[ QUOTE ] this is what i had..........Marq [/ QUOTE ] that's completely cool. you need to post more pics, immediately. Christian, what kind of tank is that? I bought Raask rearsets for my CB750 years back from an outfit called Novella. then they disappeared, and Omar's started hawking them waaaay more expensive. one of these days I'll post photos of the Guzzi 500 'cafe' bike I've been fiddling with. it's kute.
I had a Yamaha like that. tore everything off of it and put a straight bar on it... no gauges, turn signals, nothin'. fun bike.
sorta the idea also... one of the mirrors internally disintegrated, now theres one less of those.... Got a smaller headlight that I want to use, so the wiring harness is gonna get ripped out and reincarnated much smaller... [ QUOTE ] fun bike. [/ QUOTE ] Absolutely! Trying to understand why my waaaay faster other bike hasn't been ridden... Hey, sorry to hi jack an otherwise bitchin thread, but what weight oil should I use in the xs650... books say 20w40, which seems obsolete...32K on it and isnt burning the 30 wt that I put in it... HOT here now, like 95 in the shade... should I go to 40 wt or 20w50, or is that too heavy? Thanks, J
20/50 all the way on an xs,we use that on them all the time over here .Just remember to get a real good quality 20/50 there are some real cheap nasty ones out there.It would be preferable to use morrises (dunno if you can get it)castrol classic 20/50 but not a real detergent 20/50 as the engine wont like it..........Marq
Some Italian flavor is needed My seven year build continues .... mine has the Jota spec pipes (not in pic). Maybe next year??? It keeps getting in the way of the cdan Later, papa al
Thassa 59 G12 650 with 60 heads barrels pistons and a factory race kit,lightened and balanced crank,drilled gears,ported and unleaded balanced exhaust pipes (god that was hard work)lost about 100 lb in weight off the thing too and it was bloody fast for a brit...............Marq
Thanks, Marq....gorgeous. feel free to post photos from your neck of the woods...especially when there's a big gettogether at the Ace. is the 59 club still up and running? oil: my rule of thumb is if the trans and engine share the same oil, use an SG-rated oil, w/o all the friction modifiers that can play hob with a wet clutch. oils now are rated at SH or above [if you are in the oil business please correct me] and contain stuff that doesn't agree with a lot of bikes. in my BMW's and the Guzzi I run automotive oil as they have dry clutches, and for the others I run Honda GN4 or Bel-Ray, bike-specific oils.
I got to tinker on the Wing last night after working on my truck. I straitened the seat pan and replaced the battery. I still need to free up the throttle cable and replace the drain screws in the float bowls and put the new windshild on. But if all goes well I should get to hear it run this week end. I don't have all that much in it but I was a little shocked when I went to get the wind screan. It turns out the fering is off of a BMW and the wind shield itself was $100. I certainly was not expecting that for a little piece of lexan.
that's funny cause i always wanted an RD but i figured it would go someting like this. - get running, get running better, update wheels/tires/forks/shocks, go fast, try to go faster, die going really fast but having a really good time........ and jokers wonder why i ride scooters......... "ride scooters like a fox!!!" that matchless is, well matchless.......=)
an old friend of mine in minneapolis had a first-year Gold Wing without a stitch of fairing/baggery/etc. chrome yellow, drag bars, clean and perfect, and it looked absolutely terriffic.
Yeah 59 club is still going and the ACE has some blinding rock n roll nights there.They have bike runs one make days ,hotrod and custom meets and in the summer it's a real hive of activity and i live only 35 miles from all this most of it down the M1 but what the hell it's still a ride drive whatever ............Marq
Near as I can tell all that extra crap was all options stuff. Most of them came fairly stripped unless you orderd themm dressed. This one was fully dressed and was laid down in late 79. The insurance co totaled it since all the junk was destroyed, but the bike itself was ok. My buddy blew it apart in 80" and bobbed the fenders painted everything black and put the flat bars and the BMW fering on it. He was in love with the Harley cafe bike from a few years earlier and was going for that look. I think it looks alot like a BMW with the Flat four sticking out the sides.
[ QUOTE ] Yeah 59 club is still going and the ACE has some blinding rock n roll nights there.They have bike runs one make days ,hotrod and custom meets and in the summer it's a real hive of activity and i live only 35 miles from all this most of it down the M1 but what the hell it's still a ride drive whatever ............Marq [/ QUOTE ] God, that sounds great. the only thing I miss not living in the city anymore is being part of a big loud pack of louts tearing around downtown...
well shit you guys are bad influences i got this 78 kz400 a couple months ago really cheap at a garage sale. well anyways it was bone stock until saturday morning when i got to thinking about this thread and went looking for some more pics anyways two days later this is what i ended up with . i flipped the bars, made some recesses in the tank, cut the seatpan in half tossed the plastic rear fender and made a rear ferring, shortened the seat, covered it with some cheap vinyl, cut off the mufflers and made em straight through, got rid of the turn signals , moved the liscense plate to the side, and then rattle canned everything, then tonight i did a real quicki scallop job. all in all i don't think it came out to bad for a quicki and about $3 worth of vinyl and some spray paint. but i might have to make the tank a little taller but thats gonna have to wait cause it's too fun to ride now with the straight pipes even if it is slow
I hate to break it to ya, but you made that tank look like ASS, not the good kind, either... unless, I'm a mistaken fool and it CAME with that hideous dent... But, the rear fender/ seat is very cool, mind doing a tech post on howya made it? Congrats on getting a bike, the more people out there on two wheels, the better. -J
any bodyknow of any one that makes custom aluminum cafe style race tanks. not unlike marq's matchless tank. i talked to a guy awhile ago that said he got his custom made by some oldtimer in scottland. ring a bell?
burndup thats not a dent i actually cut a portion out of the tank and made some little domes on the english wheel and welded them in there.and it needed it to cause the bars hit the tank without it. but yeah it does kinda look like shit in the picture much better in person but i still don't really like the shape of the tank i'll probably end up making a new one eventually might even do one out of aluminum to look like some of the others on this post. but kinda don't want to put much more time into the bike cause it's kida a pos. as far as the rear fender it is a no name mid 30's headlight that was rusted out real bad on the bottom half so i cut it in half then welded about 3 inches of metal to the bottom of it to get the shape. i cut about the last six inches off the seat pan and welded it to it. the taillight is inside and i drilled a little grid of 5/16 holes in the back so the light shines through . for the seat i just reused the old foam and cut it to shape by hand with a sawzall blade. anybody have any ideas / cheap alternatives to making a new tank cause the overall shape of the origional one is a little fucked up looking.
[ QUOTE ] any bodyknow of any one that makes custom aluminum cafe style race tanks. not unlike marq's matchless tank. i talked to a guy awhile ago that said he got his custom made by some oldtimer in scottland. ring a bell? [/ QUOTE ] he's not in Scotland but check out Evan Wilcox' work. unbelievable.