just got a 77 xs360

[elgordo]

Hello. I just got a xs360 from a coworker and I am excited to get to work on it. I thought I would take a minute to introduce myself. I have been reading through the forum for the past couple of weeks trying to see what other people are doing to their rides. I had an xs650 many years ago and have always regretted getting rid of it. I am hoping I like the 360 just as much. I am planning on turning the 360 into a cafe racer. I am picking up some clipons later today and have ordered a sealed battery and some led signals. Over the next few weeks I am going to try making my own seat with a built in taillight. I have been thinking about rearsets and am not sure what I will do. I was thinking about mounting pegs on the passenger mounts and flipping the shifter around and shifting gp style. It looks like it is the perfect length, but I haven't tried yet. I will have to fab something for the brake. I will post pics as I get into this project. I'm sure I will posting plenty of questions for the experts on this site too.

 

[drewpy]

welcome Gordo, glad to have you here.

keep us posted/updated with PICTURES!

 

[xschris]

Welcome and please put up some pics

 

[elgordo]

Here is a picture of my bike when I first got it and one I took yesterday. I am planning on laying some fiberglass on the seat on Monday. Tomorrow I will fine tune the shape and make sure everything is symmetrical. I have never worked with fiberglass so I am not expecting much. I suspect I will be making multiple seats until I get it right.

 

[drewpy]

cool, ripe for the conversion

 

[elgordo]

A few more pics...
I swapped the headlight and gauges for a headlight/speedo combo from an old Kawasaki I found in my garage. I put the idiot lights in the holes in the triple trees. I used the idiot lights that were on the bike. With a piece of tubing around them they fit tightly into the rubber pieces in the triple trees. I tapped the rubber back in with a mallet and used old pill bottles as the lenses. It was a perfect fit. I also fiberglassed my seat today. It turned out better than I expected for my first time. I will sand it down tomorrow and figure out if I need to do a couple more layers. I would have done more today but I ran out of resin.

 

[elgordo]

Here are a couple updated pictures. Still need tires and a few minor bits and pieces. I also need a permanent seat pad (yes, that is a mouse pad). I plan on stripping everything down and painting the frame next winter. I would like to make my own 2-1 exhaust but i need to practice my welding a bit first.

 

[drewpy]

cool, Silver dream racer!

love the pill box lenses, are they orange or was it the camera?

 

[xschris]

Looks good!

 

[elgordo]

Yes, the lenses are orange. My friend has a green one that I am going to use for the neutral light.

 

[elgordo]

I thought I would post some updates from my build.I am terrible at posting pictures and details while I am working on the bike. Here are a few of the latest pictures.

close up of my rearset brake

flipped the shifter around on this side

The most recent changes are the rear shocks from a gs850 and the 2-1 exhaust. I got the headers from mynameismudd through the classifieds. The Kerker can came off of a GSXR project that is on hold. I still need to get some foam for the seat and I may need new fork gaitors. The ones I have look really sloppy. I am hoping they will eventually break in and sit on there evenly. I got the bridgestone bt45's after searching through the forum to see what other people were using. Thank you to everyone who recommended them in other posts. I like them a lot.

 

[drewpy]

looking great mate

 

[FlyingAnvil]

Pretty cool little bomber there, looks fun.