Degen Bikes

Here we are again

Minus 20 and another two builds for the season. Yes I decided to try for 2 builds this winter since I have all the tools to do it start to finish and all summer I worked on getting the shop set up with tools jigs and enough power to run a heater and Tig welder. This is the board tracker I have 3 gas tanks to try on it to see which looks the best and has the look I am looking for.

Board tracker

Updated Jan 31 2011 Tank mockup ,forward controls, handlebars.I used my old Mapam forward controls from my Roadstar and used inverted front motor mounts to mount then on. The brakes are Cable operated the shifter is not yet finished

This the full view of the brake linkage

These are two pictures with the hand made cable mounts for the linkage.

If you look closely you can see the inverted stock motor mounts which I used to mount the forward controls. The Italians (mapam) sure can make some simple good designs.You can see I have just tacked the cable mounts on the frame, in case it has to be removed.

Rear fender bracket

Ok so I built this fender stay I wanted something strong but I don’t know if this is really what I want.

Board tracker on hold

Chopper

Update on chopper

Ok this is what has been done so far, handlebar mounts and handlebars front wheel and axle Rear wheel and brake control.

Update on chopper

Well back again now we are not going to use the girder front end on this build. We will use a stock front end a 21″ , why you say because the stock wheel is 19″ and the 21″ is 2″ over. This will suck up 4″ total when you are all done (tire and all)

Carburetor Size

This is a measurement of the carb from head flange to carb filter end this is a common measurement on all XS 650’s at 7.5 inches, the measurement was taken from an older motor and frame but in general I have found the length from flange to filter end to be the same on all XS650’s

Tight Fit

This is the measurement I worked with, on the shop built frame 2 inches left for the filter. which luckily I was able to source through the shop that built the frame. I used the unifilter foam filter and cut it back 3/4 of an inch to make it fit.There was a mistake I did make, I was supposed to put some spacers that were supplied by the shop to lower the oil tank but that only rendered another 1/2 an inch.

Rear Caliper

Rear brake Caliper mounted fore of the rear fender mount.

Finished bike

This is the finished bike still have some gremlins to work out but she sounds very nice.

This was one of other issues I had with the rear fender mount, the rear caliper has no free movement back and forth with the rear wheel. As you can see in this Pic it has no free travel. I always have tried to use different positioning of the rear components to see if there is any options.

Cut The Fender Mount

Rear Caliper aft of fender bracket

This is another pic of what I have tried, what I don’t have is a pic of the caliper mounted on the bottom, the issue with this is leaning into corners and road debris hitting and getting wedged into the caliper. The outcome was I removed the mount and will remount it to the very rear of the axle mount.

The Final answer

I don’t think I will ever get someone else to build me a frame
It just never looks the way you want and why pay the money you could have built it faster yourself ………… think about it !
For those of you trying to follow a trend like Bobbers,brat style,choppers think about how comfortable you want to be or how cool you will look because they are far apart unless…… you think it out !

May 2 update this bike is now finished

Hand Made Custom Exhaust Pipes for your Yamaha XS 650

Want some nice looking and sounding pipes for your build, just can’t find something you like, here are a few styles that might interest you.
Oh you want to hear them too ……eh, well, yes you can Scott’s got a nice site that will give you the style and a link to You-tube so you can really hear them. Whats that …… you want something different .eh well guess what today is your lucky day !!! if you are real nice he might even build you a custom set like he did for me, but give him some time he’s a one man crew and he’s real busy.

Scotts Drag Pipes

This pipe sounds nice looks awesome.

High pipes with glass pacs

Scotts Megaphone 2 into 1 with optional heat shield

One quick note before you order the pipes, what year is your frame,older frames have a shorter distance between the down tubes as you can see.This picture was off my 72 XSB. if its custom, get some measurements,or if its a frame made by Arcore Choppers let Scott know he is familiar with them. Here a link to Scotts Webpage

200mm Rear Tire Kits For XS 650’s

Gary has one of the best products I have seen around for the Yamaha XS 650. His offset kit will mean you will not need an offset motor to augment the with of the 200 rear tire all you need is his kit and some mild welding. Here are a couple of pics to give you the Idea of what it’ all about.

The complete kits sales for $400.00 USD and includes the following

1. Offset Sprocket (Heat Treated and Hardened)

2. Left Side Cover Spacer (Billet Aluminum)

3. Shift Shaft Spacer

4. New Clutch Rod (Longer)

5. New Left Side Cover Bolts (longer)

The Sprocket Only sales for $150.00 USD
He has kits complete and ready to ship, Contact Gary
via e-mail gary.poh@rogers-strong.com
or check his site out

Hand Made Fenders

This fender is the spare tire.

This is the smooth

This is the peaked, take your pick pricing you would have to e-mail Craig Tirey
Front Street Cycle
1001 E. 2nd St.
Suite 1410
Dayton, Ohio 45402