Awesome job. It looks like it should be a lot of fun to ride. I don't know how much farther you want to take it, but with a $70 grooving iron you can make a street tire look a little more like a flat track tire:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Deluxe-110-Volt-250-Watt-Grooving-Iron,6583.html The same company also sells a more powerful unit with a red handle - do not buy it; you have to unplug it and let it cool down after ten minutes or the handle will melt. I melted mine just a fraction of the way through the first tire. They sent me the one above as a replacement and it has worked great on multiple tires without any unplugging.
Ok, I finally had time to pull the tracker out and weigh it. It is complete except no oil and no gas. Tomorrow I will pick up the oil... I wonder what the lightest oil is? Suzuki lists the DR650 at 366 lbs. (This one was a bit over that since the Corbin seat is heavy) The tracker is now 297. With oil it will be just over my goal of 300. The stock rear wheel is heavy so if I replace it with a Warp 9 it would be under 300 without gas. If I could just afford to buy one that is...
That's great. On my GR650 tracker build my bike also lost 70 lbs. Almost all the weight came off the rear of the bike so now the rear looses traction easily. I'm always leaning back to try and keep the rear wheel gripping. Have you ridden the bike much?
No riding yet. I did ride the "Before" bike a couple times after I bought it. That's when I realized it needed a lot of work. Bearings, brakes, hoses, cables, etc... The engine runs well and might even be a little stronger than my other DR650, my regular ride. Then I decided to turn it into a street tracker hot rod project and have just finished it. We still have 2 feet of snow on the ground but it is melting now so I hope to be able to ride it next month. I am looking forward to it! One week from today I take it to the annual motorcycle show here in Anchorage where it will join the HD choppers, sport bikes, a few cafe' racers, and BMW GS's that will be on display.
That is too cool, you should submit it to pipeburn or bikeexif. It's better then some of the crap they put up. I think the stance looks great, I'd be worried if you lower the back end it'll mess that up. This is still a loaner bike for friends who come visit, right?
After a late night last chance finish up, I loaded the Tracker on the trailer to take it to the annual motorcycle show. It is 6 degrees F this morning with a 15 mph breeze. Great start for the motorcycle show... I had to bring it to work this morning as I won't have time to drive home and get it during lunch when I have to take it to the arena. Here it is in the parking lot at the office: One of the last projects was to make the engine side case cover/protectors. They are held on with Velcro like the frame covers.
Well that was interesting. I dropped the bike off yesterday and went to the show today to see all the bikes. Was I ever surprised :eek1 to see this: First place! Mine wasn't the only tribute to the classic AJS bikes though, another builder entered this beautifully done Yamaha built as a cafe' racer: I hope to be able to talk with the owner tomorrow at the show.