Well, I got me a new horse,,,,,

[Hitndahed]

An IRON HORSE THAT IS !!,,,, hehhehheh

I'm not sure,,, midlife crisis or whatever but I finally decided to build myself a custom bike.
Not one of those flashy, "cookie cutter" bikes with every bolt on chrome plated part in the catalog either.
I am doing what I love,,, "rat". Beat up looking but with "panache". Performance ? very much so,,,looks ? A big NOPE. lol

Starting with a good doner too, a 1979 Yamaha XS650. The bike was in a flood and got totally submerged and the PO lost all interest in getting it fixed.
So 600 miles later, over a 2 week period it finally came to roost in my garage. I will upload some photos for anyone interested in following the story.

These images in this post are from when I literally rolled it off the bed of the truck (I ALWAYS wanted to do that ).
To its present state as of today.

As usual , I will probably change my mind as to looks. I have a LOT of parts available to me VIA of my builder friends.
Like spokes instead of the mag wheels, different handlebars, fenders etc.

This weekend I will also be working on it as I can. So after the festivities are done I will be adding more.

Feel free to comment and please too,,, add your horse. (real or otherwise)

 

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[Rawhide]

iron horse i ride is a good ore deposit, you got me

 

[Hitndahed]

iron horse i ride is a good ore deposit, you got me

========================================
Yea, but you GOT a deposit.
I am still looking for mine !!,,,lol

 

[Hitndahed]

iron horse i ride is a good ore deposit, you got me

========================================
Yea, but you GOT a deposit.
I am still looking for mine !!,,,lol

 

[Pinball]

I like the look of the bike. Are those Lester mags or just stock wheels. I can't wait to see it when you get it done.

 

[Higgy]

Who makes that hardtail? I like it.

I've got seven bikes to build this winter. KZ400s, CB350s, XS400s, and a Suzuki GS650. Still looking for the right deal on an XS650 or two.

 

[Hitndahed]

I like the look of the bike. Are those Lester mags or just stock wheels. I can't wait to see it when you get it done.

================================================================
Hey Pinball,,
Those are the stock / factory mags. I learned through the VIN this was an "ordered" bike package. That rear mag is 16" instead of the usual 18".

 

[Hitndahed]

Who makes that hardtail? I like it.

I've got seven bikes to build this winter. KZ400s, CB350s, XS400s, and a Suzuki GS650. Still looking for the right deal on an XS650 or two.

===========================================================
Hey HIGGY !!,,

The hardtail is made by Vintage VooDoo from AUSTIN TEXAS !!
The one I have is the MK25, I got it from a guy on the forums at XS650.com
Link to tail Voodoo Vintage Fabrication - Austin, Texas - Custom Metal Fabrication
Link to XS650 XS650 Forum

Enjoy and good luck with your projects.
Hit

 

[Hitndahed]

Who makes that hardtail? I like it.

I've got seven bikes to build this winter. KZ400s, CB350s, XS400s, and a Suzuki GS650. Still looking for the right deal on an XS650 or two.

=================================================================
Hey Higgy,,,
If you are still looking for one I know of a few that were started and the owners lost interest in. Some are rollers, some just frames.
Let me know and I will send ya some links I found.

 

[Hitndahed]

Well here it sits now.
Trying different fenders and bars to see how it looks before I decide.
This rear fender is from a 1943 rigid. I like it and the wife likes it but there are a few others I want to try on before committing to anything. Those bars are kinda what I want but as usual there are others I would like to see on it before I finish welding the tabs then painting the frame.

 

[aa battery]

havnt seen one of those in a long time

 

[Higgy]

Just picked up a '78 XS650. Yeehaa! Next purchase will have to be a new shop compressor. The old 30-gallon craftsman that sits in my shop now is getting tired and has a real hard job keeping up with a lot of what I do now, especially stuff like soda blasting and painting.

 

[Lucky Eddie]

OK I am in.

Bought this basket case just over 1 year ago

Carbs were in pieces in a plastic lunch box.

After 1 year & $5K in 'new parts' from USA .......

Still have a ways to go tho...

Small electrical gremlin is still giving me trouble intermittently.

And

I'd like to re-paint it a different color when I finally get it working properly.

Something like this maybe.

Hopefully I will get to ride it again sometime soon.

 

[Hitndahed]

Here is how it sits now,,

While it isn't as far as I would like it to be I am making progress. Tried on a bunch of different fenders and handlebars and other stuff too.
So this is the direction I am going (until I change my mind again) lol
Picked up some spoked wheels in pretty good shape so I have them on. The handlebars are 1.25",, quite a bit larger than most use. The reasoning is that I will be running all my cables and wiring inside. They do look nice though. I lowered the front forks by 3" to level the stance too. With me being rather "height challenged" I wanted to have it low enough that when I am stopped and feet down that my knees are bent.
The fuel tank is at a fab shop getting the filler moved to the center and also having a fuel level sight tube added. Then I found an engine with pretty low miles, it was missing a few parts so instead of replacing factory items, I upgraded it. Looks pretty badass now. I have a LOT more to do before it is ride able but I have all winter to get it ready.
Hope y'all enjoy the pics. I will try to answer questions if I can.

 

[cw0909]

Well here it sits now.
Trying different fenders and bars to see how it looks before I decide.
This rear fender is from a 1943 rigid. I like it and the wife likes it but there are a few others I want to try on before committing to anything. Those bars are kinda what I want but as usual there are others I would like to see on it before I finish welding the tabs then painting the frame.

nice bike, are you checking the dif parts in a photoshop app
to see which you like?
thats what a friend of mine did, said it saved him tons of time

 

[RustyGold]

Very cool bike! I can picture a bobbed rear fender on that Rat Bike! Good luck!

 

[Hitndahed]

nice bike, are you checking the dif parts in a photoshop app
to see which you like?
thats what a friend of mine did, said it saved him tons of time

================================================
Nope,,,
All those different parts either I have or are available to me through other friends who also ride/own/build.
All parts are real, I have probably a half dozen sets of handlebars on the garage wall. Ranging from 3/4" to 1.25",
The set I decided on using (for now,,lol) is 1.25". Chosen for the fact they have quite a bit of room to run all the necessary controls and wiring. I want nothing on the bars at all.
The clutch I have planned to install as a twist type, same as a throttle. The only reason to not do this would be if it is too hard to engage and hold.
If that happens, I will switch to a lever hydraulic type.

Thanks for the comments all

 

[Hitndahed]

Very cool bike! I can picture a bobbed rear fender on that Rat Bike! Good luck!

==============================================
Yea,,, I thought about that mod. But the other thought of a wet stripe down the center of my back changed my mind.
This will be ridden daily (if possible). And I have been thinking of a cross country trip to see my son in Washington state too.

 

[Hitndahed]

Been a while since I posted anything new on this since I started the thread.
Got quite a lot done in the past couple months.
Check it out and let me know what ya think.
There is a bunch to do yet though,,to be ready to ride.
Mainly electric stuff.

 

[RustyGold]

Looking good!