Has anyone ridden a rigid rear end?

[edo]

So Ive got this XS 650 frame thats fairly fucked about with. Its had a few chops & changes & has been modified with lower seat rails etc...and its going to be hard to make it look even borderline acceptable.
Im building a low, fat wheeled bobber thing out of this one. It will be kick only & really minimalist. Really wont get ridden much at all either.
So I can buy a prefabbed weld on rear section to turn it into a proper rigid rear end which would clean up the lines & work better...but just how harsh will it be?

[rorz]

Never ridden one but I would imagine it to be quite harsh....

[gat5rodeo]

If it'll be ridden fuck all just do it

[biscan]

Depends on the setup of the bike.

Big sidewalls on the tyres with lower pressure and a sprung seat would not be that harsh.

With a bit of power i would imagine it would light up the rear fairly easily though.

[edo]

Lol, it'll have fuck all power...like maybe 40hp...

Ok, Im doing it...

[9triton]

sprung saddle i reckon is a must.

ive not ridden a rigid - but riding my 1975 triumph -with really fuck all suspension movement - every so often you hit a bump that you really feel up thru your spine / innards.

[bigmuz]

A mate of mine rode a rigid harley for an afternoon and said the novelty had worn off well and truly. A big bump rattles your brain and hurts your spine.

But they are fuckin cool so just do it.

[motoxray]

Depends on the setup of the bike.

Big sidewalls on the tyres with lower pressure and a sprung seat would not be that harsh.

This... sorta.
Most guys I know who ride rigids wear a kidney belt

[QABB]

Pfft, whingers. My old Z50 was a hardtail. No probs.

[motoxray]

Pfft, whingers. My old Z50 was hardcore, like me! No probs.

Fixed!

[edo]

Fuggit...Im as hardcore as a z50...bring it on

[The Pupat]

I hear oxy is your man to speak to about rigid rear ends, I hear he knows all about it after a visit to the valley peep show.

[Uncle]

I dunno if you remember my old Dyna but with how low it was it had just on 1" travel in the back.
With a badlander seat it was fucking rough but I ended up with a 09 Dyna seat that made it quite nice to ride. As others have said use a sprung seat and you should be ok for bar hopping.
FYI I've seen a few seats sprung with a cross country 4" shock. If you buy a good looking shock its not out of place.

[morerevsm3]

ridden a couple of veteran rigid bikes, at town speeds with sprung seat, they are uncomfortable, the faster you go (I only got to about 85kph) the more unbearable it becomes

[turbo510]

I would love to have a rigid, prefferably an old triumph. That way I won't be able to ride it often as it most of the time it wont run anyway.

Try these guys if you want to buy a kit for the XS

http://www.tcbroschoppers.com/store/...9578vgnsbjci10

They seem to get good reviews

[RotaUte]

Lol, it'll have fuck all power...like maybe 40hp...

Ok, Im doing it...

40hp in a bike like that is alot of power.

[GTV]

form < function

[Dave75]

I worked with an apprentice mechanic [he was also an apprentice Hells Angel]
who had a 350 V8 in a Harley HardTail frame,fitted with a 450mm wide Sand Paddle rear tyre.Used for Sand Drags at the Hells Angels Peake property.

[Gammaboy]

Doit ffs.

[dogsballs]

that is fuckin tuff!

[psssi98]

+1 edo do it. It's a toy not a tourer......give it a foot clutch and suicide shifter like the one above too.

[dave1600]

I've ridden older rigid bikes (Ariel, Velocette), fitted with sprung single saddles they're not too uncomfortable for cruising round slowly on good roads.

Hitting a decent sized bump / pothole at any sort of speed isn't pleasant though.

[Gammaboy]

decent sized bump / pothole

That's what your fucking eyeballs are for anyway... although if Guy sees the world the way his photos look, he needs a volvo.

[edo]

Ok, Im doing it...its also getting a hand (jockey) shift.

I was thinking of putting the clutch lever on the shift lever, instead of having a foot clutch....I assume that would work?

[80DGY]

lol guy

I've ridden a few rigids, they are interesting to say the least

Sprung seat is a must, or a big fat arse to soak up the bumps

[turbo510]

I have seen a few bikes with the clutch lever on the hand shift so it must work ok.

Has to be a lot easier than hooking up a foot clutch too.

That Yamaha rigid above is fucking tits...

I do like the look of a drum front wheel though (or suicide style with no front brake at all)

[edo]

I might be a fucking idiot...but Im still going to have brakes...on both ends lol...

They will be discs, just stocko XS650 ones though, so they will be shit.

Im very tempted to run 2 of the std cast rear wheels (16inch) because Ive got them...1 would need to be substantially machined to fit between the forks...otherwise I might just lace up 2 front disc hubs, & run a converter on the back...still 16 inch, with fat whitewalls. Sure is gonna handle shithouse!

I ordered a hardtail from those TC bros blokes in the US, along with a bunch of other stuff...like a sprung seat.

Im thinking I might just tack it together myself & get someone less shit at welding to do it properly...but I'll probably crack it & just do it.

[Uncle]

I like how this project is shapeing up, it already sounds like it's getting out of hand.
Still you're a bad man Edo you have had me looking at them awell.

[edo]

I actually have 2...this one is going to be awful to ride so it should be easy to build...because they were awful standard.

The other one I actually want to make go, stop & steer...all things that they don't do stock.

Lemmie see if I can find a pic of my starting point.

[80DGY]

I could never find an XS650 at a reasonable price

'the horse' magazine has heaps of them edo - worth a look

oh and don't put your clutch on the shifter, do a foot clutch ffs if you're going to do a jockey