Did you custom make that front wheel ... or did it come on an ST? Or is it a European thing? Last time I tried a spoked front with a Brembo front end, the spokes interferred with the brakes ...
I am no expert but that looks like a whole K-bike front end. I was going to go this route in order to switch my snowflakes for spokes but then I found out Boxermetal.com is very familiar with converting brembo/snowflake-model airheads to spoked wheels. Since those R80ST spoke wheels are almost impossible to find, I think the 2 solutions to choose from are finding a K-bike front end or calling up Chris from Boxer Metal. I didn't want to swap out brakes and master cylinders so I stuck with my stock fork and went with the Boxer Metal solution which is basically mixing and matching older stock parts and using some spacers that he fabricates. Building new spoke wheels is pretty $$$ though. Back to this bike in the photo- what a nice tastefully done build! I love the seat and custom seat frame now welded to the main frame.
The front end is new 'K' Showa forks with rebuilt Airhead wheels, there are spacers under the discs which have been redrilled to suit the hubs and the previous holes filled in.There are various other spacers and bushes to make things fit. The calipers have been machined to be central on the discs and then a little bit machined off the back at the same angle as the spokes to give clearance. This is not my bike, it was built for someone else, I'm in the process of doing one for myself but slightly different.
These 2 bikes show how to get things right and wrong. The black bike looks purposeful, the seat and the tank fit as a whole and the striping bring the 2 together. The first bike with the alloy tank just looks a mess, the seat and the tank are at an angle to each other, making it look as if the bike has a hinge in the middle. The stock air filter cover has been removed and the battery relocated under the gear box, but this has left a ruddy great gap in the bike that just emphasizes the spindly nature of an airhead frame. It's all wrong!
This is a 1976 R75. I tried to install an HD police solo seat with air ride, but was impossible without loosing the toolbox, which I found very handy. So I went with the old school solution of 3" springs. Ride is extremely confortable, but I lost a lot of the butt sensing/feeling too. Will recommend it for 8+ hours of riding. I probably will go with a narrow solo version later, this is too wide for me. http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b557/achuras/DSCN2597_zpsdfd9fbef.jpg http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b557/achuras/DSCN2594_zps023e6838.jpg http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b557/achuras/DSCN2593_zps2e5f5a5c.jpg http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b557/achuras/DSCN2590_zpseec7a49c.jpg http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b557/achuras/DSCN2592_zps29ce06ca.jpg
Solo police The linky will not open? https://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-kcFhgjj/0/S/i-kcFhgjj-S.jpg Tried fitting this solo seat but just would not go on, bike above /7 1977 750 May be for 81+ not sure!
This: But if that one sitting on the deck doesn't satisfy, want to trade it for something...like money and/or airhead parts?
The black bike looks like it was built for looks. A higher seat and subframe??? To hide what? A . . . no. GS type headers on a road bike? A . . . no. An exhaust that looks like it would grind on the pavement on a trip around the block? A road hook for a side stand? Outright dangerous more than likely. Why have a boat battery in a sporty bike? Shortened front fenders? I like them when they work! The metal bike looks like it was built for looks too but not nearly so blatantly. Building bikes for a look? That's what choppers are for. Building a bike that works AND looks cool? It can be done but the trouble is that that takes very apparently uncommon skill.
