how to build a chopper

Watch "American Chopper" to see how NOT to build one!:whistle: :woohoo: :woohoo:
But seriously....the seat in your 2nd pic (Orange bike)
is an LTD seat. Can get on EBay, or thru JC Whitney, or list as "wanted" in classifieds here. Nice seat, I had one but traded for a straight one.....went better with the look I was after.

dan76kz900 wrote:

ejshotgun: Thanks. I have put alot of work/time/money in it already.. I dont want to sell it and start over. Perhaps I can sell off the parts I dont want after modifying it.

Sounds to me like you need a 2nd bike... :laugh:

wireman: Yes, I have plans to change those boots out. I'm thinking of getting the ones z1enterprises sell.. I just need to figure out what else I need so I can save on shipping.

Rickman: more projects ? I'm trying to cut down on projects !

indykaw77: I was looking at bars and was thinking of trying the drag bars.

Had drag bars on mine when I got it.....were to short to mount all necessary gack on them, had tank clearance issues, etc. Guy even "Shortened" throttle sleeve! If yer gonna go that route....get widest you can possibly look at. I'll save this "modified" (hacksawed!) throttle sleeve in case ya need one later.

slightly off the topic...

who made the exhaust on your bike? it looks familiar.

i have always been a fan of minimalist bikes. take off every piece that isn't absolutely necessary. don't get so rad that you remove rideability or reliability. or safety for that matter.

a 2" over swingarm, clean up the front fork area by losing the booties, a bobbed front fender, minimalist gauges, single throttle cable... you get the idea.

the clubmans are not ideal for a comfortable ride. i don't think that struts are a good way to go on the street, but i hate the way a hardtail rides. so take that with a grain of salt.

--r

Rickman wrote:

dan76kz900 wrote:

ejshotgun: Thanks. I have put alot of work/time/money in it already.. I dont want to sell it and start over. Perhaps I can sell off the parts I dont want after modifying it.

Sounds to me like you need a 2nd bike... :laugh:

Yea, I'd already have at least 2 if I had the money. There was a KZ650 and another KZ1000 here I could have gotten if I had the bucks. Not to mention the Yamaha650
Special that I was dying to get and make a bobber out of.
Oh, well.

Post edited by: ejshotgun, at: 2006/02/28 14:21

Your bike looks good as is, always liked cafe racers, but, nope, not too comfy. For the drag bike look, I don't think you will have to spend too much or replace too many parts. The main thing for the look is a stretched swingarm and lowered stance. Drag bars or short riser superbike style bars will make it more comfortable. Slide the fork tubes up a bit to lower the front end. Do a search, there's been lots of talk here regarding stretched arms and shortened forks. More radical or future mods would be maybe struts, rims, wider tire. Keep in mind, you will "slow" down the handling a bit, and lose some ground clearance.

The orange bike above, (see second link) looks like it has been converted to a hard tail via a bar where the rear shock should be, is that what you cars are calling a strut? also, when you slide the forks up, are you guys chopping them off or do you have the forks poking up at the top.

You could come up a tad on the bars. A superbike bar should give a higher riding position and take some of the weight of your hands. A small 1/4 fairing does wonders for long rides.

Here is a easy way to see if you like the drag bars, both how they look and feel. Get a broom handle and cut it to the legnth the bars should be, about 2ft I would guess. Mount it and see how it looks and feels. Drag bars will have a slight bend to them but the broom handle will at least give you an idea without having to buy the bars just to find out you don't like them. For added effect you can even paint the broom handle black or silver to get a better idea. Hows that for a cheap, hillbilly set up?

What are you having discomfort with? I have dragbars like yours and had them turned down like yours for a day. I didnt like it so I twisted them so that they fit my wrists better. Superbike bars will do the same, but give a little rise to them.

Im 6'2" and I had trouble feeling like I could get back in the stock seat enough, so I removed the cover and shaved the foam back so I would have more space up front, I did loose some passenger space, but my wife doesnt ride that much with me, and she would only notice the difference if I told her it was gone.

Click on the blue bike below to see the difference in my seat. There arent any pics with my dragbars on but I can snap a pic if youd like.


(EDIT) I just noticed a big thing that you can do to sit up more, on those bars you have a riser that moves the bar foward dont you? I bet youd notice a big difference by removing that and putting the bars where they normally belong.

Post edited by: danoz7five0, at: 2006/02/28 19:50

I think I'll try that broom stick mock up idea.. I do have a riser thing that moves my handle bars foward, but If I twist my bars up a little bit, I feel like Im sitting too high above the bike.

Dan0z7five0: I like your seat ! I want to try something like that on my bike. I'll have to find a used seat.

Where would I get a 2" longer swingarm for my bike ?

I'm wondering what struts are too ?

I dont know what kind of exahust I have. It doesent look like anything special the header seems like a common one, I see everyone has. The muffler - it almost looks like it belongs on a VW BAJA. It is clamped on the Header. I can take a better pic if you are intrested.

If I lower my bike, I'll have to get exhaust that'll give me more clearance. What other options do I have besides a sidewinder exhaust ?