So I'm finally getting around to posting my bobber build.  I purchased Pete in '09 for $750, rode him for a season, and then began the tear-down over the winter of 2010.  I tore the bike down and rebuilt the engine over the winter, then lost interest and threw all the parts in a box and let them sit.  

Then, in the fall of 2012, after getting married and moving, I started working on Pete again, slowly but surely.  By spring of 2013, I had a running bike!!!  

This is my first build and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Enjoy...

Skinny Pete as he sits today:


Day 1 & $750 lighter:



After a quick paint job and tune up:






Rode it like this for a season before the "Big Tear Down":







Mock up with my Northern Tool trailer fender:



Frame horns cut and new seat mount welded on:




Fender support/luggage rack fabbed up:



Another mock up:



Rebuild time!!!






Shocks, who needs shocks?




Underside of rear fender/tail light wiring:




Rear fender/tail light:



License plate bracket:





So then I apparently got tired of taking pictures.  So fast forward to a complete Pete:





And 120 miles later:



Soooo...maybe I missed a bolt on the engine rebuild and spun a bearing.  I'm looking for a crankcase and then it's time for engine rebuild #2...yay.

Hopefully I will be riding in a few months...

I like the rack... the curve on the rear fender is nice too...
...

Love it man! Simple, yet the details really pull the build together! Aces!

Datpoolboy wrote on 02/20/15 at 05:04:30:


Not sure what might have been done wrong to cause the bearing cage to come apart....weird.

If you do all the work yourself, and just replace things back to stock, and nothing is horribly broken....I would expect to put about $400 in the engine by the time you buy a compete factory gasket set, a bearing or 2, a set of rings, the proper Suzukibond sealant, a new rubber plug, new sealing washers, etc.  If you buy aftermarket parts, re-use the sealing washers, don't need to put in new rings.....maybe $ 200 worth of parts would get a bearing replaced and the needed gaskets and seals.  If the left side of the engine case can be left alone and you don't remove the rotor of flywheel - you won't need any special tools...although making a plate and using a puller to help separate the crankcase halves makes getting them apart a bit easier...and you need to devise a way to hold the clutch basket still while you torque that nut down.

If you get all crazy and excited about upgrading the cam and installing a Wiseco....the cost goes up considerably (and so does the performance).

Often times if the head is not damaged....you can sell the good parts and make some pretty good money - enough to make a good payment toward a low mileage engine from crashed bike.  Every year 23 folks on this forum need a new head to replace the damage that a low idle can cause to the cam bearings.  With the money from the used parts and what you were going to spend on the parts to rebuild yours....you could have a complete engine.  It all boils down to how much work you feel comfortable doing yourself, and how good of a used engine you can find.  Paying a dealer to rebuild an engine for you will be costly - unless you can find a local mechanic that understands the Savage engine enough that you can trust them.

mjbgman wrote on 02/20/15 at 09:02:35:


Everyone is a dubass....a time or two.  We all make mistakes.  I have a friend that just assembled a complete Porsche 914-6 engine from parts he inherited from a deceased friend.  He replaced everything that looked like it needed replaced, very carefully assembled it, I helped him put the engine in the car.....and he fired it up.  After about 30 second it began to squeal, and we checked all the easy stuff.  A complete teardown revealed the case is warped and needs a line bore....evidently they can work great with the original bearings and be fine - but when you take the magnesium cases apart they can then spring and take a new shape!  So he had to spend another $ 600 on a line bore and start over on the complete assembly process.

Well with any luck....you won't need a lot of parts to do this repair.  Maybe a gasket set and a bit of cleaning, and a new bearing...and that pesky bolt and a bit of threadlocker!

MJQ, I will not tell you what is right or wrong...

I will however tell you that you are a braver soul than I am.... to tear it down to a basic frame an rebuild.....
You sir, are a fanatic! a perfectionist!.... you did what you deemed necessary to make your machine the machine you dreamed of!

Let no one take away what you have done.... gads man! you tore it down to bare bones! and put it back together again!

I want to do the same to both my wife's and my bike.... I only hope I can brave the path that you have done.... so I can preserve the frames and motors...

Question:
Did you redo any of the chrome? how expensive was it? What kind of time frame am I looking at if I just "jump into it?", well and keep on it?
Did you time your teardown and buildup?....

 

Cool bike, man. I still need to do something to my stocker.

Old Rider:  I hope I answered your questions as well.  The tear-down was easy...the rebuild is what's scary.  It was a lot of hard work, but also very enjoyable.  I wouldn't rush into it, but if I can do it, anybody can.  

As far as chrome...chrome don't get you home.