Yes... another chopper/bobber 550 Updated 2/21/11

********back from the dead***********updates below ***

*******new update***********2/21/11

Well its been a LONG time but finally got back on the build. Thought I would update those who might appreciate this kind of build of an XJ

About 2 years ago I bought a XJ550 with intention of making a chopper/bobber. this was my original post, the pic host is gone but I still have a crap load of pics and can load them up again if people are interested.

Well life stalled the build for quite a while ( new son was born, and other "life" events always got in the way ) Well today I got back on the project and thought I would share what I have done. I have quite a few pics, but these are just a very small few to show what was done.

To start, the frame was chopped off right behind the engine and a new one built using DOM tubing, slugs at the frame joints ( old to new frame ) and gussets all around.

anyway....

Start of day 1: bike all together.



End of day 2. Rear swing arm supported and cut getting ready for the stretch. most parts removed:



End of day 6. Yup LOTS of work over the 4 days:



quick shot of the pipe joining and gussets on day 6:



Around day 10: lots cleaned up, primer on to keep rust at bay.



Then it sat for quite a bit ( this is when life hit, funny how this happens ) I was finally able to get back in the garage and start putting a few things back on, Testing fitments, figuring out how the wiring will run. LOL carbs needs a SERIOUS rebuild. etc. etc. I have to build the exhaust and a whole slew of other small things. I am fixing what needs to be fixed. But the end goal is more of a rat rod chopper..



And for good measure, the Kat and the yami side by side: ( Katana is going into surgery in 2 weeks. the 750cc is coming out to make room for a 1200cc bandit motor )



anyway just thought I would share. :rider:

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

nice, looks good streched out a bit. If I ever get another bike I think thats what I'll do to mine.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Lookin' good!! That hardtail looks nice and clean!!

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

looks good are you going to add some gussets for strength where your new rear end meets the old? I def would. It would help stiffen and strengthen things up alot . Looks very good so far.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Oh ya.. Definitly adding gussets. The rear is going to get the most work, I have alot of cleaning up to do of the old swingarm bracket. The idea we are working toward is to have a "blocked" in look keeping it smooth and with the lines of the rear.

Thanks for the comments so far. Its been lots of work with more work to come. I wire brush polished the foks yesterday (still needs a final polish ) to clean them up and put a quick coat of black on the wheels to get an idea of the look. I still have not finalized the colors yet. I am torn between a few combos and want to see the final look before I decide on a set color...

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Also the top tubes have solid slugs fit half way into the old frame welded in place then the new frame slips over the slugs then welded to the slug. It is solid but gussets will be out in.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

very cool, make sure to keep us updated!

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

looking good, it just makes more sense to loose the arm, more work but a much better build

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

I was wondering if you put in a plug before you welded I was going to mention it. I can't wait to see the progress.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Here is the latest update. the tank has been stripped of all paint, rear tank mount trimmed up and welded back in, the front forks have been cleaned up to a mild polish, the front wheel has been painted a satin black to see how it looks with the polished forks. the rear brake torque arm has been put back in. The old torque arm bracket was cut off the swingarm and mounted on the lower cross support bar and two small gusset plates have been aded to this bar for support.

Now the biggie... this took most of yesterday. The rear gusset plates right in front of the rear axle. these were cut to fit the odd shape that the old swingarm had ( look back at the pics of when I first cut the swingarm ). We trimmed more of the it out of the bike before we made the gussets. The goal was to make the original swing arm bracket flow better with the angles of the tubing. after all this was matched up we welded it into place and ground down the inside of the gusset welds where it meets up with the old swingarm. Doing the grinding was necessary to make these pieces look like one.

Doing all of that IMO really cleaned up the back. I still have some trimming and shaping to do on the rear gussets to make them as close to mirror copies that I can. But overall I am very happy with the results.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Defintitely went the right route by stretching it.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

looks clean, keep it up.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

OK, another update. My brother in law and me got all the gussets made and welded in from one side. We left the brake bracket in place and added gusset plate below it to make it look like one piece. We still have some grinding to do on that piece to finish it up. But overall it was a good day, got lots done.... Once every thing is welded we can start putting things back in to get final fittings... then send stuff off for paint...

Oh anyone have any tips on getting the bottom part of the triple tree off? Do I need a special socket for the top bolt?

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Lookin good, I like the stretch.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Another update:

I got all the gussets finished up and welded in. I removed the stock cross bar that is directly behind the engine. The old one was "wavy" and took away from the look of the bike. I replaced it with a strait bar. ( FYI notching bars with a grinder is slow and hard on the hands. )

Progress is slower now that I am off vacation. I only was able to work for a few hours today. But the next stages should be cleanup of the frame, make the bottom shelf that will hold the battery and start putting things back on getting them all to fit and look the way that I want...

This is as it sits today:

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

that streched frame looks really nice, can't wait to see it all powder coated.

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

OK, another update.... It has been moving SLOWWWWW due to various summer dad tasks....

But I have the battery tray in and the lower battery holder in. I have been trying to get the pipes to look as good as I can. I put some flat red and satin black on the bike for two reasons. The first was rust, surface rust was starting ( LOL becasue I am slow ) and I wanted to stop it. The other reason is that I can see better the proplem areas that I need to fix BEFORE i spend good money and get the thing powdercoated. But needess to say the past few weekends have been welding, cutting and grinding and wire wheeling....

This next weekend I hope to get the seat and rear fender in along with the engine so I can start the re-wireing.....

enjoy!

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

any thoughts of using forward controls?

looks awesome.
i've been milling around hardtailing my cafed 550

you make it even more tempting

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

nice job on the frame, it looks clean and has some nice lines

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

I am keeping the standard location for the controls.. IMO the I4 is just to wide to add forward controls.

Thanks, The frame still needs work, a little more sanding down of some old bracket locations, they really stick out with paint on it . and some more general smoothing out. It is funny how some areas look fine, then you add paint and it changes how the light hits the area and you can see all the flaws....

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

bike looks great!, makes be wana stretch and rigid mine real bad

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550

Update.....

This texas heat is a killer this time of year....I went and did a little shopping last weekend for a rear fender. I was going to use the stock front fender on the back but it was just to skinny. at the local motorcycle graveyard I spotted a rear fender that I tought would look great on the bike . It had holes drilled in the side exaclty where I wanted to mount the rear blinkers and already has the holes cut to mount a rear light. The fender is from a honda goldwing 1100 cerca early 80's

So I marked off the rear tube were I needed to weld on bolts, welded them on, drilled holes on the rear fender for the bolts to go through. and made side support braces to help give it some strength. At the top of the braces is were the blinkers will go so the bolts are just temporary.. The good thing about this rear fender is it has all kinds of support braces welded in from honda on the underside of the fender. It will not move once it is fully in. and IMO with the fender on it looks MUCH more like a bike!. Hopefully next weekend I can get the seat done....

here are some pics for your enjoyment!!!

 

Re: Yes... another chopper/bobber 550 "UPDATED 8/22"

the frame looks really good

 

bump to bring back from the dead

 

Any more pics of this build?

 

I have quite a bit, anything in particular you wanted to see? I will try to get more back uploaded tonight

 

nice frame work... really really clean work and looks really good.

one advice though... get rid of the rear fender and get a smaller one. its not that big is bad, but that paticular one that you hove has a curve that does not suite the rear tires well, espeially when it sits that close to it.

as you probably already saw... it tends to sit closer to the tire in the middle, and flares out towards the ends... get something that sits flush all around!

cheers
Doc

 

Ya, that was the first fit. I think I am actually going to chop the back 1/3rd off. Thus having the end of the fender just past the top of the tire.

And if that doesn't look right, its back to the junkyard looking for more. LOL this was from a early 80's goldwing

 

More pics of the frame mods would be nice. I'm planning on hardtailing an extra 550 Seca frame and eliminating the triple backbone in the process. Always nice to get new ideas from how others approached modifying their bikes.

 

Here ya go.

I had to cut a plate out in the shape of the rear brake support to "gusset" the new bottom frame to the old. This is also before the splatter was cleaned up...


This one you can see the other side gusset. This was also before I capped the tube just above the rear brake.


This was the beginning of the rear, after the swing arm was stretched. Plugs were welded in the old frame, then the DOM tube splipped over and welded to the plug.

 

Lookin good. I hadn't thought about doing it the way you have. How far has this project come since those pics were taken?

 

I just started it back up after a while off. Next steps for me is moving a cross bar to make room for the chain, then maybe start the rebuild of the carbs.. or build the exhaust.. LOL lots to pick form

 

How are you doing a chain conversion? I'm new to this bike.

 

The 550 is chain drive.