New World Datsuns...

DRIVEN wrote: Jerod's grandpa was a game warden in the Owyhees

Went fishing there once in my teens. Loved the place!

Finished up the seat. Certainly not fancy but fits the vibe I'm going for. I was originally looking for some olive drab canvas (think military surplus) but settled on some very heavy fabric with a backing in the right color. Now that it's done, it reminds me of a church pew. Believe it or not, it's actually pretty comfy. Much more so than the cafe seat on Marc's C-monster. It's held on by a simple wing nut for quick removal and access to the turnbuckle that allows for swapping out the rear frame finisher that's on it now or the cargo rack that I haven't finished yet.


I also did a couple obligatory laps around the neighborhood.

I think I've finally settled on a rear fender solution -- and it's totally different from what I had intended to do all along. Sometimes I have a tendency to over-complicate things just for the sake of being different. This was one of those times.
Also, on the recommendation of a coworker with a few bikes, I ordered a couple Scorpion AGM batteries for Zero and for the Goldwing. Both could probably limp through another season but I'd feel better with new batteries. I'll give my honest review once I have a few miles on them.
Next is paint and final details.

I would have told you to go with a Deka AGM. I picked up the EXT18L for the Datsun. I settled on Deka after lots of research.

Cant wait to see the rear fender, should help to finish the look of the bike.

I went with Scorpion for a couple reasons. First, Kevin did a ton of research and it seems that guys were absolutely giddy about them. Whatever. Second, they are actually pretty cheap. In fact, the AGM is cheaper than the last couple Yuasa lead acid batteries I bought. Third, free shipping. And lastly, the one that Kevin ordered for his Shadow came in discharged. We put it on the charger at work (made for AGMs) and it wouldn't fully recharge. He sent the seller an email to ask what he needed to do. Their response was a tracking number for a new replacement. No back and forth, no questions, just immediate replacement. The second one had no issues and he said it's never started so easily. Old carbed bikes need to spin fast to start easily. All I know is that the LiPo route that Marc has gone on his bike has been really expensive with no real benefit that I can see.

I looked into LiPo. Determined it's for race cars only. Someone had one in a LSF and the dealer left the door open too long. Killed the battery. But they are light.

Agreed. LiPo wouldn't be my first choice either. Thing is, when we started these projects, Marc found that a lot of guys were using them. They were also the same guys who were building really cool cafes with mono shock conversions that got finished and then had fancy photo shoots but never had any actual proof that they were rideable. Essentially museum pieces. The main draw for him was that they were really small and could be relocated under the engine and out of sight. At this point though, he's spent as much on batteries and a charger as he paid for the bike. I've recently read that they need to have a specific mosfet rectifier or else they have a tendency to overcharge. Oh well, that's his baby. He'll get it figured out. Can't argue with how cool it looks and it will definitely get attention. Mine will be pretty invisible if we park them side by side.

BMW just came out with a new bike, its not even for sale yet... but damn it looks good.

The spokes on the second one are crazy.

I'm getting close to the end. Scuffed it up and tried some PlastiDip to see what all the fuss is about.

Still need to get the graphics taken care of.

Took it for a shakedown ride today. Probably around 40-50 miles. Ran up Bald Peak and over into Laurelwood and then took other back roads home.


A few observations; I love the way the mirror looks but it's essentially useless so I may have to go back to the bar-end mirrors I started with. I don't miss the gauges at all. It handles better than expected but I need to go easy when I pull out of tight switchbacks as the knobby tread feels slippery. Seems to ride as expected on gravel. Somehow I forgot to add a breather to a vent hose so it spurts a bit of oil. A scrap of sponge in the end of the hose would probably be fine. If I ever have a reason to pull the forks, I might put in slightly thicker oil.

That thing turned out just plain tits dude! Super jelly of that.

Thanks, man. Still not done yet but I've been riding it a bit. People seem to like it.

Rack is done.



This swaps out with the rear frame finisher that has the Cat bolts in the corners. Takes about a minute to make the switch. The 5 larger holes are laid out to accept the feet on this particular duffle bag. The smaller holes are for the hooks on the bungee cargo net. I fully expect that there will be some tweeks to the design once I've taken a trip or two. The bag is large enough to hold a sleeping bag, weekend's worth of clothing and camping gear, and an AR upper and lower -- if I had one. Obviously, I could just strap a small pack on the platform for a day trip. I'm even considering making a third, smaller attachment with vertical transport in mind. Kind of like a sissy bar.


Biker build-off planned for today. We'll hopefully get all Marc's wiring done. Might even go for a ride. Updates when they happen.

Marc got the C-monster registered and insured last week. Today we finished getting the lighting mounted and wired. Did one last nut and bolt check and went for a shakedown ride. They both ran great and both were leaking oil from the exact same spots in the same gaskets when we were done. We have a revised to-do list but they're both rideable now.

Don't tell Mark but I like yours better (no homo)

For some reason that bag finished it off for me.

Thanks, man. For two bikes that were so similar, they couldn't have turned out much different.

Yea, to me, the gap under Marcs is just odd, and his pipes being black just hid too much.

The gap was one of the big must-haves for him because he really wanted to showcase the monoshock. I had intended to get a couple rolling shots to give a better reference of the proportions but I guess we were having too much fun riding and I totally forgot. With him in the saddle the space between the tire and seat squeezes down to about 3" so all the horizontal lines (tank, seat, engine ribs, driveshaft) fall into place and level out making the whole bike look more compact. Granted, the rear hoops were a point of contention and earlier phases of the build didn't have them but we eventually decided that due to Marc's physical size they were a safety issue. As much as he wanted to cantilever the seat like a lot of other (likely smaller) guys do, it just didn't feel solid enough. What we did do was change the angles and proportions of the hoops. We also raised the back of the tank and continued the line with the flat seat trying to reference as much as possible from the strengthening ribs on the engine. If you look at what his originally looked like you'll see that there isn't any complimentary shapes or angles. In my opinion they were just plain hideous.


As far as the pipes go, that's the color they were coated in by the manufacturer. I can't get over how loud and raspy it is. I think I'll start building my other exhaust system soon. It'll be a 2-1 also but with a much different look. Also, I need to order up some gaskets so I can take care of an oil leak between the block and the rear cover (transmission). Marc's has a leak in the same exact spot. Both bikes had attempted repairs by previous owners so it wasn't much of a surprise when they kept leaking after we put a few miles on them.

Man! That's a good looking bike. 10/10 would cruise!

Only been on a road bike one time when i was a little kid... Always wanted to get an easy cruise and shoot down the coast... Maybe one day... The endorsement and training is kinda spendy for me tho. That's a lot of Datsun parts.

Meh, priorities. Honestly, This is a pretty low budget project. I think is someone were being extra frugal either could be replicated pretty closely for $1000. Gas is cheap and so is insurance.