Phil's Bike

[Exs1.1]

Woo Hoo, Woo bloody Hoo, I just took the beast up and down the road a few times. In a word "Awesome"  bloody fantastic feeling indeed. I used the 4 into 1 that it came with and sheeze it was loud, all the baffles have disintegrated and there is no way she would get rego'd with that system on. It was a very weird feeling though as I still haven't finished rebuilding the front brakes, so riding it without the front brake lever was different to say the least. And here she is soon after we finished the maiden run. I still cant wipe the grin off my face, so now I will be hassling the painter to give her a nice shinny new coat ASAP.

[Exs1.1]

Wow...amazing work Phil!

I've just spent the last 10 mins or so reading all the posts in this thread and watching the bike materialise before my eyes.  The attention to detail is unreal.  Almost needed a couple of tissues by the time those last few pics came up.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks xsEDGE for the encouraging feedback  and if everything goes to plan I may even ride it over to Adelaide some day. A mate and I rode our XS's over there in 1993, I had an "E" model back then and he had the "RH". He still has his bike but it is in a rather sad state at the moment as it hasn't seen any action for some 10 years or so and has been sitting under a tarp all that time. He assures me that one day he will restore it to it's former glory, so you might even see the pair of us there at some stage down the track. 

[Exs1.1]

the bike is looking absolutely beautiful,
a lot of hard work done there,
cant wait to see it finished,
hopefully we'll be able to get out for a ride soon.

Hey Pete, thanks mate I am very happy with how it is all coming together. Even though it has taken me 14 months to get to this stage, it has certainly been a labour of love. I am sooooo looking forward to the day that she will be given a nice new number plate and we can get out and clock up a few miles together. That day is not too far away at all now, just need to organise the painter, and finish rebuilding the front brakes, and pay the hefty price for a replica exhaust system.   

[Edgey]

Wow...amazing work Phil!

I've just spent the last 10 mins or so reading all the posts in this thread and watching the bike materialise before my eyes.  The attention to detail is unreal.  Almost needed a couple of tissues by the time those last few pics came up.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

[petejw1966]

the bike is looking absolutely beautiful,
a lot of hard work done there,
cant wait to see it finished,
hopefully we'll be able to get out for a ride soon. 

[Exs1.1]

That bike's going to be the ants pants, mate. You are going to keep it when it's finished, right?

You can definitely count on that, Evereardy. I am hoping this baby will be with me for a very long time 

[Christian Raith]

Great work, very inspiring

[Eveready1100]

That bike's going to be the ants pants, mate. You are going to keep it when it's finished, right?

[Exs1.1]

Phil,

this looks AMAZING mate. Awesome build and the pics are  pure porn.

Love it.


Brian

Thanks Brian, that's too funny , glad you like it

[melbxs]

Phil,

this looks AMAZING mate. Awesome build and the pics are  pure porn.

Love it.


Brian

[Exs1.1]

And now I am really itching to get the Tank, Side covers and ducktail painted 

I certainly won't be using the same guys that I got to paint the frame as they stuffed me around too bloody long. I rang one "Paint shop" and they quoted $2500 for the job, after I picked myself up off the floor I told the guy that I didn't want the bike painted with 9CRT Gold. Then another shop quoted $1600, I can't seem to justify that sort of money when it's only a few items, and there is no "Masking" to be done, all the parts will sit on a bench and it would be a straight forward job. I have already bought the paint (2pak Emperor Black) and the hardener and thinners, so I would have thought that it should be fairly cheap considering all they had to do was paint the bits.

[Exs1.1]

With a few extra bits, as in "Airbox, Headlight, coils, leads, instruments, etc,  it is now looking like a bike.

[Exs1.1]

Now time for the "Electrics" I purchased a new fuse box on "EBay" for $35.00 and it was so simple to connect, it came with a set of clips and connections and looks great as the original one was looking very sad. I also purchased a "Kick Starter" from the "States" and even though it's not "OEM" I kind of like it being there.

Also the "Engine Bars" came from South Australia, and they too look "ok"

[Exs1.1]

With all the protective wrapping off and motor where it should be, it's starting to take shape.

[Exs1.1]

With everything looking so new, my main priority now was to protect the frame as much as possible to avoid chipping and scratching the paint when putting the engine in.

 I used a rope harness for the engine which was then attached to a "Chain Hoist" swinging from the support rafter in my garage,

 Myself and the wife managed to maneuver the engine into place without too much trouble, (not sure if she would agree on that) and only minor scratching to the only part of the frame that I neglected to protect (the brace that supports the oil cooler)