Sneeky peeky of my newest whip. 1979 XS650. My first points bike, and my first runner!! (thank god..) She runs good, is super clean and already has a sporty tank on her. Finally a bike too clean to chop. Just might end up being my first Street tracker.. I get bored...We'll see... Thanks Kevin!!!

So here's a couple sneak peeks of my 1983 XS650. Not quite a classic, but only a year off..lol.. I bought it from my bud in Sandpoint ID for $200 and I plan on making a gem out of her..

 I had it torn down within an hour and the choppin soon begin. I Bratt'd her out matching the stock backbone, just like a hardtail. A bit different than my last frame, but I think the lines flow a lot more and the only challenge is keeping the same low stance which will be handled with a set of Burley 10.5" sporty shocks.

 All in all, the frisco'd sporty tank and the Biltwell tuck and roll seat outta make this bike stand out from the crowd of duds. The motor has 8000 original miles and will be treated to a Mikes XS carb kit, a PMA kit and of course Pamco Ignition to make it a super reliable freeway flyer. stay tuned for more tips and tricks for the home builder!

1981 XS650 Update kinda..

Got my 650 all prettied up, resealed and ready to roll. New carbs/spacers from Mikes XS outta make her run like a top. Raw polished the cases out, stripped the block and repainted with a high temp paint. I had some leaks from a shitty seal kit, so I got a hold of a NOS Yamaha kit and so far seems to be a MUCH better quality than the prior kit. Pamco ignition is in place and I deleted the starter via Mikes $16.00 kit.

do it yerself.

Sammy P's XJ Chop

So got an email form Sammy P outta Upstate NY. He is boys with Reez, May and the rest of the Outlaw crew, so I know he is good peeps! He sent me some pics of his sweet 1981 Yamaha XJ650 chop hes got goin on. $300.00 initial buy in will make this shaft driven beast a cheap build.

  Hardtailing the rear end looks to be a little different than doing a standard chain bike, but Sam's got the stance just right. All in all, looks like she's going to be a sweet looking smooth running ride.. Keep us posted Sammy!

Slugging!! bout damn time..

First off, sorry for the d-lay!! I've been working on the road non-stop the last month so I haven't had a ton of time to work on my toys. But... I've had a couple semi drunken, productive weekends so here's a little diddy on slugging. you can use this for frames, bars and pretty much anything that needs to be joined..

So first off, I have one half of the puzzle shown. The frame's upright tube is on the left, and the slug is on the right. The slug is a piece of stock that will slip tightly in the piece being joined. It allows a nice tight fit and extra weld points resulting in a much stronger joint.

Here is the Slug inserted into the upright. Notice the drilled hole. I drilled completely through the upright before inserting the Slug.

 

TACK IT UP!!!

 Here's the upright and slug in place ready to tack weld. Notice the hole in the frame. Just like before, drilled all the way through. I have already welded and grinded/sanded down the upright prior to install.

 And here it is all in place. A little finish grinding on the weld hole will make it disappear.

Here's 50 cents!.. I like to cut my pieces around the seam with a grinder at about 45-50 degrees as you can see in the pics. This allows for a much deeper, wider weld that you can keep low on the surface for finishing, but achieve maximum penetration for a strong joint..

All in all, grab an old handle bar, cut it in half and rejoin it for fun before attempting to do a frame or swing arm.. GOOD LUCK!!