Manky's XS650 Yamaha

[saddlebags]

Make hay while the sun shines

[saddlebags]

I've just had a 4 into 1 pipe conversion done on my b-king and recently bought a harley lowrider ill post pics if I can work out how to make them small enough

[Manky Monkey]

I've been messing about with the side panels for weeks now, between other jobs. Finally got them done today.
I'd spent ages making a folded one piece left hand panel, with a recess for the chain to pass through & was really pleased with it. Unfortunately I'd got the lower fold in the wrong place & the chain would've fouled on it. So I had to cut the bottom edge off, fold a new section & get Mr Loon to weld it on for me.
I've cut the panels deliberately "short" around the edges as I want to show some space around them so it doesn't look like a slab sided box.

[Manky Monkey]

The left side of the bike's quite "busy" with the drive chain & exhausts, while the right side is relatively empty. It has a full sized side panel. I think I'll cut some sort of recess into it to break up the slabbiness a bit, then reproduce a smaller version of it on the other side. The ignition key will go top right in this panel. Doesn't look like it in these pics because of my wide angle lens, but the bottom of the side panel's level with the top of the battery.

[Manky Monkey]

Drilled the handlebars a few days ago & fitted a small hotrod "peep mirror", given to me ages ago by Postie Dave for my truck but never used.

[Manky Monkey]

Loon tries the XS for size.
The exhausts are just cable tied in place to see how they'll look. The back end of them will be a little lower to run parallel to the bottom frame rail eventually. You'll need a heatshield on there mate. 
I'm not trying to build a period "bobber", which are all the rage at the moment, but just a simple, rugged, rideable cut down Yam'. Something I can just blat about & have fun on. So I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. No trick engineering or finicky detailing.

[Olds]

Sweet 
The bike that is !
Not a bobber, a blatter

[Manky Monkey]

Well, he's not really my type, but I guess he's sweet to a certain type of fella Dave. 
Yup, a blatty bimbler.
I toyed with the idea of painting it the same pale green & black as my truck's gonna be, but think I'm gonna go with the original plan of "rootbeer" metalflake with a few splashes of chrome & some gold or silver leaf lettering on the tank -"The Coca Cola Kid", (my favourite beverage).

[triker_Chewie]

silver lettering, "Dynamic Ribbon" font

[Manky Monkey]

No idea how to download that!
Either in the original Coca Cola font, as you say, or 60s/70s style bubble font.
Might add some air brushed bubbles in cream to the leading edge of the guards & side panels.

[Clive]

'Loki cola' is the font!

Why not put the bubbles under the root beer candy?

[Manky Monkey]

Sounds like you've just talked yourself into a paintjob Clive! 
I don't do details, I'm just the ideas man. 

[Manky Monkey]

Loony was aghast when he read I wanted bubbles -he imagined 70s custom van style big, multi coloured bubbles. I meant just a very small trail of miniature cream coloured Coke bubbles on the leading edges of a couple of panels -where you might normally use hotrod pinstriping or flames.
Base colour will be metalflake "rootbeer", which is a kind of dark, golden brown, (imagine the colour of a glass of Coke held up to the sunlight). Hoping Loony will handle that for me.
Then I'd like a panel masked off on the top of the tank, around the left side of the filler cap & down the top face of the tank, with that 70s style bubble lettering -kinda like the letters have been inflated to fill the available space -in probably gold leaf, with cream outlining to match the cream bubbles. One for Clive, our resident airbrush expert.
Frame will be gloss black powdercoat.
No rush for paint though. If I manage to get it up & running this year I'll probably do the same as my truck & run it in bare metal till I know everything works O.K, then strip it for paint & chrome later.
Today's jobs- drilled & filed the righthand side panel for the ignition/lights switch. I'm toying with some sort of recessed panel in this, just to break up the "slabiness" of it a bit. This panel's simpler than the left one & is more on show so looks a bit blank. Might be easier just to do something with the paint. Maybe some gold lettering or something?

[Manky Monkey]

I've been looking online for a universal fitting chainguard. All the custom bike shops used to sell them, but I couldn't find one.
The gentlemen of the workshop can't understand why I want one, but I want to ride this in all weathers & want it as practical as a chop can be. The guard will probably be needed for the MSVA test, but will also keep crud from the chain being flung up -if you've tried washing chain lube off your paint you'll know what a pain it is.
So I nipped down to B & Q today & picked up a metre of lightweight angle for 6 quid. Cut one face off the end of it, & a curved "tail" from some flat sheet, then rolled the other face of the angle around it & handed it to Loon for welding. A bit of trimming up & filing & I had this.

[Manky Monkey]

It'll bolt into the recess in the lefthand side panel & to a mounting tab on the frame, behind the exhausts. I'll slot the mounting holes so the guard can be slid back & forth when the chain's adjusted. It's almost hidden behind the exhausts, but worth fitting I think. Modelled here by Mr Loon.