- PUNKIN HEAD -
This is another bike I have built using my TrackaBob concept.
I always name my bikes, and this one is called Punkin Head.
It began life as a 1980 Yamaha XS 650 G model that was in sound mechanical condition although it was in pretty sad shape as far as the overall condition of the bike.
After tearing everything down, and performing the various frame mods that I do, I then had it bead blasted, and then powder coated at American Powder Coating in Auburn, WA.
Their work came out fantastic.
This particular bike has some unusual twists to it because it was designed & constructed for a fella up in Canada, and he wanted certain things incorporated into the design.
First & foremost was the need for the stock wiring harness, which I ordinarily discard in favor of a much simplified design using only a single fuse for the entire system.
But...this is what he wanted…so I extended the length of the center section, and ran it through the frame.
It was one hell of a chore to do this part of the job, however without doing this the old ‘60’s Harley FX tank that is being used one this bike would not have fit properly.
The bike retains all the controls & the large stock headlight. The blinkers have been replaced with much smaller & brighter units.
The front end is off a Yamaha XS 850 that has been modified to fit on a 650 frame.
The big advantage of this change is the larger diameter & stronger down tubes, and the dual front discs brakes.
Subtle modifications were done to the triple trees to allow greater adjustability to the front forks, and to enable a better ride height.
This also pulled the Street Tracker bars back about an inch or so, and has made for a much more comfortable riding position.
The front brake system itself consists of a Magura master cylinder from Mike’s XS & Goodrich ebony braided stainless steel lines.
Many of the new parts on this bike were obtained through Mike’s XS.
The seat mount is a BILTWELL unit, and seat itself is one of their ribbed tuck & roll solo seats.
The bike has a MAC 2 into 1 exhaust system & is using UNI pod air filters.
This coupled with the Heiden dyno tune needle & jet kit from Mike’s XS made the final set-up of the bike a breeze.
It runs great & has none of the mid-range hesitation often associated with these bikes when the stock air intake & exhaust systems are replaced.
All of the major components on this bike are powder coated.
There are a couple bits & pieces that just had to be painted.
All-in-all I am quite pleased with the way the bike turned out.