When will the xs650 hardtail fad end

xstwin

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It"s sickening to me that all these bikes are being chopped up,but it's even worse that they all look the same. If I see another tc bros weld on hardtail with a sportster tank,whitewalls,and a yellow lens in the headlight I'm gonna freak. If your gonna chop do something different, be creative don't just think your being creative. Jockey shift yeh uh thats not so unique either,but one of the things that boggles the mind is the way these guys set up the frames,worst lines I have ever seen on something with a motor since the pacer.YOU LOOK LIKE A GIANT RIDING ON AN ACUTE TRIANGLE.THE BACKBONE IS SO SHORT AND STEEP U CAN BARELY SEE OVER THE GAS TANK. You know they do sell pipe benders and welders so you can do your own thing :doh:. I just had to get that off my mind.:banghead::banghead:
 
- each to their own...its still more individual than riding a tupperware motorcycle
 
I admit. I went the easy route and bought a TCbros hardtail, but as I have stated before: If I had it to do over again. I would have made my own. I would have cut the back off and made a dropseat. It's not completely out of the question still. It's just not going to happen for awhile.

To answer your question about the hardtail fad though... The earliest report of a motorcycle that I'm aware of was in 1867 and it was a hardtail. Every motorcycle from that time till roughly 1940 was a hard tail (70yrs). Most motorcycles remained hardtails up until roughly 1960 (another 20yrs). However, there has always been the desire to ride the old hardtails and new custom hardtails by motorcyclists since 1960 and today. So that fad has lasted roughly 140 years.....

- each to their own...its still more individual than riding a tupperware motorcycle

:agree: I'm a very firm believer in "To each, his own" my first "chop" was more of a learning experience than me trying to make a one-off bike. I learned that I'm more capable than I thought I was and in hindsight I should have taken on more of the tougher jobs that I originally thought would have been beyond me to do correctly. You know what they say about hindsight though. 20/20
 
The TC bros hardtail/sportster tank combo may seem pretty common for the xs650, especially on a site like this where you attract alot of individuals with a common interest. But how many XS choppers/bobbers/etc... do you see riding out where you live? I know of a few that exist within about a 40 mile radius but when you are out riding/driving whatever you rarely see a hardtail anything, let alone a xs650 that has been chopped up. Most people in my area are out on soft tails, roadkings or sportbikes.

And yes, to each his own.
 
Like Sillywhitekid said, you see a lot on the internet, but not in person. If every single person who owned a stock XS650 posted a picture on this site, you wouldn't think there were so many TC bros-hardtailed XS650s anymore. Also like BigJimmy said, a lot of guys are doing these as a first project. Maybe when they hardtail their second one they'll get a little more creative. :D

Not everyone can afford tubing benders and welders. They’ll have more into that than they paid for the bike. A lot of these guys are lucky if they have access to a welder and have a 4 ½ angle grinder and limited tools. Yet they still get project bikes done, have fun building and riding them, and maybe only have $1,000-2,000 into it.

As far as the bad lines, I agree, some are pretty bad, but you have to give them some credit for trying. Not everyone is an artist and can visualize up front how the whole bike will look when it’s done. Or as they go, they might realize this or that doesn’t look quite right, but they don’t have the skill or money to re-tunnel that tank or buy/make another seat, etc.. First projects are a kind of a learning tool for most people. You can’t expect to get everything right. Making a custom bike with clean lines and a put together look isn’t as easy as some of the pros make it seem. Have you ever tried drastically customizing a bike and getting it all to come together? (I’m seriously asking because I don’t know).

So when will the XS650 hardtail fad end? Who knows! Probably when they stop being so available and cheap to chop, or when it's no longer the cool thing to do (in their mind).
 
id like to say i became hooked on the xs650 about 4 months ago while searching ideas for my other bike, the virago. Pretty much not alot you can do, the youtube video i found had me hooked. where else can you buy/build a custom bike for cheap money. I love the styling of these bikes and simplicity to build something you can call you own and not have 50 grand dumped into something thats so long you cant turn around in a parking lot......the hardtail theme is really cool but i value my kindeys so i intend to build a brat style. I will use a sportster tank..i wil use a solo seat..and i will call it my own because i built it myself, on my own.....with the help of these guys on here, true xs650 enthusiasts.
 
xstwin......I agree.......but I always thought that they just couldn't afford shocks.....:laugh:

Gotta love the part where...."got my build done but it won't run".......:laugh:
 
It"s sickening to me that all these bikes are being chopped up,but it's even worse that they all look the same. If I see another tc bros weld on hardtail with a sportster tank,whitewalls,and a yellow lens in the headlight I'm gonna freak. If your gonna chop do something different, be creative don't just think your being creative. Jockey shift yeh uh thats not so unique either,but one of the things that boggles the mind is the way these guys set up the frames,worst lines I have ever seen on something with a motor since the pacer.YOU LOOK LIKE A GIANT RIDING ON AN ACUTE TRIANGLE.THE BACKBONE IS SO SHORT AND STEEP U CAN BARELY SEE OVER THE GAS TANK. You know they do sell pipe benders and welders so you can do your own thing :doh:. I just had to get that off my mind.:banghead::banghead:

And how, exactly, would you do it differently?
 
It"s sickening to me that all these bikes are being chopped up,but it's even worse that they all look the same. If I see another tc bros weld on hardtail with a sportster tank,whitewalls,and a yellow lens in the headlight I'm gonna freak. If your gonna chop do something different, be creative don't just think your being creative. Jockey shift yeh uh thats not so unique either,but one of the things that boggles the mind is the way these guys set up the frames,worst lines I have ever seen on something with a motor since the pacer.YOU LOOK LIKE A GIANT RIDING ON AN ACUTE TRIANGLE.THE BACKBONE IS SO SHORT AND STEEP U CAN BARELY SEE OVER THE GAS TANK. You know they do sell pipe benders and welders so you can do your own thing :doh:. I just had to get that off my mind.:banghead::banghead:
It"s sickening to me that I'm reading another "chopper hater"thread, but it's even worse that they all look the same. If I see another guy that can't weld on hardtail with a sportster tank, add whitewalls, and a yellow lens in the headlight I'm gonna freak. If you're gonna post a hater thread do something different, be creative don't just think your being creative etc, etc.... I just had to get that off my mind. :banghead::banghead: p.s. I'm just busting them a little xstwin:laugh::laugh::laugh: nothing personal :) but really I've read this same subject a hundred times! so let's try something creative shall we:poke: Think about the guys that do it because they like too and have fun doing so, thats what bikes are all about! Building a motor or chopper, riding stock or cafe, it's all good :thumbsup:
 
Im hardtailing one or more of mine this year for the first time ..Its the only way I can stay intrested I think..Ive ridden stockers for so many years Im bored of 'em ! I should make a fair bit of dosh selling off all my unwanted stock parts I hope !
I do agree with XStwin about the big bloke on a short triangle arse-end though, I want mine to look like the post-war B31/33's & Norton 16H's I used to own, not like a feet-forward chop, Im too tall for that..
Ive got a bloke near me who builds show bikes so Im pretty confident I'll end up with a frame that looks like it should..
As long as it looks half as good as Gordons Ill be happy..
 
Lots of people use the TCBros hardtail because they make a good product. Mine is not a TC Bros rear, but sometimes I wish it were.
Asking when people will stop making choppers is like asking when will the music of the 60's "go away". Answer: it ain't happening, ever. The stuff from back then was just too cool to completely go away.
As far as all looking alike: stock bikes all look alike too.
So what do YOU see as the best god's own way to do an XS? cafe? near stock with tasteful old-man mods???? whatever!
I hate to see the chopper hate migrating over to this forum.
I live in a major urban area and have literally never seen an XS chop. So its not like they are on every corner. And if the reason for that is that they ride like crap, well then they make dandy parts bikes later on.
So what is the huge freakin' deal??
What is it with some people that they feel they can tell people how to be or what to do?

Now I admit I hate seeing a good shape stock XS chopped, and I've suggested to people that they re-think that. But a junker??? why not???? Rigid choppers are not a fad. They've been around a long time and will be around, in varying numbers, probably always. It would be like taking a junked VW bug and saying NO, you will NOT build a dune buggy. NO more dune buggies.
WTF?

And as to why they all look alike? well there is this thing known as "classic lines". Many strive for that, myself included. Some don't get it, and their bikes look like ass, but in general a generic, low budget chop is, to many people, an attractive thing. Not talking about OCC style swoop monster $40k bikes, but just some little unassuming chopper bike you see somewhere...that you couldn't even place what decade the thing was built.
Yeah, some people like that. I like that. I will gravitate to that every time.

So some hate choppers and I hate it when people puke their negativity and irritations onto others. Piss in their cornflakes, so to speak.

It saddens me to see that here. I've already more or less had to leave a list that I was on for years and years and who helped me soooooo much when I had a stock 79. Now I feel I can't even hardly post there because of the broomstick up their collective butts.

jeez, more cornflake pissers, just what we need.
 
You know what's funny... It's the very same guys complaining about the vast number of hardtailers lacking the creativity to not do the "tcbros and sportster tank" build that restore the bikes to original looks and condition. Wow tons of creativity there huh? Let's recreate EXACTLY what someone has done before. Order off some bolt on parts and copy every other stock XS650 out there. See the difference between those guys and me... I don't bitch at them for doing what THEY want to do with THEIR XS. The moment someone buys a car/motorcycle/house/toilet they can do whatever they freaking want to do to it. I'm with Gordon. I'm sick of reading these threads. I really try to stay out of them, but it just bothers the shit out of me some guy is going to be so negative that they feel the need or urge to bitch about doing what I or anyone else wants to do to their XS650. If I want to buy one and shred it into scrap; then that's my choice. I'm also with Gordon in the reasons some of us do it. Because we like to do it. I liked it so much I already have another hardtail on the way. It's not an XS, but it is a hardtail nonetheless. As I stated before the "fad" has been around for roughly 140 years. Around a lot longer than the XS650 has ever been. Ride what you like to ride. Build what you like to build. Live and let live. I'm sick and tired of ppl bashing each other for what they choose to do as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
 
Just build and ride what you like. It doesn't matter if many people do about the same thing (weld-on hardtails, sportster tanks or whatever) on their bike. It is about building something using your skills and that you will be proud to ride.
 
Wow, just joined this site and can't believe the haters. And for all the cool guys, looks like XSTWIN is all about bitching. Check out his past posts. See ya.
 
Haha hey Tech7. Welcome. Well as long as I have been on here. This has been more of a chopping and doing WeverTF you want site and the haters are more of an exception than the rule. So Welcome to the site!
 
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