discovered a cool bike on chop cult this week and wrote the builder/owner to see if he’d like to send some pix and info and get a profile here on the mad metric pirate vessel we call brrrrrrgMcmatey’s! it’s the beer that does that.
even so, Jason sent some pix, a build list and a relatively personal story about his build. these are his words about this clean Yamaha XS650 chopper:
i got the bike November of 2008 when my buddy loaned me the money to buy it. it was a completely stock bike and was running when i got to the seller’s house so i didn’t ask many questions since i was extremely excited to start building a bike.
i’d been talking about it for a few years. the bike got started in the shed at my friend’s house before i took it into my basement and completely disassembled it. over the next three and a-half years i worked on it. sometimes i worked on it 30 hours in a week, sometimes it went months without being touched.
my mother got diagnosed with cancer during the build so i moved and rented a house with her to take care of her. during that time i would work on the chopper when i could. my money and time were pretty limited and i didn’t do much with the bike for about a year.
my mom passed away in September of 2010. after that, i spent a good bit of the summer riding my 1976 Honda CB750K, a bike i bought that because i didn’t have my xs done for the cycle source big mountain run in 2011. i worked on it through the rest of 2011 and into 2012.
the lace pattern in the paint was actually taken from lace curtains in the house where my mom passed away, so the paint has a lot of sentimental value to me. my fabrication skills and bike knowledge improved profoundly during the long build process. i finished the bike to take it on the 2012 bmr ride literally on the morning the day i was scheduled to leave for the trip. it was started for the first time since i bought it almost four years earlier on a friday and i left for my 1,900-mile trip on monday morning.
there were a few minor breakdowns during the trip but the motor and all of my parts (aside from an air filter) found their way home with me.
thanks man!
parts list:
+ custom hardtail rear section
+ homemade sissy bar with a rear fender made from a modified stock front fender
+ h-word rear 16″ wheel with drag specialties spokes with a shinko avon knockoff tire
+ wargasser spool hub with buchanan stainless spokes and a 21″ harley rim on front with an avon speedmaster tire
+ dna springer at stock length with custom machined and polished aluminum risers and custom wheel spacers made from stainless
+ biltwell kung fu grips
+ fabricator kevin rear brake setup with stainless bracket, a 2003 sportster master cylinder and a hugh’s handbuilt brake pivot kit
+ made my seatpan and covered with black leather tuck and roll by jan roll at tailored trim in new philadelphia, ohio
+ king sportser tank
+ nos 5 3/4 inch headlight
+ monstercraftsman powell chain tensioner
+ rebelgears.com rear sprocket
+ hugh’s handbuilt pma kit (permanent magnet alternator)
+ foot pegs taken from a set of forward controls
+ exhaust built from a kit
+ pamcopete electronic ignition system
+ stock carbs (rebuilt)
+ paint was a house of kolor silver base with silver mini flake, airbrushed scales and lace. root beer, pagan gold and tangerine house of kolor candy colors. house of kolor copper pinstriping.
+ made my own fake oil tank made of a piece of 5″ exhaust tubing and various sheet metal
+ mid control brackets (1/4″ plate) fabbed my me as well.
my pleasure, jason. this is a great story of a sweet build. let me know how those dna forks keep working for you but you got a ton of parts from great guys like hugh and kevin. their stuff will last longer than you.
until our demise, drink up, ride on, and *** bless our mothers. what pains in the a** many of us are and/or were. your love for your mom rides with you everywhere you go, ****. thank you for sharing your story.
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