Newbie, intro and build thread.

[Stuweyer]

Hi all just thought id join the site so various people can take a look at the recent XS400SE cafe racer that i have just completed. This was a barn find from Norfolk England which i have built to English road legal spec. Just wanted to say thank you for the use of this site it has been very useful and come in handy while going through the project. I hope you all like it as it was my first ever build. Being an engineer most of the parts where made by myself.

 

[Wolfe_11B]

Nice man, that was a good candidate for a chop up.
Not a fan of the filters or tires, but other than that you did extremely well. No pipe wrap is a big bonus Did you ceramic coat the headers?
Wanna rip off that rear rim and send it my way? Can't find them here.
What rear shocks are you using? Not a big fan of slim-lines, but those are kinda neat looking.

 

[Wolfe_11B]

Just noticed the toe guard on the swing-arm, nice attention to detail.

 

[Stuweyer]

Just noticed the toe guard on the swing-arm, nice attention to detail.

yes ceramic coated.shocks njb England .tires sticky French made dunlops made for classic racing not hard Japanese .best wishes stuart

 

[Stuweyer]

o.k with spanners bad with keyboard ,would send usb of complete build to any member who has time or interest to post on site

 

[BBS360]

Looks great!

Not a fan of the filters or tires, but other than that you did extremely well.

At least he kept the h-pipe.

 

[Wolfe_11B]

He's an engineer, he knows what's best

 

[BBS360]

Is the fork brace custom?

 

[Stuweyer]

I made it myself.The Yamaha badge was cut from the original rear grab rail.

 

[Stuweyer]

Do you want a better picture so you can make your own ?

 

[BBS360]

I don't have the facilities to make much myself. Looks great though.
Everything about the bike does. Can tell a lot of thought went into it.

 

[butterbeats]

Looks sweet..nice job!! I bet it as mechanically sound as it looks... judging on quality of finish!!

 

[Quaid Cde Baca]

How did you put the front rotor and caliper system on? Are those the original forks?
Having trouble finding a break system upgrade on my '80 XS400

 

[Wolfe_11B]

How did you put the front rotor and caliper system on? Are those the original forks?
Having trouble finding a break system upgrade on my '80 XS400

If you want to go with different front brakes, its always the same- fabrication.

You'll need to determine which rotor and caliper you want to use first.
After getting the parts, you'll need to do the mechanical engineering on your own or hire somebody to- 1.design and fabricate a proper caliper mount/spacer and 2. design and fabricate a proper rotor spacer.

Basically if you have to ask, look elsewhere. It's not easy at all, and remember that it's your life on the line if you rig something janky up.

Why do you want to upgrade your 80's brakes? The stock system is more than adequate for the power the bike puts out. As long as your master is good, the rotor is in spec, the caliper is free, and the system is bled fully, you should be more than fine. I could lock up the fronts easily when I had the stock setup. Adding anything else in terms of front brakes will be overkill and only for looks. I did an upgrade on mine since it was seeing the track, and the fork change allowed for it anyway.

 

[Brendan O'Carroll]

Sweet

 

[Myke Nytemare]

Wow... The level of custom work I see on this site astounds me. Great work Stuweyer. I hope someday I can do a bike up like that from a complete teardown!

 

[Spitfire_X24]

This bike is stunning! The longer I look at it, the more little details I see. Such attention to detail! How long did this build take, and did you have every detail planned out before hand, or did you just make it up as you went along? I like the way you did the rear tail light and rear signals, looks custom, but classy and functional.

 

[JPaganel]

I'm not really a huge fan of cafe racers, but this is nice work. None of the usual jankiness.

 

[Spitfire_X24]

I'm not really a huge fan of cafe racers, but this is nice work. None of the usual jankiness.

That's the cool part about a quality build like this, whether it's your style or not, you can appreciatte the craftsmanship. I've even seen some Camaros I like...

 

[Gra900]

It is beautifully engineered, though I’m not convinced by the Swiss cheese look