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sunnbobb wrote:Critical but friendly feedback... Those bars don't suit the bike. They look too wimpy? Maybe some six inch risers with dragbars?

No problem!
The fields that I'm in require a lot of feedback, good and bad, need a thick skin.

For the bars think, function, not form.
I'm very happy with them based on the placement of my hands, they worked out to be almost exactly the distance and angle that my hands and wrists should be for the ridding style of the bike.
No other consideration was given to the look, drag bars and cafe bars look GREAT, but as soon as a human body interacts with the bike, the function and purpose become limited.

I would certainly have preferred an 1-1/8 bar to beef it up a bit, but the shape I needed was not available, these are more of a dirt track bar and once the mounts are on there and the cables and wires get routed properly, I think it will help with the mass.

Until then, my hands are in the right place so I'm happy!


KR

sometimes a change of bends is what is needed. I think some bars with a bit more of a hunch to them would work too.

sink the base of that bike table bout a foot into the floor and rigg up the pedal so you can work it and you might have the perfect bike table

thats an old barbers chair for a base isnt it? got the wheels turnin now i might hafta try that

I was thinking that 6 inch risers with bars that put your hand right where they are would look wicked..

Wow this thing is coming together very nicely, loving the blacked out look and personally I don't mind those bars at all.
Coming from a J-Man welder, your fab/tig work looks spot on!

I'm in love with your shoes!! what kind of tires are those?

I know I'll need some new tires on my goldwing before too long.

r0taryr0ck3t wrote:Wow this thing is coming together very nicely, loving the blacked out look and personally I don't mind those bars at all.
Coming from a J-Man welder, your fab/tig work looks spot on!

Thanks a bunch, nothing but respect for the work you guys can do.
I'm pretty unhappy with the welds on the whole bike, at least the ones where I go to the original metal, it seems like they used some really crappy steel, lots of tiny contamination, might explain why the factory welds look so shitty.

giant81 wrote:I'm in love with your shoes!! what kind of tires are those?
I know I'll need some new tires on my goldwing before too long.

They're reproduction firestone tires, it's next to impossible to find a 16" tire with a slightly aggressive tread, we'll see how these hold up.
Couple of sources:
http://store.cokertire.com/
http://www.universaltire.com/motorcycle ... black.html

papathud wrote:sink the base of that bike table bout a foot into the floor and rigg up the pedal so you can work it and you might have the perfect bike table

Don't think it would end up going high enough if you did that.

hehe, yeah I found those just now and came back to post I'd found it and you had replied.

I'd love to find out how they wear/handle. I'm of the same mind. When it comes to tires the only thing that matters is traction. Not dry traction, but wet traction or gravely traction. That and brakes. The only thing keeping you on the road or stopping you are your tires and brakes. Neither are any place to skimp ever.

So if they stick to the road, you can get a couple seasons out of them, and don't cost the price of the bike to buy, I may end up looking for my own pair. Too bad though that stock on teh 81 is 17 right? I can't find them in 17 .

I'll keep looking though.

Thanks. You are a real inspiration for my own build.

Time for some photo updates as well I guess:


Warm enough to open the garage doors last weekend, project saw the light of day for the first time, itching to get on the road.



Brake rotor spacers in place.




sunnbobb sent me a 1000 "tank", love the look of the early tank, basically perfect as far as I'm concerned.
Perfect except for being plastic!




I freakin hate wiring.



Getting there though.




None of it is loomed yet since this is just the operating harness, still need to work in the lights and signals up front.



Got to the point where I could push the button and it would go and striped it all down again.
Finish welded all the frame parts and it's hanging in the back room getting some coats of paint.



Back to being bummed out about the damn plastic "tank", a friend told me of a shop that might have some tanks kicking around to look at, when I showed up they directed me to the attic.




They had some project bikes out back as well.




I ended up coming home with this beauty:




And here it is with the 1100 tank for comparison.
Don't disturb them, they're working on makin a baby tank for me to use.

giant81 wrote:Too bad though that stock on the 81 is 17 right? I can't find them in 17 .

Really? I've got 16 and 18" rims on mine.
They're those ones that only seem to be on the 83, I thought they were all the same diameter though.

KMR wrote:

giant81 wrote:Too bad though that stock on the 81 is 17 right? I can't find them in 17 .

Really? I've got 16 and 18" rims on mine.
They're those ones that only seem to be on the 83, I thought they were all the same diameter though.

I'll have to look when I get home, my information is coming from a crude google search and the first result. So, I could be completely off.

I need a friend with an attic like that! Hampsters place is pretty close! Gosh, I hope that shelter was alright? Did not realize it might not work for you??

sunnbobb wrote:I need a friend with an attic like that! Hampsters place is pretty close! Gosh, I hope that shelter was alright? Did not realize it might not work for you??

No kidding, once I got the light on up there I took one look around and went back out to the truck to get the camera.
And the 1000 "tank" was exactly what I expected, had to at least give it a shot though, and like I said, the look is absolutely perfect but the project is evolving into having an actual tank in the tank location, not worth it to put one inside the plastic shell for me.
If only the originals were metal.......
I still needed it though, had to compare the fit and have the shape on hand for visuals.

So, after the whole thing got spread all over the garage again I finish welded the bits and pieces on the frame and rattle canned some paint on there.

The new head tube:





And the assembly is underway, for real this time, have to actually make sure all the bolts are tight.