some modded xs400's

This was done by a local guy here in Perth Brett from Hand Made Vintage Kustoms.
Absolute top bloke and the thing looks unreal in real life. For sale now at his shop
http://www.facebook.com/handmadevintagekustoms

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My photos dont do it justice

Anyone know if there is an exhaust similar to this available, or only custom?

Thanks,

Jim :cool:
 
I like it, but I'm always a little put off by things done for looks instead of function. But hey, it does look very good.

Can't figure out why they put the carbs on the wrong cylinders though, it would be 100% impossible to adjust idle with them on that way. Looks like they just tossed the bike together for photos before really finishing it/running it.

I almost bought that swing-arm as well. Couldn't justify the $500+ price tag though when there are other options for used swing-arms.

Edit- Just saw that there is no petcock or fuel lines to the carbs either... Must have been on a photo deadline.
 
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Form over function is the thing these days. At first glance it looks nice. Then I noticed the rear ride height, or lack of it. I understand that they were inspired by bobbers, but that bike strikes me more as a street tracker. The tail down attitude just doesn't look right to me. Then I noticed the lack of slack in the chain and the strange rear brake adjustment. The brake rotor looks brand new, as does the insides of the exhaust pipes, and there appears to be no fuel in the lines, so it hasn't even been started, never mind ridden. The cheap air filters don't inspire confidence.

All that said, I was glad to see that they didn't install those terrible retro Firestone tires that most "builders" use. The front tire looks a bit wide, but at least they flared the rear lip of the front fender so it won't catch on the tire when it shakes and rattles around.

I hope they finish the bike and that it gets ridden. It looks like it could become a fun bike to ride once it is fixed up.
 
Needs the clutch line hooked up too lol. Just noticed it runs under the tank but doesn't go to the side cover....
 
:laugh::laugh: I am so over these type bikes. It's starting to get like orange county choppers and the same thing over and over. A nice stock bike is now the odd ball.
 
Ok I hate to beat a dead horse, but I feel I should point out some safety issues with that artsy bikeefix monstrosity. The more I look at it the more it bugs me.

The big issue I have is that new builders, or people that want to learn to build a bike, look at these things and think that 'because i saw pretty pictures on a website, it must be good to do it that way'. 90% of the users on this site have no posts, so most come here and look for info and don't ask questions. So I feel it's important to point out the bad unsafe things. That last bike posted probably isn't complete, but they shouldn't go posting them until they are. Monkey see, monkey do.

The brake caliper on that bike is trash. Looks like they milled off the Aprilia logo at the last minute before the photo shoot. Hence why it's painted red except for the spot that just got shaved off. The area that they cut was already thin. Engineers know what they are doing when they design cast parts. There is a minimum safe thickness for the wall to hold the pressure of the brake system, and they also have a maximum thickness to decrease porosity. They also don't machine it after the casting, because if you do you will bring out that porosity on the thin material. Well I can guarantee that that spot is now buggered, and will either fail under hard braking, or it already leaks, and that would explain why they couldn't toss more paint on that spot(and actually, if you look at the main sites higher res photos, you can see what looks like seepage!). For you budding builders out there, do it the right way- if you don't want the logo, use filler and sand it down flat. Problem solved with no adverse effects.

They went stupid on the front axle/spindle. It's hard to tell why they did what they did, but the bottom line is that it's wrong. Don't eliminate the bolt on the axle. It needs the force from the bolt to work properly. You cannot rely on the fork pinch bolts alone. Also, on those forks, proper assembly requires a certain procedure, and the axle bolts is an important part of the equation before tightening the pinch bolts.

DO NOT OMIT THE TOP STEM BOLT!!!!!! It is an important part of the complete front end. The nut right over the bearings is there for the preload on them. It is not meant to hold everything together. That's what the top bolt is for. Sure the forks will hold together by just the yoke pinch bolts, but the forces on the front suspension and stem are properly distributed via that stem bolt connection. Something will give, and it will most likely be when you are in a turn, under brakes, and the front suspension is under the most force it will ever see.

They dug themselves into a hole with that big rear wheel, and honestly I don't see anything they can do about getting the clutch to work. The only option they will have is to rig up a hydraulic piston on the outside of the cover, or they will probably end up not using that rear wheel and tire when/if it actually sees the road. I have a very wide rear tire, but it's nowhere near as wide as that one they used. My chain is offset as far as it can be to clear the tire and the clutch cable, while still being aligned. Anything further left than what I have would rub the clutch cable where it enters the side cover. You don't need that wide of a tire folks, the rear wheel only sees 30 hp or so. And that tire to fender clearance, yuck. That tire will rub, no doubt about it. You can see that they used huge bump stops on the shafts to try and limit travel, but that rubber can compress to paper thin under certain loads. Fairly unsafe. They'll find out the hard way.

As mentioned already that rear brake is not setup right. Not that we use it all that often, but the rear is a good emergency brake. The arm being at that angle will affect the force you can apply to it.

Another very unsafe thing is the rear sprocket. As it is in the pictures, it has nothing preventing the sprocket from moving laterally. The snap ring and shim are what keeps the sprocket in place, left to right. The 4 bolt with the large nuts, the rubber inserts, are simply that- inserts. They are only there to transfer the rotational force, the torque, to the rear wheel. They are not made to hold the sprocket on. I get why some people may think they would be, as if you try to remove them it seems impossible. But they are only held in place by years of galvanic corrosion between the aluminum hub and steel inserts. If you ever grab new ones, you'll find out that they are just a slip fit. If they were to go ride that bike how they have it setup, that sprocket WILL come off. A broken chain is bad enough on a leg/ankle. Imagine what a piece of spiked steel is going to do coming off at 6,000 rpms.

Be safe guys.
 
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The good thing is these type of bikes don't get riden much or at all. If it was a daily driver and had many miles put on them ( more than a few hundered a year) people would not own them. I would like to see someone put 25k miles on one :bike: These are just show bikes.
 
It still gets me on the price they ask for these things. With that price you would think they could have put some better air filters on it other than the worst/cheapest ones made. After looking at the add, it states that the motor has 110lbs compression. That would be a very worn motor with those type numbers. Another for looks bike for the hipster crowd. :)
 
I don't understand why such wide tires. The 360/400s are "slim" bikes. Whenever I see those big fat tires, it makes me think of the 30s and 40s wartime Harley's.
 
I don't understand why such wide tires. The 360/400s are "slim" bikes. Whenever I see those big fat tires, it makes me think of the 30s and 40s wartime Harley's.
It's all for looks as a bike would those type/size tires would be very unsafe to ride.
 
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