Old school rides: Let's see 'em!

Nice score, always loved that colour scheme.

2000 Buell X1

Well, an X-1 or X-2 is a rare bird. An XS-650 or 650 Special isn't. Those are hacksaw-ready.

it would be a shame to hack saw that 650 into a bobber /cafe

+1

XS650 Specials? Hack away.

Amen!

From this:


...to this:


What a fun bike to ride... not having to do a thing to it since getting it back on the road, a "British" bike with Japanese reliability.

He really is a great guy. He's very genuine. After loading up the BSA (which is the same bike pictured on page 222 of his latest book Leanings 3) we just hung out in his garage and talked bikes and airplanes for almost 3 hours. I was really careful, I didn't want to overstay my welcome but we just keep finding more to talk about. Finally by 4pm I figured I better get going, because i had a 6 hour drive ahead of me. He's a true enthusiast and VERY engaging guy to talk to. A highlight of the year for me.

I completely agree... the guy advertised it as a "Non-Running Yamaha XS650 in excellent shape". I knew I wanted an a complete XS650, but didn't really care about the condition since I wanted to make a "Bratsyle" bike. When I called him, he just said he wanted it gone; I told him I really didn't want to pay more than $500 for a non-running bike he said $800 would be as low as he would go. My brother and I went to go check it out and I about crapped myself when I saw it; I couldn't give him my money fast enough. When I got it home, I just could not believe how nice it was and I quickly had a change of heart about chopping it up. The pictures below show it after I simply gave it a good scrubbing... that was exactly how it looked when I got it home. It didn't take me long to find out why he had given up on it... everything I did to get it running looked like it has already been done (rebuilt carbs, tune up, filters, fuel lines, rebuilt petcocks, etc...). My wrenching skills are limited, but I would have bet money it was fuel related... wound up being a loose "kill switch" wire that would shake loose under high RPMs or bumps. It took me months to discover a 30 minute repair. Anyways... those months of pulling my hair out helped dissolve my love for the motorcycle. I sold it for a nice profit and used that money as part of my down-payment on a SuperTenere which I am currently in love with...Long story short, just wanted to share some more pictures of the Yammi

Very Nice

Anybody heard of changing the crank on these to a 270 degree?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbfHU0hyZ7s

Way over my head but it sounds awesome.

Haha... yes, that was actually my plan when I thought I was going to do a chop. I don't have the skills to do it myself, but Hughs HandBuilt will rebuild it for you or you can get a Crank and Camshaft for about $500 with exchange. Maybe one day now that I've got a reliable bike (and once it's paid off and set up )

Wow,
That is awesome...lucky you.

Leanings 3??

When did that come out and how the hell did I miss it??

Time to check Amazon! lol

That's an '72 XS-2.

I have a '70 XS-1, '71 XS-1B, and a '72 XS-2...I like to call them the "Tri-Fecta", lol.

Yeah, I'm a little obsessed with the early XS's, but what the hell...there's worse things to obsess over right?

I had an XS-1 in high school and sold it far too cheap and always regretted it, you know, your typical middle age story of the one that got away.

Six months of cosmetic surgery.

I am no fan of hard tails and floor boards, butt that is a very nice looking build!

Wow...what SpikeC ^ said...... having seen a sh*tload of really ugly :eek1 crappy bobber /whatevers, I hafta say that your XS650 is one HANDSOME Old School bike... Nicely done, indeed!

PS...love the hand air pump!

same thoughts

The rear fender makes it...