[Jimmy D]

Hello all you Iron head enthusiasts. I got all these pictures of a build I have been working on for the past few months and I just wanted to share my experience with everyone out there.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Well this is what I started with from a guy I never met and wasn't sure I could trust. He didn't know much of anything about what he had in these boxes but it wasn't a bad price and I had won the money gambling up in central city the day before. So I figured what the hell and jumped in my truck and about an hour later I was the proud new owner of what looked like a scrap pile. At least that's what my wife thought.<o></o>

 

[Jimmy D]

Later that day I started putting the motor together with the gasket kit that came with the bike. Wasn't real worried about what it looked like because I plan to split the cases and get some new jugs next winter. Here she is aint she pretty&#8230;

 

[Jimmy D]

During the weeks I had to wait for the weld on hard tail that I ordered from Elswick cycles (by the way he dose absolutely beautiful work just be prepared to wait) I wandered around the garage with not much to do but get online and shop for things I couldn't yet afford and tape cardboard strips to the frame to mock up what I had in my head.

There was another thread on here that discribed what horrors can lie in the trani case so i decided to open it up and have a look

To my absolute delight everything is okey dokey and good enough to see another day on the road. I guess the luck I had gabling hadnt worn off yet.

 

[Jimmy D]

No didnt get much more then what you see in the pictures. Around here bikes that have a HD stamp on em go for no less than a grand. Tittle maches the motor and the frame so good to go there. And besides it wasnt really my money by all count i guess all i really paid was some gasoline and a C note.

 

[Jimmy D]

Well the tank and fender showed up just as my brand new Elswick cycle rear end showed up on the same truck. O happy day we are well on our way to having a really cool chop.

And shortly after all that stuff got here I received my front end. HAZAAAA. So i threw the motor in and now I have begun to notice some of the things I was missing and needed to buy or build like the motor mount spacers in front of the frame and wheel spacers in the rear not that I planned to use the DUMB brake. Just little stuff missing that would need to be addressed befor I got on the road.

O ya and dig these push rod tubes I built

 

[CB550 Matt]

a hundred? nice score man

 

[Jimmy D]

I Started to realize that I was building the same bike that had been build a thousand times befor and not that a guy shouldnt use the ideas that others have come up with allready but I wanted somthing that was absolutly mine. So I started streatching the tank. And I built my own oil tank that matches the frame exactly.

Then I decided to cut up the drag pipes that I got in the sale of the bike.

 

[Jimmy D]

Ya man I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. Sweet deal. Its cost me a bunch more since I got it in parts and stuff. But all and all I am super happy to have been standing there at the right time

 

[Jimmy D]

I still hated the tank and the OCC vibe I was getting from it (I mean that the tank that is on there now west coast choppers used on all there bikes and OCC used it on 90% of there bikes) I dont hate eithere of the companies but I dont want the look or anything thats been so overdone that its hard to see the artistic vision that goes into any chop that anyone builds. So i started over and built my own from scratch. Much like the oil tank all I used was my TIG a grinder and my expensive bender a.k.a. my knee.

Got my bars done...

Internal Throttle and all. Pretty sweet. Ive had this tank in my head for years and finaly the right bike to do it on

 

[Jimmy D]

Now to change up the rear end a bit.

This dose a few things for me, it keeps my ass on the bike and it houses all the electrical and switches. Again I employed a few crude tools and a bit of blood donated to the cause.

Im not great with wires and volts and batterys and that kind of thing. So a friend of mine rolled way up north to give me a hand. All we got acomplished was getting the starter to turn with the button and when all that got done I realized that we had also found the bottom of a large bottle of gin. So the evening ended shortly after that and I was again left to my own trial and error. luckaly no fires and not to many burnt fingers.

 

[Jimmy D]

So now almost all the fab work is done just got the anti gravity 12 cell battery wich is really a great design. Got that to go along with the Cycle electric genni with the regulator bolted right to it. Beautiful design buy the way and they work in wonderful harmony.

And a new tensioner

And here is the jockey shifter i built. (notice above that the cross over tube is now on the upper part of the seat tube)

I got a 21" front wheel and a 16" of some mid 90s fxr. got some new disks and hooked up a rear caliper from a softail. Got a rear MC from the swap meet I think its probly trash at this point gonna have to change it out shortly. And away we go down the road. First ride is from Thornton to Parker the long way about 60 miles I guess.

 

[Jimmy D]

Well back from the ride now and sadly i can ony report a half success as the rear fender mount has put 2 half inch scores down the entire diamiter of the rear tire. No big deal to fix it and it was a tire that I concidered trash to begin with. So based on that alone I had to get my dad to truck it back up north for me. And when i got the motor together the first ime I noticed that the front lifter block bolt was stripped from the previous owner and I thought that i would be able to get just enough tourqe on it to hold but i was really really really wrong. 1/4 inch stream of oil running down the cam chest only to find the wind directly to the chain and onto the ride side of the tread on my rear tire. Right turns became very interesting kinda like riding in mud. So the bike now resides in my garage once again. I tore down the front cylinder today and Heli coiled the bolt hole. Got the motor back together gonna be a minute on the rear tire though. So Ill be back with updates as soon as somthing interesting happens.

 

[CB550 Matt]

Yeah I like that tank ... is it still around for sale?

 

[Jimmy D]

No that was a cheap eBay tank anyone can have a dozen of them shipped right to there door for about 125$. It is a pretty nice looking little tank if your building the same bike your neighbor has