BUILDS>> MY XS400 BOBBER PT.3

I came out to the shop this morning to get some work done on my frame.  I got the upper tubes, seat hinge, and cross bars welded on.  Next time I need to make the axle plates and seat pan.  Till then!

BUILDS>> MY XS400 BOBBER PT.2

Not much has happened since the first post, however I still wanted to touch on the plans for this thing.  I recently started building the frame my self.  I looked around on the internet for an XS650 weld on kit that I could cut up but I couldnt find any that I liked.  Instead I took some measurements and had a friend bend some chromoly.  The smaller tubes are 7/8" and the back bone is 1.25"  Its all been sleeved and tacked together in these pictures.  I have changed the wheelbase to 59" and the rear axle has moved up to 5.25" over stock.

I did ended up buying a frisco mounted sporty tank from LowBrow and a pair of Shinko enduro tires.  This week I plan on finished the frame and making the axle plates.  After that I can make the seat pan and get the mounts welded on.  Thats about it for now.


Jesse

BUILDS>> MARKS MODERN C10

Last winter, while I was first building my shop, I had a neighbor stop by to say hello and see how things where going.  After a few minutes of chit chat, he asked what I was going to be using the building for.  I informed him that we were a performance / restoration shop and that I had a passion for motorcycles and older vehicles.  He looked at me and said, "Uh oh, I better stay away from here, I'll end up spending too much money."  Fast forward a few months and he has come to be a good customer and a great neighbor.  After a lot of discussion and planning we have finally started building his 1970 C10 short bed pickup.  Plans are to build a modern truck with a classic street truck appearance.  The motor will be a GM based LS 5.3L with a 4L60E.  Suspension will be all new from hotchkis.  All new interior with A/C from Vintage Air.  For safety we will be changing the fuel tank to a rail mounted cell, and installing disc brakes all around.  For now we have stripped the truck down, blasted the frame, and powder coated it and the rear end housing.  In the next few weeks we will be setting the motor in and getting some of the drivetrain lined out.  In the next entry I will explain the motor mounts and headers.

I have no idea how long this truck sat, but it's last title was last transferred in '05.

CHRIS' GTO>> FRONT BRAKES

A couple of months ago we did an interesting front brake conversion on a friends GTO.  We upgraded his calipers to '05 Cadillac CTS-V Brembos and rotors to BMW 745i.  After all new Russell lines and wilwood fluid, it gets this monster stopped in a hurry.

 

BUILDS>> MY XS400 BOBBER

Growing up I was always around motor cylces or some sort of atv.  My dad always had some type of dirt bike that he would buy, ride, fix up, and sell.  When I was 4 he thought I would be ready for a go cart...  During our first ride I remember flying around our 8 acre field just having a blast.  He, for some reason, was wearing flip flops.  During our ride one of these things flew off.   He then pulled over and hopped off the get it.  When he stood up he says, "Take over for me."  I, being 4 years of age, instantly assumed it was my turn at the wheel.  I slid over in the seat and stabbed the throttle.  Now my dad was just like me, why build something unless it was fast.  He had put this go cart together out of an old frame he bought cheap and a tiller motor.  It was a 5hp motor and from what he says was geared pretty crazy on this frame.  In typical Vaughn fashion, Im sure not every bug had been worked out of the system.  Because when I planted my foot to the floor of this contraption, the throttle stuck wide open.  Now keep in mind that I am 4 years old and weigh close to nothing.  I am speeding across the field wide open, bouncing up and down in the seat, totally unaware of what will happen next.  My dad can see what is happening and is helpless to the situation.  Mom mom is standing on the back porch watching the entire event unfold.  As she watches her son fly across the field, she notices where I am headed.  I am on course to run head on into my father's parked truck.  As I speed directly at it, her and my dad are screaming for me to hit the kill switch.  I was so small that I was being bounced all over the place.  I just could not reach it.  Then all of the sudden, the cart ran out of gas and I coasted to a stop right in front of the truck.

From that moment on I have always been on motorcycles.  Growing up my dad and I would get home in the afternoons and go riding for hours.  As I got older I learned a lot of my mechanical skills from having to work on my bikes.  I didn't have money to buy a good bike so we would buy $100 stuff and get them going.  I never learned how to take it easy on those bike though.  No matter what I would still just beat the hell out of them and have to replace a bunch of stuff.  My dad would take me down to the Honda shop and have me tell the old guy at the counter what all I needed.  There was just something about the whole process that still appeals to me.  Even now that I have the money to buy a newer bike I still seek out the old fixer-uppers.

For the past year or so I have been wanting to build a little bobber to ride around town.  I looked all over craigslist and ebay for a good deal on a Yamaha XS650.  I like them so much because they closely resemble an old Triumph.  I know there are tons of people out there that hate metric bobbers, and I get it.  I'll just say this, show me a Harley, Triumph, etc that you can put together for $1000 and have as much fun.  Reliably.  I went to look at what was listed as an XS650 for $750.  When I got there it was really an XS400.  The difference is that they have smaller frames, shorter wheelbase, obviously less power, and most importantly not as much support from the aftermarket.  To make a long story short, the owner could not get it started so I left paying $350 for the bike.  I came home, charged the batter, and she fired right up.  After a few "spirited" rides up and down the street I realized that I had a good bike to start with.

BOOKS>> HELL'S ANGEL

I picked this book up last week and so far I cant put it down.  Im half way through and just thought it was worth recommending.

BUILDS>> CHRIS' GOAT PT.3

As I mentioned in the last post Chris drove the car to Speed Inc. to have it dyno tuned.  Here is a shot of the dyno chart.  The car made impressive numbers for the size of that cam.

Before the trip to Chicago I never has time to finish the air intake.  It was installed on the car for the trip but it wasnt body worked and painted.  Last week I pulled it off and got it painted for him.  Here are some shot of us putting back on.  Let me know what you all think.

BUILD>> FREDDY THE GM POWERED S14 PT.2

Over the weekend I did manage to get the engine in paint.  Not much of an update, but with all the other work in the garage right now I was happy to get to this point.

BUILD>> CHRIS' GOAT PT.2

Yesterday we got Chris' GTO back on the road again!

BUILD>> CHRIS' GOAT PT. 1

Over the next couple months I will be doing a top end build on an 04 GTO.  The owner is doing a custom grind cam, valve train, custom 4" intake, and your basic maintenance items.  Today I wanted to start fabricating the new 4" intake.  I want the intake to be ready to install once the car is back up and running on its new parts.

Here is the car.  A very clean, but yellow, 2004.  Already equipped with a full exhaust system, off road mid pipes, and stainless headers.