My Bratstyle build

[motoTrooper]

Interesting build! Why is there so much space between your rear tire and the fender if you mounted the fender to the swingarm? Also you left very little clearance between the fender and the rear hoop which would get bashed on the first big bump riding it. May I suggest cutting it about an inch or so up from your swingarm weld and then sliding the upper supports down over the outside of the lower bits until you get your perfect clearance and then drilling through both and bolting them so it's removable. Then weld an 'L' bracket to the swingarm then drilling and bolting that to the fender. It has worked well for me.

 

[Requiem]

That picture of my rear fender is somewhat deceptive. The fender isn't bolted on yet and will be tighter around the rear wheel, giving me more clearance from the rear loop. The rear shocks are pretty rigid and barely give way under weight. If the frame does hit the fender I can always try changing the tension on the shock

 

[Requiem]

Good news, managed to get the pilot jets out with a left sided tap! 10 secs work

 

[DARKMIDKNIGHTWARRIOR]

Good job.

 

[Requiem]

Got loads of small stuff for the bike, including some brand new flange insert pieces for the exhaust, inline fuel filter and some small odds and ends. My battery wouldn't charge over 6V, so had to replace that as well (didn't cost that much luckily)... Decided to stick to the stock size battery as I want to keep the electric starter and didn't want to dish out on just a battery... The electronics and battery have made me decide to change the bike's plan around a bit. I'm going to fabricate some sort of cover for the triangle beneath the saddle. That way I can easily mount and access everything... Also bought this breather filter

Didn't quite figure out how i'm going to mount it to the metal tube though...

I've got some fun work planned for the weekend Going to try and get rid of the rust inside my sportster tank. I'll first do some rough work by shaking the tank with some small stones or possibly BB's inside and some antirust, then I'll try the electrolysis method. If that clears the tank I'll degrease it and apply a Tank Cure coating to seal the inside and hopefully make sure the rust doesn't come back As i've got an airbrush for my modelling hobby I'm currently looking into the basics of custom paintwork, but no promises there hehe

Once I get the electric work figured out and the tank cleaned up on the inside I really want to see how the bike runs after the rejet

 

[Tobz]

I've got some fun work planned for the weekend Going to try and get rid of the rust inside my sportster tank. I'll first do some rough work by shaking the tank with some small stones or possibly BB's inside and some antirust, then I'll try the electrolysis method. If that clears the tank I'll degrease it and apply a Tank Cure coating to seal the inside and hopefully make sure the rust doesn't come back

Use a short piece of heavier chain. That way you're sure to get it out. BB's or stones can get stuck inside and cause problems down the line.

 

[levdir]

You can use a spark plug wire boot to mount it 90 degrees off the breather vent. Just make sure it's secured with a hose clamp.

 

[Requiem]

That's a great idea! Thanks! I've even got new plug boots for the bike, so I can use an old one for that

 

[levdir]

Thank xschris, it's his idea (as far as I know). I should probably do it with my breather, it's always in the way when I have to pull the carbs. It's the slip-on kind though, I'd need some sort of connecting tube.

 

[xschris]

Make sure to drill a hole in it so when you push it all the way in it wont get obstructed. If you are not going to use the vent hose to the H-pipe you can remove the center part and replace it with a non-baffled pipe. It seems to work better this way than just capping the stock part.

 

[Requiem]

Great solution xschris thanks for the help

 

[Requiem]

Started the electrolysis today. Can't wait to see how well it'll work!

For the breaking bad fans:

 

[Requiem]

The electrolysis is taking way longer than expected, partly because I used bad metal as an anode, but also because of the massive amount of oxidation inside the tank. I think i'm nearing the end though! What doesn't help is working all day which means I can't really swap out/clean the anode regularly...

In other news: I managed to find earlier model lower forks and an extra brake rotor. I'll be looking for a new caliper and brake hoses to complete the swap to dual disc! My r6 brake master should have no difficulty with two calipers

 

[Requiem]

Long overdue update:

I finished the electrolysis on the tank a while back and used Tankcure resin to seal in the inside, which worked great. Only problem is I got some of the resin in the fuel cap and thread for the fuel tap, going to have to find a way to get that off.

Also (finally) managed to find some spare parts. A company in the Netherlands is giving students a project to transform an xs400 to an electrical cafe racer so they were selling the engine etc. So now i've got a spare engine, extra set of carbs and extra coils. Who knows when spare parts will come in handy

 

[Requiem]

It's been a while, yet again

Project is still alive, numerous small things have been done to the bike.
Most telling is probably my finished custom seat and side panels. I finished my seat base and had it upholstered, I'm very satisfied with the result! The brown closely matches the grips I've bought The side panels are made from steel plating.

I've also decided to redo the entire wiring on the bike. The loom is in a bad shape in many places which isn't even very odd for a 35 years old bike. So instead of fixing problem areas I decided I'm going to take everything out. Took a lot of research into what I'd need, especially the cable lengths and colours were a pain in the *** to figure out... Generally decided to err on the side of caution for thickness. So I'll mostly be using 1.5, 2.0 and some 6.0 mm2 cables. Ordered many different colours to help ease the wiring and also help in fixing problems later on. I also ordered a lot of bulletconnectors, insulation and multi-connectors. We'll see if I can manage to figure this out with my wiring diagram Drewpy's how-to has been a great help in this, thanks for that drewpy

I have a feeling this bike is far from finished before I can ride