bike geezer
XS400 New Member
Hi All,
I've been lurking a while and soaking up the good info here, thought it was about time I introduced myself. Just recently acquired an '82 XS400J and since it really just needed a good cleaning and adjustment of course I tore it completely down to bob it. I've had a bunch of bikes over the years but this is my first XS400 and the first bobber, in the past I've done stock restos or mild customs.
Don't have a lot of photos or progress to share, so far I've just torn it completely down and am starting in on cleaning everything thoroughly. The plan so far is to "restyle" the bike, leaving all the mechanicals and the running gear stock. This will be Mrs. Bike Geezer's ride so I want to leave the handling characteristics undisturbed. And keep the stock ride, too ... Momma don't go for hardtails. I'm thinking that I should be able to achieve a pretty sweet looking ride without changing the frame / wheel relationships, thanks in part to the monoshock setup. Planning on mounting the rear fender to the swingarm so I can elimate the unsightly gap of the stock bikes, I'd love to hear from anyone who has done this already.
This thing has pretty good lines with all that crud behind / under the seat gone, the stock tank has nice rake back and I think it will look good with a paint scheme that takes advantage of its lines. Once you get everything off the frame, it almost has a label that says "cut here for bobber" at the rear point of the triangle.
Here's a shot of what I'm starting with, I'll post progress photos as I go forward.
Nice to meet you all,
Tim
I've been lurking a while and soaking up the good info here, thought it was about time I introduced myself. Just recently acquired an '82 XS400J and since it really just needed a good cleaning and adjustment of course I tore it completely down to bob it. I've had a bunch of bikes over the years but this is my first XS400 and the first bobber, in the past I've done stock restos or mild customs.
Don't have a lot of photos or progress to share, so far I've just torn it completely down and am starting in on cleaning everything thoroughly. The plan so far is to "restyle" the bike, leaving all the mechanicals and the running gear stock. This will be Mrs. Bike Geezer's ride so I want to leave the handling characteristics undisturbed. And keep the stock ride, too ... Momma don't go for hardtails. I'm thinking that I should be able to achieve a pretty sweet looking ride without changing the frame / wheel relationships, thanks in part to the monoshock setup. Planning on mounting the rear fender to the swingarm so I can elimate the unsightly gap of the stock bikes, I'd love to hear from anyone who has done this already.
This thing has pretty good lines with all that crud behind / under the seat gone, the stock tank has nice rake back and I think it will look good with a paint scheme that takes advantage of its lines. Once you get everything off the frame, it almost has a label that says "cut here for bobber" at the rear point of the triangle.
Here's a shot of what I'm starting with, I'll post progress photos as I go forward.
Nice to meet you all,
Tim