My builds...now on to an xs

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

Just a few photos of my bikes. The green one I made for my dad and the blue one was for me. I just sold it and bought the xs with some of the cash.

jayel

ah well, at least the motors and wheels are still salvageable lol
what do you have against your dad to make him ride something like that?

weekendrider · Posted: November 14, 2008, 1:16 am Post subject: Re: My builds...now on to an xs

Nice work on both. What sizes are the motors? Is that a 15" wheel on the blue one?

georelle · Posted: November 14, 2008, 9:41 am Post subject: Re: My builds...now on to an xs

Nice looking bikes. What is the motor in the blue bike? That thing looks awesome!

Georelle

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

both bikes just have virago 250 motors. I used the stock wheels and front end on the blue bike and bought harley wheels and front end for the green one.

Dad really likes his bike and rides the crap out of it. I liked the blue one a lot, but someone else really wanted it so I sold it. Now on to the xs. I'm not going to make a new frame and things. Just make aluminum bodywork for it.

sure · Full Member Joined: May 07, 2008 Posts: 195

whats up english?..watch out for the crotchey old purist..
I still haven't figured out why they even look in the chopper section..

xsjohn

"""watch out for the crotchey old purist""""

Think the crotchety comes from knowing the back isn't getting any better and the hemroids can flare up at any moment.....and the noise hurts tender old ears....don't have any good excuses for the purist.....maybe just too lazy and old to change things that work ok anyway......

Those are actually nice looking little bikes.......what's the mileage if I could ask...........

xsjohn

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

Oh, I thought the guy was joking...in that case..I really don't have time for people to knock my s***. I find it's usually the people who can't build their own stuff who say those things.

Anyway. The blue motor has 25,000 miles on it. I've personally put 400 on it.
y dad's bike doesn't have an odometer, but he's been riding it nearly everyday for the spring and summer. So I'd say he's got a couple thou on it. It's won best of show in a local show. Not a single other handmade bike there. So it looks like the purists didn't have much to show there.

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

Oh, I thought the guy was joking...in that case..I really don't have time for people to knock my s***. I find it's usually the people who can't build their own stuff who say those things.

Anyway. The blue motor has 25,000 miles on it. I've personally put 400 on it.
y dad's bike doesn't have an odometer, but he's been riding it nearly everyday for the spring and summer. So I'd say he's got a couple thou on it. It's won best of show in a local show. Not a single other handmade bike there. So it looks like the purists didn't have much to show there.

danno · Full Member Joined: Mar 04, 2006 Posts: 212

Englishwheeler...You,sir,are a true artist! I can't wait to see your XS build. Where are you located?

drifter

English...the green one is classic looking but the blue one really rocks! Kinda like the old board trackers. Keep us updated with the whole XS build!

Dave

kenb

Hey there englishwheeler!
I thought I'd seen those bikes somewhere before, welcome to 650 rider. I've been hanging out over here for a while to figure out how these XS650's work before I start cutting mine up into little bits.
What do you have in mind for the bodywork on your XS?

Ken

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

hey Kenb, thanks for your email the other day. I'm going to make this bike into a cafe racer. Once I get the charging issue sorted out I'll get started. Should be pretty cool. It will test out my metal shaping skill for sure. Maybe I'll be asking for advice from time to time...if that's ok.

kenb · Posted: November 16, 2008, 9:59 pm Post subject: Re: My builds...now on to an xs

englishwheeler wrote:

I'm going to make this bike into a cafe racer. Once I get the charging issue sorted out I'll get started. Should be pretty cool. It will test out my metal shaping skill for sure. Maybe I'll be asking for advice from time to time...if that's ok.

Ask away, if I don't know the answer we'll learn together.

Skinning a bike is a real challenge, that's pretty much what got me interested in doing this. I've discovered that coming up with the right look is the hardest part, and it's looking like the metalshaping will be the easy half of the job! I've got a wastebasket overflowing with discarded designs and drawings over here, and I'm sure I'll empty it a couple more times before I capture the look I'm after.

You did a really nice job on the lines on that blue one, I think that those fair curves flow very smoothly as the eye moves along the length of the bike. I hope I can come up with a nice clean look like that, without copying your design so closely that it's blatantly obvious!

Are you doing a tank for the cafe bike too?

Ken

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

Ken, I'm going to make the tank and the rear fairing or whatnot. I want to do aluminum. I also thought about making a new swingarm for the bike that would look nicer. I'm sure yours will be awesome! Don't worry about copying my bike. My design is taken strongly from Hank Young of Young Choppers.

xs1961 · Posted: November 19, 2008, 3:28 am Post subject: Re: My builds...now on to an xs

God , I love the look of that blue bike ! If I could get my hands on a bigger jap v-twin motor I'd try to build one just like that ..drool..dribble...

tracker79 · Posted: November 19, 2008, 6:49 am Post subject: Re: My builds...now on to an xs

Nice job on both bikes, where did you get the frame for the blue bike?

sure · Full Member Joined: May 07, 2008 Posts: 195

tracker79 wrote:

Nice job on both bikes, where did you get the frame for the blue bike?

english built it.

englishwheeler · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 47

Thanks guys for the comments.
Both of these bikes were built from straight tubing and some ideas. I didn't buy the frames or tanks or footpegs...etc. I really don't have much cash because I'm just finishing up college, so I have to make mostly everything. The XS build i"m working on is my first time using an existing frame. I actually think it's going to be more difficult than just building my own!
I'm borrowing some inspiration from this site because I don't know much about these bikes and I"ve seen some cool stuff here.

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650