A little more progress on the chop/bob updated 2-21-11 RUNNING VIDS!

[teddy037.2]

Nice bike!

Oh, and the motorcycle looks like it'll be pretty cool, too. 

hehe. saw that, too... and was thinking, WTF? 

[Pasta Bobber]

Yeah, I was wondering how long it would take for people to start rippin on that green spotted monster in the backround. That's my next project, it's getting a 1098 engine! na It's Jeffs daughters, I though you guys would bag on me more for the Harley in the backround

[Monstermash]

It looks very cool. 

Please don't put one of those goofy small tanks on it and ruin it.

[Pasta Bobber]

It looks very cool. 

Please don't put one of those goofy small tanks on it and ruin it.

Yea the tank is going to be tricky. I was thinking about a stock tank with a little nip and tuck here and there. The S2R tanks are plastic so I would have to use an older one with a different fuel pump set up. If it doesn't look good it will be a wasted tank. Anybody have a beat up tank they want to part with cheaply??  The other option is a cell with the top of a plastic tank as a cover. I don;t think I want to use a peaanut tank.

Finished the back of the frame last night and the seat pan came in. I'll post pics this weekend

[Raux]

why not use the undertank of the 696 or anyother bike and then bang out a custom metal shaped one on top. would allow a large custom airbox that way too.

[MotoCreations]

The problem with the stock fuel tank is that it is too tall vertically -- you want something longer and leaner to visually balance the chassis and to enhance the look of the bike.  When I first started the DesmoDevil series of bikes, I tried to utilize or modify a stock tank -- it never looked good. 

Ultimately for all the bikes I've built, I've handmade the complete fuselage / coachwork / tank from sheetmetal or aluminum.  I also have more welders/welding equipment, body hammers, power hammers, english wheels, slappers, chasers, picks, dollies, shotbags, etc than most people would imagine.  Aluminum is easiest to shape (but not weld) but doesn't hold up well with daily riding or doing the show circuit (ie: people sitting on it) -- thus why I usually use steel which is not fun to make at all but easy to weld -- mainly it's not going anywhere.  Weight difference is @4lbs total from experience between the two materials.  Typically gastank size is 5.7-6.5 gallons. (it annoys the Ducati Monsters / SBKs who have to stop twice for every one tank on my bike.)

For someone on a limited skillset project, there is an alternative definitely worth considering.  Carbonfiber. It's not as expensive as you imagine -- you are using only a moderate amount of material / resin. You can use foam / bondo with a lightweight wooden (structural) core and shape what you desire and get the left / right / top / undersize and symmetry fairly close by sanding / shaping and bondo.  Then make a mold of the master to then pull your tank from.  This is a really EASY way to do it honestly.  Hardest part is getting a super nice part and especially in the corners if a beginner.  But if you are going to paint over it -- then it's simple skimcoat of bondo if needed to hide your mistakes.

One thing to think about is how you will mount the fuel pump to get full utilization of the fuel itself and routing of the fuel lines.  And how you service the pump if required later.  FI bikes are more complex in this regard.  Carbies are easy as you go with an external electric or vacuum fuel pump.

Example of making a CF tank -- it's a LONG read but worth it --> http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=145975

[Pasta Bobber]

That CF tank thread is awesome!!!! Thanks again Moto for the suggestion. A CF tank may be the ticket, a little labor intensive but it opens a lot of doors

[ProTeal55]

Cant wait to see the final product..

[Pasta Bobber]

We got a little more work done on the bike. Seat, rear frame, satrted the foot controls. Sorry again for being a pic whore, the feedback motivates me.


Here's pretty much how it sits right now


Seat pan still needs a little trimming


I had this idea that I wanted to have the seat flip up, maybe stash the fuse box or ECM under there


voila! we used the stock seat release, a short section of cable, and a choke knob from a Harley carb to release the seat. This is also a good shot of the rear frame. it all came together nice.



These are the start of the foot control mounts, I'm going to use some dirt bike pegs. They'll end up somewhere between a mid mount and a forward mount.


The clip-ons were quite a streach so Jeff welded up some risers for bars. we just set a piece of pipe on there to check the ergos. the real bars will be much shorter and bent back just a hair. I still go back and forth on the bars vs clip-ons


Clip-ons or bars???

again a lot depends on the tank

[teddy037.2]

def go w/the drag bars...

the clip-ons, while cool, just look too torturous

[TAftonomos]

Awesome man!

I can see now after a full side shot how the rear shock will work, perfect 

[Buckethead]

Definitely drag bars.

And that thing looks AWESOME! 

[dbran1949]

def go w/the drag bars...

the clip-ons, while cool, just look too torturous

+1 plus you can fine tune the bars for looks

Great job by the way (I actually built a hardtail 305 honda superhawk back in the early 70s)

[MotoCreations]

three notes:

1) please remove the reflectors from the front forks please!

2) Check your cornering clearances before doing final welding of your mid-control pegs.  Compress the front forks / rear shock (simulating ride weight / full compression) and lean the bike over and see what scrapes first.  Remember your shifter linkage required (routing thereof and you have an offset to deal with in your scenario) and the rear brake master -- usually the most tedious part of making rearsets.

3) You can remove the cable/choke to simplify.  Just modify/extend the release tab to act as a lever where the spring / cable attaches instead.  It's open on the bottom and thus easy to reach.  Look at BlackFog detail pictures and a few other Ducati Monsters that I've done the same trick to.

[Pasta Bobber]

Thanks for checking out the bike. It's looking like bars for sure.  We're going to use the big tube in the pics, we'll reduce it down to fit the controls, but they'll be tight to the big tube, it should match the heavy look of the forks. we bent the bars last night. I'll post the pics soon, I pulled the reflector off one side of the forks, haven't gotten to the other one yet, I agree moto, man those things are ugly   I'm waiting on the pegs and we'll check the lean angle. I'll keep you all posted!