DIY whitewall for all models

[AndrewHaley]

Hi Andrew,
Can you tell me what bike your kick start lever came from?
Did you have to heat it up and bend it?
Thanks
Joe

actually the service or emergency kick was still on the original bike when i got it....but i have converted an xs650 kick to the bike

[vileneeds]

I am getting ready to cut up one of my 1100's. Let us know more....

[Crazcnuk]

Just for everyone's info, Natural rubber is white...

Thats why there was so much white the older you go in tire history. The first tires were all white, then they started going more and more black, with dye, as the white tires were so hard to keep clean.

[fredintoon]

Just for everyone's info, Natural rubber is white...

Hi Craz,
FWIW, dunno about the modern synthetics but natural rubber is a translucent mid-brown colour.
The shift from white pigment to black was adding carbon black to the mix to increase the rubber's hardness so it'd last longer.
From a 1920's Sears catalog:- "Our auto tires are guaranteed to last 8,000 miles or your money back"
Tire longevity has improved since then, at least for car tires it has.

[Crazcnuk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewall_tire

[Brad]

Twisting origional does make it unique, if not there would never be hot rods or choppers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Resto is cool. Chopper is cool. Yours will always remain the best cause you made it your way. Who cares what "they" think unless they were twisting wrenches and cleaning for hours with you. Now that I've found this tip, I'm gonna change mine in the winter. At least I can pick mine out of a line up, and my friends know its mine if it goes missing.

[BigDick]

My two cents

Gonna chime in on this thread. For your header wrap, the heat cycles will harden the metal
and cause it to crack on you eventually. Especially with the thin walled pipe usually used by
Chopper builders.


Now for the whitewall issue. . .

Some hot rod guys will sometimes take a sander or grinder and grind off a strip of the black
Rubber to give the whitewall effect. After much cussin' and discussin' it was decided that so
Little material is removed that it doesn't noticeably effect the structural integrity of the tire.
With motorcycles though you only have the two tires so more would be at stake if one
Catastrophically failed so I definitely wouldn't recommend this. They also covered different
Options for painting the whitewalls on. If anyone wants to read up on these guys' methods
Or whatnot they're the site for the mag Ol Skool Rodz.

link is forum.olskoolrodz.com

Lots of good universal tech info there as well.

[fredintoon]

Gonna chime in on this thread. For your header wrap, the heat cycles will harden the metal
and cause it to crack on you eventually. Especially with the thin walled pipe usually used by Chopper builders. - - -

Hi Dick,
Nah, exhaust pipes are made from low carbon steel that simply can't be hardened. The header wrap will slow down the pipes cooling rate so they are more likely to be annealed rather than they are to be hardened.

[BigDick]

Not going to argue the metallurgical terminology with you Fred, as I doubt most of the jokers on
Here could follow the big words ;-) and also I'm sure you're right. I don't remember exactly what
Everyone on the other forum determined was the cause, I do remember though most people who
Were running header wrap on their bikes had problems with their exhaust pipes cracking just below
The heads.

[fredintoon]

- - - I don't remember exactly what
Everyone on the other forum determined was the cause, I do remember though most people who
Were running header wrap on their bikes had problems with their exhaust pipes cracking just below
The heads.

Hi Dick,
most likely the wrap insulated the pipes so they got heated to the temperature where steel loses it's strength.
On a dark night I've seen single wall pipes on Brit singles glow dull red at the top bend. Wrap 'em in an asbestos blanket and they'll get hotter yet.

[Rstyduck]

But, with that said, Header wrap increases performance by keeping the heat in the exhaust and increasing the scavaging effect.
Right?