Yamaha XS900 Triple Cafe Racer Build......."SHAFTY"

[dick65 0]

sorry to hear that mark sounds painful theres a couple XS restos in MCN this week might take your mind of the pain for a while

[pugeyed 0]

cheers dick , thanks for that ill pick up a copy

[Gazman 0]

That's a bit of a blow Mark, sorry to here that mate. Is the frame OK.

[pugeyed 0]

frame is good just needs welding together...
you could go off some people you know

[Gazman 0]

@pugeyed wrote:

frame is good just needs welding together...
you could go off some people you know

Sorry Mark, sounds nasty mate, hope it heals soon, I'm sure you'll be back at it before you realize.

[pugeyed 0]

so onwards and upwards, went to collect parts from powdercoater this morning

this is what ive got.





had trouble with top yoke and right hand side caliper mount, top yoke there is more air in it than alloy so is bubbling like a bugger. so is going to redo them both.

dropped off my petrol tank for blasting and primering, then i can see if it needs a bit of filler.

walked to halfords 2nite to pick up a fibreglass kit for my seat unit.


oh and fitted new rear wheel seal as wemoto couldent supply one, good old ebay.

and last but not least, HUGE thanks to madsod as fuel cap and new oil filter turned up today free of charge , cant praise him enough, Thanks Matey.

[pugeyed 0]

oh forgot to say will be painting the blasted bits in this paint.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350368032939?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1464wt_754

cant find some pics of it on an engine at the mo but im thinking of getting the engine blasted and painting it in this.

[Stue11 0]

Hats of to Madsod, fairplay that was very kind of ya

[madsod 0]

you are very welcome , had it on the self doing sod all , and when some one puts live back into a bike then thats a very good cause, keep it up looks great , all the best Garry ,

[Gazman 0]

How's the finger Mark ? a bit sore I bet. Powder coat looks good mate. Gaz

[dick65 0]

looking good mark and nice one gary

[pugeyed 0]

@Gazman wrote:

How's the finger Mark ? a bit sore I bet. Powder coat looks good mate. Gaz

yeah still a bit sore matey but im still trying to carry on as it would do my head in if i just stopped work on it, cheers dick!

[Gazman 0]

@pugeyed wrote:

@Gazman wrote:

How's the finger Mark ? a bit sore I bet. Powder coat looks good mate. Gaz

yeah still a bit sore matey but im still trying to carry on as it would do my head in if i just stopped work on it, cheers dick!

I thought you might mate, If you are gonna do stuff, try wrapping tissue around your finger and then insulating tape. It will make it stiff but will stop you bending it and keep it clean, the tissue will allow you to remove the tape easily after working. Gaz

[BanditMike 0]

@Gazman wrote:

@pugeyed wrote:

@Gazman wrote:

How's the finger Mark ? a bit sore I bet. Powder coat looks good mate. Gaz

yeah still a bit sore matey but im still trying to carry on as it would do my head in if i just stopped work on it, cheers dick!

I thought you might mate, If you are gonna do stuff, try wrapping tissue around your finger and then insulating tape. It will make it stiff but will stop you bending it and keep it clean, the tissue will allow you to remove the tape easily after working. Gaz

That sounds like the voice of experience.

Bike looks good, congrats on the progress so far and keep the pics coming Hope the finger heals quickly.

[2wheels 0]

Very interested to see the result of that "wrinkle finish" I tried getting hold if some textures spray on bed liner (for pic up trucks etc) last year but the American company "dupilcolour" or something like that aren't allowed to ship it to europe!

Bike looks amazing mate well done SO far

[stantheman 0]

we tried that wrinkle paint on some parts of me sons car interior and it shrank and cracked sorry to be negative

[pugeyed 0]

cheers for that stan, might buy a tin but try it on some other parts first before i hit the cam cover etc.

[pugeyed 0]

so today i got my fibreglass kit out and reinforced the seat.

took all the old foam off the previous owner had glued on with carpet glue


then put x3 layers of matting on the flat base and x2 on the rear cone,
havent worked with fibreglass for a few years, forgot how hot it got!


makes it heavier but its alot stiffer.
dont want it to crack under my fat arse.

top still needs lots of work , i need to make a base for the foam to go on so i can wrap it in leather

[Stue11 0]

Good work Mark

[pugeyed 0]

went to work today to weld the loop in the back of my frame,


found some tubing to slot into the loop, then pushed it into the back of the frame.

left a gap for the weld to go.



looks pretty good im happy with the way it came out


got it home and tried the seat unit on, plenty of space to mount a batery tray.


what do we think of these braces for the frame, made them before i buggered my finger, was going to tack them in place but am unsure about them now?

[pugeyed 0]

gotta buy a new rear disk as its below the min thickness, new ones are £180! so will be looking for good second hand one, not like it will be doing huge mileage

[dick65 0]

£180 for a rear disc sounds like extortion mark, i think a good shop arounds in order

[pugeyed 0]

got the tank back today.

been blasted and primered, can now see the dents in it more clearly.

will be filling them at the weekend.


top yoke came back too, looks much better than the last time!
bought an original ace cafe token to bond to the top yoke bolt, looks nice i think.


and the right hand caliper mount came back too



sent my fork legs away to lee for polishing ,so once they come back can rebuild the front end.

[lee1 1]

really like whats going off here mark

makes a change to see something different,as alot of peeps are doing the same thing,hat off to ya

keep up the good work

[BanditMike 0]

Looking good And looks like good progress so far. Congrats

[pugeyed 0]

cheers mike !

welded in the battery tray and seat mounts today, it all went smoothly but just takes ages to cut and file the steel with only one good hand.


seat will be mounted on rubber blocks to stop the fibreglass cracking.

started to fill the dents in the tank this morning, rubbed it down and put some primer over the filler, still needs loads more work yet.


need to cut down the sides of the seat unit to match the bottom of the tank.


what do we think to these frame braces? weld them in or leave the frame as its is , opinions please?

[Stue11 0]

I think they would look nice with or without, not much help i know, but i suppose having them in will give her extra strength

[tubthumper 0]

Like the braces mate! And like Stu will only help stiffen things up

[madsod 0]

i sure it will help as the engine in the xs , is not far of a ton , lol so any extre to braces the frame will be good .

[pugeyed 0]

braces it is then!

[dick65 0]

brace looks fine

[pugeyed 0]

well braces are all welded in, disk bolts turned up along with tabs so put my front disks on.
front wheel has new bearings and seals so jobs a good un, just need to buy a front tyre.
might buy them separately as not sure how much money i have left at the mo.





plus just got this pic from lee
he has done me proud again!

[Gazman 0]

Nice work Mark, Lee has made a brilliant job of those forks, they'll look fantastic next to that black wheel. When you aiming to be finished mate ? looks like sooner rather than later to me. Hows the finger healing ?

Oh, thought about colours yet ? I know you won't tell.

[pugeyed 0]

well i would like to get her on the road in the spring time but will see how it goes over the winter time.
finger is getting there , just slows you down a touch lol.

[pugeyed 0]

@Gazman wrote:

Oh, thought about colours yet ? I know you won't tell.

oh and colour wise thinking of something like this but am not decided yet ......

[dick65 0]

looks cracking mark nice work

[fr499y 0]

nice.. like the new colour of the mini cooper ( well.. new colour just coming out ) grey with a hint of brown/gold with black stripes.. gotta be done on a old school classic cafe racer! btw you got a end can sorted out or ya still after one? might be able to help ya out if not

[lee1 1]

did ya just spray that wheel mark looks well

[pugeyed 0]

cheers folks
matt, no didnt sort the can out still looking for some headers which seem to either be very scarce or very expensive.
lee, previous owner has the rims powdercoated in satin black, looks nice enough for me to leave well alone lol

[Gazman 0]

@pugeyed wrote:

@Gazman wrote:

Oh, thought about colours yet ? I know you won't tell.

oh and colour wise thinking of something like this but am not decided yet ......

Yeh Mark, you should go for that mate, I love it. I did consider something similar for mine, it's the reverse colours of my bandit, I also considered the exact same colour scheme as my bandit (silver stripe on Black) but I'm now definitely going for the original blue with original black and white decals as the tank in the photo's, with seat unit to match. I like that silver/grey with black though mate, very sophisticated.

[fr499y 0]

cheapest place i know of for new headers for the xs is here MCP oh and you gots pm

[inch_speller 0]

Nice work man, nice work!

[pugeyed 0]

@smilinjack wrote:

I think my mate's still got most of an XS850 in his shed. Let me know if you need owt

Alan could you ask your mate if he has a rear disc and a set of headers?
struggling to find some on evil bay.
Thanks Mark.

[pugeyed 0]

so rear disc brake tabs turned up today along with, fork oil, and engine studs, got my fork legs back from lee earlier on in the week (thanks Mate) ordered some new fork drain screws and bottom fork bolts from cmsnl in the netherlands, should be here soon.

oh and ordered these the other day think they will look good on the new front end.

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

[dick65 0]

i like those bars

[Stue11 0]

@dick65 wrote:

i like those bars

Oh thats what they are nice though

[pugeyed 0]

lol, they are clipons stue, instead of having normal handlebars these "clip on " straight onto the fork stantions.

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@Stue11 wrote:

@dick65 wrote:

i like those bars

Oh thats what they are nice though

[madsod 0]

rear disc , im sure the 1100 will fit the 750/ 850 / also there is a 850 one
on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-XS1100-XS-1100-REAR-DISC-/130578335494?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item1e67134706