So i'm putting this here because, although it may not be a technical reference, it will certainly be helpful for anyone looking to build a bobber on the cheap.
This is a project that has been in the works for a time now, but I never took the bike off the road for a long period of time to do anything to it. It has just been accumulating slowly, mostly because the Savage was my main/only form of transportation during this time. Keep in mind that I had minimal mechanical knowledge before this and only liked to tinker.
It started in June 2007 when I bought a 2003 Savage as my first bike at 20 years old. I enjoyed it but never had any plans to change it. I even (heaven forbid) considered getting a bigger bike.
like I said: had some funThen, a year later, I did what every rider has done or will do eventually, I laid it down. I went into a corner too fast, and through a combination of inexperience and panic, put it down at about 25 mph.
Yes. It hurt, physically and damaged my ego too. But I picked the bike back up and rode it home that night. Admittedly, that was a very stupid thing to do seeing as how it was dark and the headlight was hanging off of it. I was pretty beat up too as the scratches on my helmet and hole in my leather jacket will attest to. Plenty of gashes and road rash, but not worthy of a trip to the ER (in my opinion; I'm young, stupid, and cheap). Anyways, I was understandably bummed out. I considered selling it, but I knew I would get nothing for a wrecked bike.
Being a poor college student, I fixed it on the cheap. It was back on the road in less than a week thanks to duck tape and some creative wrenching. I got used headlight, handlebars (old ones were bent), mirrors, and tank on ebay. I painted the tank myself with spray cans. Also, I just took off the torn backrest pad, bent the foot peg out, and taped the turn signal back up. A little later I picked up a harley exhaust at a swap meet (and rejetted) and build a license plate bracket in shop class. So I was happy again; for a bit.
here is my bike all fixed up next to my dad's perfectly stock 2002.But of course that wasn't the end of it.
One cold night in November, I was screwing around with my friend with a 700 Shadow at stoplight and I took off, HARD. When I say "took off", I mean literally; I went VERTICAL. The resulting wheelie ground the back of my fender into an upward lip and the landing did minor damage to other parts. It wasn't too badly damaged and I managed to fix it temporarily by filing down the rough edge, applying some touchup paint, and putting one of those rubber strip car door protectors on to cover the worst of it. But my friend said seeing me go across the intersection, straight up, with sparks flying was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
So at this point, I had already customized it a good amount, but nothing real serious or radical. But like all addictions, I soon moved onto the harder stuff. I had altered it from stock, removed unnecessary parts, the process had begun! Winter came and I thought of all the terrible things that I would do to that poor little economy bike. Gradually, I took off the belt guard and reflectors, replaced the damaged turn signals, and removed any sticker that would identify it as a Savage.
Now here is where we get into building a bobber: On a whim, I called up a local trailer parts store to see what they had as far as fenders. After some rough figuring and a lot of help from this site, I ordered one for $13; I figured I didn't have a lot to lose. I picked it up and over the course of the next 3 days, the Savage went from modified stock to custom bobber. I pulled off the rear fender and test fitted the new one. I also left the rear wheel on, which made work a little more difficult but made the bike rideable the whole time. Also, the turn signals mounted to the shocks are DOT trailer parts and $3 each at Advance Auto.
The taillight w/ license plate light is, you guessed it, a trailer part available at any parts store for around $6. This is one of those "3 wire" setups that have only 2 wires. You have to use the metal body as the 3rd. I connected a wire to one of the bolts I used to hold it. The running light is actually hooked into the license plate light wires with the same type of connectors that I bought to plug the new turn signals into the stock plugs. That was just easier and provides the same effect. The remaining wire is soldered into the back of the stock taillight plug. I made sure all the wiring is non-destructive and easily reversible.
My "workshop" using my dad's jigsaw and power drill. It was supprisingly easy to cut and then shape up with a file.
After much filing, test fitting, and sanding. I also put in places to mount the heat sink and starter solenoid.
And after its all finished:
I put black electrical tape on the underside of the seat so you don't see the ugly white plastic seatpan. Also, you can barely see a blue glow around the engine; those are LED strips I got at Advance Auto. Those plus 4 strategically placed LED bulbs light it up real nice and make me feel a lot safer at night.
I love the custom look it has now and the way people stare and ask what it is.
My friends love it too. They all know the unique sound it has and my one buddy loves that he can point to any part on the bike and I can tell a story about it.
IMHO, painting is probably the hardest part, but thats because I could sit there with a file and shape the metal all afternoon, but I get frustrated by painting; especially when it gets too humid and rains. :'(
Total parts cost:
fender - $13
taillight - $6
turn signal x2 - $6
sandpaper, metal saw blades, wires, bolts, etc - $25
handlebars - $20
mirrors - $30
HD exhaust - $20
Paints – about $10 depending on quality you buy.
license plate mount – free; I made it
Beer - varies by taste
So even you can build a relatively cheap bobber just like me! Mine actually cost a lot more because I had to but replacements for what I had broken like the tank, headlight, handlebars, and triple tree (which had broken the stop off and caused the handlebars to go into the tank). Plus I screwed up with some more expensive paint and had to redo it.
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