my new project/ first bike/81 xs400h

[frwinks]

that thing looks KILLER... fat tire envy for sure
at this point, I don't think moving the engine around to dial in where it needs to be, should be much of a challenge bud

 

[ahale2772]

haha thanks man, im secretly a lover of the huge tires as well...it may only have 20-something hp....but its gona look damn good

 

[eggcob]

How about something similar to these lovely Yams

Yummy

 

[ahale2772]

yeahhh, I like the second one alot

 

[eggcob]

More eye candy here for you

http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2010/12/30/yamaha-xv-750-virago-reciprocity.html

 

[ahale2772]

yeah that thing is killer, im leaning twards that style but then a bit more ride height

 

[ahale2772]

did some expirmenting with the tail yesteday, stole this loop off an xr350 frame i had, it fist really nice and i like the look. its just big enough for one person to be comfortable and have some room to push back and lean down when your feeling racey.

the rear now looks kinda moto-gp ish, and i like it, I think it clicked something in my head and i have an idea of what i want it to look like. Im gona paint the frame and tins in the bright red I have, then accent that with some bright while (rims and paint the knee dent that). should look lind of retro like a 70's ferrari p-3

I welded the rear loop on and bent the rear tubes up, ill weld two tubes from the pivot point area up twards the rear, im thinking ill actually cross them in an x pattern to make it look a bit cooler.

also welded the tabs for the dogbone link, now i can buy some heim joints from mcmaster and build some adjustable links to get my ride height where i want it. BTW, the rear suspention feels like a dream, firm but forgiving....verrryyyy niccceee

love this pic...

gona weld in a piece of sheetmetal on the back loop where it angles up, then ill sink all my led/ brake turn/markers in

 

[bcware]

The frame has a very nice shape; it looks very modern with those angles.

 

[ahale2772]

yeah I think it looks good, im hoping I dont bugger it up when I try and find a place for my battery, I may have to invest in a super small battery I can hide under the seat, I REALLY want to keep it clean

tonight im going to throw the motor back in and finally get a look at my offset situation.

then ill pull it all apart and finsh weld while I order parts for the sprocket, jackshaft or whatever I decided will work best

still need to find the propper bolts for the dogbone links, and make a spacer for the front axle

I really hope to have this thing running and driving by early may...I start the next semester of classes may 12 and i need it as my daily driver

 

[bcware]

Well, here's my idea. I am not happy with the shape, but this is the general idea. You could run a full size battery with some kind of variation on this and it looks sporty; simply adjust to suite your taste.

 

[ahale2772]

yeah thats pretty much the only place the battey will fit i guess (normal sized batt that is)

only issue is that my pod filters would stick out into the body work

 

[bcware]

You might also be able to stick the battery behind the tail portion you just welded on. I guess until the motor is back in you won't really know how much room there is to work with.

 

[ahale2772]

yeah preety much, would there definitly be too much vibration if I put the battery where the starter used to be? the motor is kickstart only so that spot is empty, I could possibly build some kind of if rubber mount to isolate vibration

I dont see how mounting it to the frame with the motor being solding mounted to the frame would make much of a difference in vibration...

 

[bcware]

The stock battery box has a small rubber cushion under the battery and some rubber bushings where the box attaches to the frame; apparently that was good enough for the old style batteries. A new style AGM battery is supposed to be much more resistant to vibration, but you could still try and cushion it somehow with bushing or a pad of some kind. That being said, I have seen plenty of those bobber style bikes mount batteries directly to the fram--or so it appears--right in front of the swing arm.

 

[ahale2772]

yeah thats what i mean, besides heat issues, if I can mount it there and insulate it ill be golden, then ill ill need to run for electrics is the reg/rec and ignition, im gona try and clean up everything else quite a bit...who knows i guess ill just figure it out when it comes time, if i can get this offset issue worked out soon ill be a happy camper

 

[bcware]

You should be fine. I am pretty sure mounting a battery is going to be the easiest task!

 

[frwinks]

now THAT is a fine ass
this is going to be a sick bike dude

 

[ahale2772]

haha thanks man, thats that moto-gp looking style im talking about

kinda like this minus all the tracker influences ...

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=red+...tart=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=85&ty=50

 

[drewpy]

you've got to run the pipes up and over, there's room for them and will be in keeping with the bike's lines. (and It'll keep your bum warm)

 

[ahale2772]

yeah Drewps, an undertail exhaust would be cool, but im not going to do it untill I have my rearsets mounted. I guess I just dont want another project to do right now.

finished the rear today, made the bushing to replace the spedo drive and got the rear suspention super tight today.

all in all im UBER pumped on how it turned out....like OMG so stoked on how it looks

I did try your under tail idea drewps, this is from a honda, its huge so im holding off for now