My '85 XJ700 Bobber Chopper Build

That is a very nice looking bike! You have done allot of work to this build. I am currently finishing up my build. I have to paint the tins, but I am waiting on a custom front and rear fender (Armadillo Shell Look). Someone did a great job on that black paint job. That is one color I do not look forward to shooting. It is SO HARD to keep flaws an marks out of. Too much wet sanding and buffing for me. The last one I did black was a sportster and my arm felt like it was going to fall off. I prefer the brighter colors, they seem to clean up easier. Looking great.

 

So that's what the 85 XJ700 fender/forks look like. I'd love to have a brace like that on mine, but the fender and brace are fused together. Oh well. That said, very nice polish job. Keep it coming.

Also, nice shofar.

 

Thanks
I didnt realize that you were Jewish and you recognized the Shofar !
I own a Judaica online and my number one selling item is the Shofar.
www.thetallitman.com

Wait til you see the supports i'm making for the rear fender so i can put a phantom seat so my wife can ride safely.

 

I would like to see this armadillo shell look
Post a thread of your build

 

I'm not, I'm just a goyum with a good number of Jewish friends. Also, I may or may not have bought a shofar as a Game of Thrones costume prop. :lol:

 

Goyim?
I have a question for you
I am wiring my new aftermarket headlight... On the stock headlight socket which one is the high beam wire color ?
Im assuming that the black is ground

 

Yiddish slang for a non-Jew.

I only have a Haynes manual for 650s and 750s from 80-84, but each one of the electrical diagrams in the back shows a yellow (or yellow with a green tracer) wire going from the headlight to the high beam indicator light. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that's probably it and that they probably didn't change that too much from 84 to 85.

 

I figured it out but the bike won't start..
I will upload a video to show you

 

And it was starting before? I'll wait for the video.

 

Well here she is built...
Just can't get her started but i figure it may be some wiring issue and there are some wires that i just can't remember where they go... if i had a wiring diagram then i can figure it out but i cant seem to locate a good one that is color coded.. there is a guy on ebay that wants $25.00 just for the wiring diagram in color... that is far too steep !!!


I still have to remove the wheels and paint the rims but i figure i can do that after the bike is running...

I also found out that i left out the inside petcock fuel filter out so i have to remove the tank sometime this week to put that in and reseal the valve with red hi temp silicone..

I also have to wash the bike because black gets dirty quick

the pics are at night under a yellow and sometimes white light but i will take some more tomorrow during daylight hours...

I still have to redo the kickstand and get it bent ...

Anyway here are the pics





I forgot to install this little piece of shit so sometime this week i will do that... i dont want to mess with the bike on sunday.













Much better pic here

 

I like it, with two exceptions.

1. An O-ring is inexpensive, available at any auto parts or industrial supplier, and much preferable to using silicone sealant on your petcock.

2. Ditch the disemboweling device that you have installed on your rear fender.

 

seriously man, that spike could very easily wind up in your kidney or worse

 

1. I still have the O-Ring that it came with but i just added some red hi temp silicone to secure it. Its not that critical so the silicone will be fine. Just a bit perplexed because i forgot to put that filter screen to begin with and i hate to have to undo the tank.. I need to move forward with this build and sell the bike once its done so i can move onto the harley motor softail i posted above.

2. The 3" chrome spike is not a permanent fixture.. Its just a thought to cover the hole on to of the fender that i made when i thought i would go with a pillion seat cushion for my wife to ride on... I do however have a kaiser helmet and several geman novelty helmets with the same chrome spikes.

Several years ago when Zjesse James and West Coast Choppers was popular i was the first to make these helmets and sold hundreds of them on ebay.. I made a killing on these spike helmets.

 

Here is the video
Watch "Not able to start bike" on YouTube - Not able to start bike: http://youtu.be/LnccQQo1wPI

[video=250,200]http://youtu.be/LnccQQo1wPI[/video]

 

Here are pics taken during the day on a sunny sunday in Miami.







For my wife to sit on











I bought this chrome bracket at WreckedHarleybikes.com well the store is actually called Bikers Inc.
I didn't know that i would use it for until today after i gave it some bends on my vise and in the following photos you will see what i made of it.





I attached a Vintage driving lamp from the 60's
I had bought it for my '66 bug but never got around to installing it.

 

God bless bigfitz52 - he's always on point! :lol:

Have you checked compression & valve clearances and got the inside of your carbs zestfully clean yet? This would usually be the first step before making it look pretty. Sink a lot of money into a bike with a bad mill and you've got yourself a big shiny paperweight.. wouldn't be the first time they've seen that play out on this forum.

Bike looks good though - turned out nice! My only critique would be the use of seat springs with shocks. I think you were originally going with the strut/hardtail thing but I always think bikes look kind of goofy with the seats up high like that - especially when you have rear suspension and the seat springs aren't really necessary. Make a quick, easy bracket and lay that seat down on the frame rails and it will clean up the profile a lot... but you might not be able to reach your handlebars! :lol:

 

So it's not even cranking yet, huh?

The "Kill Switch" (if wired properly) should be in the "up" or "forward" position to start the bike. You could also have an issue with the kickstand safety switch. That's pretty common on these bikes. Have you tried starting it in Neutral with clutch lever pulled in and the kickstand up?

Otherwise I would make sure the battery is full charged and/or have it tested to start out with.

Might be pointless to try to start it if you haven't checked valve clearances and cleaned & bench-synched your carbs though...

 

- The bike was free.. My brother left it to me because he bought a Harley
- The bike was a running bike so i didnt check valve clearances.
-All i did was clean it up and paint.
-I polished the aluminum pieces on the bike.
-I extended all the electrical wires myself and made my own clutch, throttle cables from a kit i bought from Venhill USA in Austin , TX
- i never wanted a Hardtail because i'm 52 with 2 hermiated discs so i need as much cushioning as possible. Since i went with lower shocks i figured the seat springs would help compensate for the cushionin loss from the shorter shocks.
- i am tall at 6'2" so i dont have issues reaching the apes.

- i did have the carbs Zestfully cleaned and rebuilt comopletely with a kit from Alphamoto.
- I've sunk less than $900.00 into the bike.. I sold the used old stock parts to buy the new parts.
- The gallon of black Nason paint was donated by a friend
- Bodywork and spraying of paint plus buffing was $40.00 total.
- 19,000 miles on motor

 

Kickstand ?
That's it !!!!
It was in the down position...
As far as valve clearances .. I have not done yet but i will have the mechanic take care of that when he comes over on wednesday.
There are still some wires out back that i have yet to connect but i dont know where they go and i cant seem to locate anyone that can share a colored wiring diagram with me.

 

You might want to prep an order with Chacal for a new head gasket and new rubber bungs for the head cover bolts. I just did the same thing a few months ago. It's possible to reuse the existing gasket, but more likely than not it'll be the factory original and it'll crack and split like crazy when it gets pried off. The "aftermarket" one is around $40 if I remember right.

 

Typos suck. I should know; I make plenty of them myself.

 

Actually, in this case it was a brain fart. Thanks for the save.

 

Thanks
Going to buy one today on ebay

 

You have a link to Chacal ?

 

I cannot locate the rubber bungs

Any ideas ?

 

Honestly, just email Chacal (info@xj4ever.com) and tell him what your bike is and what you need. He'll reply back with a list of all the related items he has in his catalog, and you give him the item numbers and preferred shipping, etc. Then you PayPal him the money, and a few days later your parts will be in your mailbox.

 

On a more serious note, you are not going to put your wife or anyone else on that unsupported fender are you? That is just an accident waiting to happen.

 

No absolutely not,
Once the bike is running I am taking it to a machinist that I know of that will take 3/4" round stainless steel solid pipe and make the bends to the contour of the fenders that will be bolted for support.
The beauty of it is that he will polish it to a mirror finish. The ends will fit into the stock round tube frame and will be welded as well.
Wait til you see how it will turn out.

I'm wondering how much I can get for the bike once it's done.

 

Just curious how did you get the rear shocks to mount on the posts? I have Harley Shocks as well and the Harley eye is a little too big for our XJ700 posts.

 

You have to go with Sporster shocks which have smaller eyes then with a hydraulic press remove the metal bushing slide and replace it with your stock ones.
If you don't have a hydraulic press then you can use a socket and bsng it out but it takes a lot of finessing and patience and some blood, sweat and cussing. .. you will have to lube between the metal bushing and rubber bushing.

Demoncycles.com has the 11" eye to eye chrome shocks for about $99.00 on their website. Now keep in mind that these are not progressive coil over shocks but they work and look good.

If you still want to use the ones you have then first shop at Ace Hardware for metal sleeve bushings that have the same (I.D.) inside diameter as the stock frame posts and the (O.D.) is same as the I.D. of the rubber shock bushings.

 

I put progressives from a Harley on my XJ. At the time I couldn't fin the correct sleeve bushings, so I made my own from some sheet steel that was just the right thickness. It was a bit tricky to form it into a well rounded sleeve, but they worked well.

 

That's the ticket !
It just takes a bit of MacGuyver to make it work and you found another way. Did you take pics of the process so you can share it with us by posting a DIY thread.
I think that it would be a great idea !!

 

Alas, I did not... I plan on taking the rear tire of to mess with the brakes this weekend. If I have enough time I'll deconstruct a shock mount and takes some pictures. Where would I post a DIY thread?

 

Just post it in the Modifications section. That would be awesome as I really want to ride my bike on the 4th weekend. It should be all painted and back together by then I am hoping. The shocks are the only thing holding me up right now. I may do the bushing swap with the stock springs. My Ace Hardware stinks here and has little to nothing in the way of bushings. I will figure something out though.

 

Let us know when you post up the DIY by posting the link

 

Hi guys. I didn't get to spend any quality time with the bike this weekend. I made a sketch, and I'll do a quick rundown.

Take some measurements of your upper shock mount. (A,B)
Get some thin gauge sheet metal. The thinner the better.
Cut out some rectangles that are (A)wide, and three times (B)long.
Gently bend them and the roll them into smooth cylinders.
Try not to crimp the metal. Using hose clamps to bend the metal around pipes and bars works well. A good way to finish them into shape is to bend the down around a rod that is a little smaller than the shock mount using a hose clamp.
These "sleeves" should spring snuggly and smoothly around your shock mount.
If you use thin enough metal you can fine tune the fit with multiple "sleeves". I used two on each upper mount with their seams on opposite sides.
Make sure your setup has the appropriate washers, spacers, and nuts.
Check that the sleeves don't interfere with any of those, and you should be good.

 

Good sketch..
I am about to buy some 11" eye to eye chrome shocks from http://www.demonscycle.com/



and do this what you posted in the sketch...

 

Finally She is fired up..

Check out this video and you can see her fired up


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X5vCAYtV8g

[video=400,400]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X5vCAYtV8g[/video]

 

Looks and sounds pretty good, man! Can we get some more pics and info about your homemade forward controls? They look almost identical to the TC Bros... how much did you save by building instead of buying?

 

They look somewhat similar but not identical..
The materials were purchased at the following places
- Mitchell's Hardware ( Aluminum stock, Steel stock, Nuts & Bolts)
- Home Depot ( Bars, Rods, Sleeves)
- NAPA for joints
- MetalfusionPlating.com for chroming and plating
- Bullseye Powdercoating.com for Powdercoating
- CE Waterjet to cut the templates
- Gaetas Welding because i dont know how to weld aluminum
- Justin some kid from FIU (Universtity) who did the CAD drawing

The prototype cost money but that is just the first one and then to get all the bugs out so now when i go to produce the kits they will cost less than anybody out there..

I am an R&D guy who was an A&P Mechanic with Pan Am and American Airlines so i tinker with ideas and then they come into fruition.

Most kits out there are made for the common XS650 bikes but since mine is an XJ700 I decided to make them for this type of bike.. the 4 Banger Community.

Just look over the build and you can see what i have done or click on the links below and check out what i have done to my other cars

Like the 1966 VW Bug or the 1993 Toyota Hilux

 

[video=250,200]http://youtu.be/O3Wyepmg3W0[/video]


What am i doing wrong... i want to be able to embed a video of my bike and all i get is that mumbo jumbo wording above...

Can anyone help me ?

http://youtu.be/O3Wyepmg3W0

 

This version of this forum doesn't support video embedding. Just one of the many reasons I wish SnoSheriff would let me help update the site.

You'll just have to make it a link like you did.

 

Watch "Yamaha XJ700 Chopper Bobber test run" on YouTube
Yamaha XJ700 Chopper Bobber test run: http://youtu.be/4cr-Lr_uNcU

 

Well the bike is for Sale

How much do you think i can get for it ?

 

In Miami? Probably not as much as you would if you took it up to Leesburg or Biketoberfest. Maybe $2000-2500 to the right buyer.

 

The bike can be transported anywhere

 

No doubt, just saying with Autumn approaching you might hit one of the big Florida bike rallies and park it on the main drag with a "For Sale" sign on it.

 

Weird, first time I've double posted here.