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custom framed ex 500

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84K views 343 replies 76 participants last post by  Reed  
#1 ·
ok so here's my current bike, its a 1990 ex 500. i bought the damn thing for 150 bucks. It was pretty rough looking, and as most of you would agree, ninja 500s are ugly as hell to begin with. so heres what i came up with. its not the prettiest fighter ive ever seen but i have about 500 bucks into it with insurance and stuff. its probably one of the more modified 500 fighters ive seen, but its still an ex, and there is only so much you can do with it. ive changed it like 10 times, and each time i think its missing something. I have been toying around with the idea to build my own frame for it for a while now and have finally decided its time.
i recently bought a gs 500 race bike for cheap that i thought i could use parts off but it turns out that pretty much everything is slightly different. its got a works shock, race tech valved and resprung forks, 17" metzlers, good brakes, cr carbs, but the motor looks rough. So here's the plan: build a frame around the suspension off the gs, and use the motor from the ex. i figured that the best way to go about this would be to build a jig to locate all the improtant mounts like the swingarm, shock mount and steering head, directly off the gs frame. I would then cut the neck off while its in the jig and build a lightweight trellis style frame. sorry for the crappy pics, if anyones interested i can try to load some better ones in the daylight later on today, and maybe one or two of the gs frame and my jig so far.
 

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#9 ·
Check out the custom EX500 frames from Julian Farnham for some good ideas.

His custom frames are billet aluminum/cro-mo, and totally sick! :thumbsup:
he does have some cool shit. but this is where i really got my inspiration. its some kinda cromoly race bike, the others a rough idea of what i am gonna do.
 

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#3 ·
sick plans, I'll be watching. Oh and smoker deffinately knows his isht!!! Check out his thread (is smoking permitted) for ideas and a ton of useful links. Here's his thread.

http://www.customfighters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15799

Welcome to the site, you'll find a great group of stand up guys here.
 
#12 ·
finished up the jig today, and i got a chance to ruin a perfectly good gs frame. once i cut one of the main tubes i was suprised to see it spring out of shape, i figured a factory frame wouldnt have that much stress on it. At this point that is my biggest concern, heat distortion and building up internal stress from welidng the frame together. hopefully as long as i tack the whole frame together a couple times in every joint, and weld in small increments it shouldnt be too bad. my plans were to bring this to fighterfest considering that im only 25 mins away, but the more i look at it i dont think i can pull that one off, but im sure as hell gonna try. heres a shot of the frame cut up and another one of the neck. damn that cast section was thick! it was quite a pain in the ass to cut. but that just means more weight to shave off.
 

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#13 ·
the last 2 weeks have been total chaos, i have had nothing from problems. i had planned on using heat and packing my tubing full of sand to bend it... well that didnt work so well, if anyone has done this and would like to share any advice i would love to hear it. i borrowed a cheapy pipe bender witch works so-so but i guess it will have to do. i have a couple of the main tubes bent and ready but my mig gun jammed with wire and a piece broke off in the liner, forcing me to order a new one which should be here wednesday. i have the motor in place and a couple of the mounts tacked up. I may borrow a friends welder to get all this tack welded in place tomorrow. i will load a couple pics when i get some more spare time. ive been working at night alot and cant really get good photos, plus i get so cought up working i forget to take em lol.
 
#15 ·
the second bend in the top tube was a real pain to do, i think im gonna invest in a real tubing bender before i attempt anything like this again. i scraped two of those pieces before i got two good ones.
 

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#16 ·
i welded everything up and put the swingarm and shock on last night, it rolls! Its signifigantly lighter than the gs frame, my frame and the forks feels like the gs frame alone. i do need to put a couple gussets in but other than that its ready. now to figure out a tank, tail section and subframe, i want my tank to sit partially inside the frame and i considered just a seat no tail section but im open to any ideas.
 

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#20 ·
i think that tail wouldnt look bad, but i coudnt call it my own. im thinking something a little more agressive looking, but subtle. i have a couple drawings but im sure as soon as i start cutting, i will change my mind haha. my frame ended up different than i originally planned but i like it better than what i had pictured. i guess i just need to start cutting metal and it will come to me.
 
#25 ·
That frame looks sick! Nice work so far. I would say that you HAVE to do something with the swinger now though. Either add some bracing or build your own, cuz it looks like shit with that trick frame. :twocents:
 
#27 ·
That frame looks sick! Nice work so far. I would say that you HAVE to do something with the swinger now though. Either add some bracing or build your own, cuz it looks like shit with that trick frame. :twocents:[/QUO

Hahaha yea i know, i figured i would get everything else done and then before I do final assembly pull the stocker off and build a jig that way i can ride it and work on a tubular one at the same time. Im not a very patient person lol. Those wheels kinda suck too but my wallets not exaclty fat.
 
#28 ·
not a very big update, but heres a couple shots of the tank, hopefully i can finish it up tomorrow and move on to the subframe. Im getting a little tired of forming sheetmetal. :shootme:
 

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#32 ·
tough to tell what the tanks gonna look like from those pics but id make it nice and angular to complement the trellis with a flat top section and steep edges :twocents:

really liking the progress here! :metal:
 
#34 ·
Im not quite sure im happy with the tank, I guess it turned out a little different than i had originally pictured in my mind. I think the front of the tank needs to be brought down to more of a point. That way its not as bubbley and its a little more agressive, to kinda give it that sort of hunched foreward streetfighter stance. Also i might add more of a lip on the top edges, so the sides curve a little more and the top will have a little overhang. I have highlighted the area in black that im talking about. I also would like to note that you cant really get a feel for the depth and the curves in these pictures.
 

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#35 ·
I started working on the subframe, I figured I would take a break from sheetmetal and try to really get a feel for how the bike is gonna turn out, and to finally get a chance to saddle up and figure out if where i want my seat equates to where my body is comfortable. I want my bike to look good but whats the point if you cant ride it? anyways... so far so good in the ergonomics department, heres a couple shots of the sub.
 

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