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LuckyEight
Head-scratcher
Seat looks great!
Tracker transformation?
And welcome back!
Tracker transformation?And welcome back!
Sesty
H.E. Pennypacker
nice seat! goes well with your style of tank
throw some knobby rubber on there
ps how are those kenda's treating you?
throw some knobby rubber on there
ps how are those kenda's treating you?
I like a tracker-type build mostly because it's practical, comfortable, and doesn't seem to adversely affect handling.
I probably wouldn't do knobby tires because I primarily focus on dragging knee on this bike
The Kendas and very nice. I tear it up in the corners and they do the job. It doesn't hurt that they're cheap!
I probably wouldn't do knobby tires because I primarily focus on dragging knee on this bike
The Kendas and very nice. I tear it up in the corners and they do the job. It doesn't hurt that they're cheap!
thielb
maxim
bc, is that a little homemade headlight fairing/visor? Been throwing the idea around and I can never find anything styled like either of yours that i've seen on it throughout the build
Sesty
H.E. Pennypacker
I probably wouldn't do knobby tires because I primarily focus on dragging knee on this bike
speaking of knee dragging, did you change the stance of your bike?
Yes, the rear has long shocks. I think I did 14.5" rear shocks from mikesxs (stock is like 12.5"). It jacked the tail WAY up which is what I wanted. The stock stance is almost like a cruiser. Steering is VERY responsive now; it turns in quick. I have a 35" inseam and the bike is no longer low. I can still flat foot it, but I'm about at my limit with the current seat on it. I had to have the kickstand lengthened. It was nearly sideways on the stock one and it's too high to use the stock center stand.
I made both of the "fly screens" myself. The first, rounder one, was made out of fiberglass. I modeled it right on the headlight out of cardboard. I just coated everything in aluminum tape and car wax first.
The second fly screen is made out of the rear fender from my Ninja 500. I needed something to fill the big gap between the lowered headlight and the smaller gauges. It was weird. I had cut the fender off my ninja and the piece that came off fit PERFECTLY. All I did was clean it up a little.
I made both of the "fly screens" myself. The first, rounder one, was made out of fiberglass. I modeled it right on the headlight out of cardboard. I just coated everything in aluminum tape and car wax first.
The second fly screen is made out of the rear fender from my Ninja 500. I needed something to fill the big gap between the lowered headlight and the smaller gauges. It was weird. I had cut the fender off my ninja and the piece that came off fit PERFECTLY. All I did was clean it up a little.
Sesty
H.E. Pennypacker
i was going to say it looked like u lowered the front! the lower headlight and raised tail end give it a cool stance!
Yes, I tried to flatten the bike out (raise the rear and lower the front). The front forks are indeed at stock height; as high as they will go. I wanted to get the headlight at the same height as the gas tank.
At some point I may switch to clip-ons and rear-sets, but that is not in the immediate future as it will require more extensive modification to make it "right."
I'm thinking about a crazy paint job this season.
At some point I may switch to clip-ons and rear-sets, but that is not in the immediate future as it will require more extensive modification to make it "right."
I'm thinking about a crazy paint job this season.
How about cutting a part out of your seat so it hugs the tank bolt? That way you could have the seat sit directly on your frame without having the gap. You'd only need to cut a semicircle out, shouldn't be too much trouble and I think it would look best. Also your seat padding would still fall over it so that would look nice
Sesty
H.E. Pennypacker
well if a photo is worth a thousand words, if my math is correct, a video is worth 3,500 words!
I like chris's idea if your comfortable with your welding skill set, if not you still have a good 2-3 months of winter to practice your welds
I like chris's idea if your comfortable with your welding skill set, if not you still have a good 2-3 months of winter to practice your welds
Specdog
XS400 Addict
My thought is your new seat should butt up against the tank. I think you can gain clearance by lowering the tank mount bolt. Remove the rubber cushion and any other washers and grind the bolt head by 70%. As a better alternative, If you have a quality fastener store nearby maybe you can source a countersunk philips head bolt to gain even more clearance to allow the seat to slide forward.
How about cutting a part out of your seat so it hugs the tank bolt? That way you could have the seat sit directly on your frame without having the gap. You'd only need to cut a semicircle out, shouldn't be too much trouble and I think it would look best. Also your seat padding would still fall over it so that would look nice
I thought about this, but the bolt is so high that if I made a hole or half-circle cutout for the bolt to pass through the pan it would still be so tall that I'd have to cut a hole on the seat cushion itself.
The rubber insert and flat washer are really what is holding the tank in place. Do you mean to permanently remove those pieces or just to shave the head off the bolt? Without the rubber insert and washer the tank won't stay. Even if I could somehow remove the bolt/washer/rubber insert entirely the "hoop" part of the gas tank that goes over the mount would still probably be too tall. I think I'd literally have to remove this protruding hoop from the gas tank entirely and create my own mount. I'm not sure I could do that yet.
