July 2012 XSOTM "Daily Rider" voting and discussion

We now have 5 nominations for the July XSOTM Daily Rider contest.

The poll will close on July 31st, the winner will have their bike photo posted to the XS650 home page and be permanently added to the XSOTM picture album, not to mention the incredible bragging rights that go with such a feat.

Contestants; please feel free to post details, how you came to ride an XS650, and MORE pictures, links to your build thread etc.. Let me know if you would like me to use a different picture for the voting.
Viewers and voters may also make comments and ask questions, Please keep all comments positive!

In order of acceptance here are the contestants.

xjwmx



sseres



Jamesgs4



tron



I am Carbon



Now you have to decide which bike best represents a "daily rider" and vote, good luck with that, and please feel free to post and explain how you voted.
As aways posts are welcome, please keep things positive.

I would like to hear about your bikes use, so i can make up my mind who to vote for. Bring it on

This is, after 44 years of life, my very first motorcycle. It was beautifully restored by the PO who has taught me much about the xs650 and an appreciation for the machinery. I'm handy with a power drill but have never fixed a motor. However since this bike ecame mine, I've rebuilt the carb, put on Hugh's clutch mod, and learned so much including oil change and cable replacement & upkeep. I ride to work any day it's not rainy (dude, I live in Portland, Oregon). The alone time I get too and from work is some of my favorite parts of any day I get to ride.

I've taken on an engine rebuild project http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18860
The PO only cleaned up the externals and, after reading around here on the forum, I couldn't wait to tear into this one. Thankfully, my wife talked me into getting an old dead engine to fix, which I'll swap for the one on my bike now. It's getting long in the tooth with a few oil leaks, and a clutch which definitely needs some new parts. There is no way I could have ever tackled anything like this had I not learned so much love for this bike riding it to work every day, and with the help and encouragement of the forum members.

some more pics:

Firstly, Thank you to those who gave me some votes in, its appreciated very much.

My xs650 is my second bike, first being a cbr 600 plastic toy. I brought the bike back to life after being dead, hidden away in a shed since the 80s. Back in its day, it had been toyed with a bit, butchered a bit, and given a god awful 80's airbrush job.

I went in knowing nothing at all about the mechanics of motorcycles, and resurrected it from the dead, into a mean, havoc wreaking, daily smile creator.

I have documented the work absolutely horribly, and wish I took the time to take more photos and update the build better. I ride the bike daily, rain or shine, about 20 km's into work. On my days off, I hunt down the best forest roads and back roads I can find.

Yes, I ride the piss out of it dirt and pavement.

The current specs are as follows:

74 TX650 with 77 Neck
Engine re-bored .050 over
Later model electronic ignition
New cam chain
5th gear OD
BS38s with K&N Pods, jetted accordingly
Polished cases (sort of!)
Mid 70s Honda 35mm front end with disk
XS1B Tank ('70) with scallops and original patina'd gas cap (epic)
Pro Taper Gold handlebars
Small chrome throttle housing with custom cable
Simplified wiring, Kick only, 4.5A/h battery
NGK plugs, plug wiring, NOS coils
Sportster Iron head headlight with eyebrow
LED signals
LED Tail light, with custom aluminum plate/light holder
Aluminum side covers
Custom leather flat seat
Bridgestone trail wing tires on black spoked wheels (18/19)
Drag pipes, low brow baffles, tan heat wrapped
Speedholes throughout

The bike kills it on and offroad. The 35mm front end (which I use a fender quite often) gives the front end a little less flex, and has a very comfortable spring rate. The disk im running has a bit larger then stock rotor, and does its job just fine. The engine has been rebuilt, and makes zero valve noise, and runs very smooth.

I have some future plans, but currently, live in an apartment, and do basic maintenance, but mostly just ride the damn thing. I currently ride more then I wrench, which is the goal with any old bike I think. I have had the bike in a few configurations and this is by far the most fun.

My favorite part about the bike is how to most, it looks fairly stock. Someone who is keen notices the flat spots on the tank (xs1b only) and the larger front end.

Enjoy, and pop by my blog!
http://musseaumoterwerks.blogspot.com/

The last photos show the bike in East Sooke, BC, With Mount Baker, and the snowy Cascade mountain range in the far background.

650Skull said:

Bring it on

Click to expand...

Wellll, I haven't owned a car in a couple of years. So Trigger is literally a daily rider if I want to go anywhere. My Jeep got so rusty it disgusted me to keep it up so I pawned it off on my bro who put the engine in something.

So then I left Lexington KY about Oct 2011 headed to the great northwest on back roads. My military bro gave me some of his gear, a Cammenga compass, snugpack sleeping bag, indestructible "tactical" flashlight, good poncho, free beer coupons for a bar in Colorado, and a few other things. I left in the rain. A harbinger of things to come.

see pic 1 - giant cross at confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Much more beneficial than the typical smaller crosses.

Hit extremely cold weather for the season in Weekendrider's country. See pic 2. Holed up wondering if rain would turn to snow.

Went to nearby McDonalds with taunting interior (see pic 3) and googled for nearest warm country. Discovered existence of Austin, TX. Thought it would be a good place to winter if I could make it there.

Took about 30 days from departure to arrival in Austin. Did not keep journal but did record itinerary of every campsite and etc.

Got low-paying but quite interesting job in Austin to stop the bleeding and to pay for $100/wk. indoor living. Found woman I could live with for free, but she's too scary. Her personality, not her looks.

Worked there for about 6 mos. Pic 4 is downtown Austin from the road to work.

Quit job about a week ago to look full time for a better job. Am ambivalent about finding one. If I find one and stay, or don't and get to continue wanderlust, either is equally alright.

As for Trigger herself, she's as stock as possible for reasons of maintenance, cost, and lack of creativity. Although the bars are CB750, a suggestion by TwoJugs.

I want to start by sayin the XS650 was my first choice for a bike.
I ride my baby everywhere, rain or shine. I don't hav to ride her everyday but she is my #1 choice for getting around. I'll take the van only if I can't get everything on the bike that I need to get or take with me.
One of my friends had a few XSs
in a barn so it was easy to see 2 of them but one of them was burried under who knows what.
And this was the one he was willin to let go. So I dug it out I could get a look at it.
and chucked it on a trailer n brought her home. This is what it looked like when I got her home.


After shooting the video it was time to clean her up and get her running.

the tank was so rusted
it took a week of electrolis to get the rust out. after getting the bike running about 4 weeks of
riding the plastic came loose from the cam chain guide.


So I had to pull the engine,


remove the topend to get at the guide


so I rebuilt the top end and put her back together.


"It was Thanks to
the HELP I got from you guys that this went well" And I have been running her ever sence, I
fixed the dents in the tank,and the crank in one of the side covers,took the tail light off the
seat body took some aluminum sheet scrap that I had and built a rear fender and polished it to
mirror finish. I used 2 part paint + clear it has
4 coats base[/IMG]
5 coats 2nd color 6 coats clear.
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I don't really have an interesting story. bought it for 500 almost 4 years ago, did 99% of the work myself(except sewing the seat cover) I ride it almost every day and all over the Western US and Mexico. It is fun and I will never sell it.
it started off as a ratbike, and eventually turned into a Bratstyle-style bike
old pics


¡Mexico!





recent-ish


here is a list of mods so far

chopped and lowered seat rails
single neck gusset
rebel shocks
rebel rear fender
aftermarket sporty tank
custom red Krylon paint job by me
mooneyes wheel covers
cocktail shaker exhaust
polished wheel hubs
polished and shaved forks
polished cases
bronze swingarm bushings, tapered neck bearings
harley front drum brake that I laced to a narrow 21" rim
1973 tx 650 engine, all stock for now
Pamco
Hughs PMA parts
home made seat pan and pad
barrel key switch
ebay vintage throttle
white coke bottle grips
home built narrow handlebars
yellow HID triangle headlight with polished aluminum mount
polished and shaved top clamp
home built foot clutch
home built jockey shifter
high mounted mids
chopped side cover
nickel plated risers
nickel plated foot controls
nickel plated footpeg arms
home made aluminum pegs
No School Choppers plate holder
model A taillight
shinko 240 rear and avon speedmaster front
18/30 520 conversion
detachable luggage rack

this ones tuff! everyone has a good story so im go'n to have to think about this one alittle

At least Ol' Trigger ain't dead last. Yit.

last weekend, camping and riding

I love my bike even if others don't so being last is OK to me xjwmx. and a few Guys like her. Not to mention that She aint broke down

Hey guys BEING here puts your bike among the best of the best. There are over 11,000 members here. The XSOTM polls typically get about 200 votes, so even among voting members you are way up there. I'd be happy to ride any of the bikes featured this month.

Indeed gggGary,I would ride all too. Next month I'm going to change my bikes look big time I have NEW parts in boxes! In a couple more weeks I'll have the last parts that I need for the project. Ed

xjwmx said:

^You ask the likes of me since when does rain hurt? Ha you haven't ridden in the rain probably ever to have a bike like that I cannot picture that bike covered with mud.

I just sayin these bikes are to daily riding like the thread in the lounge is about changing Harley oil, with the possible exception of dld1, although he is suspiciously excited about a particular ride to be a daily rider.

Not a shot, just a fact.

Ah, and methinks you protest too much

Click to expand...

gggGary asked for suggestions for the month of July and i suggested a daily rider so that the not so flash used as a bike bikes got a chance to show them selves off and by daily rider my interpretation was a bike used for every day use or one used to pop down to the shops when the wife had the car/van. If a bike was entered and is not used as per entry then they have to live with that.

It is a tough one and I haven't voted yet but i have now eliminated one as a bad sport

^Boo hoo. I won't get Skull's vote. You should factor in how you like the guy's beard too.

Actually, I'm not a bad sport at all. I'm teasing them. What I get out of this is the enjoyment of being nominated by someone I have a rapport with, and some frank discussion. There's no prize that I know of, so what?

Having their bike featured on the main page is a prize to some. Now enough bickering... let's keep this fun.

Well if there was a T-shirt involved, then I'd show you ruthless.

The pics of my bike in the dirt in Mexico, 1400 miles away from home say enough about how my bike is used. That is a fact.

Yeah I am pretty sure everyone nominated here has the bonifides about being daily riders. With in that broad class can be beauty queens and cur dogs. I have a "daily rider" too. I work on it every day, get it running, ride it to get more parts and work on it again the next day.

One might as well say that all blood is royal!