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Thread: bobber project
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5th Mar 2017, 09:27 PM #1New Member
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bobber project
i started a bobber build which just kept growing and growing, the post is large so i am happy to pop a link.
there is a bit of everything from sheet fab, lathe, milling welding etc. i reckon its worth a look.
there are two parts to it... first part doesnt kick off till page 4
Re:bobber project - Road Star Forum - Yamaha Road Star
2nd part really gets interesting...?
Re:bobber project continued - Road Star Forum - Yamaha Road Star
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7th Mar 2017, 10:15 PM #2Golden Member
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Thanks for posting about your build, that's a very interesting project.
You've done some great work on the sheet metal, I've always admired the art of hand shaping panels and your seat pan and guards made from recovered ally sheet have come up great.
I'm just up to the part of the first thread where you're making up your forward controls, one day when I can find the time I'd like to have a crack at making up my own set so I'll be reading with interest about how yours worked out.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Greg.
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8th Mar 2017, 03:45 PM #3New Member
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thanks Greg im glad you are finding it interesting, i have been enjoying myself as i have never done custom work on a bike to this extent before. i think i will start on another bike as soon as i finish this one.. happy to share what i know right or wrong...? keep reading as it gets better........
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25th Mar 2017, 11:57 AM #4Banned
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Geez, you've made me nostalgic.
I was heavily into bikes in my youth, my last was a Triumph Bonneville I did some mods on. This bike won best Triumph at the Darwin European Bike Show around 98/99. I tried to keep it looking as much like a Triumph road bike as possible and did all the work myself: mechanical, upholstery, paint, sheet metal, polishing, fasteners and so on.
I polished the crankcase, outer covers, carbs, air filter, rocker covers, hubs, lower sliders, brake mounts, fluid reservoirs, positive stop mounting nuts and a few other bits and pieces I can’t think of.
From aluminium sheet I fabricated the tail light bracket, seat base, battery cradle, heatsink/electrical mount, side covers, air filter. The old side covers/air filter I threw out being absolutely useless.
I made up aluminium guard mounts, speedo mount , and turned up a couple of S/S master cylinders, foot pegs, a couple of S/S pushrod tubes, loads of aluminium positive stop nuts (just about everything was mounted with rubber grommets, hence the stop nuts) and a fluid reservoir. This was my first project on my first lathe and included turning a square thread on the reservoir body and screw cap lid, now that was a big learning curve. I also cut and re-folded the rear guard section to make it shorter.
I upholstered the seat on my treadle Singer and did all the filling and paintwork myself.
I kept the internals pretty stock except for polishing the ports and polishing the rods, and lifters and remapping the inlet and exhaust timing. I replaced the clutch plates with Barnets, balanced the crank and associated parts on knife edges I made up and reshaped the gearbox camplate to get rid of those pesky false neutrals. The electricals went in the bin so I bought a rectifier and a couple of switches from DS, a Zenner from a 1963 A65 Thunderbolt (my first road bike), fashioned my own heatsink/electricals mount and battery box and re-wired the whole thing.
I also fitted an oil cooler and Norton oil filter which I mounted to the down tube with aluminium brackets from a floor polisher of all things.
I re-spoked both wheels with S/S spokes, I had intentions of replacing the rims with Boranis but like a lot of other things - alloy barrel, Mikunis, Joe Hunt mag and others, all big dollar items, I never got around to it.
Unlike you, I never constructed my own exhaust, never even thought of it as custom shotguns were readily available. I just made my own push in baffles. It was loud but in the NT nobody cared, least of all the police. When I got to Edinburgh I had to ad silencers though.
Hardest part was polishing the crankcase and carbs – it took weeks.
Probably heaps of other bits and pieces I did that I can’t remember, long time now. I used this bike for commuting to work daily in Tindal and Edinburgh for a few years before I finally sold it in Perth as I could no longer kick it.
I was never happy with the rear end, it just never looked finished. Stainless disks and something shiny around the seat base would have transformed it I think.
Pictures show the bike in various incarnations during the time I had it.
Show bikes have always been a fascination for me, cafes, bobbers, choppers, etc, so I shall follow your build with much interest.
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25th Mar 2017, 08:51 PM #5New Member
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sacc51....... good memories im sure. whats stopping you from having some fun now.....? sounds like you did heaps more than i have, especially with the internals of the motor. stripping the chrome and polishing was very hard on the fingers even though i did as much as i could on the linisher.
you kept the bike looking true...... great job.
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25th Mar 2017, 09:23 PM #6Banned
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I can't t use the levers or throttle anymore not to mention the kichstarter He'll, I can't even ride my MTB anymore. I'd love to make a cafe racer again, but can't play with spanners and the like either. I still manage a little in my shop but can't take on big jobs anymore. Such is life! Great job on the bender BTW.
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28th Mar 2017, 08:37 PM #7New Member
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so i had been trying to do a little fishing..... but did manage to get a little more done with my bobber...... i have made an entry on the original post, which you can find here Re:bobber project continued - Road Star Forum - Yamaha Road Star
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