Bobber as in, I was bored!

[Paul B]

Hopefully the parts went to a good home.

ofcourse they did!
we have fanatics of GS here in sweden as well. and ppl traveled a long way to get them.
i can assure you its being used!

[Chris]

Man, tough crowd. It's your project OP and as long as you are happy with it then that's what matters. People seem to forget that's the entire point of motorcycling. Some people have different ways to achieve happiness, to each their own.

I agree, the GSR orthodoxy police are out in force to condemn the heresy. Guys, it's a bike, not a religious icon. Would I make the same choices as the builder? Nope, not even. But it's his bike to play with and if he wants to turn it into a tricycle with tassels flying from the handlebars and playing cards in the spokes that's his business. If he likes how it's turning out, good for him.

[Vmass]

I typically go along with the " Your bike, your rules " mentality . However, as a business owner and a motorcycle enthusiast, I am having a really hard time understanding why anyone would want to turn a $3,000.00 bike into a $300.00 bike.

Why not start with a $300.00 bike, cut it up the way you like and you may still have a $300.00 bike when your done?......and you will be ahead of the game by $2,700 bucks!!

[tkent02]

You are way off. No way it's worth $300 anymore.

[mikerophone]

Maaaannnn. I normally don't jump on the bandwagon but it's really no wonder it doesn't run right. Did you jet it properly for the pods and open headers?

It's true - your bike, yours to do what you will with it. And it's really, well, really something....

Now I will say that it appears you spent some serious time on that tank, looks like it turned out nicely. Hard to tell from the one small photo that someone else went to the trouble of uploading larger.

[Guest]

I once saw a guy riding a hardtail Hog on the turnpike. He hit an expansion joint and his bum came off the seat by nearly a foot..... It hurt my back just seeing it.

See that lots around here, too. My bored grand nephew bobbed a yamaha v twin, recently, but it still has shocks. They are only about ten inches long, though...

[Zagg]

It's that bad!

The next time you get bored, cut your HANDS off!

Okay so this comment proved two things for me...
1. Coffee is not meant to come out of your nose
2. It definitely was not meant to clear up stains on a sweater....
Oh well, at least it's a work shirt.
Ohmygod, funniest thing I've read in days.

As for the bike... I love the bobber style and I have seen it pulled off with every style of bike... truly every style, every age. The problem is that in order for it to work the bike has to have balance and thought and usually some dough wrapped up in it. You cannot bob a bike by simply cutting its ass end off and calling it good and expect a visually appealing result. You have to balance the rear end with the front because the front looks "heavy" visually.

If you are going to put a solo seat on it then hard-tailing the frame (comfort aside) leads you visually to the rear tire, muffler, and brakes so it makes more of a triangle shape (squint your eyes a little you will get the idea) which gives it balance. It will allow you to remove the springs as well. You need to clean up the front end (brake lines, fender), put smaller gauges and drag bars on it and you will be getting somewhere.



The bike below is more of a cafe style, but seriously thinned out. He kept the rear springs AND THE FRAME and put a hoop on the rear frame to keep it connected. Then a custom seat pan and tail. Here the visual weight of the bike is balanced by keeping the rear length over the back tire. Painting the rims black helps as well or switching to spokes. I've noticed that spokes work better for a bobber too. Not sure if it's because the cast rims date it or because they stand out more.... Spokes sort of disappear visually.



I haven't been a member here long, but with this forum and every other one I use (including diesel truck, etc.) you will find that the majority respect anything that is well thought out and carefully and purposefully done. If it looks half-assed and for the **** of it that is exactly the amount of respect you will get for doing it.

[Buffalo Bill]

Well if it's a triangle with line that leads to rear axle, I think we'd have more respect for intelligent designs like the Kawasaki Ninja 650
Idiot design is just something to ridicule.

Ninja 650

[tkent02]

While I love a nicely done cafe, not cafe styled but a real cafe racer with emphasis on the racer, that one above does nothing for me. I can't for the life of me understand cutting off a useful part of the bike resulting in a worse bike to ride, for looks. Cut the rear suspension off, lower the front, take the front brake off, put on crappy prehistoric design off road tires, gay ape hanger bars, invisible lights, that kind of crap is ludicrous. Who the hell is going to be impressed by the style if it looks like ass? Who cares what it looks like while you ride if it looks like zero thought and less skill went into it? If it looks like only a moron would ride it you probably are. You can't see it while riding anyway and anyone who can see it couldn't care less.

Unless you are still trying to prove to your parents how incredibly stupid you are. (As if they didn't know already)

[loud et]

The before picture, I can imagine myself riding it across country, fully loaded, 85mph on the highway in comfort all day long and loving my GS.

[tkent02]

Why only 85?

[Crankthat]

We have all seen much much worse.

Ride on I say!!!!

[Zagg]

Well if it's a triangle with line that leads to rear axle, I think we'd have more respect for intelligent designs like the Kawasaki Ninja 650
Idiot design is just something to ridicule.

Ninja 650

That bike is MEAN lookin'! Wow.

[Zagg]

While I love a nicely done cafe, not cafe styled but a real cafe racer with emphasis on the racer, that one above does nothing for me. I can't for the life of me understand cutting off a useful part of the bike resulting in a worse bike to ride, for looks. Cut the rear suspension off, lower the front, take the front brake off, put on crappy prehistoric design off road tires, gay ape hanger bars, invisible lights, that kind of crap is ludicrous. Who the hell is going to be impressed by the style if it looks like ass? Who cares what it looks like while you ride if it looks like zero thought and less skill went into it? If it looks like only a moron would ride it you probably are. You can't see it while riding anyway and anyone who can see it couldn't care less.

Unless you are still trying to prove to your parents how incredibly stupid you are. (As if they didn't know already)

Maybe should have just posted the last part and been done with it...

"I haven't been a member here long, but with this forum and every other one I use (including diesel truck, etc.) you will find that the majority respect anything that is well thought out and carefully and purposefully done. If it looks half-assed and for the **** of it that is exactly the amount of respect you will get for doing it."

---

[Buffalo Bill]

Right, and I was suggesting that Kawasaki rear shock design could be copied for bobber hardtails.