The Chopper Compendium

Well folks, this forum is just about dead. Don't know if it's that forums in general are dead (seems to be true), people just aren't building stuff much now that the build-off thing has blown over (also true), or we just don't do things in a way to be big time or popular.

anyway, it is what it is, but i wanted to start a new thread on here any way because this is home, and maybe someone will enjoy seeing what i'm working on.

the background:

so a buddy calls me up and tells me his son who is into bikes has this SR400 he bought off the online auctions over here and he wants to see if i'm interested in doing a few custom things to it for him. He brings it by for me to look at and we talk about it, and I agree to help him out (for dang-near free. i mean, he's my buddy's son, he's a young guy who's into bikes and wants some stuff done but doesn't have the tools or knowledge to do it, etc, etc - and i happen to like playing with bikes).

that was a couple of years ago.

along the way, things changed and it became a full-blown build. the young'un has this custom cafe racer built by some guys in England that he just loves, and even though it's not something i'd normally do (imitating someone else's build), i'm helping him build a bike very similar to it.

we're getting in the home stretch now, so i thought i should post up some of what we've done.

I rarely remember to take photos so there's a lot i've missed, and i've probably got the order of some stuff screwed up now, but maybe you'll get the general idea anyway.

HERE WE GO.

where we started:

first i lobbed off the rear, cleaned up some of the factory ugliness, and fabbed up a rear loop.

then i set to work on a license plate holder and a plate to move the key switch/immobilizer down to the side cover area.

somewhere along the line i made an exhaust pipe with a TIGHT bend coming out of the exhaust port. excuse the booger welds, it'll all come out purty in the end.

trust me.

really.

oh but see, i'm already screwing up the order.

anyway, after the rear loop, the bracket cleanup, and the license plate holder, i fabbed up a neat little rear fender, and a tight little skinny, classic style front fender, and I was done!

or so i thought.

and then the young'un decided he wanted to go all out.

and somehow he convinced me to jump down the rabbit hole with him.

let "phase 2" begin.

so, like i said, i suck at remembering to take photos, so there's a lot i missed. to make a long story short, the young'un (yes, he has a name, but it amuses my Kentucky sensibilities to call him "young'un") shortened his forks, and I showed him how to make a seat pan. we double-teamed dishing in the sides of his gas tank, and i finished tacking together his exhaust pipe (like 5 times ).

and then i started on the cowl. now, keep in mind that while i've played with plenty of fenders, gas tanks, and the like, i've never beaten out a whole cowl by hand before.


first i made a wooden buck (which you can see in some of the photos). then i made a wooden tool to help me cut the flat sheet metal close to what i needed.
then after a lot of hammering, massaging, and adjusting, i finally got the 4 pieces shaped to make the main shape of the cowl. two sides, the top, and the front ring.
cut out the area for the screen
made tabs and a bracket to hold the headlight in (the bracket will be pop-riveted in place after paint)
and added little tabs to make a channel for a plexiglass screen
and looking better:

to be continued...

-dan

i like the cowl nice work

thanks, buddy. it's coming along little by little and i think it'll be cool when it's done. not exactly my thing, but if it's what he wants, then it's all good.

Nice stuff man. Really like the cowl. I might have to use your idea of how you did the tail of the frame when I get around to my cafe.

oh yeah! lob that sucka off!

i hope to get a lot done this weekend, too.

Wow, Cool project. nice work.

Dig that VW in the background.

Nice project Dan. I'm not sure, but isn't that a 4 stroke single.
Should have some nice torque.
Beautiful work on the cowl...