VN800 Bobber project

[Thullan]

Originally Posted by CustomVN

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.

It do hurts to put the stock fenders and seat back, once you have removed them

So the new fender and seat, will you stick to the plans as discussed a few weeks ago in the "Chopped and Bobbed 800's" thread? In either case, keep us updated!

Both the solo seat, tail light and the sidemounted licenseplate I had on order was back-ordered, so the process with my own bike has slowed down for a moment as I am waiting for the parts. I changed to a Sportster type handlebar the other week and was also trying out a new set of indicators, so no breathtaking changes lately

Wattage, are you gonna remove the struts completely or shortening them? I had a thought earlier of getting a Classic fender, cut it straight of like the old hinged fenders from the 30's and shortening the struts to 2/3. It would need a 2-3 inches lowering job to look good, but I decided that this would not look as good on a VN800A as on the Classic.

[wattage]

For the time being I am thinking of just cutting them back to 2/3 and chopping the fender about 1/2 way back. I'll also drop the backend of the bike, how much I guess will depend on the look. I'd like it down low but not right on the tire. I'll have to relocate signals etc but that's not a big deal. I was thinking of going with a rear fender similar to the Street Bob's but in the long run (when winter hits) I am going to go with a sprung seat and a fender mounted to the swing arm so why bother?

[Slow Ride]

looks good so far I like those bobbers.

[Tattoomarc]

they all look great

[CustomVN]

Ok so I've been busy now and have the new handlebar set up all completed and have started on the front end.

First off you can see in this picture the difference in pull back from my new bars (top) to the originals I just pulled off (below). The fact the new bars don't pull back as far (about 2-3 inches), meant I could use that distance and head upwards 2-3 inches without stretching or straining the cables, brake line and wiring.



Here you can see the top triple clamp off the bike and it's those two smaller holes in the middle that we milled out from 10mm to 1/2 inch to allow Harley sized risers to be bolted on. As you can see in this picture there is plenty of metal there so nothing was weakened. Once you get this done a whole world of awesome custom risers become available to you, rather that the very limited aftermarket Kawasaki specific stuff.



And here's the setup all completed. A combination of Kawasaki top triple clamp, mated to Choppers Inc. risers, clamping around Triumph handlebars, with Kawasaki controls slipped on the ends, and Custom Chrome grips. Believe it or not it all went together perfectly and is one of the joys of motorbikes, in that all cruisers share a standard handlebar tube diameter of 1 inch, whether they be Kawasaki, Honda, Harley or Triumph.

[CustomVN]

Last but not least I started playing with the front end and installing the rubber fork gaiters in place of the stock chrome fork shrouds.

Here you can see the right fork tube with the shroud off and I'm just about to slip the rubber gaiter on, although at this point I made the tuff decision that I thought they were too long for the front end, and when sitting on the ground under the full weight of the bike would look too compressed, so I lopped 2 inches off the end. Did it work? I won't know until I get it back on the ground, so stay tuned to next week's episode of "Australian Bobber" to find out.



So does it look better, well here you can see the choice I made with the left side with the gaiter in place, and the right side still wearing the original fork shroud. I think I've made the right choice.

[G]

^^
looking good ..

[Wharfy]

Watching with interest. Are you sticking with the original front guard?

[CustomVN]

Originally Posted by Wharfy

Watching with interest. Are you sticking with the original front guard?

I don't plan on using one at all. Having said that I will cut the original front one right down to a much smaller item and paint it matte black, for those times when I know I'm riding to an event or place likely to have a heavy Police presence.

[likearock4x4]

Originally Posted by CustomVN

I don't plan on using one at all. Having said that I will cut the original front one right down to a much smaller item and paint it matte black, for those times when I know I'm riding to an event or place likely to have a heavy Police presence.

Is it required that you have one?

[CustomVN]

Originally Posted by likearock4x4

Is it required that you have one?

Yes it is

[wattage]

COOL!

Looking good so far man.

[Thullan]

I like those fork gaiters and grips, excellent. So what's next?

I have collected a few parts myself by now. A set of bullet mini indicators, an old style tail light, sidemounted license plate holder, handlebar and an Ultima 13" spring seat (which I think turned out a bit to wide). The rear fender will be a later project.

The handlebar is allready finnished, except for the grips. Will consider internal wires as a winter project. The plate holder is next. I will have to make a few modifications to it, mount the tail light to it and draw some wires. Should be pretty straight forward once I get started.

Mounting the rear of the seat raises some concerns though. I will hard bold it directly to the frame and I have a few brackets on the drawing board. The front is no problem. What is your plan on this, CustomVN?

[CustomVN]

What's next, I'll be getting a Metzeler ME880 wide white wall fitted to the front rim on Saturday morning, then I can get the bike back on the ground and secure the fork gaiters in place. Of course more pictures once that's done as it should be looking real good then.

I've ordered a 6" wide flat bobber style rear fender and classic chromed Sparto taillight which should arrive in a couple of weeks and then I'll look at mounting those up. Then move onto the seat.

I like the seat you've chosen Thullan and hope mine turns out looking something like that, but I wanted to make my own to ensure I could get it to fit the size and shape of the bike perfectly and look as low to the frame as possible. As for mounting mine goes? I'll make a small bracket that attaches on top of the metal bracket holding the battery in, and secure the front of my seat to it, and then bolt the back or probably mid section to the existing seat support that goes from one side of the frame to the other over the fuse boxes. I've haven't mocked up any of that yet so those plans could change.

I thought about hiding my wiring in the bars, but given the short distance with my setup and fact I can't hide the throttle and clutch cables have decided it's not worth the effort, at this stage anyway.

The other thing I need to concentrate on is making a new bracket for the headlight to mount too, as I want to push it out a few inches and probably down a couple of inches too.

[Thullan]

Originally Posted by CustomVN

Of course more pictures once that's done as it should be looking real good then.

I am sure it will! Are you putting a white wall on the front only at this stage? My tires still has many miles left, so I just painted the letters white to give them more of a custom look.

And thanks for the compliment on the seat! I was also thinking of making my own seat pan at first, shouldn't be too hard. Then decided to buy one instead, as those Ultima seats aren't that expensive and I don't have much free time for the moment. To bad I didn't ordered the 9" model, but I was only aware of the 13" when I ordered it.

Keep up!

[CustomVN]

Originally Posted by Thullan

Are you putting a white wall on the front only at this stage?

No I'll go for the white walls front and back, I only have the front wheel off right now so I'll just do that one. When I pull the back wheel off to do the rear fender I'll get the other one done then. I don't want to pull too many things apart the same time and confuse myself as to how it all goes back together. One step at a time...

[wattage]

I have been thinking about swapping the seat out and going to a Drifter solo seat. If I pull the rear fender it is a breeze to swap it on though a LePera sparkle seat would be the ticket if I fab a bracket.

Custom how are you going to mount the rear fender? Adding on fender tabs?

[CustomVN]

I think mounting the rear fender should be relatively straight forward. I'll bolt the front of the fender to the swing arm using the existing bolts that hold the slash guard infront of the rear tyre. From there I'll make a fender strut and bolt it to the lugs under the rear axle that are in place for mounting the Drifter rear bumper. Why not use them if they are already there, there's one on each side and they are already threaded which is a bonus. Hopefully I'll be starting on this in a week or two, although I might take some pictures this weekend to better explain my plans.

[wattage]

Originally Posted by CustomVN

I think mounting the rear fender should be relatively straight forward. I'll bolt the front of the fender to the swing arm using the existing bolts that hold the slash guard infront of the rear tyre. ....although I might take some pictures this weekend to better explain my plans.

Big duh on my part, that is a perfect plan. Love to see pics of the work it inspires me!

[CustomVN]

Ok new pictures for this week.

The rubber fork gaiters are now in and look great, although they were not the best fit. The bottom of the boots are supposed to sit over the lower fork legs, but they look too stretched when I try and do that as I guess Triumph Bonneville lower fork legs are thinner than my bike. So I'll just leave them sitting up against the lower legs which looks fine, but is technically not the correct way to have them.

I also put a Metzeler ME880 wide white wall on the front and it's screaming out Bobber now!! I'll add one to the back this coming weekend. Although I probably won't take the protective blue coating off the back white wall until the project is done, as the back wheel will probably be coming on and off a lot while I fabricate the rear fender and strut.

BTW, worth mentioning that if you're planning on taking the front wheel off your VN800 Classic, regardless of what the workshop manual says it is much easier to take the brake caliper off before you take the wheel off. And likewise when you put it back on, put the wheel on first, then put the caliper back on. The 16" diameter wheel means there is not a lot of room to play with.