my new project/ first bike/81 xs400h

got my rear sets in, they bolt directly to the spots where the old pegs are but they are down and back a bit too much. they are "decent" quality but nothing spectacular (I work In a machine shop sometimes so im picky) they have crappy fasteners on them that look like they were chosen at random (plus some of the allen bolts are rusty?)

they will work good though, they have many adjustments on them so adjusting them to personal preferance is easy.

so Ive definently decided to go with a more streetfighter look for this bike, with hints of cafe/ tracker but I will be using as may modern parts as I can. Im planning to keep it clean but modern. (it will also be a bit ratty untill I have all the new parts on and im satisfied enought to tear it down AGAIN and make it purdy)

Im on the hunt for a square style tank, I think the boxy look will go better with a sleak tail faring. The rear subframe will get torn off pretty soon because its too beefy and wont add anything to the strength of the bike with my new swingarm idea. Im going to make something light that is unboltable, possibly adapt a rear end off of a newer r1/gsxr

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oh yeah....the bike is torn down a bit haha

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I got some brake parts in as well, big brakes and suspention goodies, I wont divulge untill ive got some good pics :)
 
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Wow, that looks very cool. Did you have an issues getting those on or did they bolt into the universal holes provided? This is going to be an awesome bike.
 
thanks BC, they screwed right into the original holes (im guessing 50mm is a standard mounting dimention) but ofcourse they now are offset from the frame and inch or so. I will be cutting down those studs and retapping the frame so I can mount the plates flush to the side of the frame.

there may be some serious modification to that portion of the frame depending on the width of the new swingarm im getting, and how said swingarm works with its sprocket offset. Those rear sets may end up mounted somewhere else depending on what gets cut off

there is no way in hell im going to run a jack shaft, so ill have to get creative....should look killer with a 180 rear tire :)...also thinking of trying to mount a 130 width tire up front, we shall see how that goes

lots planned in the next two weeks, hopefully I can have it rolling/ stopping by the middle of april
 
MAN this is gonna be sick. if your camaro idea is any inclination of your motorcycle taste, it will turn out MEAN. those rear sets look pretty nice, jut need to be tucked in more.
 
thanks volcom, parts are coming in, im beginning to see it come together.

ive got the whole front end in, minus the wheel, rim and rotors.

I love the look of how big this fork is, i still need to swap the bearings over to the taperberings I bought but that will be easy.

next thing im waiting on is the rear swingarm, looking at the sprocket location on the motor today....looks like im gona atleast need a ofset sprocket ....that will be tough

check it out, big fork looks great with the big tank.

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i give you....frankenXS...lol

I have a problem with cutting things apart and welding them back together....there I said it.

Its came out decent IMO, I had to completely hack off the mounting point for the old swingarm because the honda swing arm was way too big, Yes this frame is now completyl specific to a CBR600RR swingarm but whatever, its going to look cool once its all done.

I reinforced the crap out of everything and its all heavy wall tubing. The swingarm has roller bearings in it so its pivots like a dream.

I still need to mock up the shock, dogbone linkage and all that, but I will do that when Ive got the wheel and tire to Mock up my ride height

the chain offset was the biggest Issue, but im having a 1inch offset sprocket made and that will solve my issues.

It will probably get some more gussets, and a couulpe more x brace tubes but its pretty strong so far.

I guess i need to find a new place for those rear sets...

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thanks man, much more thinking than actually cutting and welding.

the swing arm itself is a nice piece, it looks huge but is super light, its made out of paper thin aluminum.

wost part about the whole thing is that not one thing on that swing arm is symetrical to the other side, I had to do a crap ton of math to get a rough centerline that I could build from Its all designed to work with a 1inch offset sprocket, ill be ordering that next week.

heres a couple more of the mounting location

If I could go back to when I was looking for a cool suspention design I would pick another swingarm, or make a totaly new one.

most of the welds need grinding, I tried to tig it but I was using galvanized tubing so it was not sticking

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What happens if/when the bushings go out in the arm? Oh and I dont know if I missed it or not, but what is that front 3tree and shock setup from?
 
this looks awesome. Those upside-down forks are just what that fatuglytank needed. :)

can't wait to see it a rollin. Great job!
 
thanks man,

I agree that the forks made the tank fit, its all got that beefy look now and im definitly going to go with that. Im thinking about fitting a decently big tire up front (ill have to see what the gsxr rim can fit). both the honda rear rim and the gsxr front come in tomorro :)
 
now that is just plain overwelmingly impresive!!!! wow! nice imagination. i wish i had the patience to build like that. i can't wait that long to get mine back on the road. i like to build and ride at the same time i guess. i'm frustrated that i can't see your finished product!!!
 
haha thanks man.

Ive got no patience either, but at the same time I can see the finished product in my head so I know im making progress.

ive got to fit the rims this week, the front wont be an issue at all but the rear I still need to build tabs for the lower link. looks like I might have to have the rear pretty slamed to the ground so that I dont need to have a chain Idler/tensioner to keep it from rubbing on the swingarm...guess ill just have to throw the engine back on to see

believe it or not im kind of nervous about how I designed the rear of the frame. The swingarm is setup so that the pivot bolt crunches down on two bushings and presses them inward so that they clamp together on the center piece of my frame. the outside pieces of the frame (two big steel bushings) hold the outer ends of the pivot bolt, they are a snug fit inside so it will provide some support but not too much.

all im saying here is that im going to weld a couple more tubes in to strengthen that center section, because as of right now there is only those three verticle tubes in the milddle supporting most of the pivoting side to side action.

thing is I cant just weld in tubes at random because I still need to have room for the chain to bounce around on the left side....choices choices, ill figure it out
 
this kinda illistrates the setup:

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as you can see the axle tightens down on the bushings, and the outer parts of the axle fit snug into the outer part of the frame, but they dont really provide much support.

I just need to figure out how to strenghthen the center without messing with the space provided for the chain
 
thanks man, it is a huge project....this offset deal will be the death of me. of course I was not provded with one of the bushings for the rear rim/tire so I cant judge the offset untill I ebay a set.

the rear tire is McMASSIVE, ive never even seen a 190 tire but its WIDE. The funny thing is the tire wont be an issue, the offset of the sprocket is more of an issue.

my front rim/tire didnt come today so no go there... wed or thursday ill weld the tabs for the dogbones so it actually holds itself up
 
a bit of progress...

got the front and rear rims in, both of them are on but are missing spacers ....ughhh....

thats the crappy part about buying components you know nothing about off of ebay, i have the honda rear spacers coming so thats not that big of an issue. once they come i can figure out my offset in the rear.

the font needs a speedo drive I believe? i think thats what im missing up front to properly center the wheel. looking at some technical drawings it seems like thats correct but its going to be hard to find that part (77bucks new)...I could make it i guess but thats another project.

im in LOVE with the stance of the bike, its so streetfighter looking its scary.

the angle of the rear swingarm is gona be trickey. I like how it looks now and it is the perfect height (I can just barley flat foot my feet). it would make it easier to work a chain if I lowered it about 4 inches so the top of the chain was in the same plane as the sprocket but i wont know untill i throw the engine back in.

gona fish up welding. grinding and making the bottom tabs this week, then try and figure out a plan for sprocket offset on the weekend when i have time to stare at it and ponder...:doh:

as a side note....how hard would it be to totally more the engine in the bikes frame? If I did that and made new mounts it would eliminate the need for an offset sprocket or a jackshaft....hmmmmm (id say it would be pushed back about an inch and up about 2inches

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did I say I love the stance of the bike????:D

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Great progress. I can't wait to get my hands on those parts I picked up from you yesterday! I am considering taking mine down to the frame and re-painting. Are you going to paint the bike once everything is sorted out mechanically?
 
thanks Will,

I would think going down to bare frame is a good idea, atleast then you get to touch every nut and bolt and make sure its greased and tight...never a bad thing to know every part of the bike.

im definently going to paint the whole bike when im done. i will most likely paint the frame when im done with the welding that it needs. then clean the engine up a bit and throw it all together and paint the tins (tank, headlight) later on

im kind of undecided on what i want to do with the tail. I dont think im going to go with a 2 up seat anymore but would like to keep the option for the future. If i can find a crashed bike with a usable tail section ill use that, but despite my best efforts i havent found one yet

i dont want to go too streetbike/bee stinger looking......but then i dont want to go too "naked" streetfigher looking so it looks like im going to fall of the back and get my ass chewed up.

open to suggestions on this one...kind of at a brain fart:shrug:
 
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