Japanese Bobbers

Check out this blog.
http://japbobbers.blogspot.com/

It's hard to get started making a Bobber so I'm looking for ideas, This is a good site to get lost in.

Ice breaker

Since I've been gone awhile, this should break the ice...

I Got Shafted, Twice

Man is time flying.

I ended up buying two more bikes. One is a 1979 Yamaha 850 triple Special, the second is a 1980 Yamaha 750 triple Special. 

Both have sat for two or more years.

Both have dead batteries,fuel in the crank, and a whole was list of bits and pieces needed to complete them. The 850 was purchased as a parts bike for the 750 then the previous owner decided to stop riding for the time being. Along comes Tom and walla, I couldn't leave the little guys out in the cold.

These bikes are shaft drive which will make bobbing them interesting. I've found a few examples of shaft driven bobbers, but have not fallen in love with any yet.

I'm interested in getting these bikes on the road for as little out lay of cash as possible. My goal is under 1,000 each. Thats a finished bobber for 1,000. I'm not sure if that should include the title transfer or not. What do you think?

Retuned the bike much better

I went thru the Clymer tune-up steps once again.

Now the bike runs better. I can really hear the rocker arms slapping the ends of the valve stem and it doesn't sound right to me.

When I first checked the intake and exhaust valves there wasn't any clearance at all. The technical specification call for .1 mm exhaust, .05 for intake and I had 0.

Now the bike idles spotty and dies if I don't nurse it, say at a stop light. I think I'll start this troubleshoot with a good carberator cleaning. Then I'll check the intake manifold for air leaks, and hope that will do the trick.

Hopefully soon my bike will be as tuned as my friend Twix in the above photo.

   

What went wrong?

I spent some tome Friday tuning the bike and now it runs rough.

I rode the bike to work Mon-Thurs this week, cold in the morning, nice on the way home. It was missing a little, the front tire felt out of balance, shifting a little rough when down-shifting, other than that I'm getting about 60mpg and really enjoying my little stretch of Tenn highway 70 between White Bluff, Tenn and Nashville of the same.

I had Friday off so and I've been wanting to do a tune-up so...... I adjusted the valves,breaker point gap, ignition timing, and idle fuel mix and now it sounds like a little munch kin is pounding on the inside of the motor with a ball-peen hammer. 

The problem is I don't  remember how it sounded before I started. Very maddening!

I'm going to take a load to the dump (totally unrelated to working on the bike), and then I'm going to double check what I did yesterday. 

Got the wrong motor manual

I found a used Clymer motor manual for 100-350cc OHC singles at Amazon.com.
I need a manual for a 350cc twin, Hey I'm learning!

I was also hoping to get some technical frame measurements from the book. The bike in the book I got has a completely different frame. Maybe our next bike.

Today I'm looking for information on line about bobing the frame I have, which looks to be a CB175 Super Sport.

I'm dying to get started on this project but I'm waiting until next Friday when I take the skills test for Tennessee before I tear into it.

It's raining and cold today (63'F) in Tennessee today, yesterday it was sunny and 81'F with maybe 90% humidity (a wet heat). Today's weather is more like Oregon's. It reminds me of friends, and home, sniff.

Here's a link to a site for Yamaha XZ650 bobbers there are a lot of good ideas there.

Don't get lost here.
http://www.xs650chopper.com/2009/07/budget-built-bobber/

Now look I'm not a Honda snob, I just have one. I want to ride for cheap and fun, and I'm interested in old school bobbers and choppers. I'll take ideas anyway I can get them. Hint, hint.

OK, I'm a snob for older Japanese made bikes, but that's where the snobbery end's.

Oh yea, also I'm a little bit of a snob for keeping the price as close to $1000 bones as possible. Besides that I live by the creed (I try to) of my church, everyone's welcome, nobody's perfect, and anything is possible.

Takin' a rest from the bike...learnin' ninja