Mat's 82 XS650 bobber project

The final push!

2012-02-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hi again, Ive had the chance to do some more work on the bobber and the last 2 days have brought some good results. Ive dont the final prep for the tank guards and battery tin, if you look a few posts down you will see the struggle ive had getting this tank to look straight, i think ive spent 16+ hours on it from the start but it was all worth it in the end. Also i made a headlight mount, powder coated it, and installed the new bates style headlight and steered away from the bulkier light i chose originally. Ive moved my horn button to my bars, and will be moving my headlight switch from the light and tucking it between my guages and the triple tree. Removed my brake lines in preperation to take off one disc and caliper and install my new braided line for a single disc front. I think it will look cool having ones side of the wheel more visable and seeing the weight ive stripped from the bike it wont impact my braking performance too much. Also ive installed my clutch side foward controls (brake side still needs some powder caoting).
So all ive got left to do is the final paint, brake side foward controls, finish off front brakes, cut my chain to length, re wire my headlight, and locktight + final assembly.
Check out the pics, Enjoy!

Laying some powder!

2011-09-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hey heres some pics of a few parts i just powdercoated, forward controls, linkages, headlight mount, brake and clutch spline things ! ha
yeah it came out really nice and i cant wait to put it all together.
Im working on the bike from the factory at my work now so i have alot more space, i just need to get in there and spend some hours on the bike.

Fabrication finished!

2011-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Hey its been a while since ive posted but the project has hit another milestone, all the final brackets and parts that needed to be fabricated are finished.
This includes the foward control mounts and linkages, headlight mount, exhaust mounts. Ill put up some rough pics from my phone and take plenty more when i get it home in 2 days.
Once its home ive gotta paint all the new parts that are bare metal, respray my eletric can, and paint my front guard and tank and wire the headlight up. After that im good to go for rego.

Working the tank from hell...

2010-02-11T22:02:00.001-08:00

So ive been putting this off for a while but ive gotta get this bike on the road so today i had a go at patching up my fuel tank. As u may know from earlier posts i got my tank sandblasted and found a hell of alot of damage under the old paint and bog.
So i started off sanding the little bit of surface rust off that had built up and gave the deepest dents and old badge mounts a good fill with some fibre glass bog.
Then i gave the smaller dents some normal bog.

Gave it all a sand and then went over with more bog...

I repeated this step a few times marking the dints with a pencil, filling with bog and sanding over and over and over...

Eventually after alot of sand paper it all started to even out...

Once i was reasonably happy i did one final sand and then sprayed the tank with some primer to show up and imperfections. And gave the problem areas yet another sand. Thats all i had in me for 1 day, it took about 8 hours to get all that done... All the big dints and craters are filled and theres just a few imperfections around the edge of some of the dints, so tomorrow im going to get some primer/filler and paint - sand - paint - sand - repeat untill it all looks good. Ive saved myslelf some cash which is good and i guess now when i look down at my tank when im riding i'll appreciate it a little more.

It roars!

2010-01-31T04:28:00.000-08:00

Heres the link to a vid of my bike running! couldnt figure out how to embed it in here.... anyone who knows let me in on the secret

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UilAonuAiNQ

WIRING!

2010-01-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Ok so todays the day , im getting a bloke who was highly recomended. Phil is doing my wiring today , both engine and accesories. He's been wiring bikes for years and does alot of custom Harleys and i beleive he's done quiet a few xs's aswell. So all going to plan i will be able to fire my bike up for the first time in over a year!!! I'll make a video and pop it up

Sand blasting reveals all... and it's all bad!

2010-01-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

This sucks, got my tank and front guard sand blasted, the front guard came out good, only 1 dint.
But the tank is a mess. It looks like its been kicked around a junkyard. I dont know what to do... should i try to repair it... buy another tank?
Only 3 hurdles to go till my bikes finished, paint tank and guard , get bike wired, and rego. couldnt be that hard could it?

Front end build

2009-12-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

Soooo this weekend i sorted out the front end of my bike. I'm pretty happy with how everythings turned out , still need to fabricate some mounts for the headlight which really finishes off the the look of the bike. Also front indicators need mounts and im unsure what to do with my mirrors, they clutter the bars a little so i might take them off after rego is done. Im loving the old school grips they are pimp!
They look pretty bright at the moment but when i add the red spark plug leads, fuel lines and pin striping on the tank and guards it should all balance out. My guages sit neatly and it might not look like it but u can read them when your in the saddle. Front brake are plumbed and working. Also i lowered the front end by about an inch by sliding the fork tubes up the triple tree. I was looking at them and i think you could cut the top off to make it flush with the triple tree for a smoother look. But once thats done theres no turning back so i will leave it the way it is untill ive ridden it a bit to see if anything scrapes while cornering. So yeah its ready to get wired, then i have to some minor motor work like changing the clutch plates and installing a new electric starter gear and oil filter/air cooler assembly, and then i'll fire the beast up for the first time. I'll be sure to get that on video!!!

Headers and Carbs

2009-12-17T22:48:00.000-08:00

I installed my 1.75" Stainless steel headers today, they look so cool and are slighty fatter than the 1.5" standard headers. I will be adding some more pipe to the end at a later date. Also i attached my 2 Mikuni slide carbs, better quality and less maintenance than the standard diaphragm ones. All looks good and really beefs up the appearance of the motor.

Rear end assembled

2009-12-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

Ok heres some more pics, the rear end is now fully assembled. Ive been trying to add some more parts every day after work and today i installed the rear brake light and number plate holder, the indicators and the entire rear brake assembly. Sounds easy enough but it took me about 3 hours, im just enjoying the whole process and taking my time.

Adding more Parts

2009-12-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

I went out to spillers today and bought some mounting nuts bolt etc. Then added some more parts, put the rear guard on, the seat on, the battery box and just sat the tank and front guard there to get a photo. Its looking mean! i sat on it for like 5 minutes with a massive grim on my face. Chopper my dog liked it too!

It Rolls!!!

2009-12-12T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hey,
The bike builds been moving along nicely, on saturday me Micky and Chriso took my frame to a mates place to be 2 pac'd. I had the gloss black paint on but decided 2 pac it to add extra shine and durability from stones and knicks. Gotta give a big shout out to Rowan for laying down the clear coat, thanks for your time and effort dude.
So today came and finally there was nothing holding me back from starting the final assembly of the bike, i didnt want to rush so i set a goal of mounting the motor, front forks, handle bars and wheels + sidestand. This way i can easily move the bike around while im adding all the other parts.
I got it all done and heres the result, i'm loving the way this bike sits, so low and long and in these pics you can really get a glimpse of what it will look like when its finished. Oh i was also thinking of sliding the forks up the triple tree one inch to lower the front a little more but i will wait and see.

Progressing with progress!

2009-12-06T03:52:00.000-08:00

Hey all,
So all the painting went great, well sort of... The frames done, all gloss black and looking mean, the rear guard, battery box, electric can and mounts are done, all matt black. But the front guard and tank decided to give us some trouble, the old paint job had flames so there was a rise in the paint where the flames had been layed down, i thought i sanded it down enough but when we painted them you could still see the flames underneath, and a few sanding patches too...
I didnt have it in me to sand them right back again, after about 6 hours of sanding already on this job just looking at the paper was painful. So i will either do it bit by bit after work or see if i can get it sand blasted cheaply. Anyways the important part is done and now i have the frame ready i can start building this bike for real. Also today i spent sunday morning replacing all my top engine screws and nuts with brand new chrome ones, and i also installed my pamco electronic ignition which replaces the old points ignition, and after that took my 4WD up the mountains and blew off some steam thrashing it throughout the bush in Springwood. So all in all a damn good weekend. A little bit of custom heat proof paint on the motor and im ready to put that sucker in the frame.

I'll post some pics very soon, take it easy.

It's not the painting... It's the prep!

2009-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

So me an Micky have been getting things ready for paint , the frame will be gloss black, guards and tank matt black with twin matt red stripes from nose to tail, electric can and battery box matt black. My first thought was " yeah no worries, little sanding some primer maybe filler all good"
Well i found out this weekend theres ALOT more to it than that !

We started with the frame, because as soon as i get it painted i can start assembling the bike. This is all being done at home by the way , no sand blasters, no spray booths, just hands, sand paper, a good quality compressor and spray gun's.
After sanding down the frame we layed some primer down to show off all the imperfections, there were a few expected ones and a few unexpected. So today i filled sanded, filled sanded, filled sanded till it was all smoothed out.

Next i worked on the tank and guards, the tank had a nasty dint in it from where my old man had dropped a fork tube on it... ( thanks pa ) he he he. The tank frame and front guard had the old owners paint scheme on it which has started to well and truly revolt me... shite green and pink/purple flames...... (little bit of vomit in mouth)
The sooner i cover this stuff up the better, anyways couple of dints filled and alot of sanding left them ready for paint.

Then the battery box, electric can and ends + a seat mount were sanded and primed

The rear guard is a harley custom front guard thats been chopped shaped and massaged so fit the xs rear end, Also heres a pic of the the stainless steel headers i picked up, custom pipes will be added later.

Ive got a bunch of other parts recently like flush mount ignition switch for the electric can, old style red bike grips, some freaking nice billet mirrors ( considering taking them off after rego though ) and other odds and ends. As soon as this frames painted i will put up a new post of the assembly where it starts to get exciting.
So yeah all sanded filled and primed ready for paint, big thanks to my good mate Mick for the advice and use of compressor guns etc.

Almost go time!

2009-11-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

So things have moved along nicely , ive got a new kick of enthusiasm and drive to get this project complete. The new parts ive bought are way better than i could have expected (buying things off the internet sometimes your not 100% sure).
Ive got a 2 inch stainless steel exhaust system that runs down by either bottom tube and stops at the motor alot like the stock headers but SS and bigger and hotter, ive got some plans for some wicked pipe to be added later but u will have to wait and see.
Electronic igniton is here and ive had my mikuni slide carbs for a while so im hoping all those parts will tie in and add some power and tuning ability.
I decided not to re use alot of the stock xs parts and went with new clutch lever and bracket and brake lever and master cylinder ( both matt black ) and alot cleaner than the chunky stockers, while i was at it i got stainless braided lines for the front brakes. Black faced white dial tacho and speedo will go up front , not sure on a bar mounting or puting it somewhere a little more different yet. I wont be using either of the standard switch assemblies on the drag bars, i found a simple throttle assembly for 7/8 bars.... (which was tricky) and some super cool red old school grips. Ignition switch and starter button will go down on my electric can under the seat headlight switch off/low/high will be drilled into the headlight itself. Horn and indicators will be on a custom mount on the clutch side of the bars.
I also picked up a new clutch and speedo cable as the old ones were a little tattered, the tacho is electric so the wiring wont be as obvious as a cable driven unit.
Just got my seat pan (bought from slice & dice) back from the auto trimmer which is 1inch foam with black leather.
Over the next couple of weekends me and my mate will be painting the frame, guards, tank and other odds and ends and then i will assemble the bike for the first time since i mocked it up. I'm freaking pumped to get a look at it all together and ready for wiring. Its been over a year to get to this point and im ready to ride this bike all summer.
Next post you will see everything ive talked about here, i'll put up some pics.

Wish me luck! Mat

Project blues!

2009-10-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

So the project is still going , these things tend to get delayed when u cant throw alot of time and money into them. I'm at the point now where i need to get my frame fenders and other bits painted, wiring done from scratch, custom exhaust made and bolt on all the brand new parts ive bought. I will post new pics once i get parts painted and reassemble the bike for wiring.

Take it easy!

Sneak Peak!

2009-06-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Heres a little taste of what my bikes heading towards, its just mocked up getting things lined up.
Been very busy lately with work and study so i havnt had a chance to post much. The Hardtail and mounts are all done , time for paint, wiring, polish and put all the pieces back together. I will post some more pics and info as i get around to it.

New Parts Arrived!

2009-02-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

I received my new parts in the mail yesterday, everything was there so i couldn't be happier. I bought them from mikesxs.com and highly recommend his website. Pretty much everything about what i bought is in the video, i couldn't get the digital ignition and my speedometer in this order as i would of had to of paid import tax. Screw that! i will place another order later or add to a mates order when he buys some parts soon. So yeah I'm still waiting to get my frame back from the engineer, when i do i will get it painted along with the guards, tank, electric can and battery box. And then i just have to track down a headlight and indicators I'm happy with and put it all back together.

Where it all started

2009-02-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

I just found these pics and videos, the vids are my xs when i first bought it. Gives you a bit of an idea how much its changing. Also there's some pics of my mates bobber (hope you don't mind me putting them up Chriso) one sweet ride.

Mikuni Carbs

2009-02-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here's the new carbs, Mikuni slide carbs to replace the original diaphragm ones. They should perform a bit better and be easier to tune especially with the boyer branson digital ignition i'm putting in. One thing i like about these is the manual choke tabs, just reach down and flip them on or off.

Progress Update!

2009-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

The project is moving along and I've got some more info and pics to show you. The hardtails fully welded now and I'm really happy with the extra strength that's been Incorporated into it. The two lower tubes penetrate the original frame with solid steel lugs and are welded, then there are rosebud welds going through the original frame into the lugs, then the whole lot has been plated with some shaped steel to finish it off. The centre tube also has a lug penetrating it, was welded, and triangle tabs were welded in at the base to add strength. The top two tubes at the base of the fuel tank were welded on and a plate will cover the lot and act as a tank mount and seat mount. I'm stoked with how bullet proof its turning out as this bike is being built to be ridden and i don't want any issues down the track with all the extra vibration and stress a hardtail bike takes.
That's pretty much all i can show you at the moment, as I'm posting this the seat mount, tank mount, rear brake light sensor, rear brake brace, forward control pivot point for the rear brake, electric can, battery box and rear tubes that will hold the guard are being worked on and welded in.

Its a beautiful thing!

Progress so far

2009-01-31T17:15:00.000-08:00

Bike Profile

Style - Bobber, stretched and lowered, drag bars, minimal look, single gauge small light front.

Colour scheme - Matt black, matt red twin stripes, satin black frame, polished alloy and chrome motor and accessories

Rough sketch of the style i'm after.

My names Mat i'm from western Sydney and i'm currently building my 1st XS 650 bobber. Its an 82 model and i'm pretty much doing all the work myself with the help of some mates, except for the welding, unfortunately that's one skill i haven't had a chance to learn yet but plan too in the future. For now ive gotten some help form an engineer out my way to get the hardtail and mounts welded on. Its still early days but its starting to take shape, here's a few pics!

Here's what the bike looked like when i bought it , not what i like at all but each to their own. The only parts i will be re - using are the front half of the frame , the forward controls, motor and headers, forks , wheels , guards and tank. The rest goes in the spare parts bin.

Here's the strip down , me and Chriso did it in a record time of 1.5 hours! You can see in the last 2 pics the hardtail i bought off the net from TC Bros. Choppers.

The wheels were painted all silver, i didn't like that so i went with the 2 tone black and alloy look that these wheels were originally painted from the factory, nice work Yamaha they looked good just the way they were! The 19 inch front wheel looks fat without the discs on it, i wish i could run it like that on the street but no front brakes = splat.

Here's a short vid of the hartail tacked on and a vid of my good mate Chriso's bobber, that's me pulling in after a spin on the beast. I hold him responsible for my obsession with these bikes. After one ride on his i was hooked! And it seems to be contagious, a couple of other friends are considering starting there own projects.