I drove three hours to see a “decent” bike only to find the PO’s had gutted the wiring trying to fix the TCI, had left it outdoors for likely 5 years resulting in lots of rust, had removed the carbs and exhaust which explains the seized engine, and had read far too many web sites concerning bobbers and thought they were sitting on a gold mine. I gave them a pissed off attitude for dragging me all that way and offered them $100 for what was basically a title and a frame. They took it. 
When I got home, I soaked the engine with WD and after 15 minutes , she was spinning freely with 150 compression on both cylinders. Having aquired a few necessary parts to get it running , a can of starter fluid, and a few adjustments, I had the beast purring like a kitten.
Score.
Next came the tear down.
I thought a soft tail would be easier than a rigid but as it turns out there was alot of work getting this thing right. Aside from bending the seat rails, there is alot of engineering involved to get everything to fit. They’re just not as wide open as the hardtails.
This was my wifes project from the start and as she loves to shop , I gave her the task of combing flea-bay for all the required stuff. She also footed the bill for everything.
Her bike right…
I shaved and lowered the forks, and extended the swingarm by 2″. The shocks are from a Harley Bagger. I wanted to limit swingarm travel as the steeper pitch from the shock mounts caused for more arm travel to achieve the same compression. The ride is comfortable although tight, still smother than a rigid.
The cam chain is too noisey and I’ll have to do a top end tear down this winter as its already been adjusted but other than that she rides and runs great and corners like a dream.
The wife is happy as well although I push the curves alot more.
I included a pic of “Old Crow” along with “Tidy Whitey” as the Crow is now for sale on E-Bay. I’ve got to make room for another project
Have a look.
Bodhi
