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RATTLERS BUILDS AND TECH TIPS If you are looking for tips on building your own project, you might find something useful in the Tech Tips list. Be sure to check out Getting Outside Help for contact details of chromers, engineers and stockists of those elusive parts you may need. Rattlers also manufacture parts, so stop by our Parts page.
UN-DONE BUILDS
GN250 - Elchupacabra Angus picked up this bike as a standard GN250 with a seized gearbox for $300. After dropping it on its side and removing the primary cover we were able to free the gear box up and get the thing running. After a summer of riding around in its original form, Angus decided to build a custom frame for it to fit his own frame a bit better. He has built the whole frame from scratch using a wooden jig we knocked up, and has carefully completed all the welding himself using a mig/gas welding unit. At some point we will build a new tank, stretching it longer, and chopping some height out of it. He has come up with a really cool suicide shifter, which is not visible in this shot, and is kind of a side pull and works really well. Great little engineering ideas, from a guy who is 16, that will make his bike unique. He has used as many original parts as possible to save money, and has worked hard to pay for the extra bits he's needed. We are currently waiting for Angus to complete a write up of his own to add to this spot. P.S. make sure you clean up the workshop better, or I'll paint your bike pink... J Below are some shots of Angus's helmet which he did some of the artwork for and then had Damien Kurth pin it and touch up the rough bits, so now its a mixture of Oldschool and Otara styles!
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DAMN NEAR DONE Yamaha XS650 Bobber - "Gotham City Express" by Motorcycle Graveyard Gotham City Express Sled to HellThis is my work in progress.It came to a grinding halt about a year ago, but I expect it to start progressing again soon. It’s a rideable runner, waiting for panel beating and paint. Also I have to finish the wiring, so it will be legal. It started life soon after working on Justin’s bike (Painstaker), which inspired me to create my own. Seeking professional help, I talked to Orb and Luke at the Hog Farm, who soon had a frame put together to my specs. The brief was that it had to be easily rideable, in the style of a rigid hot rod, and able to take a pounding from our country roads. The Hog Farm was indispensable for brainstorming and sorting out ideas, their experience helped no end.
The bike is based on the Yamaha 650 engine, as I have had a long history of these, and lots of parts. I already had a running motor with a 750 kit, hot cam and APE clutch, with a higher ratio primary drive. Running a Boyer ignition got rid of points and advance mechanism. At present its running std carbs, but the frame was designed round a set of twin sidedraft Weber’s.
ANDREW
Yamaha XS400 Bobber - White Trash by Jody
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Yamaha XV400 Dragstar Custom Bobber Below are a few photos relating to the paint prep and work for 668 featuring 'T'. This is what back yard is all about and if anyone dares to enter the yard uninvited the chicken will take care of them!    
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Kawasaki Z400 Custom Bobber "On the road to rock and roll,theres a lot of wreckage in the ravine" Joe Stummer Fine words and a great song but I am hoping the wreckage bit does not come into play any time soon.The whole ethos of this build was going to be 'as good as possible for as little as possible'. I always liked a goose neck so this bike was built around that starting point with a definite seventies vibe thrown in. The rake gives me the option of changing bars and having a completely different look if I get bored. I have used some bits and pieces from the donor bike, half the front guard became the rear guard and the front guard support is now my sissy bar. One thing I have learned the hard way is to put plenty of space for your engine, there's nothing worse than painting your frame up and then once you squeeze the engine in, the frame is all beat up and looks second hand. The central support strut running from under the seat to just in front of the battery doubles as the rear engine mount and is bolted in place. Originally i had it welded in but this made the engine fit to tricky. This is something i would definitely do again, makes things really easy. I had real problems deciding on paint for this bike, but i have come up with a new rule in the process: He who is going to finish his bike first should have what ever color he chooses. The only thing I knew for sure was that this time i was going to use rattle cans and with a budget of $70 I was able to complete the mission with about three cans left over. The biggest expense for this build was the rear tyre at around $350, its a vintage style Super Eagle with some 16" whitewall flappers fitted. The whole project has come in under $1500.00 NZD but that's purely for the build and does not include Low Volume and On Road. In this photo the bike is still missing a few bits such as brake linkages, foot rests, the chain and wiring, which are all ready to go and I hope to get it finished in the next couple of weeks. Update 10/03/09 Finally got the bike home from the shed out south. As you can see i have changed the bars which makes using the shifter safer and generally suits the flow of the bike better. I built a new shifter which resembles a small section of handlebar end with the clutch lever on. Spent a bit of time bending the thing to get it comfortable and easy to use. Just the electrics and fingers crossed its ready to roll.
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| DONE AND DUSTED The Evolution of Kitset Deathtrap Yamaha XV400 Dragstar Custom Originally I picked this bike up from a dealers yard in Moorhouse Ave Christchurch. Had it shipped up here to Auckland, not quite sure why I bought it but i was after a bike to get around on that would start every time and had a bit of comfort. Once it arrived i found out that the rear shock had been modified to get the bike scrapping the ground and that there really was not any comfort to be had. It had apehangers, big arse baggerish guards and a modern looking king and queen style seat with sissy bar. I rode it around that summer but the huge tank and lack of any noise was making my teeth ache, so i decided to make some changes that winter. The tank was shaped from foam in the same way you would shape a surfboard, just using some rough sandpaper. It was then glassed up, sanded and bogged, check our building a fibreglass glass tank page for more detail. Spikey gas cap cover from Ebay. The rear fender is one of our 'Fat Trailer Trash' models, with some 2" gothic spikes from Ebay for the struts. Lucus replica stop light, the seat pan we made from fibreglass, it was covered leather and hand stitched. For the twisted Zbars we went to 'Knobs & Knockers' in East Tamaki and picked up a lenght of twisted gate steel, they have plenty of different sizes avalaible. Its best to make a simple jig for Zbars, we just made one from wood, welded them up and rattle canned them gold. The front guard was tossed into a dark corner, but is dragged out for warrants, the exhaust was a 'two into one' which we simply took the grinder to, a small amount of welding was also required to patch a hole as part of this process. The pipes are wrapped in exhaust tape from Segedins Speed Shop on Dominion road. Finally the tank and guard were rattle can painted satin black, pin striping was done by Steve Levine and finished of with some low sheen clear. I love riding this bike and it always gets some interest, its an easy way to get a bobber style bike without to much trouble or money. |
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The Evolution of Painstaker Yamaha XS650 Chop Engine refreshed by Motorcycle Graveyard
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White Trash is the name of this Yamaha XS400 built by Jody for "Gypsy". Due to circumstances we won't mention here, Jody has this bike to use until his 900cc Sled project is completed. All the things you thought about doing and then couldn't be bothered to 'cause it seemed like too much work, have been done for this build. It's got knuckle dusters, holes, spikes, and bits of pretty much anything mechanical, but the key point of interest whenever this bike pulls up somewhere is the baked bean can air filter. We are just waiting on Jody to do a small write up on this bike and look forward to some pictures soon of his current build.
Paintworkby Justin Maclaren
