Bike Build: "Azrael" by Urban Assault

[Urban_Assault]

Found this seat on eBay last week. I have no idea what it's from, but it's freakin' perfect for what it's going on!

Surprisingly comfortable for a seat with no padding.

Just came in the mail today. There are a few cracks I'll have to weld up, and I've got to fab some mounting brackets. Just waiting for the snow to melt so I can fire up the welder.

 

[firebolt020283]

neat build. as far as batteries go I have heard about some batteries that Erikbuellracing is going to be selling soon that will be a lot smaller and lighter than the stock batteries maybe they would be something easier to hide or stuff some were.

 

[Fock347]

this is the batery you need they cost alot but save alot of space check out the video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyYBh4ec05c

 

[Fock347]

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[07Bolt]

try this one,,,[up]

 

[Urban_Assault]

Thanks for the info, guys. Think I've got the battery situation figured out. [up] Those from TekBattery.com are really sick, but like you said... pricey. Hard to swallow, but I might spend $1000 on a battery!

Here's a few pics of the bike as she sits now. Hopefully I'll be able to show you all some progress in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Fock347]

i have no idea how to post videos lol.

 

[Urban_Assault]

Got a chance to move the beast out the barn, and start on some welding! Woo-hoo!

Fixed the seat, and finished up the main "spine" assembly. Still need to do the ribcage, but I'm going to do the seat brackets first.

Turns out cast iron is a bitch to weld. If you don't pre-heat it with a torch, the welds will crack when they cool. You also have to let it cool slowly, using the torch to keep it warm for several minutes. Finally got it, though.

Excuse the coconuts... I was trying to get a feel for what it will look like once the seat is on. It's going to be tough to keep a comfortable seating position, and still maintain the lines I want. I'll probably build an adjustable seat bracket so I can still mess with it once it's done. That'll also help in case someone tall ever rides it.

This shot gives you a good idea of how the "spine" flows. It follows pretty close to the stock airbox cover, with just a slightly more aggressive hump. I thought about using clip-ons, but don't think I'll be able to do it. It would look bad-ass, but I probably won't be able to reach the handlebars if I do... We'll see.

A couple more pics showing off the new spine and ass-pan:

And... Just because I can:

 

[Fock347]

is the cast iron just a mockup, or is that what your going to use?. btw that seat looks like it would be comfortable ,wouldnt want my junk so close to the spring tho lol. those bumps are a mofo..... o btw have fun rewiring the harness, i did it to my fire bolt moved everything under the tank ,but it got to hot then i moved it under the seat

 

[Urban_Assault]

That's the seat I'll be using. When I build the brackets, it will sit a little higher up and angled back. I want the curve of the spine to flow right into the seat.

 

[Fock347]

o i.c . any ideas on the harness tho. you can build a little battery box sorta thing under the seat and have the tail light sitting in front of it, that might work

 

[Urban_Assault]

I want to keep as much of the wiring and stuff in the frame/airbox as I can. I don't want anything behind the frame except the seat itself.

Got a chance to work on it some more today. Finished up the new subframe, and started working on re-wiring the harness.

Woo-Hoo! No more coconuts holding the seat up!

The seating position is actually WAY better than I expected! It's maybe a half inch or so lower than stock, and still fairly comfortable.


The seat looks a little bulky-er than I had hoped. I may trim it down later, but for now I want to finish everything else. I think once I finish the ribcage, the wider top will help it look more balanced front-to-rear.

I think the seat just sticks out visually because it's the only thing there right now.

I'm going to do the wiring before I finish the ribcage, just so I don't have to keep putting on/taking off the subframe while I'm working on it.

I had to lift the bike off the ground, so I could remove the rear shock. That let me remove the cooling fan, which gave me access to the wiring harness.

I was hoping I could split the two fuze-box sections and feed them through the hole in the frame on the left side, but no such luck.

I'm going to have to remove the wires one-by-one from the fuze box, and feed them up through the frame.

Arrgh!!! Not looking forward to this part... I may try to just disconnect the motor mounts and rotate it forward to see if I can squeeze it through that way.

 

[bajabomber87]

How in the hell are you going to put gas in it at a gas station?

 

[Fock347]

so are you going to run it over the top of the frame and stick it in the air intake hole from the top, or are you going to run it along side the engine and stick the fuse box from underneath. the only problem i.c with running the wires along the motor is the heat cus buells are moving space heaters you know. another idea you can do is shorten the wires and make a square hole in the air filter housing toward the very back of it so you wont even see the fusebox untill you take off the air cover. another thing whats going to be your rib cage spacing .

 

[Fock347]

just got a idea you should use this as a head light then you can call your bike (The Bull, or FireBull, or Raging bull)

 

[Urban_Assault]

How in the hell are you going to put gas in it at a gas station?

Haha... There's just enough space, but not much to spare.

Not sure on the ribcage spacing yet. It'll be more rebar, but I'll play around with spacing before I decide for sure.

As for the heat: The wires are already running through that part of the frame, I'm just having them exit through a different hole.

 

[Fock347]

thats one big head ache reversing them ,lots and lots of shortening and lengthening, if you plan on using that plastic wire insulator mounted on the inner frame. like i said in a earlier post i reversed my wire harness b4 and i ran them thru the intake hole , took me a good 3-4 hours to do that . cant wait wait to see that ribcage on tho, keep up the good work man.

 

[Pockets]

That's going to look absolutely WICKED once you're done. I never would have thought of using rebar for a bike. VERY unique![up]

 

[browland]

A bike even ghostrider would be proud of

 

[Urban_Assault]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support. Quite honestly, yesterday, I had the "WTF was I thinking?!?!?!" moment...

Today, however, was a new day. I decided to drop the motor instead of re-working the harness, it ended up being a VERY good choice. I used the "engine rotation" procedures(thanks Buelltech!), and it went very smoothly. Had the motor dropped in about an hour.

Here's the motor almost out:

That gave me just enough room to move the harness up through the main airbox opening. I wound the wires with a good quality heat tape, which should protect them (supposedly) up to 1500 degrees.

This is where my wife walked in. She was smiling, getting ready to tell me something happy.... Then she saw the bike. She got a very concerned look on her face, then turned, and walked back into the house without saying a word...

So here's where we leave off today.

Since I had the motor most of the way out, I decided to throw a coat of flat black on it. I'll eventually have it powdercoated, but for now I'm on a time-crunch. Hoping to have the bike rideable for the St. Patty's Day parade in two weeks.

I'll put a fresh coat on the exhaust too, since that's off the bike now anyways.

You can see the rear looks much cleaner now, no wires hanging out where the seat will be.

Won't have much time to work on it until Wed/Thurs, so wish me luck. St. Patty's Day is right around the corner!