Bobber dirt bike, anyone make one?

[KMinAF]

I was given an old 1981 Honda XR500 a little while back and recently saw a picture of a dirt bike bobber. It looks like a fun project idea and cost (theoretically) would be minimal.
Does anyone have suggestions, cautions, ideas and especially pictures of their own bike?

 

[harley jim]

Had the xr600 that bike scared me. It was quick

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[driftpin]

Trade it for an XS 650, better bobber material. Leave the poor XR500 alone. It was meant to be a dirtbike, not a bobber. Throwing-away the fenders, running the downtubes up on the triple trees, shorter shocks, scrapping the comfortable seat for a narrow thinly-upholstered plank, and sawing-off the rear frame loop should take a very-serviceable bike, ruin its intended use, and make a dandy bobber. Are you going to add ape-hangers, too?

 

[rharman]

^^That^^ Made me laugh out loud.

 

[driftpin]

I see them advertised in the local craigslist all the time. People ask $$$ for them, what sort of an uninformed 'rider' would want one, I dunno. They take a possibly clean Japanese vintage ride and do exactly as I mentioned, and somehow this magically-enhances the value of the bike past what it sold for, new! I like vintage Japanese bikes of the '70's and later, because the bikes available older than that are fairly-rare, and don't deserve 'the fate worse-than death' of being turned-into a 'bobber.'

I saw one guy who 'bobber'ed' a 350 Honda, and while it actually looked like someone who knew what they were doing did the work, I could've bought an early Gen 1 Hyabusa from a friend of mine, who owns a shop, for the same price as the bobber. $5K. I've been riding since the 1960's, and there's no-way I'm spending $5K on a Honda 350 unless it's a RC174 and that should maybe buy me the gas tank, hopefully one signed by Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood.

Bobbing an XR500 would be like turning a clean Willys Jeepster into a lowrider.

 

[zkling]

Make it into a supermoto

 

[driftpin]

Make it into a supermoto

The thing about this is that there are many people who like the idea of a bobber, and the style. Whether or not they will pay the kinds of prices that flippers who do these bikes expect to-get, that's the thing.

Making it a supermoto with 17" roadbike tires and wheels, and lowered suspension would probably be a better use of it than a full-on bobber, but in the end, if that's what the owner wants, is a bobber, it's his ride. There are a lot-better choices than a single for a streetbike.

 

[rharman]

The "Mike The Bike" comment made me smile. What a blast from the past.

I will tell you, I really loved my SR500 thumper street bike. I had an SR for street and a TT that I desert raced & played as well as short track & TT when they first came out. Wonderful bikes. I had them so dialed in, you could start them using the kickstarter with your hand. Smooth, so much torque, good handling. Just really good machines. Before the SR500, I rode an RD350 - a couple of really good machines with totally different characteristics.

A bobber street bike I can tolerate (not really my style though) but a bobber dirt bike? Makes no sense to me but to each his own.

 

[iagsxr]

So it's an 81' correct? Twin-shock, short travel suspension, steel tank?

Bobber or a Brat is about as good a use of it as any if you're dying for a build. Otherwise put some street tires on it and bomb it around town as is.

 

[joe49]

Bobbing an XR500 would be like turning a clean Willys Jeepster into a lowrider.

Those guy's in Wisconsin dropped one on air ride, not really a lowrider, but it looked Okay.

 

[driftpin]

Here are some rides that play the same-sort of card, take a very-competent design, and turn it into something completely out of character. Bigly.

Kinda-like gender re-assignment... . "Choose your pronouns."

 

[Modern Garage]

That's no way to treat a perfectly innocent Moto Guzzi.

 

[rharman]

There's a guy at work who rides in sometimes on a bobber BMW. It looks OK, just odd. I never saw a BMW done that way. Like I said... not my style.

 

[driftpin]

There's a guy at work who rides in sometimes on a bobber BMW. It looks OK, just odd. I never saw a BMW done that way. Like I said... not my style.

A style exercise paid-for by BMW using their new 1800 cc engine.

 

[rharman]

A style exercise paid-for by BMW using their new 1800 cc engine.

That red concept bike in most of the video was actually not bad looking. But, OMG... Looks like it is 8 feet wide! Open driveshaft was interesting.

 

[az45]

So it's an 81' correct? Twin-shock, short travel suspension, steel tank?

Bobber or a Brat is about as good a use of it as any if you're dying for a build. Otherwise put some street tires on it and bomb it around town as is.

Pro Link, Steel tank.

Scrambler/Bobber bikes are pretty cool, the XR would be fine especially if it was free.

I'd go for it, or be like everybody else and build an XS 650.

 

[Spike01]

It has been done by many professional shops, and it's not cheap or easy.



I've done a couple of resurrections of discarded bikes. The Honda SL350 was a street legal enduro, but not much of a road bike.




I created a scrambler-ized version of a BMW R100 also. It was heavy but it was fun and did ok on fire roads.

 

[Spike01]

Scramblerized R100

 

[motophile]

I really like the street tracker look, mine ,a 78 xl 500

 

[driftpin]

Pro Link, Steel tank.

Scrambler/Bobber bikes are pretty cool, the XR would be fine especially if it was free.

I'd go for it, or be like everybody else and build an XS 650.

Like this? (attach.)

O.P., I recall reading about your two XS-650's.

There should be a few good ones at this show on Saturday January 25, 2020 in Dania Beach FL, sponsored by the Everglades chapter of AMCA. Free admission.

 

[rharman]

Like this? (attach.)

O.P., I recall reading about your two XS-650's.

There should be a few good ones at this show on Saturday January 25, 2020 in Dania Beach FL, sponsored by the Everglades chapter of AMCA. Free admission.

Reminds me of the old days going to Ascot Park or San Jose. Kenny Roberts, Gene Romero, the Scott brothers. A long time ago.... I had the pleasure of racing at Ascot. Dinosaur race - four strokes only. 1980 I think it was. Rode my TT-500 and won one heat.

 

[driftpin]

JC Agajanian's Southern California Oval Track, I never was in CA at that time. Probably fun to ride there, if you won a heat, you were good! Riverside Raceway, Sears Point, and further up the coast, Laguna Seca, those were places the rest of the country read-about.

One of my friends where I grew-up in NYS was racing speedway, he was very successful (JAWA attach.). His brother was a motocross racer for Bultaco in the 1960's, in Europe. Another brother with the speedway competitor, the two of them were featured in ads for BSA in motorcycle magazines (attach.) in the 1960's. The brothers have race bikes from their past-time, one is a 650 BSA Hornet (attach.), that they bought-back and restored, it's a resto-mod, though they have all the original equipment to make it completely-stock.

Norm Robinson, two of his speedway accomplishments:
*1976 Won East Coast Speedway Finals, Owego NY
*1978 Won US Open Speedway Championship Owego NY

He also raced ice courses and motocross, and was a winner at those venues, too.
*1968 Won 250cc class, North South Championship in Edgewood Md.
*1968 Won Quebec Ice Racing Championship at St. Agathe, Quebec
*1971 Won AMA Pro half mile race finals
*1971 Won 1 AMA Pro motocross (Victor NY)

The last picture is Norm Robinson of NYS leading Bobby Schwartz of CA.

 

[KMinAF]

First time going to Orange county fairgrounds speedway (many, many years ago) I saw all the empty seats at the end of the track and told my GF "awesome, lets sit there, so close to the track and we can see all the action" It only took one lap to understand why nobody was sitting there.

 

[rharman]

It was just Sportsman stuff - not AMA. In my case, a good bike (TT-500) made up for a lot of rider deficit. The best Dinosaur race was at Perris raceway - probably late 70's. The shop manager at my work (HD dealer) had a flathead rigid-frame KR that he let me ride one year. There were a lot of BSA's, Triumphs, etc. but EVERYONE was slapping me on the back grinning when they saw/heard that KR.

On the topic of old bikes, one of the guys working for me was a former factory rider for Hodaka. A mechanic at the shop was a former AJS factory mechanic. He had an old AJS road racer - you could eat off that thing. Absolutely spotless down to the twists on the safety wire.

OP... Sorry we've kind of hijacked your thread. I have to tell you that your story about OC Speedway cracked me up. Used to go there every week and, yeah, I've caught some rooster tail myself. You learn quick! The riders in my day included Mike Bast, Rick Woods, Bruce Penhall, and Billy Gray (from Father Knows Best).

 

[KMinAF]

Please keep the posts coming, I'm enjoying it. I didn't know Billy was from Father Knows Best. My wife and I occasionally watch the show on prime

 

[driftpin]

Here's an interesting bobber (I suppose) built by a friend of mine at his shop. The bike has been sold and is being shipped to CA where it should prove to be entertaining on fire roads.

And, since Hodaka was mentioned, an Ace 100-based Super Rat.
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/hodaka-super-rat-little-big-bike-roots/