my budget bobber

[strat]

Thought i'd post up my budget bobber build in progress.

the bike started life as an 85 Yamaha Maxim XJ700N.

pic or two from the day I picked it up




after a few mods... savage rear shocks to get her sitting a bit lower, different grips, fork bag, chrome turn downs, etc



next came progressive fork springs, Bridgestone spitfire s11's, 12" tc bros ape hangers, side plate mount with model a tail light, and some cutting.






and how it sits currently with the new solo seat...




All told I have maybe $1500 into the bike. I still have lots of plans for the bike too. I have a trailer fender to mount up and new turn signals for the bike. after that forward controls... then who knows

[Chopper17]

that looks sick!

[justinlansdale]

very cool! i love the bobber look, i'd love a late-60's triumph to cruise around on.

[enigma]

Effin A man, looks great!
I've got two maxims I'm working on right now, both 84's, both are probally gonna end up as rigid solo's.
Good luck with it.

[ImNickjames13]

Looks great, not sure I would want to ride with the ape hangers though. But to each his own, still think it looks sick.

[strat]

the apes aren't ridiculously high.. they are about shoulder height for me so it makes for a pretty comfy ride.

[novec64]

Originally Posted by strat

the apes aren't ridiculously high.. they are about shoulder height for me so it makes for a pretty comfy ride.

Nice project. I think the shorter apes make way more sense. I really don't like the tall ones.

[projexxx]

hey. i love brat bikes. this one is a great start.

that said. theres a few details that are killing it for me.

1) lower the front end.

2) take the front fender off. you cant remove the rear fender and keep the front. it just doesnt look right. if you want a front fender, at least cut it down and reinstall a rear fender of some sort. (not the stock one)..what i would do for that is chopping up the rear completely and using a tiny sliver of that for the front, then putting the front fender on the rear. it sounds a little weird, but it could work out pretty well.

3) the seat doesnt fit the frame well at all in its current location. make that stop happening. a good start would be ditching the side covers, hiding the electronics, and switching to pod filters. unfortunately, it looks like you dont have a kicker so you cant put one of those super tiny batteries on it for a kick only. ultimately, you may need a different tank in order to move the seat slightly forward so it really fits without hacking the frame up. thats OK, because i think your bike would look awesome with a wassell tank anyway.

4) and this is a nit pick that has to do with personal preference so feel free to disregard, but i love mid controls. i love the look of mid controls. the highway bar with pegs...to me, its clutter. to some, it's a matter of comfort and stretching out. i also hate bike dashboards. i've seen a lot of guys ditching the tacho and integrating the dash idiot lights into the back of the headlight via LED's. do you have rear turn signals? FWIW i think PA is all or none for bike signals. ditching the fronts would visually lighten up the front end too.

youre off to a good start. hack at it over the winter. come spring youll be the envy of the town.

inspiration:
www.thechopperunderground.com
www.bratstyle.com
www.ardcorechoppers.com

[strat]

the front has already been dropped an inch through the triples... i already drag peg and a very low lean angle. any lower and i'll have problems turning.

i have a rear fender for it... just haven't gotten it on the bike yet. ultimately, i plan on deciding on what to do with the front once the rear is mounted up. I plan on mounting the rear as a floating fender so I can get the hardtail gap but keep the rear suspension.

pod filters are a BITCH to tune on the maxim/seca motors. yamaha used a system called YICS that equalizes air through all 4 carbs. get rid of the airbox and it's a nightmare. some have had ok luck, others have tried for years and still have not been able to get the bike to run right throughout the rpm range. I'd have to double check the seat mount but I think there may be room to slide it forward. I have it set back as I'm 6'1" and it actually allows me to stretch my legs out on the highway pegs. i'd like to stretch the rear but it's not easy on a shafty.

ultimately, I do plan on adding forward controls and ditching the highway bars/crash guards as well as the factory pegs. it's just a matter of saving up for the set i'm looking at. also plan on aftermarket gauges and ditching the stock console but again, it's a matter of saving up money to do so.

[projexxx]

I've got a shafty xs750. its easy to stretch or hardtail. just like any other frame, do it in a jig so the bike rides straight. then sleeve the driveshaft with DOM tubing. get on thechopperunderground.com and do a few searches. i have seen 30 different shaft stretches done 30 different ways. no company makes a bolt on solution for it so everyone thinks its impossible or involves black magic and voodoo. as far as YICS, theres a simple elegant solution. change the carbs! i have CV mikunis on mine which are finicky enough. there are quite a few builders, who in the interest of simplicity ditch the individual carbs in favor of a manifold and a single carb.

why bother with dumping money on gauges? you have a speedo that works. as long as you can see it and your aray of idiot lights while youre seated it will pass inspection. make a bracket out of some old crap you have laying around and mount the speedo where you want it. you don't need a tach. I've seen some dudes mount the speedo next to the tank, just above the head. but its your bike and your money.

[Smurf240]

looks nice. and my harley i was going to make into a bobber/hardtail but i lowered the back springs all the way, shaved the seat and it was just killing my back riding over bumps. so dont think id try to make one again. my dad has a softail with apes thats really fun to ride and comfortable. ill try to find some pics

[Smurf240]

well theres my sportster. i think i was 18 when i bought it. im 20 now. um the sporty was a 96 and all stock besides the flame tank paint job. it was fun bike, sounded loud and mean, itwas an 883 that had a 1200 kit on it so it was actually faster then a 1200 and i thought it was a very fast bike..until i got my gsxr 1000 lol. but i planned to make it a hardtail or bobber style bike but my back would kill from riding over bumps on it. um a few mods i did like the first was i shaved the stock seat foam down with an electric turkey knife then bought a leather jacket from goodwill and made a seat cover lol. put softail style turn signals. straight pipes, wrapped with header tape, mirrors, pegs, grips, handlebars, arlen ness air filter, hd carb top. just a bunch of little things. then i wanted a sport bike so i traded straight up for the 04 gsxr 1000 which i still own and love. ill def get another harley most likely a softail or my dads softail hopefully. the black gsxr is how she looks now. i got it painted bc previous owner laid it down on both sides

[Smurf240]

j

[strat]

been working on the bike as of late...

pulled the front fender, went with a set of chrome turn downs to give the exhaust a more "finished look, added springs to my solo seat and repositioned it farther up the frame, bolted on my rear signals and am in the process of wiring up a new set for the front.

a few from before the work...



with the turndowns


and where it sits currently


forward controls will be here Weds. Also picked up a front wheel from an 85 yamaha fazer. it's a bolt on 16" wheel that allows me to retain my front discs (which will be vented vs the solid stock rotors) and means I can the same size tire I run in the rear on the front of the bike. when it comes time for the install, i'll be going with whitewalls.

my inspiration

[mbeem546]

awesome bike.. i will be transforming my old 83 xs650 into a hardtail. ill be starting in about a month.

[strat]

I'd love to pick up an xs. They look amazing hardtailed. check out tc bros if you haven't already. They carry a bunch of parts for the xs including prefabbed hardtails. you can even send your frame to them to have it hardtailed.

[mbeem546]

i have checked them out i was actually looking into ardcore choppers hard tail kit for it it seems like it might be a bit easier to cut and weld. a lot less steps http://www.ardcorechoppers.com/

[goodknight]

Very cool. the bike you posted as inspiration looks good too. can't beat a 1500 bike!

[strat]

pic of the new wheel


and the bike decided to go naked... (lost a side cover on a 100 mile ride over the weekend)