VN800 Bobber project - Page 2

wattage · 05-14-2007

Thanks guys!

Those are 8" billet risers holding a fairly wide drag bar, makes it very easy to ride. I would prefer short risers and maybe a 10" buckhorn bar but we'll see, it works fine for now I just have to ditch the billet!

A lot of the stuff was done to it by a previous owner. I picked it up late summer '05 and figured eventually it would get stripped of a lot of stock parts so why not save some work? Besides some powder coating it had the bar and risers, some crappy lighting changes, dogleg kickstand, a slight chop on the front end, modded fenders,l Cobra pipes and the biggie - forward controls. I think some of the things were done because it was dropped at one point by the original owner. I got it from the 2nd owner - he managed to dent the tank and wear down the clutch.

Some of the parts were powdercoated and some I have done. The tombstone tail, the air box cover, the headlight bucket, the speedo bezel and chain guard I did. The forks were powdercoated and done really well, the struts on the other hand don't seem to have held up too well. I am going to pull them off and reshoot them. I'll clean the parts, do a heavy scuff sanding, clean again and then use a metal primer and a rattle can topcoat. Duplicolor GM Universal Black works well and seems to have the right sheen for me. The tombstone was just a skel I scored at a swap meet, I sanded off the rust, painted and rewired it. It had a Cat's Eye tail that was so ugly and useless I could've used a flashlight to better effect.

I pulled the front fender that was on there. It was a crappy fiberglass aftermarket fender. I trimmed it down a bit and it looked better but I prefer it without. The fork tubes were already gone but I would like to get a set of black gaiters on there.

I trimmed the duck's tail down on the seat pillion a bit, put on wide chrome levers, put stock front signals back on, scored some old school round Kawi mirrors, added the fork bag, cleared off some useless chrome and fixed some broken stuff so far.

My most immediate plan is to open up the airbox, my wife's bike has a hypercharger and what difference in performance! I'll probably just do one of the cheater mods on here unless I find a used Kury unit or a S&S knock-off.

Eventually I'll like to drop the back 1.5-2", bob the rear fender, some fatter tires (maybe W/W or maybe an 800A rim up front), a shorty front fender, solo seat, and satin black paint ala HD Black Denim. I guess I'll paint the rims when I do the tires not sure if I'll do black or red though? There are so many little things I'll do to it as I find parts at meets and what not I am sure.

Thullan · 05-14-2007

Always nice when people have the guts to ditch the chrome and go a little rough. Salut!

CustomVN · 05-15-2007

I'd go for powder coating if I were going to do the rims or forks Thullan.

Alley Rat · 05-16-2007

Man customVN, these bikes are so easy to chop on you will do where you want to be in no time. Are you gonna change the tank or rear fender set up. Jockey shift is real easy on these bikes to. i did it and i wont go back.

wattage · 05-16-2007

Alley - those are some bad rides man.

I'd love to speak with you off line about the backends on the bobbers maybe you can hook me up with some parts?

CustomVN · 05-16-2007

Alley I'll be adding a chopped flat fender in on the swing arm just like you've done, making my own seat pan etc., although I'll stick with the original tank at this stage, as we have to have the speedo and all other warning lights for rego.

CustomVN · 05-16-2007

I've decided I'm not going to wait for my new handgrips to arrive and will start swapping the new handlebars onto the bike this weekend.

First trick was getting the original grips off the standard handlebars which I thought was going to be a nightmare, but I managed to get them both off intact without damaging them, even the throttle side.

Gareth · 05-17-2007

Guys,

Already done mate:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/WesSafari/Bike.jpg

Thullan · 05-17-2007

CustomVN I did exactly the same thing this week to my VN800A -95 bobber project! I swapped to a Sportster-style handlebar, and reused the stock grips in the meanwhile as I am deciding on wheter to order a set of white old school rubbers. The only issue is that the end-plugs wount fit with to a non-Kawi handlebar. You could have better luck though as your bike is newer than mine, they changed the internal grip design in -97 I believe. You will also have to grind of a little nob inside the right switch-housing. It goes into a hole in the stock bars to prevent it from sliding around. It was a 5-minutes job to get rid of it, it is soft aluminium.

My new bars doesn't look like what I had been hoping for though. They look pretty much like the VN800 Classic bars now, and I want a little less pullback. The wires and cables are now a bit to long too. I used the stock risers.

CustomVN · 05-17-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thullan

You will also have to grind of a little nob inside the right switch-housing. It goes into a hole in the stock bars to prevent it from sliding around. It was a 5-minutes job to get rid of it, it is soft aluminium.

My new bars doesn't look like what I had been hoping for though. They look pretty much like the VN800 Classic bars now, and I want a little less pullback. The wires and cables are now a bit to long too. I used the stock risers.

Don't worry I've done a handlebar swap on a Kawasaki before, but I prefer to drill the locating holes in the bars and leave the knobs on the switch gear, which is why I've been waiting for the grips to arrive, so I know exactly how they go on and drill the locating holes right the first time. I might keep waiting actually...

I guess your new handlebars probably wouldn't have been a ridiculous investment cost wise, so if you're not happy try again. Have a look down at your local Triumph dealer like I did you might find some bars with less pull back. My new ones only pull back 5" which is about the same as a set of Harley Drag bars.

wattage · 05-17-2007

Metric Bobber as seen @ Portland Easyriders Show

Found while hunting for some ideas

CustomVN · 05-17-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by wattage

Found while hunting for some ideas

Very cool

wattage · 05-17-2007

Custom Metric Motorcycles Bike Builds - Coyote Customs

Found another

Scroll down and check out Cross Eyed Mary.

Thullan · 05-18-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by wattage

Metric Bobber as seen @ Portland Easyriders Show

Found while hunting for some ideas

Yeah that's pretty much what my new bars look like. They also have this one on Craigslist, I think he made a pretty good job with the proportions. Another solution to the rear fender, I've seen a couple of similar fenders on Vulcan800.net (look under "Umbauten").

CustomVN · 05-18-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thullan

(look under "Umbauten").

Couldn't find it listed, what's the direct URL?

Thullan · 05-18-2007

Try this one: Bikerboard Vulcan800 and Friends | Umbauten or try to write vulcan800.net directly in the address bar.

The site is a bit weird, sometimes when you enter the URL you come to the portal, and sometimes you come directly into the forum. The Umbauten link is to the left on the portal site. It is in german so I usually translate it with Babelfish to make it understandable. Most of them are German Style which is far from my preferences, but I can always get a few ideas from there

wattage · 05-18-2007

Some neat ideas here and there - thanks for the link.

Man I am getting itchy! Too much work and rain, can't get the garage area clear enough to do anything or get in a ride!

CustomVN · 05-23-2007

Gee you can really start to see how this bike is the perfect donor for a Bobber project once you strip the fenders off it and have a look at its bare lines!

It only takes a few minutes to put the rear fender and seat back on, so it was nice to see in a little more detail how I'm going to mount my new fender and seat, and I've now got it completely sorted in my head.

wattage · 05-23-2007

I almost took the same shot earlier today. Biggest thing I can see is just reloacting all the crap under the seat. If you look at Hot Saki that Denny Berg did for Cobra he did a great job of cleaning it all up under there but I can't figure out how and where he relocated everything too!?!

btw those pipes look real good, nice and clean and simple.

Things were quiet in the shop this afternoon so I got to work cutting, trimming and stapling the seat. Tomorrow I'll drill a mounting hole in the fender and tap it so it'll stay on in the curves. Next I'll probably cut down the struts and the fender and drop it about 1.5-2" in the rear.

CustomVN · 05-24-2007

I just got a call from my wife at home saying the package I've been waiting for from the US with the new hand grips and fork gaiters has just arrived. This is what has been holding up my progress so now I can dive right in and get the front end and handlebar setup done.

I'm obviously going to be very busy over the course of the next week or so getting this all done!!

05-14-2007	#21 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	Thanks guys! Those are 8" billet risers holding a fairly wide drag bar, makes it very easy to ride. I would prefer short risers and maybe a 10" buckhorn bar but we'll see, it works fine for now I just have to ditch the billet! A lot of the stuff was done to it by a previous owner. I picked it up late summer '05 and figured eventually it would get stripped of a lot of stock parts so why not save some work? Besides some powder coating it had the bar and risers, some crappy lighting changes, dogleg kickstand, a slight chop on the front end, modded fenders,l Cobra pipes and the biggie - forward controls. I think some of the things were done because it was dropped at one point by the original owner. I got it from the 2nd owner - he managed to dent the tank and wear down the clutch. Some of the parts were powdercoated and some I have done. The tombstone tail, the air box cover, the headlight bucket, the speedo bezel and chain guard I did. The forks were powdercoated and done really well, the struts on the other hand don't seem to have held up too well. I am going to pull them off and reshoot them. I'll clean the parts, do a heavy scuff sanding, clean again and then use a metal primer and a rattle can topcoat. Duplicolor GM Universal Black works well and seems to have the right sheen for me. The tombstone was just a skel I scored at a swap meet, I sanded off the rust, painted and rewired it. It had a Cat's Eye tail that was so ugly and useless I could've used a flashlight to better effect. I pulled the front fender that was on there. It was a crappy fiberglass aftermarket fender. I trimmed it down a bit and it looked better but I prefer it without. The fork tubes were already gone but I would like to get a set of black gaiters on there. I trimmed the duck's tail down on the seat pillion a bit, put on wide chrome levers, put stock front signals back on, scored some old school round Kawi mirrors, added the fork bag, cleared off some useless chrome and fixed some broken stuff so far. My most immediate plan is to open up the airbox, my wife's bike has a hypercharger and what difference in performance! I'll probably just do one of the cheater mods on here unless I find a used Kury unit or a S&S knock-off. Eventually I'll like to drop the back 1.5-2", bob the rear fender, some fatter tires (maybe W/W or maybe an 800A rim up front), a shorty front fender, solo seat, and satin black paint ala HD Black Denim. I guess I'll paint the rims when I do the tires not sure if I'll do black or red though? There are so many little things I'll do to it as I find parts at meets and what not I am sure. Last edited by wattage : 05-14-2007 at 11:02 AM.

05-14-2007	#22 (permalink)
Thullan Yet another 800 Bobber... BTK Expert Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 391	Always nice when people have the guts to ditch the chrome and go a little rough. Salut! __________________ VN800A -95 Bobber Project, work in progress

05-17-2007	#29 (permalink)
Thullan Yet another 800 Bobber... BTK Expert Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 391	CustomVN I did exactly the same thing this week to my VN800A -95 bobber project! I swapped to a Sportster-style handlebar, and reused the stock grips in the meanwhile as I am deciding on wheter to order a set of white old school rubbers. The only issue is that the end-plugs wount fit with to a non-Kawi handlebar. You could have better luck though as your bike is newer than mine, they changed the internal grip design in -97 I believe. You will also have to grind of a little nob inside the right switch-housing. It goes into a hole in the stock bars to prevent it from sliding around. It was a 5-minutes job to get rid of it, it is soft aluminium. My new bars doesn't look like what I had been hoping for though. They look pretty much like the VN800 Classic bars now, and I want a little less pullback. The wires and cables are now a bit to long too. I used the stock risers. __________________ VN800A -95 Bobber Project, work in progress

05-18-2007	#36 (permalink)
Thullan Yet another 800 Bobber... BTK Expert Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 391	Try this one: Bikerboard Vulcan800 and Friends \| Umbauten or try to write vulcan800.net directly in the address bar. The site is a bit weird, sometimes when you enter the URL you come to the portal, and sometimes you come directly into the forum. The Umbauten link is to the left on the portal site. It is in german so I usually translate it with Babelfish to make it understandable. Most of them are German Style which is far from my preferences, but I can always get a few ideas from there __________________ VN800A -95 Bobber Project, work in progress Last edited by Thullan : 05-18-2007 at 10:14 AM.

05-15-2007	#23 (permalink)
CustomVN Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 221	I'd go for powder coating if I were going to do the rims or forks Thullan.

05-16-2007	#24 (permalink)
Alley Rat Turtle Wax Taster BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: ruston, la Posts: 152	Man customVN, these bikes are so easy to chop on you will do where you want to be in no time. Are you gonna change the tank or rear fender set up. Jockey shift is real easy on these bikes to. i did it and i wont go back.

05-16-2007	#25 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	Alley - those are some bad rides man. I'd love to speak with you off line about the backends on the bobbers maybe you can hook me up with some parts?

05-16-2007	#26 (permalink)
CustomVN Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 221	Alley I'll be adding a chopped flat fender in on the swing arm just like you've done, making my own seat pan etc., although I'll stick with the original tank at this stage, as we have to have the speedo and all other warning lights for rego.

05-16-2007	#27 (permalink)
CustomVN Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 221	I've decided I'm not going to wait for my new handgrips to arrive and will start swapping the new handlebars onto the bike this weekend. First trick was getting the original grips off the standard handlebars which I thought was going to be a nightmare, but I managed to get them both off intact without damaging them, even the throttle side.

05-17-2007	#28 (permalink)
Gareth Newbie Join Date: May 2007 Location: Great Britain Posts: 2	Guys, Already done mate: http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/WesSafari/Bike.jpg

05-17-2007	#31 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	Metric Bobber as seen @ Portland Easyriders Show Found while hunting for some ideas

05-17-2007	#33 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	Custom Metric Motorcycles Bike Builds - Coyote Customs Found another Scroll down and check out Cross Eyed Mary.

05-18-2007	#37 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	Some neat ideas here and there - thanks for the link. Man I am getting itchy! Too much work and rain, can't get the garage area clear enough to do anything or get in a ride!

05-23-2007	#38 (permalink)
CustomVN Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 221	Gee you can really start to see how this bike is the perfect donor for a Bobber project once you strip the fenders off it and have a look at its bare lines! It only takes a few minutes to put the rear fender and seat back on, so it was nice to see in a little more detail how I'm going to mount my new fender and seat, and I've now got it completely sorted in my head.

05-23-2007	#39 (permalink)
wattage Made It To Second Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rocky Point, New York Posts: 88	I almost took the same shot earlier today. Biggest thing I can see is just reloacting all the crap under the seat. If you look at Hot Saki that Denny Berg did for Cobra he did a great job of cleaning it all up under there but I can't figure out how and where he relocated everything too!?! btw those pipes look real good, nice and clean and simple. Things were quiet in the shop this afternoon so I got to work cutting, trimming and stapling the seat. Tomorrow I'll drill a mounting hole in the fender and tap it so it'll stay on in the curves. Next I'll probably cut down the struts and the fender and drop it about 1.5-2" in the rear.

05-24-2007	#40 (permalink)
CustomVN Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 221	I just got a call from my wife at home saying the package I've been waiting for from the US with the new hand grips and fork gaiters has just arrived. This is what has been holding up my progress so now I can dive right in and get the front end and handlebar setup done. I'm obviously going to be very busy over the course of the next week or so getting this all done!!

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