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xs650 > > Custom Work: Chop, Bob, Cafe and Flattracker - Streettracker > > Cafe Racer > > Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....


Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 2:30 pm    Post subject: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Hey guys, just wanted to post up my newest project-

Initially I wanted to use a Yamaha Road warrior engine, but at $2000 and me still not working, that became slightly out of the budget. So I got another XS650 engine and frame for $150.00 eventually I want to showcase both my chopper and this bike together to show the extremes you can go to with the same platform.

Specs and Goals:

1977 XS650 frame/engine the engine will remain mostly stock, just rebuilt.
I'm switching the engine over to fuel injection. It will be run by Megasquirt controlling fuel and spark.
The motor will be turbocharged and intercooled- if my #'s are correctly calculated, I should be getting about 88hp out of the engine, so maybe 75-80 at the rear wheel.
ZX6R front suspension and bars
Buell swingarm and rear shock
Frame will be 70% my own construction
Bike will have all the same specs as a modern sportbike regarding the rake/wheelbase/ect... However, it will be taller than most sportbikes. I've got really long legs and I like taller bikes, plus, I want to keep people from wanting to ride my bike.
Wheels will be f2/f3 style
Full brakes from ZX6R
Custom subframe and tail section of my own design
Buell headlight and windscreen
Suzuki GSXR gas tank
bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.....

Pictures:

Tail section I molded from foam and fiberglassed:







swingarm, tank, and tail section:



Buell swingarm, was initially purchased because the warrior engine is a right side drive. I still wanted to use it, so I'm filling in the right side, and cutting a space for the chain on the left side.

ade some paper templates:





Cut the pieces out and welded them up. This is my first time working with aluminum, it's pretty fun.



smoothed the welds, the piece should be welded in place pretty soon:





Here's the frame I started with:



here's what's left:



quick mockup-



Frame progress:













That's what I've got so far. I know it looks like there's a lot of space around the engine in the frame, but the turbo is going back there, along with the intake manifold. The intercooler will be mounted vertically on the downtubes.

I've got a mockup turbo coming in the mail, also my blow off valve and Buell rear shock.

This is going to be a really involved build I hope you'll have as much fun following along as I have building it.

I'm sure I've missed a bunch of stuff, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

thanks
Sky


Just after I wrote this I started thinking about something else on the bike and went down to look at it.

It's funny how the mind works sometimes. I was down looking at the bike thinking about another aspect of it, when I looked at my other bike, and turned the bars.

There's no way I could turn the bars on this bike with the frame the way I made it!!! Haha Smile

So I had to cut the top bars and redo the front section so the forks would have the room needed to turn.

Old version:



New version:



It's a little tough to see what I did from those pictures, but at least now I can turn....
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yamaman
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Joined: Jan 04, 2007
Posts: 1638
Location: Perth Western Australia

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 2:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Strewth! Keep on posting & I'm sure we'll all keep watching.......Awesome!
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2-Skinny
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Joined: Jun 16, 2008
Posts: 124
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 3:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Looks great! As I have said before though, if you are going to fab: Frame, swingarm, front suspension, turbo setup, intercooler, etc. why wouldn't you go with an engine that would take better to a turbo setup and be faster to boot?
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 3:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

A few reasons:

1. the original plan called for an air-cooled motor, I don't want a radiator and coolant lines running everywhere. Since I couldn't afford the road warrior engine, this was the next best thing.

2. It's going to be fun showing my chopper next to this bike and watching how long it takes before people realize they were the same bike to begin with.

3. These engines are cheap, so lots of spares if I need them.

4. Practice for when I build this bike using the engine I really want.

5. I liked the classic looks of the twin, I really did not want to use an inline 4 because then it would be just like any other sportbike.

6. Honestly, it's not about the power for me. I just like to build things to see if I can do them. I'll have fun riding this bike when it's done, but 80% of my enjoyment comes from the building of them. Maybe that's backwards, but that's me Smile

7. I'm sure I'm not the very first, but I don't imagine there's too many XS650's out there that are boosted, fuel injected, and running a standalone engine management system. I like to be different.

Let's be totally honest though. 90% of the reason I went with this motor is because it's cheap. Smile
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yamaman
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Joined: Jan 04, 2007
Posts: 1638
Location: Perth Western Australia

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 4:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

I take it you've seen this Ychop?

www.xs650.org.au/kev's%20turbo.htm

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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 7:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

I had not seen that bike, thanks for the link!

Pretty amazing work there. Wish I had access to a mill Sad
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Yamaha_chop
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Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 8:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Got my rear shock today, sheesh, this thing is a lot bigger than I expected. Really nice part though.





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NateDogg
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Joined: Feb 21, 2008
Posts: 285
Location: North Branford, CT

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 9:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

You're a sick dude....cant wait to see it comin along
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ghostyder
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Joined: Jul 05, 2007
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Location: northern california

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 9:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

another yamaha_chop project, hooray. it was great following the last one looking forward to this one
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 9:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Haha, thanks guys.

Hope this one will be even better than the last one. Should be more technically complicated anyway.
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bryant
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Joined: Apr 01, 2009
Posts: 86
Location: KY

PostPosted: May 14, 2009, 11:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

How tall is this bike gonna be?? Looks big!
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 1:29 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Yea, the seat height will be about 3" taller than most sportbikes. I've got really long legs so I can flat-foot pretty much any bike, I want a bike that will feel tall to me. Plus, no one will ask to ride my bike if they can't touch Smile
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bryant
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Joined: Apr 01, 2009
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PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 2:05 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Haha, cool. Looking forward to watching it come together!
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Razar
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Joined: Jul 03, 2008
Posts: 103
Location: North Coast New South Wales Australia

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 3:55 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Very Interesting!! Looking forward to following your progress on this one.
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Dunbar
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Joined: Dec 19, 2008
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Location: Minot AFB, ND, USA

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 5:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

hot damn, man! looking forward to following this build
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dpmphoto
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Joined: Apr 18, 2007
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PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 6:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

How about keeping and or posting $$$$ spent as you go
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gs1327
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Joined: Feb 20, 2007
Posts: 170

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 7:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Nobody will ever accuse you of being lazy, that's for sure.
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Yamaha_chop
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Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 7:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

dpmphoto wrote:
How about keeping and or posting $$$$ spent as you go

I don't want to depress myself unneccesarily Laughing

Actually that's not a bad idea.

I'll do a running total so far:

Frame/engine/half engine: 150.00
Frame tubing: 75.00
Tank: 50.00
Swingarm: 100.00
Tail section: 80.00
rear shock: 65.00
Turbo: 30.00 (definitely needs a rebuild, might not be salvageable)
Blow off valve: 20.00
Throttle body and injectors: 30.00

I think that's it so far:

600.00
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knightrider
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Joined: Oct 12, 2008
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Location: Sunny san Diego

PostPosted: May 15, 2009, 11:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Wow........
Lotta garage time! Frame is looking ever so ducati-ish, not bad! Very Happy
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
Posts: 179
Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: May 16, 2009, 12:31 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

Not much today, I got my blow off valve in- it's a stock 1st gen DSM model. They're extremly reliable, and it's ironic because the turbo I'm using is a TD05-14B Mistubishi turbo!



Only other thing I did was shape some tabs for the subframe mounting and tacked them in place. These I used some welding rod to simulate a platform to set the tail on so I could get a better idea what it's going to look like. Also, I think I've pretty much got the height set for the swingarm so I'm going to start building the upper mounting point for the shock.







Not much I know, but thanks for looking anyway Smile

Sky
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beys
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Joined: Jan 02, 2007
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Location: Southern Bavaria, Germany

PostPosted: May 16, 2009, 2:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

This is so awesome what you are doing, man...

Ever thought about earning your money with that?

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xs1961
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PostPosted: May 16, 2009, 7:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

A bit of a sheep in wolfs clothing but Im definitely going to keep a lookout for updates on construction .. Nice!
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Yamaha_chop
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Joined: Jun 23, 2007
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Location: Bend OREGON

PostPosted: June 7, 2009, 12:21 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

beys wrote:
This is so awesome what you are doing, man...

Ever thought about earning your money with that?

I've definitely thought about it, but at this point with the economy the money just isn't there.

OK, not too much to show you guys lately, been finishing my move to the coast, setting up shop in my Dad's garage Smile

I got my new rear wheel in the other day, a couple mockup pics:



Got my turbo in the mail too, slight change of plans there. The original 14B I was supposed to get didn't show, the guy refunded me, and it worked out well actually because it made me look around some more. Got an even better setup with my new choice K04 turbo from an Audi TT:



size comparison:



Here's the most likely turbo mounting position:







I also got started on my flanges for the intake manifold I'm making. My dad had some aluminum in his shop so I started drilling:





Think it's thick enough? :yes: 1/2"



obviously they'll be shaped more eventually, but that's the basic idea.

I should have my front wheel and forks showing up soon, as soon as they get here I can start setting up the ride height of the bike and it'll start looking a little more complete.

Thanks for looking guys....
Sky
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TeeCat
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Joined: Aug 21, 2007
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Location: Central Maryland

PostPosted: June 8, 2009, 9:12 am    Post subject: Re: Not so much a cafe racer, but the closest category.....

This is cool! Razz

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but do you have to worry at all about internal engine pressure issues with a turbo because (I think) a turbo uses exhaust to boost power? How does that work, and what is the main diff between that and supercharging? Just curious, because even we normally aspirated guys sure have our own issues with crank case pressure!

Following this closely! Smile

TC
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