Street bikes

skippy

skippy

Pretend Fabricator
Location
Tooele
Has anyone on here ever built a street bike from scratch??? or turned a factory bike into a bobber I think I am going to be starting a ratty little bobber style bike here pretty soon and building it around an old yamaha XS650 kick start motor. Just looking for some insight and ideas....

Thanks
 
I've always wanted to, never get the time. There is a TON of info and aftermarket support for the XS650. A lot of people are turning the newer metrics into bobbers, too. Blue collar bobber is a local company offering bobber kits for several metrics.
 
Here are a few pics of 1 I did about 6 years ago with a gsxr 600

frame3_30_06.jpg

motor_mount_jig.jpg

update_pic.jpg


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as a motorcycle industry professional, please do not do what people think are "bobbers", "cafe racers", "rad rods/bikes". which usually involves a liberal amount of sawzall/cutoff wheel, and poor fabrication/welding

if you can't do it at least as good (or better) as deviant's build......save yourself the embarassment, and don't do it.

if i had a dollar for every hacked "bobber" i saw some dude standing proudly next to......i'd be rich
 
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Those pictures were far from the finished bike I don't have any of those unfortunately.

I had a lot of fun building that frame I took my time learned what I thought I needed to. Built a fixture. Overall it was an excellent learning experience. I built a metric cruiser before that And what I would consider to be a super b***** bagger after that.

I say if it's something you wanna do just go for it. Just realized like any project it's going to cost double what you think it will To do it right.

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B2-Bomber said:
you did it right though. looks awesome man
Click to expand...
*edit* when I first read your post I thought it said did you ride it though.*

Some. It handled ok. I have some rake the triple trees that help with the trail so didn't steer as heavy. Biggest problem was it was so low you would drag Frame on turns. And the way I ended up having to do the exhaust it hung below the frame so speed bumps where impossible. Looking back this project looks super gay but at the time it seemed cool to me. But that's the way life goes isn't everything we like now is better than what we used to like and life experience has given us an outlook on the past projects that just make us laugh sometimes.

But I did feel like sharing some of the pictures for my frame up build pertain to the thread so I thought I would share

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Oh by the way I ended up selling it for parts and buying a dirt bike

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B2-Bomber said:
as a motorcycle industry professional, please do not do what people think are "bobbers", "cafe racers", "rad rods/bikes". which usually involves a liberal amount of sawzall/cutoff wheel, and poor fabrication/welding

if you can't do it at least as good (or better) as deviant's build......save yourself the embarassment, and don't do it.

if i had a dollar for every hacked "bobber" i saw some dude standing proudly next to......i'd be rich
Click to expand...

How about you worry about your level of fabrication skills and I will worry about mine Thanks deviant for the real world feedback I appreciate it a bunch

B2-bomber, Have you ever built a bike from scratch???
 
So lets hear some real world feedback how low is to low how long is to long??? Lets get some insight instead of just your vague posts what would you have done differently on your builds???
 
i apologize if i rubbed you wrong. i see bikes from the other side, brought to me to fix them.

i'm honda red level certified (highest) and suzuki Gold level certified (highest), and state safety certified. i'd say that qualifies me to at least caution
an individual about safely building a motorcycle

it just gets old seeing these hacked bikes come into the service department.
the "fabricator" who built it telling you what a show-class piece it is, and when you bring up "well you brought it in to figure out whats wrong, it needs _______, and _______ to even run right...." he tells you that you don't know what you are talking about, and then bad mouths your shop on the internet

most arent even safe, with ball-parked steering geometry with forks/triple clamps from some other bike with different geometry. as well as ball-parked frame design

that being said, whati would do differently if you insist on knowing is not building a street bike. or any bike, i was never happy with them when i was done, they never handle right, and the frames of motorcycles are specifically designed to absorb the specific vibrations, and harmonics of the intended engine. my hands always went numb after riding them for very long


i quit trying to fab up a bike, and just ride factory built bikes, they (for me at least) give me a better ride quality than my built ones. which all but one was disassembled for parts to build the next.
there are some awesome custom bikes out there, it took me years, and several bike projects to realize that i wasn't capable of creating them. it was a hard realization that i couldn't do it better than the factory, and that i couldn't work at orange county choppers. but i sure as hell can work on them


i didn't mean any offense. i really didn't
 
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Sounds like you just came into this thread to be negative, rather than contribute. Just because you have shitty experiences, doesn't mean everyone does. I'm a truck driver by profession and I realize that I could go on for hours bitching about horrible drivers. I do my best to keep my bitching to myself because in the end, it's MY problem to deal with, not the entire world, and nobody wants to listen to anyone bitch.

Now if someone asks me for advice that relates to my profession, I give it if I feel like it. That's a contribution.

As to the original post, xs650.com has tons of info on 650's.

Edit: I went looking on pirate for punskalar's original build. It looks like you are already familiar with it and getting in touch with him. I'll just post pics of cool bikes from now on, since I definitely can't add to his experience and knowledge. His re-phase work is really awesome.
 
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I have never built a bike, but I have seen many of the tv shows where they do so I think I can offer some real, professional advice. I am super good at watching tv so keep that in mind.

You should be able to finish the bike in 45 min to 1 hour. If you can't you are not good at building stuff like the pros.

I would strongly recommend not building with your dad as it will end up in a fight when your creative minds go different directions from each other.

You must pick a sentimental theme like fireman or veteran if you want everyone to cry when they look at your bike.

I strongly recommend wheels and tires.

I strongly recommend handlebars.

I strongly recommend a seat custom stitched from baby seal as that is important.

You......are.......welcome.
 
BWAHAHAHAhahahahahahahaha :rofl::rofl::rofl:

mesha said:
I have never built a bike, but I have seen many of the tv shows where they do so I think I can offer some real, professional advice. I am super good at watching tv so keep that in mind.

You should be able to finish the bike in 45 min to 1 hour. If you can't you are not good at building stuff like the pros.

I would strongly recommend not building with your dad as it will end up in a fight when your creative minds go different directions from each other.

You must pick a sentimental theme like fireman or veteran if you want everyone to cry when they look at your bike.

I strongly recommend wheels and tires.

I strongly recommend handlebars.

I strongly recommend a seat custom stitched from baby seal as that is important.

You......are.......welcome.
Click to expand...
 
Having built a few bikes years ago with my dad in the garage my suggestion is to buy a frame and build it from there. This will save enormous amounts of aggravation and time - with the number of aftermarket frames out there it is usually cheaper to do than to design, and build yourself. Other than the frame its all just components, and like on a jeep if you put the wrong thing on it will drive/ride like ass but it can be changed :) --- oh and if you are like my neighbor who thinks he needs to rev his bikes at 1 AM I will pelt you in the ass with a BB.. thanks :)
 
Up to October of 2012, I used to be the Southwest Region Rep for The Victory Motorcycle club, and am currently the Northern Ride Coordinator for the Wasatch Victory Riders. I have never tried to build my own bike, but I used to always want to. That ended after I talked to many people that have built there own bike and were very disappointed with the end results. They put so much time, money, and effort into building what they think is their dream machine, only to find out that the HD, Vic, Star, whatever bike they had before they pulled it apart, cut it up, and put it back together was the one they truly loved.

Do you remember that episode of American Chopper where Senior buys Junior a big HD bagger for his birthday? That really set the message home for me. Why would one of the most well known bike builders buy a production bike as a gift or want to recieve such a bike as a gift? Because the bikes that they build are great to look at and brag about, but they kinda suck to have to ride on.

I think the trick to building a really good custom is to make it look like what you want without changing the ride quality that the manufacturers spend so much money R&D'ing when they built the original.

I have ridden a few good quality customs and have gotten off of them thinking that they were lacking, at least compared to my Vic.

Now, having said that, I wouldn't hesitate at all to take a Victory Jackpot and turning into one of these:

8trocity5.jpg
8trocity3.jpg


A truly custom look without having to alter the factory handling and geometery all to much.
 
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