Hi there guys,

I briefly introduced myself in the introduction topic. I will add a few other details here!

My name is Frederick (or Fred), I am 21 years old and I live in The Netherlands (yes, Europe) - I hope I'm welcome!

I have a great passion for mopeds, which is also what I do for work (part-time really, next to studying and school etc). I own a webshop: www.moparts-webshop.com

I also build custom mopeds/bikes with which I go to custom show. I've often won prizes at these shows and I've even been invited (twice) to the biggest motorbike fair in Europe, INTERMOT.

I will be picking up a '96 Suzuki Savage tomorrow. My plan is to customize it to my style and taste. I very much like the looks of bobbers. However, on another motorbike forum that I am active on there are endless discussions on what qualifies to be a bobber and why some bikes aren't bobbers but choppers etc.

I am sure some of you may share the same thoughts here, and I may not be building a "true" bobber in the end, but for the ease of everything I just called it a bobber project.

This is basically the bike (below). I am paying 450 euros for it. It hasn't run in five years.
It is already modded to some extent (longer front fork, aftermarket exhaust, bits and pieces taken off).


What are my plans?
As much of a cliche as it may be, I will definitely be trying to make it into an old school bobber/bike with some modern touches. The following are my plans:

Wheels, rims, spokes, tires
I will be powdercoating the rims high gloss red with a pearl flake accent in the clear coat.

I will either be chroming the stock spokes or using (thicker) stainless steel fully polished spokes (which should have an even better finish than chrome). In regards to the big spokes (I am not talking big big spokes, just a little thicker than stock), I will need to drill out the hubs and fittings in the rim to place the thicker spokes. Does anybody have any experience with fitting thicker spokes on stock wheels?

I will be polishing the hubs. However, as this is rather difficult to do, I may have this done by a machine/polish shop. Just to compare, I will be paying 30 euros a hub to have them polished so nicely that they will look like chrome (I've seen their work). Does this sound like a fair price? Another option would be to have the hubs powdercoated (either the same red + pearly flaked clear coat combination as the rims themselves, or high gloss black + pearly flaked clear coat).

Furthermore, I will be using whitewall tires.
- Maxxis 100/90-19
- Maxxis 140/90-15
If anyone has any other suggestions for (better) tires, feel free to let me know!

Frame
I will most likely leave the frame rather stock looking. It is already a hard-tail frame, in the sense that it had the shocks removed and stiff brackets fitted. I don't think I want to make it a weld-on hard-tail frame as I kind of like the option of being able to go back to shocks.

Seat
I will be using an already existing seat pan with a custom spring. I will try to build the same concept that I've already used on one of my other projects/builds. That would be the following:





This is a seat pan that comes off of one of the mopeds that I build and sell parts for in my shop. The "spring", which, let's face it, is really more a shock absorber, comes off a mountain bike (it's the shock that is fitted in between the frame of a MTB).

This should be a rather rigid seat - I will have to see how this works out. I will weld a mount/bracket undear the seat pan and one to the frame.

Exhaust
I have both a stock exhaust and the exhaust in the picture. I believe this is stainless steel. However, I do not have a spool gun to weld stainless steel. I may want to custom build my own exhaust. Which tubing can I best use to do this?

I really like the look of the old school exhaust that are found on some choppers/bobbers, where the tip rises in near the end of the rame. Examples:




Front fork
I will most likely be leaving the front fork as it is. It is already a longer front fork than stock. I may polish the legs and triple trees, I may also have these powdercoated (black + pearly flaked clear coat - however, I am not sure how this will look).

Handlebars
Ape Hangers, most likely. I may even be using an already existing pair of bicycle handlebars meant for custom bicycles. These are 13" or 14" handlebars.



Engine wise
Obviously, after not having been running for five consecutive years, I will have to give the engine a thorough check. What are things to look out for?

I will surely be cleaning the carb, changing the oil etc.

I may want to spray paint the cylinder black and the cylinder head gold (heat resistant) to match the gold Ape Hangers - that is, if I go through with blending in gold! Nothing is sure yet...

Furthermore, one thing I am really keen on is the drive belt to chain driven conversion. I completely understand the concept and what has to be done, I even thought about doing it before I saw the topic about it, but I am not completely certain of which sprockets to use! By this I mean, which existing Suzuki sprockets do I need? I've so far understood to get a rear sprocket with:
- 6 holes
- 100mm pitch from opposite holes
- a custom spacer
- a 520 to 530 drive chain

If anyone has any tips, tricks or ideas, feel free to share!

More pics will follow tomorrow  .

FRED

bluesavage218 wrote on 06/29/11 at 15:03:50:


Thanks! I hope my vision turns into reality.

Indeed, I will be replacing the sparkplug, gas, oil and battery to see whether it sparks and eventually fires up!

bluesavage218 wrote on 06/29/11 at 15:08:41:


Feel free to specify what you mean.. what do you mean by this check exactly?

Also, would the valves be off after 5 years of not running?

Frederick wrote on 06/29/11 at 15:13:27:


Missed the sitting part... Nevermind, thought maybe it wasn't running becasue someone had messed with the engine.

Fred welcome!! 30EUR for a good aluminium polishing job sounds very affordable. I would go for that versus powdercoated hubs.
Rims - yeah, powdercoat them red.
About thicker spokes - buchannan's shop in USA seems to be the place to go for advice or spokes themselves.
http://www.buchananspokes.net/

I would imagine there is a way to get a mm or 2mm thicker spoke, with standard thread on top. I saw a spoke set once for a virago I think that looked exactly like that. 6mm spoke with 4mm thread part. Personally, spokes should be chrome.

Enjoy your project!

dasch wrote on 06/30/11 at 02:21:48:


I agree, spokes should be chrome. But as I mentioned, the stainless steel ones the wheels shop I talked to has are polished stainless steel, which is practically chrome. However, thicker gauge stainless steel spokes (7 gauge/4.5mm) cost between 60 and 90 euros (ouch!).

What is the stock thickness/diameter of the spokes on a Savage?

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 06/30/11 at 02:27:27:


I will make sure to check the mileage. Is the cam chain easy to replace?

I have a small (machine) shop myself, with plenty of tools - and what I don't have available here I can get somewhere else.

How about a complete engine rebuild? Has anyone on here done one (I mean pretty much everything; bearings, seals, gaskets, etc).

dasch wrote on 06/30/11 at 03:54:33:


Yeah, I know I will have to keep in mind the bend-angle for the spokes. I will measure my spokes in a bit, they looked more like 3 to 4mm - If I can fit 6mm spokes, I will be one happy man!

Better look at the cam chain tensioner,, its time.