Coolness in the air.

Well it is starting to get cooler and it's about time to tear down the '81 again and do some changes. Currently here are the changes I got off Ebay and Shipping here as I write.

• White Hand Grips
• Braided Front Brake Lines
• 12" Apes

Looks like with the these minor items I can start some major movement on the cleaning up of controls.

• Remove the Handlebar Controls (relocate starter button to rt. side of bike)
• Change out Headlight and wiring
• move around the ignition.

A few other things that I plan is to

• Adjust the height of the rear fender.
• Remove the Chain Guard

Thats about enough for now but finding a few nice Biker sites along the way.Check out  dirtyoldbiker.com

Completed Version

Here are a few pics of the completed Version.

Completing the Fender Painting

OK now that I am underway with the repainting of the TINS and the rear fender I have run into another problem. FLORIDA HUMIDITY. This hasn't been such a plague but it recently has been causing my Black Paint to Dry Foggy and Gray. It is not affecting the finish as it is coming out smooth as silk BUT the drying time between coats and the shine is a strange gray color. Hoepfully in the next day or two it will be less humid and I can get the final Base Black down so I can let it set for a day or so them get my Clears on. While I am waiting I went to the Florida Bike Builder Expo and foudn some inspiration in some of the ride in Bobbers that were there. Also searching the internet for Brake lines to replace the Front lines and allow me to work the handle bars. I think turning them upside down is going to be the way to go for the near future.

Problems seem to jump out of nowhere

Had to repaint the Oil Can and the Side tin. It seems that the paint didn't gel together so when sanding it down a little I noticed a small spot and the small spot turned into a peel and the peel turned into me taking all the paint off back to the primer. Reprimed the Oil Can and Side tin again and got the first coat on for the base color. Now its moving on to waiting for the base to dry and working on the rear fender mounts and adjusting the solo seat mount. seems like the things to do are never done.

Mocking it up for fun- Before - AlmostAfter

OK just sit the tank on put a bolt on the fender, lay the seat on there and see what you are getting towards. This can also help ID the things you want to do next and what you need to do that aren't looking like you thought or pictured. From this I can see I need to "Shave the legs" basically grind off the reflector stops on the front forks. Also I need to get rid of the Air Cleaner, a nice velocity stack should look good, and a Brass one at that will offset the gold tank emblem, a Brass Taillight and a few other details and it should be on the road.

Cutting the rear fender

OK. I went over and over in my head the thought about CUTTING a perfectly good fender and then someone coming along and wanting to buy an original bike. WELL I researched it and found a 1981 XLH rear fender and it cost $63 +shipping. SO I decided that if someone wants a "perfect" fender then they will have to spring for a new one and if I sell this and they want a new fender I will discount this one $63 lol. Anyway I finally pulled the trigger, broke out the Angle Grinder and whacked it. Marked my line, taped it off as a Straight guide and whacked it. Angled the edges and it looks great.

Wrapping the Pipes

Wrapping the Pipes and making them look the bobber part.

Got my Titanium Pipe Wrap in the mail today and couldn't wait to put it on. SO with a little forethought I started wrapping from the rear of the pipe and left about 4 inches of the "good" chrome still showing. This made for a sharp contrast between darl wrap and chrome and made the pipes really stand out. The trick here is the Mounting bolst on the back of the pipes. Make sure you mock your pipes on the bike and note where the bolt is so when you start wrapping you know how to wrap the bolt into the pipe. You'll see exactly what I'm talking about if you look at your pipes.
The next piece is the pipe clamps that clamp the pipe to the head, this is rather tricky especially if you use the stock ones since they have a very rigid design they are hard to expand enough to open over the wrap and the pipe. BUT with a little prying and a one bolt two nut expansion thinga-ma-bob i was able to pry them enough to get it on.

Clear Coat Tank and Tins

Clear coating is one of the easier yet a very important part of the finishing of your painted tins. I found that Painting a first VERY LIGHT coat is the best. The lighter the coat the easier it is to control the chance of a RUN. Allowing the coat to dry between 15 and 20 minutes between coats allows enough set time and also allows each coat to chemically bond to the coat before. Messing up in this stage means sanding down and repainting. SO patience is a very good thing right here. I ended up getting mine on without a run and it looks FAR better than I thought it would for being Rattle Can.

Tank Base coat on and Putting on Emblems

The tank with a Base Coat.


Finished the Tank and for Rattle Can the finish turned out a lot better than i thought it would be. It took about a week to complete. Putting on a Coat, Wating, Wet Sanding and then putting on another coat. This is a Base coat color and these pictures show the tank without any clear coat applied. Once I measure and put the Emblem on I will clear coat over the tank.


The Tank taped up ready for the emblem.
Marking a piece of String with a Middle Mark then measuring out a mark from center and then taping to the tank will help with a GUIDE for setting your emblem on the side of the tank.

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Once one side is on make sure that the emblem is adhered to the tank in all spots.
Each side should be fairly level and if you measured correctly and where able to lay the emblem on correctly it should look pretty symetrical when done.
Went with a Brass color emblem to match a Brass Velocity Stack on the air cleaner AND switching out a lot of the nuts and bolts if possible to brass will add to the Old School look I'm trying to accomplish.

Removing the rear Fender

This was one step that had to happen so since my solo seat is on its way I figured I might as well get rid of this rear fender. The turn signals presented a minor challenge but taking off the fender helped and I was able to slide the wires out of the fenders.

SOLO Seat Found

I decided to go with a All Black Leather. With a Little cushion, and no design on it. I want the bike to be true Garage and not have a lot of festoonery. This seat from Demon Cycle seemed to be what I was looking for. I was trying to deal on a "Best Offer" from a guy on E-bay he turned down an offer I made and said he would take $105, so I offered that and he turned it down. So F&%^ him.

Researching the SOLO Seat

This isn't the most important part of the bike BUT it is where you will be spending a lot of time. So comfort is nice but since this is a Bobber SMALL and MINIMAL is best. I am going to try and find a seat that can match up with the oil can mounts BUT doubt I will find one and I will need to have the battery and top of the Oil Can covered just for looks (detail). This may be difficult and may require a trip to the welder to cover the electrics and oil. Also since the seat is a Lepera Double up. I need a Smaller Fender for the back. I don't plan on Cutting my original SINCE it is in great shape I will buy a Cheapo off Ebay and cut as needed.

Priming the Tank and Tins

Getting a nice smooth coat on is not the primary concern right now. Its getting it covered and then doing a little wet sand before for the main coats go on. SINCE this is a True Garage Bike and I am doing it with very minimal tools as well as a minimal amount of money I will be using the cheapest yet smartest items I can find or buy without breaking the bank. A good auto Primer is the best bet and one that is a "Sandable" primer will be great. Pretty much your favorite auto store will have it.


The next MAIN coats will be regular Gloss enamel paints that will be layered on once the skins are smooth. Then the FINAL coats will be "Auto" clear coats. about 7 coats should do it.

Picking out the color scheme for this type of job should be simple I am going with a two tone Orange on top Black on bottom like the 2008 Nightster style.

Removing the Tank and Tins

Taking it all apart is really the start. Removing the tank is simple BUT required especially if I want to paint it.


First getting it all apart is a chore. since it has probably never had the oil tank or any of the other tins off it I will take them off and make sure I clean the whole area of the bike so when I put it back together I know what is in ther.



The tank sanded down to metal and the other tins on their way to metal so the primer and first coats can go on.

A few things while I wait

While I wait to get parts a few things need to be done. One is the COIL is an awful Yellow color and if I pull it off, Clean it and paint it, it won't stand out and look so bad. A nice Flat Black will work. Also cleaning the connections and removing the tank will allow me to see what else is under the tank and can be cleaned. Simple Green and some rags are great to get alot of the grime off and the ugly yellow covered by a nice flat black High Temp paint makes the COIL un-noticeable. These are very minor things but details on a bike that will try to stick to the minimalist concept are everything.