Greetings from the Great White North (xs360 build)

[shamus]

Hello all,

Just want to introduce myself as well as my new project. Picked up a 1976 xs360 over the weekend and I couldn't be happier.

A short and sour background. I grew up in a motorcycle household. My father was always working on something new. When I turned 16, he gave me his first bike. A 1970 Triumph T100C Tiger. It was in rough shape. Long story short, I had it in storage at a family friends garage. The Garage was bulldozed to make way for a Gotti mansion. "Sorry," was his response.

Anyway, fast forward 9 years and I'm ready to pick up where I left off. I will be posting the progress of my build. Really, I think my being here is more selfish than selfless, haha. I look forward to all of your feedback, as I've been very impressed with the level of all of your work and the extreme lack of pretentiousness in the board.

Here are some pictures to start me off!

Shamus

Hot off the truck

My lovely and talented lady with the xs

Day 1

Yes that is my living room. I have two of them and finally found a use for the 2nd.

Gratuitous grinding scene.

 

[xschris]

Welcome! Looks to be in good shape

 

[shamus]

Additionally, yes, the bike is in my living room. I have 2 of them and had no use for it!

 

[drewpy]

welcome, she 's looker (bike's not bad too!)

 

[shamus]

welcome, she 's looker (bike's not bad too!)

I set it up, you knocked it down.

 

[frwinks]

welcome aboard and looks like you're off to a good start What's the plan for it?

think we have enough GTA members on line now to start settin' up the first official xs400.com (ok, you 360 guys can come too..lol) run through the country side this summer

 

[bentwrench]

Looks like your living room has one of the old street signs for Queen street - nice, um, find (I'm sure you just found it laying around, right?)

Oh, and get thee some PB Blaster to help with those bolts!

Oh, and welcome!

 

[shamus]

welcome aboard and looks like you're off to a good start What's the plan for it?

think we have enough GTA members on line now to start settin' up the first official xs400.com (ok, you 360 guys can come too..lol) run through the country side this summer

Gritty yet meticulous brat-ish style bike?.. Vague, I know. In any case, I'm down to get a few of us together for a ride.

 

[shamus]

Looks like your living room has one of the old street signs for Queen street - nice, um, find (I'm sure you just found it laying around, right?)

Oh, and get thee some PB Blaster to help with those bolts!

Oh, and welcome!

It was a legit gift, I swear! And thank you for the tip! I'll pick some up today.

 

[Drewcifer]

She's my bikes twin. Will you do a complete strip down and make her a cafe racer?

And shamus, if you want to sell your seat, I'd love it. Mine's finally giving up the ghost.

 

[shamus]

She's my bikes twin. Will you do a complete strip down and make her a cafe racer?

And shamus, if you want to sell your seat, I'd love it. Mine's finally giving up the ghost.

I am stripping it down. As for a cafe racer, it will likely take design cues from the style, but will be somewhat of a different animal.

That said, I do not need the seat. Make an offer! Let me know if you need any other parts.

 

[shamus]

 

[drewpy]

Carb cleaning is dangerously satisfying.

good, because you'll be doing it a few times

 

[petei]

Welcome! Looks to be in good shape

the lady or the bike?

 

[volcomskater77]

looks good man. saw the pics and my face turned into this

i was drooling over your spoked disc wheel also. i wants one on my next project.

 

[shamus]

looks good man. saw the pics and my face turned into this

i was drooling over your spoked disc wheel also. i wants one on my next project.

I lucked out.. But as it stands I'm running on 18" front and back. Ideally, I'd like to change up the front to a 19" rim. More trouble than it's worth? Not sure as I don't entirely know the scope of work involved to do such a thing, haha.

 

[volcomskater77]

im rocking the 18inch mags F/R. i like the even look better than a 18/16 setup, but a 19 in front would be kool. use the same hub and disc and just lace it to a larger rim. that way no dicking around with spacers and such

 

[shamus]

im rocking the 18inch mags F/R. i like the even look better than a 18/16 setup, but a 19 in front would be kool. use the same hub and disc and just lace it to a larger rim. that way no dicking around with spacers and such

That would be the idea. I figure if I end up changing it, it won't be for some time. It will look good anyway.

 

[shamus]

UPDATE.

Carbs are clean. Bike is fully stripped with the exception of the engine. Remember that suborn bolt on the cover? Yeah, it won't budge. PB Blaster, impact gun, etc. It's fully stripped and now a shameful little nub. I can't get the engine off because two of the mounting bolts are bolt in, nut out and their escape is blocked by the cover in question. Anyway, I'm taking to a welder to get a wrench welded on to it today.

Now I need some opinions. Trying to decide on bar style. I think I'dlike to go clip ons and this is one of the prettiest pictures I ever did see. Perfectly balanced, enough weight and just the right amount of negative space.

My only worry that my bike being a 360 and I'm about 5"11, that it will get uncomfortable. So it's that or go with some tracker style bars, which also look great, but man do I love the look of those clip ons. Thoughts?

 

[bentwrench]

The other angle to consider is the profile. Clip ons (my choice for the style of bike I'm building) significantly reduce the visual height in front. If that's what you're looking for, then go clip ons (bear in mind that things like tank clearance, cable length, headlight mounts, etc. are all affected by this change.)

tracker bars will also need shorter cabling, but not as much, and you might be able to get away without doing it. It can still look very clean, and there's a certain rough and tumble look to bikes with tracker bars that I kinda like.

Personal preference wins, I suppose...