not a monster - but a fun spring project. 1975 Yamaha XS650
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo271/laura_tracy/xs650pics001-1.jpg)
she's mechanically strong. Got a lot of spirit, torque, grunt and personality out the wazoo!!!
cosmetically ugly :P making a list, checking it twice. so far:
paint scheme : retro checkerboard (black /white) with fine red stripe
replace : muffler, seat (want to go cafe hump back), instrument cluster - something retro
change to black : grips (WTF - who put white grips on her???), muffler, any bits that aren't already black
change out the hoses. maybe braided lines (depending on $$), or at least get them all one color.
look Ma, no cluster!!!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo271/laura_tracy/xs650pics002.jpg)
those bars are just itching to be powder coated black. tach's too new looking, like to find something different. The poo-poo state says I have to have a speedo & indicators to know whether my turn signals are on, and if I'm in neutral. Well, duh! I can fiure that stuff out on my own, but gotta put them on the bike or the state won't let me pay for their seal of approval.
[thumbsup]
thanks for your seal of approval!
I could use some ideas. I'm new to this biking thing. Can match shoes & purse, outfits w/ blouses, eye makeup with lipstick & blush, but bikes??? Help, I'm out of my element!!!
satin black everything
red rims with red spokes.
white wall tires
keep the white grips
checkerboard strip down the center of the tank
small round bluedot taillight recessed into a cafe seat
no chrome
Sounds good BP!
Good luck with the project Laura!
JM
oh...and a heat wrapped exhaust [thumbsup]
keep the white grips??? okay, i'll save that for the last.
I like the idea of satin black out anything shiny. You read my mind!!!
not sure about the red rims - it would have to be a darker, burgundy ( like the R6 red/black color scheme) rather than the red of the ducati. love ducati red - on a ducati.
white walled tires??? sounds like you'd notice the tires more than the bike. I'll have to see as the bike progresses. Good thing to keep in the back of my mind.
LOVE the idea of the taillight in the back of the cafe seat. Gotta keep my eye out for that one.
I was thinking of the checkerboard running horizontal around the tank ( or even crisscrossing like the magnetic stickers on the back of cars ) . Want a sublte red stripe in the checkerboard (which would match the red rims!!! there's my shoes & matching bag!!! [laugh]). Have three mockups of checkerboards in Excel, but don't know how to post them. PM me your email, and I'll email them to you.
Great ideas (and thanks for your support!)!!
More please!
Quote from: bobspapa on February 24, 2009, 08:27:04 AM
oh...and a heat wrapped exhaust [thumbsup]
the 2 in 1 headers are heat wrapped (beige) and I like them. The exhaust is god-awful ugly (hence no pic of that side of the bike!). Can you wrap all the way out the exhaust, or just to the end of the header?
http://www.lickscycles.com/catalog/ (http://www.lickscycles.com/catalog/)
enjoy 8)
Japanese I-4's from the 70's when Cafe'd out... REALLY need the space behind the engine to be as open as possible. The electrics need to be minimized and put entirely into the tail section.
As far as red rims go, here's how they look on a bike. More rat-bike, retro than Cafe if you ask me...
(http://www.flightcycles.com/FlightCycles/CoupDetat/Originals/DSC04291.jpg)
Spokes should be chrome (IMO) and black hoops are a nice touch to a cafe-bike. Also, make the paint the last thing you do but honestly....IMO....satin-black on everything is so....yesterday. Pick a nice color, put some racing stripes on it, and maybe a number plate on the tail section. Maybe something like 'Lucky Laura' in a nice gold-leaf script somewhere on the tank. Finished bikes are always better than the 'rat' project bikes.
Quote from: lauramonster on February 24, 2009, 08:34:07 AM
the 2 in 1 headers are heat wrapped (beige) and I like them. The exhaust is god-awful ugly (hence no pic of that side of the bike!). Can you wrap all the way out the exhaust, or just to the end of the header?
You can wrap all the way to the end of the muffler, but traditionally the wrap ends when the muffler begins. But, it's your bike so do what you want...
[drink]Those make great street trackers, I have one myself..... That has been sitting in a friends warehouse for about 3 years,good luck
i can't see the picture at work, but i'll look when i get home.
i say black out the engine and polish the edges of the fins.
i agree with the no chrome thing. get some low bars for the front.
when it's done it should be a good bike for 2WT at the abbaye. [thumbsup]
Quote from: lauramonster on February 24, 2009, 07:51:02 AM
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo271/laura_tracy/xs650pics002.jpg)
That patina on the tank looks awesome. Have you thought about leaving part of it in some small way? It'd be a shame to lose that.
Maybe let there be bare metal as the non-black part of the checkerboard (or vice-versa)? (I'm not even sure if there's a way to prep the surface for paint while leaving parts untouched though... dp or trouble would be the ones to ask about that.)
Other than that, I don't really have anything to contribute other than to say that bike looks effing awesome!!
I can't wait to see what you end up doing with it. Do us all a favor and post plenty of pics every step along the way!! [thumbsup]
Quote from: KnightofNi on February 24, 2009, 10:02:15 AM
get some low bars for the front.
Already has 'em. [thumbsup]
I like the black rim idea as well, but I also like having a distinct separation between the black tire and the rim surface. I say keep the spokes chrome and go with whatever color rim (maybe your burgundy idea). As for the rest of the bike, nekid is as nekid does. Like Stew was saying, anyone can chuck a bunch of random, jacked up parts on a bike and call it done (and not that I don't like rat rides), but when you put a good chunk of thought into the way you think it SHOULD look, it would be that much more impressive. There are a lot of rat bikes out there and there are a LOT of cafes as well. Do whatever YOU think looks best and it will turn out perfect.
Thanks for the enthusiasm. I'm no expert, but I'll show pics along the way.
Ramses - the guy who sold me the bike was disappointed to hear I'm painting it. He loved the patina. It's not old. Apparently the bike was a PURPLE flat tracker, so it was painted 3-4 years ago. There's a couple of dents in the tank, but I don't mind them.
I'd like to stay with "the bike is old. it's ridden. it shouldn't be perfect". That in mind, I don't want a shiny glossy finish. I was thinking of rattle canning it just so it's not perfect. satin powdercoat for the parts. If there's another option, speak up!!
the rims & spokes are black now. On this bike, I like the black rims. The spokes can be taken back to chrome, or the burgundy color - guess I'll find out when we get there. I'm probably not going to paint the rims, but the idea of a burgundy pins stripe (that echoes the burgundy stripe in the checkerboard) sounds appealing. Maybe I can trade out the lines for burgundy braided lines. Think that would look good (or is it over the top?)
Quote from: lauramonster on February 24, 2009, 03:11:07 PM
satin powdercoat for the parts. If there's another option, speak up!!
I just had a bunch of parts for my Hyper powdercoated in a semi-gloss black.
They look pretty awesome. I'll post up a pic for you once it's all back together. [thumbsup]
semi-gloss. in interior paint, would it be like eggshell?? I gather it's not shiny, but not as flat as matte. Guees I better check out the men's paint store. Anyone know one? where do I go to find the sheens of auto paint?? [bang]
This ought to give you a few idea's.
http://www.650motorcycles.com/xs650links.html (http://www.650motorcycles.com/xs650links.html)
that's the site I looked at before purchasing the bike. Great ideas.
lost the site - thanks!!! I'll bookmark it.
Quote from: sno_duc on February 24, 2009, 06:29:04 PM
This ought to give you a few idea's.
http://www.650motorcycles.com/xs650links.html (http://www.650motorcycles.com/xs650links.html)
thar be some cool shit there [thumbsup]
That's awesome man! My first bike was a XS1100 Midnight Special! It was a blast!
i looked at the pics last night.
the bars should be clip on style, not drag bars.
i like your idea for the back end of the bike too.
if you want, i'll ride it around for a while to make sure the paint has a nice beat up look to it [thumbsup]