Rice recipes for old school chopper/bobber

[Mike Zenor]

How do you put a kickass, reliable, sixties-style britbike chopper together for less than $2000? I've been pondering the question for a while, and have concluded the answer lies in the exotic orient; namely, use a 70's era Yamaha XS 650 as a donor bike --

<img src=http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_ffca863d47dae726f7f44bb6d602406a/i-1.JPG></img>

Go ahead and shoot me, but the XS650 engine does a decent visual imitation of a Triumph or BSA twin without the expense (easy to find good runners under $500) and reliability issues.

My end goal is something along the lines of Steve Wertheimer's 'Trumpster'-- hardtail, peanut tank, z-bars, plenty of bassboat 'flake, low rake. Got any recommendations/sources for frame/front end suppliers, or have pics of your own rice chopper projects? Post 'em, domo arigato.

[JK]

If you can't find a chopper that you like here (http://www.650motorcycles.com/xs650links.html) then you need to sell me that bike!

[Mike Zenor]

JK - That's not my bike, that's just an example from eBay (I think that one sold for $450). This is the style of end product I have in mind...

<img src=http://www.zoo.co.uk/~z0006413/images/DSCN2497A_jpg.jpg></img>

[repoguy]

check this out -


http://www.650central.com/

[haring]

Kutty Noteboom's '69 Honda 750 chopper (more of a 70s-style chopper, but with all the right lines):

http://fedora.net/falconaut/various/green_eggs_b01.jpg

[El Caballo]

I'm dying here... keep those pics coming.

[Smokin Joe]

I'd take either of those over anything I've seen on Discovery Channel lately. Those bikes have soul, even without Harley power. Now if they were just Pan-Heads, I'd be in HOG heaven. Oh, and I liked my XS YAMAHA 650 Special enough to turn over the odometer. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Mike Zenor]

Damn straight, Joe... I suppose after they get finished with the firetuck theme chopper, the helicopter theme chopper, the space shuttle theme chopper, the elevator theme chopper, the kon-tiki viking boat theme chopper, and the cuisinart theme chopper, maybe those guys will get around to building a CHOPPER theme chopper.

Thanks all for the 650 links!

[Fat Hack]

Honda scoots enjoy a cult-like underground Chopper following...

<img src=http://ebay0.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_4644265164f9045334037b1892da6715/i-1_B.JPG>

And some dig Kawasakis...

<img src=http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_9f42aab93292d6a8d541d34400a5aafa/i-1_B.JPG>

An unfinished Kawaka chop on e-bay...

<img src=http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_34a349544efdf0aa5512f57a36139371/i-1_B.JPG>

Then there's the Yamaha guys...

<img src=http://ebay0.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_ad922a08bbebbd85d60d2688fcc57703/i-1_B.JPG>

<img src=http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_0df900473d6e9b07e5721d587ce2d92a/i-3.JPG>

Hey man, a cool scoot is a cool scoot...go for it! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Stu]

www.hackasaw.com (http://www.hackasaw.com)

[CJHacker]

Here's my chopper as it sits right now. From what I've found out so far, the engine is an '82 Yamaha 650. It's believed to be an '80 frame at birth. I have a rework planned for this winter, new paint, tank, seat, and whatever else comes along.

http://www.topperscarclub.com/pics/members/cjchop.jpg

CJ

[hightest]

some great info on parts and building those bikes at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ricechoppers/

[=mike=]

Harring . . . . is that a current picture ? that thing is still a clean ass nice bike !

[CTFuzz]

I think,that is me(I).......I think jap choppers look like crap!! I have been building bikes for 45 years, maybe thats the problem, but if ya hafta use a Jap bike, the 650 Yamaha is the BEST motor ever built by a Jap .I built a few for dirt track racing and even some for tractor pulling..... I like brit bikes,but the yamaha 650 is just the best vertical twin there is, can be made a 750cc big carbs, cam etc. but again, it's a last resort.......sorry

ya...i ride a Harley
CT

[Hansen]

here's mine (http://photo.starblvd.net/natehansen)

http://photo.starblvd.net/~natehansen/2-1-5.jpg

[TWO]

[ QUOTE ]
And some dig Kawasakis...

<img src=http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_9f42aab93292d6a8d541d34400a5aafa/i-1_B.JPG>

Then there's the Yamaha guys...

<img src=http://ebay0.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_ad922a08bbebbd85d60d2688fcc57703/i-1_B.JPG>



[/ QUOTE ]

whoah, those pics don't go with the text. Kaw chopper guys like Z1s and KZ1000s, Yamaha guys like XS650s, but those pics are of CRUISERS. Those are generic rip off jap cruiser guys, not real japanese bike fans.

[Mike Zenor]

Hansen - what kind of frame are you using?

[silent rick]

i wouldn't do it. it would be akin to taking your car and turning it into a fad T. cool sixties styling? what do you think?
just like the vintage tin on four wheels we search for, bikes can still be had. i have less than $500 in a pre-unit triumph. had a 45 basket case that i paid 2 grand for, came with a spare motor. a really gem, a 45 magnum motor. my main ride is a panhead bobber.
it would be ok to own one for getting in the wind, but why chop it then? sounds to me you're after style, might as well start with something that people will drool over instead of thinking to themselves, why did the guy go to all the effort?
again, just my opinion

[choprods]

Mike thats a good choice for a motor- I think it would be great..........whats wrong with reliability.....

[dondanno]

I dont have pics but at the Hot Rod Arama this year where some badass CHAPPERS(tm) using Yamaha engines. Very trick...Danny

[TWO]

[ QUOTE ]
sounds to me you're after style, might as well start with something that people will drool over instead of thinking to themselves, why did the guy go to all the effort?
again, just my opinion

[/ QUOTE ]
I think "why did the guy go to all the effort?" when I see bikes that are never on the road because functionally they're pieces of shit. Why bother if you can't really ride it? Triumphs aren't cheap to keep on the road if you really ride them, and they aren't trustworthy for any respectable distance. Choppers aren't for style unless you're a hippy. They're for beating the shit out of, getting the shit beat out of you by, and for cheating death. Triumphs are cool if you can afford to put up with them. XS650s are punk rock cheap and they put out ok. But best jap motor?? Please.

[silent rick]

choppers not about style? you can just as easily beat the shit out of a bike with factory engineering as you can a homebuilt chopper. a factory bike will handle better than most anyone of those rigid framed, extended fork, jockey shifting bikes pictured. so if you're not modifying the bike to gain performance or handling, what is the purpose?

[choprods]

I would rather build something else than a Harley or Brit bike because I think they are both overrated as a machine. I am building a Hardtail [my frame]water cooled Kawasaki 800CC Vtwin with Belt drive[homebuilt][from Kaw belt drive parts]I see the Harleys and triumphs -they are cool too but truthfully I am sick of seeing nothing but the same ol shit and want to build what I want -Im not in a cult I CAN BUILD SOMETHING COOL that is not the same old thing the all the sheep in the "herd" do.......I have had triumphs and Harleys and I will never go back to them- That is just my Opinion from past experience.anyone else who wants to WORK on them -go ahead........its a free country. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[tucker]

Hansen, I'm wondering about the frame also. That bike looks like something you could really get on and ride.

[TWO]

[ QUOTE ]
choppers not about style? you can just as easily beat the shit out of a bike with factory engineering as you can a homebuilt chopper. a factory bike will handle better than most anyone of those rigid framed, extended fork, jockey shifting bikes pictured. so if you're not modifying the bike to gain performance or handling, what is the purpose?



[/ QUOTE ]
Oh goody, this will be pointless. First take back the extended fork thing, I don't care about gay 70s hippy bikes. The 50s and early 60s chops were hotrodded bikes, they were about light weight and going fast and that's the only kind I care about. Dominant racing forms at that time were flattrack and drag racing, so go figure they liked rigids. Riding lean, tight little hardtail bikes is fun, jockey shifting is fun. They're fun things to do even when people aren't watching you. A chop set up right will be good at certain forgotten attributes of motorcycle handling that modern bikes aren't, even though modern bikes are good at more things and better on most roads we use today. But the 70s happened and everything went gay, and apparently most of you never recovered. You probably don't even know what the hell I'm talking about. You kick back on your king/queen seat with your feet out in those gyno styrups and putt down the road with the wind in your bandana singing EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER RIGHT NOW.... I like skidding, getting sideways, being a jackass and riding primitive homemade contraptions. I like modern roadracing bikes too. Anything built for action. If chops were just for style I can absolutely guarantee you that I wouldn't like them. In fact, I absolutely despise the chops that ARE only built for style.

[TWO]

[ QUOTE ]
choppers not about style?

[/ QUOTE ]

and if they are just about style for you--who cares unless it's styling WHILE YOU ACTUALLY RIDE IT.

[76ltd]

Here are a few pics of a some bikes my brother (58villager) built a around 96-97.
This is my bike before he made it a rigid and what it looked like a few ours later.

[76ltd]

progress pic.

[76ltd]

painted black. and dirty

[76ltd]

Here is an old friend sitting on 58villager's Yamaha chopper.1999

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Mike i found a cheap-ass yamaha 650 and i'm lookin to chop it also..let me know if you find any good info on it

[greaseball]

I'm actaully considering (eventually) doing the same thing,
as I have to sell my Triumph right now...
My PERSONAL thinking is that if you get the frame, stance, etc. all squared away, it doesn't matter what kinda engine you run...

(BUT I know most guys don't agree w/that)

[greaseball]

another one (BSA):

[slazzen]

i am really wanting to do a yamaha xs 650 too i built a harley it was fun but the prices are hard on the pocket here is a pick of my last bike build i did it all even the paint work http://photo.starblvd.net/~slazzen/2-5-2.jpg another veiw http://photo.starblvd.net/~slazzen/2-5-3.jpg

[greaseball]

'nother Triumph:

[greaseball]

Last one:

[slazzen]

i used a street sign for a splash gaurd in front of the back tire http://photo.starblvd.net/~slazzen/2-3-1.jpg

[SlowLearner]

Had a '70 Triumph (poor clapped out thing) but couldn't afford a decent rebuild, so I just re-ringed it. Left the highway for the shoulder at about 70 one day, too busy looking down for the source of oil on my boot! Guard rail posts looking like a picket fence. Got it back OK, but almost shit myself!
Later rode a friend's Yamaha 650 for a while. Torquey thing. I say build the Yammy! Ride it. WORK those controls!
I really like the bobbers...like Hansen's ride! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[hightest]

TWO- I think that orange one belongs to the hamb's Ray

http://triumphchoppers.com/gallery/homelessray

[abe lugo]

really cool page I found with all the ingredients sorry if alreay posted
http://cyclepsycho.com/yamachopper/yamachopper.html

[Nads]

Triumphs are pains in the asses, so are Shovelhead Harleys.

Hansen I dig the hell outta your Yammy.

[Hansen]

mike - the frame is a stock xs frame, built the hardtail

[greaseball]

Two-
Yea, I do have a few more of that bike,
But it IS rays,
And if he wants more pics posted I would prefer it if he posted them?
I guess I could probably e-mail you some...?
Here's some more!

[greaseball]

another-

[greaseball]

-

[greaseball]

.

[greaseball]

Can't decide how I feel about this one-

[greaseball]

Another shot of the grey BSA-

[greaseball]

Last one-
Dig the COMPLETE lack of fenders!

[greaseball]

Ooops!
Lemme post some Yammie's now-
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[greaseball]

--

[greaseball]

Choprods-
Any more progress pics of your bike?
I would REALLY like to see 'em!
Thanks!

[mrrocket]

Im currently trying to locate parts fro my Triumph, since I bought it with a frame, some Honda Forks and front tire, sissy bar and some pegs. Me and My freind Sarah are looking at styles.

Greasball, that Copper Triumph is teh heat, in my book...thats it.

As for motors, I would like to go back with a 650 Triumph, BUT, like a flathead or any older motor, Iwant to be able to RIDE my bike to Missouri or Texas on any given day I feel like it, since thats the ONLY reason I want a bike. SO engines are important...its reliability is more important than its origin...to me.

I see it like a SBC. They might not be "Kewl", but damn ya cant beat em on price, perfromance and reliabilty. I found a Complete Triumph running for 1500, probably gonna get it, and use it to make my Choppe into a chopper again.

[Donzie]

Mike, a bunch of us are on the same wave length. I did a post a little while back on the same subject (Bobbers) and it was suggested to me to use the xs650.
Here's my recently acquired project. One mostly complete bike, another motor (sold to Hatch), an extra frame that I may be trading out for the hardtail conversion and some extra stuff I don't need. My plans are: no front fender, chrome spoked wheels, 19" front (blackwall), 16" rear (wide white), Mustang tank, I'm undecided about ape hangers or drag bars. I've always dug 'hangers so I'm really leaning that way.
Good luck with your project.

[ray]

jus checked in this topic again, yep thats my copper bobber. that is the seat suspension you are seeing, its a pushrod goind down to a bellcrank located down in the electrics box, working a mountain bike air shock. works fucking tits! i swear it rides as good as a swingarm bike. with the seat suspension, i have *never* had the urge to stand up off the seat on any terrain. i have arthritis/bad back and have rode it all day with no pain.


as far as brit vs. jap. hey whatever. if you are lazy and think the jap is gonna give you better reliability, then fine. but when its all said and done, you might save a grand or two, but when it comes to selling you will never make up the differance. and besides, after riding a brit, dealing with the respect a young guy can get from building and flogging a brit, from the harley guys, well the choice is obvious.

important limey things: electrics, ditch the lucas stuff...yeah you've heard of "the prince of darkness" right? i run a boyer ingition and tympanium regulator, very simple wiring. carbs, if you run amals, make sure the slides are in good shape, and jet them right, you're a hot rodder before a biker so you should be able to jet a carb! vibration is your enemy, make sure every fastener has the proper thing to keep it in place, ie. loctite, lockwasher etc.

i have had problems with my bike, but carry a few proper tools, and in the first few thousand miles it has not left me stranded yet, though i have limped home on a few occassions.

if you want to do it cheap, don't be in a hurry! the right parts WILL come along. i have into my bike, $$ wise, about the "asking price" of a "typical" unit triumph. not counting my labor of course.

humble beginnings, dec 31 2002:

[**DONOTDELETE**]

[ QUOTE ]
as far as brit vs. jap. hey whatever. if you are lazy and think the jap is gonna give you better reliability, then fine. but when its all said and done, you might save a grand or two, but when it comes to selling you will never make up the differance.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lazy?? wish a grand or two was pocket change for me but some of us have budgets...we have to do with what we can get (and afford)

[abe lugo]

I saw this on the ebay check it out an alomonst complete project. just drop your motor in
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=2432455739

[disastron13]

Good strong motors- the Dutch company EML makes or made 750 and 90 cc kits for them.
But what are the reliability issues with British motors? I worked in Detroit and had no fuckin problem riding my Triumph there from Minneapolis with chick and camping gear.
Tickle the carb, one kick to prime, ignition on, one kick to start. Well maybe four if it was below 45F.
Before the yuppie collecter assholes came to exist, Triumphs were just regular old bikes, not sensitive museum pieces...dealer friend said, "Guys used to come in and say, 'I'm mgettin' one of them Bonnies, we're goin' to LA next week."
The unreliable Trumpets are just like the unreliable cars- clueless or abusive owners who shouldn't own a stone hammer let alone a motorbike.
Or are you car guys scared of Triumphs?

[TWO]

[ QUOTE ]
s far as brit vs. jap. hey whatever. if you are lazy and think the jap is gonna give you better reliability,

[/ QUOTE ] hey triumphs are what they are. I don't think it's a matter of laziness necessarilly. There are things a jap motor can do that a triumph motor just can't be counted on for. I do 800 mile days with just enough money for gas in my pocket when I want to get somewhere. I know a couple serious riders who are triumph mechs and they love triumphs. They use them for transportation regularly but they'll only go so far, or they'll take a beemer instead. There's also the power issue. I think your triumph kicks no matter it's problems though.

I think that longer BSA looks ok but is kind of silly to be that long with that kind of motor. 40 (optimistic) hp doesn't make for much of a wheelie problem. Like putting a drag slick on a vespa.

[TWO]

wow, that black yam with the blacked out forks and no fenders is hideous! What did that poor bike do to deserve that frame butchery? Yikes.

[TWO]

I know this thread is supposed to be dead by now but here's a bitchin XS650. Not a chopper just nice. http://www10.plala.or.jp/spare/photo/0720/corepit%20028_l.jpg

[Sancho]

Suzuki:

[=mike=]

Dead thread my ass . . . This isnt a jap chop , but it is a cool sporty nontheless

http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1064427505.JPG

and here is a nice Knucklehead too . . .

http://home.kabelfoon.nl/~gnl/div/06.jpg


images stolen from FUCK! (http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/146844)