Busy morning...

It's been one hell of a busy morning and I'm freaking exhausted after starting all this at 8am and finally finishing at noon. So I am going to keep it short. The new scoot has a new ass end. Without further ado....here she is...

It's sort of sad

Well...here she is. A shadow of her former self....

But I suppose that in order to build something great you must first tear it down to the ground. So this is the bare bones stock frame with the ugly junk removed at the rear end the former owner added. It will soon be replaced with the new Visual Impact Brat Kit. But first I need to grind off all the sharp bits, removed unwanted brackets, and possibly install a new neck gusset. So I guess now I'm at the bottom of the barrel. I'm sure it'll be an interesting and fun climb out.

I'll leave you with one last picture of all the bits removed. I'm not sure if you can tell but I think the old XS400 in the background is laughing her ass off at the humiliation the XS650 has just undergone.

Busy little weekend!!!

So I've been a bad boy. I know....I know....I should have been working on the bike this weekend. But I had other plans. I did some calling around and found a great deal on a 60 cubic foot pressurized gas bottle from Maine Oxy. So since I know have a bottle of gas, 50ft 10/3 extension cord, mig gun, work clamp, and a welder to carry around I was in dire need of a welding cart!!! Ta Da.....

My new welding cart. BAM!!! I know I should have taken intermediate photos but I just got into it and didn't have time for photos. All that's left is to make the studs the welder will rest on so it doesn't actually fall off the cart and then paint the S.O.B and I'm done. Hopefully over the next week I'll actually have a motorcycle build update to post on here. Till then....

Pipes are on order!!!

Just got off the phone with Scott of GordonScott Engineering!!! He got the photos I sent him of my mocked up exhaust and it looks like it will 7-14 days!!! I'm psyched!!! SUPER friendly guy and he comes to my home state to ride all the time. WTF are chances of that? Anyways, here's a picture of what I finally came up with. Final pipes will be much larger in diameter and made of raw mild steel. Once they are in they get a coat of good quality hi-temp paint and fiber exhaust wrap. It's going to look sick!!!

It's been a while....

Alright, so it's been a while since my first post. The reason for that is that I've been busy brain storming ideas for the bike so there isn't much to post. I've also been busy collecting (read purchasing) tools that will be necessary for the build. So....let's get to viewing what it is I've purchased over the past week and a half and not talk about the fact that perhaps I went a bit overboard. It might just be white break bologna sandwiches and Ramen noodles for the next week or two until payday ;-) I'm sure I'll survive just fine....

First thing I bought was a compressor. Every good shop needs a compressor for things like inflating tires, cleaning off dust, and up to angle grinding and impact wrenches. Here's what I bought. It was on sale and if I bought the compressor I'd get 25% off air compressor tools and accessories so of course I bought more than a compressor.

It's a nice little 20 gallon 150psi compressor from sears and an angle grinder with accessories for those tight to reach places my 4.5" DeWalt grinder can't reach. All in all this came out to a VERY reasonable price and am quite content with the purchase.

Next comes the purchase the purchase that will send me shopping for a few packs of Ramen noodles. Should I have bought it only a few days after the compressor?.....probably not. Am I happy I did....if you could see the ear to ear shit eating grind on my face after using it you would know the answer ;-)

Yup that's right...I bought a GMAW/FCAW welder! Now the welder, 240 volt extension cord, 2 lb. roll of flux core wire, welding gloves, welding pliers, gas regulator and hose, auto darkening helmet, and heavy weight fire retardant cotton welding jacket came to under the price of the bottom of the line Mill and Lincoln 120 volt welders. The craziest thing is that Hobart was actually purchased by Miller and is quite evident by the fact that the wire gun is a Miller product. I just got in from the garage after using and while flux core doesn't produce the nicest welds the machine performs far above and beyond anything I could have possibly expected. I will happily eat those super salty and crappy tasting noodles for this purchase. And I'll do it with a shit eating grind because I'll be welding in my own garage with a quality welder on my motorcycle.

Now for the ideas and purchase I've made for the motorcycle. First and foremost I bought the Visual Impact Brat Kit for the motorcycle to transform the rear end of the frame into something MUCH more appealing that what it currently looks like. Take a look at their website....Visual Impact Brat Kit. At the top of the page is what comes in the kit for a very reasonable price. If you scroll down you'll see instructions on installation and a couple examples of what it looks like after a finished install. I think it will pretty damn spiffy on the bike. Now while I wont be finish welding the kit on my bike due to the flux core process I have (upgrading to full GMAW will come later) and the fact that my welding skills are not where I would like them to be to weld something my ass will be cruising on at 60mph, I can at least tac it into place so that I can bring it to the welder in town to have it professionally done so I can cruise in comfort.

Now the next item on the agenda is pipes. No I'm not talking about the type your grandfather smokes...I'm talking about the loud, ear splitting, disturbing the peace, piss of my neighbors, exhaust pipes for the bike. I found a man online who makes custom pipes for the XS650 and has a couple different styles available. Here's his web address....Gordon Scott Engineering. Those are his "Curved Drag" pipes and here is what they might look like on my bike....

Mind you they wont be so small, white, and made out of PVC pipe but you get the idea. So what do you think? I'm not 100% convinced yet. While they look f'ing sexy on the hardtails shown on his site I think they loose some of the sexy on the softail due to the huge ass piece of steel that supports the swing arm and that used to support the foot pegs. What do you folks think? Post in the comment section and let me know.

Well sorry for the wall of text but I had a lot of catching up to do. That's all for now.

And so it begins....AGAIN!!!

So here is the new toy I bought a couple days ago via a very generous graduation present. A new 10 amp, 10k rpm DeWalt  grinder. Why do I need such a grinder you might ask?

This is why I need said grinder. A 1979 XS660 engine mounted in an already slightly modified 1980 XS650 frame, fitted with a a Harley Sportster tank and seat.

However it did not start life this way. The original owner turned it into a hardtail bobber of sorts shown in the next photo.

He tried to sell it and couldn't get what he wanted for it. Then the decision was made to try and make it into a softtail bobber in the hopes that a family member would join him in his joy of the open road. Turns out that didn't work so I bought it off him for $600. The deal included an extra seized parts engine, additional set of front forks, stocker parts off of a doner bike, and various other assorted parts.

 It also came with a TC Brothers battery box and fake oil can to be storage for all the electronics.

So this will be my journey into turning the bike into something along the lines of this...

Part of this journey is going to somehow turn the rats nest of this wiring harness....

into something a little bit neater, smaller, and easier to understand and work with. So come join me on a journey I'm sure to be filled with tear, laughs, and whole lot of shit eating grins. I'll leave you today with a few more pictures of the bike as it stands at day one.