VN800 Bobber project

[Alley Rat]

hey next time you do a rear fender job, steel brake line works really well for running the wires through. but you have to weld it so if you dont have a welder this is the best way. i'm ready to see it all put back together. have you remounted the seat?

[El Skitzo]

Yeah I knew welding something would be the best solution but I'm not good with a welder and seeing how much my seat pan warped (which I hammered back out) when I welded on the mounting bracket and studs, I definitely did not want to warp the fender. But yes, your suggestion sounds perfect and I'd look to trying it next time, and there will be a next time

No I have not remounted the seat yet, as I've back flipped again and will not bother with it for now. It looks good enough as it is and I just want to see it all back together and ride it. I can always remount the seat later if it really bothers me.

[Alley Rat]

i might be getting another bike. my uncle just bought another 800 from a friend of ours and he started talkin about selling another one of his bikes. this was his fourth bike. he has three 800 and a sportster. i want to build a gorilla bike. rusted rear fender a cool little gas tank i made out of a stock 800 tank. rigid frame. if i get it i will start right away and there will definetely be pics.

[El Skitzo]

I like that sound of that Alley Rat!!

[El Skitzo]

I pretty much wrapped up the most involved part of the assembly last night, being the fitting up of the new rear fender.

I put the bike back up on the lift with the wifes help, pulled the back wheel, cleaned it up and finally removed the protective coating off the white wall tire.

Then it was time to bolt up the rear fender and struts, and run the wiring through to the taillight. That was were I struck my only hiccup, the wiring connectors wouldn't all fit through the hole I had in the fender for them as the 20+ coats of paint had reduced it's diameter significantly. So I simply pulled one of the connectors off one of the wires, fed the whole lot through and then recrimped a connector back on the offending wire once it was on the other side.

I have yet to tighten up all the bolts on the struts as I need to align the rear of the fender perfectly centred over the tyre using some washers as shims, which I'll do tonight. I also still need to hook up the speedo cable, brakes and other little knick knacks to the back wheel, and torque down the axle bolt but again that's a 10 minute job tonight.

Tonight I'll throw the side covers back on, the exhaust back on with new flange gaskets this time, and probably put the fuel petcock back in the tank and put the tank back on for the final time, so come Saturday morning all I'll need to do is put fuel in it, check for fuel leaks and then test ride it.

I think the wing nuts on the fender struts worked out a treat and were definitely the way to go. It makes a little feature out of something that people usually try and hide.

[ispeed77]

looking good !!!

[A2rider]

This has been great to watch. Congrats.

[Dudester]

Well it's Saturday morning and I've become addicted to this thread lol.
Where's the pic of the finished product ?? Don't keep me hangin' here Skitzo !!! LOL
I want to be able to go to bed tonight knowing I've seen one of the nicest boppers ever made. This has been a very educational and inspiring thread. Great job.

[likearock4x4]

Originally Posted by Dudester

Well it's Saturday morning and I've become addicted to this thread lol.
Where's the pic of the finished product ?? Don't keep me hangin' here Skitzo !!! LOL
I want to be able to go to bed tonight knowing I've seen one of the nicest boppers ever made. This has been a very educational and inspiring thread. Great job.

Dude, he's teasing you... I mean us.

[El Skitzo]

Time to wrap this project up, had a busy night on Friday night setting the rear fender in it's final position and torquing down all the bolts for it.

The post I made many pages back about the chrome on one of the struts not being perfect worsened during assembly. When I torqued down the bolt at the base of the right strut it cracked the chrome, at that spot that look ordinary. Disappointing, but no big deal I'll just pull it off and have it redone some where else at a later stage. On Friday night I also put the pipes back on with new flange gaskets, put the side covers back on, and cleaned the whole bike up real nice.

After getting all the regular house hold chores done on Saturday morning I finally got back to the bike. I put the fuel petcock pack in the thank, poured fuel in and waited to see if there were any leaks. No leaks appeared so I threw the tank on and hooked it all up, wheeled the bike outside and started it. It ran like a pig which I was expecting but at least it was running.

So I wheeled it back inside and put the seat on, and getting those bolts on under the rear of the seat was one of the trickest things to do on the bike and cost me a bit of skin. There, bike done ready to roll and in came the rain!!

Later in the afternoon it cleared up just enough for me to ride the bike down to the local gas station to fill it up and bring it straight back home. Travelled no further than 1/2 a mile but you couldn't get the smile off my face!!

[El Skitzo]

Sunday was a much better affair, I woke up to rain again, but it started fining up soon after and by mid morning was perfectly sunny and dry. At this point I had to go to a 2 years old's birthday party for a couple of hours, which seemed like a torture!! But the fairy cake and lolly bag at the end made it worth while...

Anyway, as soon as we got home I jumped straight on the bike and took off to spend the afternoon riding along the coast.

Man what a cool ride, it looks cool, sounds awesome and was everything I'd been hoping for. The seat takes a little getting used too as you feel like you want to slip off the back when you take off real quick, but as long as you hang on tight you're fine. I will remount the seat and fix that at a later stage.

Although it was sunny it was quite cool and I was only wearing a t-shirt so after about 60 miles I came home and took these pictures in the late afternoon sun. Apparently it's supposed to be fine and warm next weekend so hopefully I can really ramp up the miles!!

Thankyou everyone for your support and kind comments during this build up, it has really kept me going and enthused and it has all been appreciated. I hope these pictures do it some justice and act as some kind of thankyou to you all. I can add some links to some hi-res wallpaper sized version if anyone is interested?

[ispeed77]

looking good man, very nicely done !

[El Skitzo]

Originally Posted by ispeed77

looking good man, very nicely done !

Cheers mate!

For my first time laying spanners on a bike I'm pretty happy with it.

[A2rider]

Hooray! She's done! Glad you got to ride it. I'm proud of you.

[El Skitzo]

Originally Posted by A2rider

I'm proud of you.

Thankyou, that means a lot to me

[Metal_God50]

Sweet bike man, all that hard work certainly paid off! Cheers.

[benide]

Many thanks for documenting the progress. I have enjoyed the updates along the way. Any chance of you starting another one now

[Batman]

i bet your glad its done and you can finally get out and enjoy it. i hope she rides as well as she looks. very nicely done sir!

[Dudester]

Definitely a collection bike someday. Fantastic job and thank you so much for such an interesting thread. Enjoy it....you truly deserve it Sir.

[ispeed77]

Originally Posted by El Skitzo

Cheers mate!

For my first time laying spanners on a bike I'm pretty happy with it.

rightfully so !