reviving an old project

[ForOffRoadDriving]

this is my 1974 yamaha XS 650 twin, i started building this bike 6 years ago when i was a senior in highschool, but for the past 4 years it has been sitting in my shed acting as a shelf. with the weather getting warmer and my friends bugging me to get a new bike so we can ride, ive decided to revive this project and hopefully have it rideable by the end of the season.
the bike was given to me by my grandfather, whose neighbor was moving and didnt want to take the bike with him. the gas tank had a bunch of dents in it and was filled with more bondo than the tank could hold in gas. the wiring harness had been chopped up for some reason, and the turn signals were all broken off. when my dad was on his 20s and working at a parts store(back in the 70s) he had the same bike and made his into a chopper. for some reason he held onto all the spare parts from his build for the past 30 years, so when this bike rolled into the garage we already knew which direction we were headed. with in 2 weeks i had it stripped down to the frame and was already mocking up different parts to get it heading in the direction i was envisioning. it has an oversized 2.5 gal sportster tank, 6" over front fork tubes, 1982 xs 650 heritage mag wheels, and a bunch of other things im sure im forgetting. i need to make a new wiring harness and get it running again so i can pick up where i left off. anyways, on to the pics!

 

[Boghog1]

Need to bob that back fender

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

you mean cut it shorter? i was thinking about making a "whale tail" style turn up on the end, but i didnt have the metal working skills when i stopped working on it. looking back on it i should have never stripped all the paint off until i was ready to repaint it, oh well we live and learn.

 

[hoosier1104]

Rat it out. You doin' it right.

 

[Boghog1]

agree with the rat it out
http://www.killbillet.com/showthread.php?t=14219
although the saw blade seat is a bit much, and yes cut it shorter on the rear and remove entirely on the front fender.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i dont think ill be modifying the fenders much more since ive ridden in the rain with out a front one before, its no fun. the seat needs to be reworked, it was the orignal heritage king/queen that i cut in half, but its still too big. in the end i envision it being painted flat black with only a few chrome accents. the goal is to make it easy to clean (hence the absence of bling) so i can spend more of my time riding it. i want to rework the battery box so i can drop the seat rails down to give it that harley soft tail look, then maybe i can find a corbin seat for a sportster and massage the frame to make it fit the seat? ive been shecking out this site alot for ideas www.650motorcycles.com and ive seen alot of cool bikes and alot of stuff id be embarrased to have any association with.