Air filters

Still buzzing from this years hayride, but down in the dumps because its all over for an other year. Decided to cheer myself up by attempt number 2 on the air filters.

Picked up some 4 inch pipe (stainless) at lunchtime today. Could wait to get home and get cracking...

Basically I cut the tube to length, and trued up the ends in the lathe. I then cut up an old stainless bread bin to make the end caps, tacked it in place, then trimmed on the lathe to make the edge right. I left the piece on the lathe while I welded it (not spinning)...



This is it welded up on the 1 end..



I then trimmed it and gave it a quick sand...



Didnt really take too many pics, but gave it the holy treatment in the pillar drill - plenty of cutting liquid, and plenty of patience..

Et voila!



I had some fine mesh I bought in Newark which I trimmed to fit...



I attempted to cut down a ring filter to fit,but it wouldn't really work...



Back to the drawing board on that one...

Whats better than one of them?

2 of course!!



Next to make is the backing plate,and attaching screws, plus work out howto make them fit to the carbs...

Happy boy now though! no more holy things on the bike though...

Ready to rock!

Got the bike sorted for the ride tomorrow, oil changed, new filter, everything tightened, lubed up and ready to rock. Even re-wrapped the front pipe. Shame I didn't have enough spare to do the back....

Hayride?

I'm like a cat on a hot tin roof - the hayride cant come soon enough for me!!!

Indian 741 Scout bits...

With the hayride approaching I know there will be a few fires set under me and get me excited about the projects.

Although i'm trying my best to concentrate on one project at a time, but I have trickled some funds into the Scout along the way. 

Thought it best for a bit of an update as to where i'm going with it....

Engine wise - I've got a new set of 600cc Greer's pistons here, and 42.8mm Citroen valves to emulate the great work Indi has been putting into his engine. The stroker dreams have been left for now, and maybe in the very distant future I may be able to look at them again.

For my Birthday I treated Ol' Bela to a new Morris Magneto - should put the spark back in her sails...



the last night I scored a gearbox - meaning the one I have in bits will act as spares



Next up will be a hunt for some suitable wheels, but all major elements are now in place...

as ever space is my biggest enemy, but I am on the hunt for a workshop where I can get her on 2 wheels...

The 345 - Triumph framed 45

Jason Bearpaws has been hard at work putting a Harley 45 engine into a triumph frame. The bike is looking super sharp already, and is a bike I would love to build as well. Sharing the same problems with the 45 engine and the Brit box not lining up...

One to keep an eye on, Jason doesn't hang about with his builds, so it'll be on the road in no time.

Sportster controls on XS650...

Up early this morning, work out the way, so cracked on with the controls at about 3 ish....

Basically cut the top off the left hand control and topped it on the bracket I made...




Needed a bit of tidying up to get the two parts to not look totally alien to each other. done the basic shaping - i'll finish it off at a later date....


The Brake side wasn't quite as easy - 

as you can see in this the bracket makes it sit really wide - too wide for my liking. the other issue was that the brake lever didn't want to play ball with the way I wanted to have the mount running from below. I either had to run the controls wide, or ditch the lever.....

The Lever was ditched!!!

this was the pin and pivot for the mechanism - i ended up turning down to within 10mm or so of the cutaway to give some much needed narrowing...



....and this is all I kept of the original bracket - again turned up in the lathe to get it a decent shape...



Cutting a long story short (ish) this is the new assembly as it is was loosely assembled...



I just had to use that STOP! pedal I etched ages ago! these are the main components....



I know the pivot underneath is rather large and ungainly - but i'll trim or drill that at a later date....



The sun even came out while I was playing!!!!



a few other bits I sorted - and adapter so my front brake operated (I say operated - not worked!!!!!)



Finally I had cut and punched this torque arm a while back - but my drill was playing up - plenty of cutting compound and it was given the holy treatment!!!

All in all a VERY productive 4 hours or so!

to top it off, i'm off out on the bike for a spin, and then to watch the new 6over DVD (all about building choppers!!!)

Tinworm / Speedholes

Tried the seat on the bike. Well happy!





Feeling the chopper vibe coursing through my veins I decided to get busy with the engine case...




Also trimmed back the chain guard area...







Also made a start on my controls. Was a bit hot out there with the torch, so gave in after a bit...



I did rush the left hand one, and as you can see it cracked. I welded it back up, but wished I hadn't rushed it....

Sporty controls for the xs

Bought some sporty controls from a new pal, cheers Will!

Need to work out how to get them to fit onto the xs next.....

30's VL frame and springer for sale....

Gonna part with my VL frame and springers. At present the forks are here in the UK and the frame with a mate in the states. So - if anyone is interested in either the frame or the forks let me know can go as a pair or separate. Email me if your interested or want more details... TC@customxs650.com the pic of the frame shows it with a harley 45 engine in it for size, can be made to fit  big twins with LOTS of alterations...

Running repairs

Did some running repairs on the chop this morning. As everyone in blighty knows the weather has been crap, so my beloved chop has been under covers for weeks. Some tosser knocked it over with their car about 2 weeks ago, then did one without saying anything. I found it half picked up resting on its pipes...

Luckily minimal damage, scuffed pipes, broken brake lever and that's about it. Not having a drive or garage is really getting to me, and my shed is a flight of steps from the path. Not ideal for getting a low chopper up...

Anyway.. Fitted a new side stand and even gave it a good wash. Still not got round to the oil change yet though, as the heavens opened once again!

Chopping up friends bikes....

Went over to assist Tom Holme Valley Customs with the hardtail on his xs yesterday.

Had a good little day taking a perfectly functional frame into a hardtail back breaker!

Check his website for his spin on the days events!!!

Pipe Dreams!

Amazing what you can do in a couple of hours....

Knocked off work early, and got stuck into the pipes. Had exactly what I wanted in my head, so it was just a case of attempting to execute a plan!

So I cut my tailpipes of the headers to start, then extended the back with the spare stainless I had from the scrambler



Et voila- low and long pipes!!!



Haha- as you guessed, nothing is ever that easy with me!

YEH!!!!!!!!!!! Big ass upsweeps or whatever the hell you call them... Rain catchers!!!



Knicked the pipes that arrived the other day for Chris ( don't worry mate, replacements are already ordered) and they were just what I wanted!

Now I would imagine the best way to do this is to tack it up on the bike.... Hmm.. My bike is about 50 yards from the welder, with about 10 foot vertical difference... Shit!

Mocked the bits up that I could and worked out the angles. You can see the bit of the U bend that I cut up on the floor...



My saving grace- I got a pair of baffles for them the other day, I like a loud bike, but not too loud, so I wanted to put these in the pipes. As it happens they were perfect as they were a really tight fit, and allowed me to put them into the main header, and control the angle of twist...



I also used a bit of angle iron to try and keep it all straight when welding..



On the bike...



OH HELL YEH!!!!!!!!!

Did the same on the other side







I think my sissy bar is slightly lop sided, and the pipes aren't the same length yet, so I'll have to sort that out, but it looks just how I wanted.

Finally I made a quick no frills headlight mount!



I love my project once more!!!