rake questions???

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HooliganCycles

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hey guys, im new to the forum and xs650s, but have built other bikes, im in the processes of building a rigid chopper with a harley twin cam that i built the whole frame from scratch and now i am starting a my first 650 chop, i got a complete running titled bike for 300 bucks and i am wanting to put a tc bros (or other brand if anyone recommends someone else more) hard tail section on it, now most of the pics i have looked at appear to use the stock front ends, and i am wondering #1. is that true (stock front ends) and #2. do most people use the stock rake?
 
first things first.....PICTURES PLEASE!! :D

some guys rake'm out a few degrees and use the stock front ends. I am sure you have seen some with springers which is one way to go but its also the expensive way. A 2 under springer is the same length as a stock xs650 front end so i guess it all depends on how deep your pockets are or the look you are going for. There are others who are using sport bike front ends which seems to be popping up more and more. I am not sure on how exactly it is done but with enough modification anything is possible!

use the search thingy or just start browsing through the old threads and there is a ton of great info/pics/how to threads, if you havent found it yet check out www.xs650chopper.com TONS of different bikes and stories. oh and of course there are a ton of great people here that are always more than willing to help out a fellow xs rider! Welcome!!! :cheers:
 
thank you,
im not sure if you are asking for pics of my bikes or pics of the bikes i have seen that i am questioning but i assume you mean bikes i have seen, i will find one and try to figure out how to post it.....
 
Here's a pic of my bike with a TC brothers hardtail, stock fork, and uncut neck. Hope this helps.
 

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that does in fact help, so after looking at this pic, i dont think i will mess with the rake at all....do you like the tc bros hardtail? the other bike i am building right now i built the whole frame from scratch, and i really dont feel like doing that again so i figured the tc bros was the way to go but have never talked to anyone that has used one.
 
There are differing opinions, but I like my TC Brothers. I think it has good lines, good welds, and fit with minimal effort. And if you already made another frame, installation should be a breeze.
 
ya i should be able to handle the install, i was mainly just curious about quality of their products etc. they seem to be very reasonably priced so i didnt know if they were junk or not, i like all the ones i have seen pics of but that is all i have seen is pics...no other xs650s around here that i have seen besides one restored one.
 
Yeah, they're good quality from my view. .120 wall thickness, good steel. They only tack in the fender and the seat cross pieces so you can locate them yourself, and the axle plates are 3/8". You gotta fit your wheel with spacers. The sections are made to fit all XS 650's. Like I said, I like mine.
 
sweet thats what i will order then, one last question maybe you can help me with....i am gonna tear into the top end of the motor this weekend, it runs but i want to clean up and paint the motor, and i figured i would clean up the combustion chambers and lap the valves while i was in there...i have never taken one of these motors apart, so i was just curious if there was anything i should know ahead of time or things i should look for while i am in there? i am a mechanic at the local HD dealer here in town i am familiar with working on motors and everything just never been in one of these motors and want to be as prepared as i can.
 
Gordon's bike is what inspired me to rake mine. Beautiful bike! Mine has a TC Bros Hardtail, 7 degree rake, I'm making mine a 277 but I like to overcomplicate things. :shrug:

TC Bros does a good job, made it easy to do myself. I would have went with Kansas Kustoms if their wait time wasn't so long at the time. A lot of places make a good hardtail, there's actually a thread about them somewhere. The only "bad" hardtail I've ever heard of was from Black Widow choppers. Not in business anymore so no worries there. :laugh:
 
I have a Black Widow hardtail - yes it's moot, because as you say, they are (apparently) out of business. But they did a nice job for me, including the neck rake. Everything straight and true and I have no reason to think anything is weak. This isn't to say TC Bros or others aren't "beefier" and therefore in some way stronger. I don't intend to test my frame to the absolute busting point. The guy I dealt with at BW was polite and they did my work in a fairly timely manner, with good communication throughout. When I put my engine back in, everything lined up perfectly.
I'm convinced the job was well done.
I guess I feel the need to stick up for the underdog, who after all was one of the very first on the scene offering XS650-specific stuff, several years ago.
So there!
lol! I'm not related to them or anything....
But they did me right.
Maybe it's because I was polite and business-like and patient with them - they were the same way with me.

anyhoo, I promise to let you all know if some part of my BW Choppers hardtailed frame cracks or falls off....ain't gonna hide it or anything.
 
I guess I should state that all my info about BW choppers came from the internet after they stopped doing hardtails. I can't say I've ever held one in my hand or even heard of one failing. Trying to decifer information from opinions on the internet is not so much fun these days.
I do give him props for helping start the mail order hardtail business. I was actually planning on buying one of his hardtails a couple years ago but decided to keep my 77 un-chopped.
They used 1" tubing instead in 1 1/8 was the only difference I knew of. Not sure why an 1/8 of an inch is the difference between safe and not safe. Are they still in business? I googled them and couldn't find anything.
 
HooliganCycles said:
sweet thats what i will order then, one last question maybe you can help me with....i am gonna tear into the top end of the motor this weekend, it runs but i want to clean up and paint the motor, and i figured i would clean up the combustion chambers and lap the valves while i was in there...i have never taken one of these motors apart, so i was just curious if there was anything i should know ahead of time or things i should look for while i am in there? i am a mechanic at the local HD dealer here in town i am familiar with working on motors and everything just never been in one of these motors and want to be as prepared as i can.
Click to expand...
The couple of things that come to mind are to give the cam chain guides a good look, they age and crumble. Drop the sump and check the internal filter, they usually have a hole in them. Charging systems are typically weak, but easily upgradeable. You'll want to replace all the seals you can, available at Mike's XS. That's just some of the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure someone else can give you some more info too. Lots of stuff on this site, just search around.
 

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