That and the FE and anything else you got, I prefer hacking up stock parts just so I don't have to start with bare metal. Next weekend ? Let me know, I'll be there.
Cool.
Srinath.

batman wrote on 11/30/19 at 13:27:59:



Oh I dunno about VV - I would think forks are your choice in a VV so a lower bike may be due to someone picking too short a set of forks for the rake ?
With the RYCA, 1/2 the time I see the bike craned over on the side stand, making me think its higher than stock, of course that's the café, not the chopper.
However TBH, no one should chop this bike or "cheat chop" like I did with the triples without a set of dirt bike forks for it. One of those 89 KX250 like I used or nearly a whole slew of dirt bikes any number of which will work awesome. Machine the triples to that fork spacing and to carry the savage steering stem, flip the legs right to left and it can easily handle 12 extra degrees and handle lighter than stock.
If you cut the frame, stretch it 2" at the top and 4" on the bottom. That way you can run the whole dirt bike FE triples and all. Just make sure your donor has a 30/25 stem dia at upper and lower bearing, like the savage does. So Suzuki DR series from the late 80's is a good bet. Likely kawi as well, not honda/Yamaha. However I think they all have 30 lower, those 2 have 28 upper, still useable because you can get 28/55 but only in the ball kind. not tapered roller kind.

Cool.
Srinath.

What's the rake of your frame with that FE.
And is the intruder 800 triple set same offset as the savage ?
Cool.
Srinath.

batman wrote on 11/30/19 at 19:50:12:


That is not true, the pegs on my iron 1200 are mounted to brackets that are attached to the lower frame rails and are pretty close to the same thing I will do when i make my brackets for the savage foot pegs.

I will say that I wouldn't ride it on the interstate, only because I wouldn't ride a stock savage on the interstate though. They just don't have the balls for that IMO. This will be a bar hopper slash show cruiser. Hell I may only ride it once or twice a year. I have my sportster for daily riding, my cb750k cafe for some fast fun, and my cm200t brat for putting around the neighborhood

As far as being a hard tail, it's all a out looks. I'm going for more of an old school look, the seat spring are not as comfy as shocks but not really not that bad, definitely not scary and just look a lot cooler to me. I've owned two other bikes that were hardtail. 1 of them, a 77 xs650 had a ride hight just under 3.5 and was a blast to ride. It's all personal preference I suppose.

batman wrote on 11/30/19 at 19:50:12:


A hard tail needs less ground clearance cos the frame doesn't move. The seat is suspended, and you can have all the travel you want just from that alone. Typically the shocks of choice in these cases are bicycle elastomer shocks, which really in bang for the buck can not be beat. You can buy ohlins $2000 grade with $50 on the bicycle used or even new market, and just hold up the 70-90lb - which is 1/2 your body weight and seat and hardware.

Seriously, it can be as cushy as the person likes, I have built/modded many a bicycle, the idea of suspending the least amount (your butt) with the highest quality suspension is the ultimate upgrade for your spine - and this is from a hardtail hater (but that due to te fact that those side mount license plates are on every one of em and those are just stupid. It screams that "we didn't think this through"
I actually built an elastomer shock on my bicycle that will rival a $2G ohlins, let alone a Suzuki budget suspension for what was their cheapest bike for 20 yrs.

So, hard tail doesn't = hard on your ass. Its all in the design and components.

Cool.
Srinath.

"the frame doesn't move on a hard tail "   If you intend to use forward controls you may want to rethink that.  Sit on your bike and turn the handle bars from lock to lock watching the neck , that's the same movement the bike does when leaned in a turn. The steeper the neck angle ( the savage is 35 degrees ) the more the movement , the lower and farther forward,  the pegs are placed the more likely they will be to strike pavement.  It's nice that you have bikes for every purpose ,and that you'll be happy with your build , I 'm more worriied about the newbies that may only have a single bike ,a Savage. Who thinks that a bobber has to be lowered to look right?   VV's lower frames rails sweep upward just past the motor ,lowering the rear axel . Why ?  they could have carried them straight back and ran  longer top rails making the wheel base longer , which would have added to straight line stability , leg room(and the need to change the forward controls)  room for a longer tank or larger seat) .lower seat height,  And the bother of lowering the forks ,or need to run a chain tensioner , and sitting higher may have given the Savage a  "big" bike look. All just  my opinion but I think lowering these bikes just creates a lot of extra work/problems.

batman wrote on 12/01/19 at 11:30:51:


Forward controls will more than likely not be used as I am a short guy and don't want my legs to be fully extended while riding. They will probably be mid control. As far as the pegs hitting while turning, that won't be an issue as I intend to make an upswept bracket to mount the controls to. Kinda like my sportster. I'll have to go take a picture in a few.
VV frames for the savage aren't limited to just this model (mk4). I chose this model because of the sweeping backbone and struts as well as the lower stance. He can make whatever you want. The rake on my frame is 37 deg. I do not care for large tanks or seats so the dimensions work well for me. For the styling on this bike I'll take a chain over a belt. I guess I would say I'm not building a savage, I'm building a custom and using a savage motor and vin number.




I guess I also need to state that this bike is style over function and the things I do to it may not be in anyone else's best interest especially if you're intending to commute with it.
I do appreciate the feedback

Nice!