all. Been lurking a while and enjoying what I see. I hail from the great state of Minnesota and now live in Minneapolis.

I have been into bikes just a tiny bit. I don't know a lot about them, but I have been learning a little bit at a time.

I had started a Triumph project last winter and realized quick that the Jalopy Journal and British bikes were not my thing.

I have a few old fellas that have 650's they built in the 70's and they convinced me to buy a 650. I also have been to a few shows this year and I really like 650's sound and appearance.

Today I got a start. I picked up a frame WITH A TITLE for $25 on CL. I also have a donor bike lined up. It will probably be another year before I get anything done, but I need to learn about these things first.

Here is a pic of the Honda 360 I built two Summers ago. I made everything and only had a friend tune it and another friend cover the seat I made. It was my first build and what got my hooked.

This is the bike I helped my friend build this Spring/Summer. It's a Honda CJ360 that we made into a hardtail. It's a pretty bad ass bike and turned out good for being my first hardtail build.

How it started (well, after we got the lower tubes welded in)-

As of now (its now "legal" with a rear fender and tai light installed)-

We pretty much made everything on the bike using junk we got or had. There are a lot of bicycle parts in both builds. Look forward to seeing the same in my build.

Anyway, I'm still pretty new but I hop to build a nice ride with the help from the forum.

Thanks for putting up with me during my learning!

 

[weekendrider]

Welcome to the site Beau,
From the looks of things, you're going to really enjoy your XS.

 

[Travis]

A frame for $25 with a title!! you jerk! I didn't even see it pop up on my craigslist app on my phone for Minneapolis.

Welcome to the site!

EDIT: nevermind. just looked on my phone an there it was. '75 xs650 frame and title - $25. You had to drive to Mankato to get it?

 

[theirie1]

I also tried to get that frame. A little slow with the dialing. One hour sooner. I am also new and trying to get my first build going. WELCOME.

 

[Beau]

Ha! Good to see some locals. I lived in Mankato for about 6 years. I called my buddy and had him pick it up.

The guy has a lot of other parts for sale though from the same bike. He sold a set of spoked wheels with new tires for $75. I missed those.

 

[gggGary]

Good hunting!

 

[Beau]

I'm not sure if any of you are into rods, but you may have seen me beating around the area in my IH I have been working on.

 

[Beau]

Hello,

I went down to Mankato on Saturday and picked up my frame. While I was there I stopped by a friends shop to check out a 1981 650 he had that was missing the seat, carbs, front end, tank and title.

What I did like was that it had an all black engine, and a 16" spoked rear wheel bolted in. The engine kicks over and has what seems to be good compression. The price is right even if the engine turns out to be shot. He's really helping me out. I will be picking it up in the next week.

I also have another friend in Kato that's an MMI grad and built a 650 flat tracker a while back that was featured in Cycleworld Magazine. He will be helping me build the engine next.

After that I'll order up the hardtail and begin work on the frame.

I'm gonna need some carbs if any of you locals have something.

 

[Travis]

Your MMI grad friend should be a good resource...

What are your plans for the build other than hardtailling it?

 

[Beau]

For the time being I'm gonna concentrate on the engine and electrics.

I have a Triumph Bonneville tank I'm gonna mess with and also an old 90cc Yamaha tank. I'm still not sure what sort of stance I want though. I kind of want to do a bobber style with a hint of boardtrack racer. But nothing is set in stone. We'll see what sort of parts pop up.

The engine in the '81 is black. From what I have seen, none of them came black from the factory. But the owner claims it's factory. Any information on this?

 

[Stone]

SWEEEEEET truck man likin the looks of that alot. does she lay frame? My truck is my other on going project cept i went upwards instead of down.

ok back to the bikes!

 

[nj1639]

For the time being I'm gonna concentrate on the engine and electrics.

I have a Triumph Bonneville tank I'm gonna mess with and also an old 90cc Yamaha tank. I'm still not sure what sort of stance I want though. I kind of want to do a bobber style with a hint of boardtrack racer. But nothing is set in stone. We'll see what sort of parts pop up.

The engine in the '81 is black. From what I have seen, none of them came black from the factory. But the owner claims it's factory. Any information on this?

'82 and '83 Heritage Specials came factory black. Does it have the dsireable '650' emblem on the cam covers?

 

[Beau]

I could not see. It was in a dark building. It has a 16" spoked rear wheel too. I'm pretty sure it said 81 on the tag though.

 

[gggGary]

Special II's cam cover, cylinder and sometimes head are black and they have 19 16 spoke wheels but they came with a silver crankcase. As stated the heritage have black cases and carbs also. They also have the 48 rear 60 front spoke wheels.

 

[Beau]

Ah. I got it. This one had all black cases and covers. The whole engine was black. The carbs were gone though.

 

[jamesgs4]

midnight special maybe?

 

[Beau]

I found what looks to be a Harley 21" wheel today. I might pick it up tomorrow. For the price it's worth it. More details tomorrow.

 

[Beau]

I have now taken the possesion of the frame and title, a 21" Harley front wheel with an Avon speedmaster tire, and a donor bike minus carbs, tank, front end and seat. All for $325. I can see this is gonna get expensive quick. I'd like to keep the build under $1500 though. We'll see.

As soon as I find a camera other than the Pop tart box that I have I will get some pictures.

If any of you locals have any of the following let me know-

- Carbs
- Either a stock fork or 60's style springer.
- Some sort of fender to wrap around the 16" rear tire.

I'm thinking of getting the David Bird loop tail. A lot of my old school BMX bikes had that and I love the look.

The guy that will be doing the hardtail welding for me runs a company called Peacock Groove and he makes some amazing custom bicycles.

http://www.peacockgroove.com/slideshow/slideshow.html

Andy finished (well, for now) him CJ360 the other day. It's now legal enough to ride down the road. It sounds real good too for a little pea shooter. We built this for about $800 including the cost of the bike and license.

 

[Teebs]

Nice score on the total $325. A titled frame for $25 is crazy. You have a great start. Love that IH.