bobber project questions

[Jake D]

He's not makin' a chopper, Sweets.  He's makin' a bobber.  

Edit: Pablo beat me to it!

[pantablo]

Easy chop - IMHO ... Savage 650. It has to be light cos the length and the rake will prevent it from being rideable if it weighs a ton ... and No that thing does not weigh 300 lbs. Maybe the frame alone (no motor or transmission) weighs 300.
I dont think any 4 cyl will look right chopped. The motor on a CB750 is too wide as is the maxim or the GS750 series. Virago 7/11/s as well as other jap V twins work fine. As do parallel twins or singles.
I'd definetly start with a savage. A vulcan front end with a sliced and raked out neck is all it would need. Someone in statesville NC has one. Might talk to him and run and look at it cos its like 30 miles away ...
Cool.
Srinath.

I checked savages and viragos. both seem too raked out for a bobber-they're better suited to a chopper project.

[The Buddha]

Well ... a bobber has no rear fender or anything after the riders seat right ...
Like this ...
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ironbikers.it/special/kustom-drag-bobber/kustom-drag-bobber-02.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.ironbikers.it/ironbikers/modules.php%3Fname%3DNews%26file%3Darticle%26sid%3D67&h=600&w=800&sz=330&tbnid=f_b1J8EAPdh1CM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbobber&start=3&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=3

Yea the savage has that already. The rear fender is unboltable, the rail with sissy bar goes with it, and the frame ends with the riders seat really.
I had a savage bobber last week ... OK OK more work needed ... but yea.
Cool.
Srinath.

[pantablo]

^^ that is indeed a very nice bike, but a chopper in my book. the raked front isnt somethign I see on a true bobber. but that bike has the classic bobber tail-slim fender, etc...

[The Buddha]

OK ... I think I know what you're talking about ... you might want to try de raking a savage ... its actually got a huge protrusion in the frame where it has been raked. Maybe de rake  ... or fine ... do some other bike ... if its shorter wheelbase and not raked out ... it should steer OK ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Alphamazing]

Veeeeeee Maaaaaaaaax

[Jake D]

If you chopped down a springer front end, you wouldn't need to de-rake it. 

[RVertigo]

No, the gs is not a good candidate so dont even...

Which GS are you talking about?

Here's a GS (Click for big):

   


It's a GS1000...  I don't recall the exact year ('78 or '79).

Pretty much any of those 60's-70's bikes would work...  So, if you're looking for something light and nimble, get a smaller one... Like a 400 or something...  And if you're looking for something beefy, get a bigger one...  750-1000.   

All the UJM makers (H#nda, Kawi', 'zuki) have a year/model that's good for it...




Just find one with tank, frame, and rake that are close to what you want.........

[The Buddha]

Veeeeeee Maaaaaaaaax

Dude ... to begin with ... that damn thing handled like an overloaded wheel barrow ...
And bobbing it will make it less stable and less agile if it was even possible ...
You do know that Peetey pablo is doing it right ... you can bet its going to be pussied up ... so I am just giving him the least distance to being pussied ... so when we all decide its pathetic, it can be reversed to stock.
Cool.
Srinath.

[pantablo]

You do know that Peetey pablo is doing it right ... you can bet its going to be pussied up ... so I am just giving him the least distance to being pussied ... so when we all decide its pathetic, it can be reversed to stock.
Cool.
Srinath.

oh you are SO looking at a BAN...

[fettcols]

How about a KZ750 twin?

If you really want a solid project... find a crashed sporty or buel and pick up an aftermarket frame. I've seen frames sell for as little as $450 or you can pick up a roller for 2-3 grand..

Check this place out, a little pricier than ebay but good for some ideas..

http://www.suckerpunchsally.com/

[RVertigo]

No one liked that GS1000?   

I just about wizzed right in my pants when I saw how cheap they were selling it...

[jake42]

It's true the Yamaha 650 has been done alot, but it's a great platform and cheap. I once picked one up for 50 bucks and then gave it to my brother.
Here's some nice bobbers done from them.




not a bad cafe--lose the front fender and you have a bobber.


As far as cafe's go, I almost went for this bike instead of the GS.


Jake

[pantablo]

http://www.suckerpunchsally.com/

this is the closest I saw there:


the key I am seeing is that the frame line is carried over the top edge of the tank, instead of the bottom like on the choppers, and the forks arent lengthened/raked out. handlebars are dragbar-like as well. this keeps the proportions of the bike low.


now this is starting to get there. the lines are flatter than a chopper and there's a simplicity to it (I think the parallel twin helps that).

[papiocho]

here's what i'd like to do to the wife's bike once she's ready to move up to something else
its a savage, those vigi's look cool too.

[fettcols]

Here's a couple nice ones... I'm a fan of dragbars.. I would like to see these things with the larger and longer 04+ tanks. The only the one thing that bothers me about a lot of these things is the hardtail frames. That and forward controls are just kind of unnatural for me.

[The Buddha]

here's what i'd like to do to the wife's bike once she's ready to move up to something else
its a savage, those vigi's look cool too.

Thanks for putting up that pic ... oddly ... that is almost unmodified. The bars are different, the rear fender is probably a trimmed stocker. The seat is also a shaved or modded stock. The rest is almost untouched.
Mine is 1/2 way there already. I didn't do the rear fender ... and did something else for the bars. Seat I may go the other way ... thicker and more height ... instead of less, cos its already knee sprainingly low. I may do fender later this year ... but otherwise I am nearly there.
Cool.
Srinath.

[jackiei26]

I like the bobber look.  My hubby is converting his V-Star (not sure what year) to a bobber.  He's fabricating the fender himself, got the springs for the seat yesterday and ordered the seat and license plate holder.  He's gonna to try to get everything done, including the paint job, before we go to Myrtle Beach for the Spring Rally...we'll see

[scratch]

I checked savages and viragos.  Both seem too raked out for a bobber-they're better suited to a chopper project.

'87-90-something Viragos had a 27 degree rake, same as a stock FXLR Low Rider.

Also, rake changes with preload, so suspension set-up is pretty important, too.

[The Buddha]

Aaaah ... the V-star ... Classic example of how they took a semi flawed bike (a virago) screwed up what was not broken (open drive shaft that will rust is a masterpiece), ignored the minor problems (eating sparkplugs every 3 months), and set up the catastrophic problems (black box failure and starter clutch failure) so that you cannot get at them that easy. And yea made it look pretty ...
Anyway chopping or bobbing that damn thing is going to be darn near impossible ... I'd like to see pics, both now and when finished.
Cool.
Srinath.