Parts bike build thread!

[inanecathode]

Decided to fix up the parts bike vision. Not in an ordinary way though. It will include the following:
Solo seat, longer end cap/hinged tail piece
All electrics including battery relocated behind the solo seat
Brushed bare tank (clear coat to keep the rust off)
Custom dual exhaust
Drag bars/napolean mirrors
Relocated idiot lights
Eliminated ignition, cutoff switch under the tank
Stripped/clear coated radiator/steel braided lines (covers or otherwise)
Round headlight
Relocated turn signals front and back
Removed passenger peg brackies, relocated pegs

Ambitious, yes. Doable, maybe. Just something to play with. Kinda a cheap project to, other than some fiberglass and foam it's going to mostly just be elbow grease.
Got a stud puller to pull the dents on the parts bike tank (has a massive dent in it), painting that one and putting it on the green machine, then brushing the green bike tank down to bare metal because it's without body work or external rust at all. Trick so far is getting the color even. Looks a bit blotchy so far, not sure if its the metal itself, burn off from the brush, or i'm not being thourough enough.

Anyway, stay tuned!

Concept drawing (excuse the paint and tiredness)

[Tiger]

8) Hmmm, looks a wee bit like something I've toyed with for my next "V" project...A Vision cafe racer... ;)

I say go for it inane... 8)

                8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Night Vision]

you'll have to work out something with the brake pedal if you do away with the right side peg mount

[inanecathode]

Yeah, it'll have its own new bracket further down and behind of the stock location. I'm not good enough at paint to make a new peg and pedal on there, just imagine it's right above the bend in the exhaust going into the can.

[zore]

You sir, are a mad man!

[inanecathode]

Yup :D

[inanecathode]

GOOD LORD! Brushing that damn tank is REALLY hard. Just takes damn forever, my rustoleum job and the primer just melt off, the factory paint is actually quite hard and slippery, so the brush really doesn't dig in it too good. Once the factory paint is off, theres this weird galvanized/plated/anodized layer of what looks like metal over the bare metal thats a real bear to get off. Once i get a spot started it's somewhat easy to move the heat around it seems with the brush and get it off.
I experimented with some abrasives to even out the color and brush lines of the finished brushed areas, and by far those green rectangular scrubby pads do the best job, it's really night and day between un-scrubbied metal and scrubbied metal. Really seems to pop with the scrubby.
Haven't finished the tank yet, lots of bending over is giving me a headache.
Oh, and the coolest thing ever is when the brush throws a wire and it comes shooting off the wheel like a bullet. Left arm has half a dozen or so pin pricks and lines from the wires, one got my face too (eye protection, no worries) hurt like the dickens.
Started pondering what to do about how to mount the bars. Already 90 percent decided on making/finding/getting made clamping blocks to replace the clamping effect of the risers and provide a mounting spot for the flat bar.

[Night Vision]

swap your risers, right to left, and turn them upside down. instant low boys

[inanecathode]

...
Actually that's not a bad freakin idea, i'll look at the bike tomorrow.

Really, that might not be a bad idea...

[inanecathode]

just ran out there and looked, looks like if i flipped the 82 risers the bars would end up waaaaay too low. Maybe with 83 risers, but where am i going to get a pair of those? lol

[Night Vision]

I said they'd be low

[inanecathode]

Haha, not that low though :o
Tank about half done:

[YellowJacket!]

If you want to strip that tank much easier, use Tal-Strip.  Its a chemical stripper and made very easy work of getting the paint off.  I posted about it last summer when I stripped and primed the NOS tank I got off ebay.

David

[inanecathode]

I actually have some chemical stripper, called 'strypeeze' the heavy duty variety. It works alright, but it stops at the factory paint. I tried just taking the factory paint off and leaving that extra metal layer, but it didnt touch it.
Not like brushing is impossible, it just takes forever. You all are going to like how it looks though :D
Thinking of graphics too. Going to design something when i get home, picture a lemon shaped oval with either XZ550 or Vision in cursive in it, perhaps do some checkered pin striping as well.
I did a bit of drawing on how the bar clamps will work, i believe it's workable if i can convince my girlfriends dad to help me make an cad print of it and have him give it to the machinists at his work. They'll end up being L shaped pieces that clamp the tubes and have a small tower with threads that accepts a top clamp piece to hold the bars in. I'll either go with straight bars in which case i'd just have to buy them, or go to a slightly swept flat bar, in which case i'll probably have to make them or have them made as i dont know of a bar that has such a long straight middle section.

[kwells]

and what about that plenum that goes through the tank

[inanecathode]

Eh? You mean the one that sucks womens clothes off or?
Thinking of instead of the dual oval/flat cans, i might go with a more retro look:


Shorter 'pea shooter' end, slightly wider expansion, but you get the idea.

[glennw]

Have you been sniffing the scooby snacks again?
GlennW

[inanecathode]

Lol no, but it's tempting honestly

[inanecathode]

Bwahaha I am the dent master! Along with kwells (making sure i don't get cooked too well done should i catch on fire) i pulled the dents out of the parts bike tank. Pretty interesting process that studwelder. I've never used one before, so kinda a learning process. Load a stud, press it up against the metal until the outer ring touches, hold the trigger down for a second, pull it away and you've a spot welded rod you attach your slide hammer to. Just yank gently on the slide and the dent just pulls right out. I got a bit nuts on the slide hammer and pulled a couple holes in the tank (literally grabs a little circle of metal and removes it) that i'll have to solder up later, but the massive dent in the top of the tank is now gone and the small dent on the upslope of the top of the tank is now mostly gone. All that's left to do to the tank before it goes on the green bike is:
Grind the studs off
Solder in the holes
POR the tank
Strip/prep/paint the tank
I've done two of these things before so it shouldnt take long.
The brushed steel tank is still a work in progress, i've got some holes to solder up, more paint to brush off, and por this tank as well. Should turn out fine.

Something really weird i've noticed. I've had the brushed tank exposed bare steel for the better part of a week and i see no signs of flash rusting, it's as shiney as it's been ever. The parts bike tank though, a single drop of water and it instantly flash rusts. I've had the brushed tank literally overflowing with water for an hour, dried, another hour, dried, and still no rust. Does it have anything to do with the less oxygen up here? Or maybe it's because i've got water thats pH around 8.5 and i assume city tap water runs somewhere under 7

I've got my girlfriends dad real interested in doing some cad drawings for the new triple tree clamps, and i'm seeing if i can't fenagle a deal with a mechanic buddy of mine to bend me up some tube so i might can do scrambler pipes on parts bike. I like these quite a bit:

Oh, engine doesnt run, should probably figure that out at some point.


PS. This bike's gonna be freakin cool, i assure yall will like it muchly :D

[kwells]

Here's pics of the tank work so far...looks like a porcupine