samoran1

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Back with the 6th edition - of the official XS650 Calendar for 2018!

Timing will be critical, as we are aiming to get these out to you before year end! The format remains the same with 4 phases of the project.

Phase 1) • NOMINATIONS - 7 days
Phase 2) • VOTING STAGE - 7 days
Phase 3) • WINNERS SEND PICS - 7 days (If you are nominated and would like to get some nice photos of your bike, now would be a great time to do so in the fall before the snow flies.)
Phase 4) • Production/delivery/shipping


Nominations
1. NEW - Nominate UP-TO 3 bikes that you'd like to see in the calendar for 2018. Nominee must be member with their bike/build posted on XS650.com. (We are looking for another great mix this year so we are limiting each person to 3 nominations) Post your nomination(s) here in this thread with a picture.
2. Contact the owner and let them know of the nomination.
3. Nominations must be seconded by another member.
4. Nominations must be accepted by owner to be included in the voting thread.
5. You ARE allowed to self nominate (must be seconded to be considered for voting)
6. You ARE allowed to second nominate more than one bike.

Voting
1. Top 24+ bikes with nominations seconded by a member and accepted by owner, make it to voting stage.
2. Vote for your favorite 13 bikes (Voting thread)
3. Will be a set time for voting opening and closing.

Calendar Selection Winners
1. Must send Name, Location, Bike year/model, and short BIO to me via email.
2. Must have (or take) high resolution photos.
3. Must get all info emailed by date TBD.

As always we will have a pre-sale for those of you who want to ensure your calendar. We will have banners and links on the site and Facebook. If you Pre-Order you're guaranteed a calendar. After the pre-sale they are first come first serve. We've ran out every year and we've had guys order 5 to 10 at a time!

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE NEW ENTRIES

LETS GET NOMINATING


Thanks everyone,
Shawn (samoran1)

See the 2017 Calendar
See the 2016 Calendar
See the 2015 Calendar
See the 2014 Calendar
See the 2013 Calendar
 
There are so many great bike on the forum. I'll nominate:
Mailman
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-44
image.jpg


Jessezm
http://www.xs650.com/threads/lets-see-the-xss.170/page-219#post-517642

IMG_2166.jpg


wolds
http://www.xs650.com/threads/lets-see-the-xss.170/page-211#post-485522

In the sun 04.05.15 008.jpg


Also, for the 13th month:
Fred Townsend's (hitndahedfred) bike:
0402171532a_hdr-jpg.99878
http://www.xs650.com/threads/lets-see-the-xss.170/page-216#post-505918

edit: added images
 
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+1 (actually I mean, I pleased to second) all of those beautiful bikes nominated above!

Here are my three nominations:

Daniel Black: has truly done a transformation from rough to very pretty on Stella - his 1977 Standard. Daniel took Stella and the rest of us through the Valley of the Malfunctioning Charging System on amazingly tenacious journey. He is a man who taught us all the meaning of the words “thorough” and "determination". This bike is a daily rider as Daniel jousts with Phoenix traffic - so he really does have it sort out perfectly.
Daniel_Black-desert_scene.jpg


YamaDudeXS650C: A true gentleman who has contributed so much to our Forum through his beautiful camera tours of the rural Northeastern US and has been a solid technical contributor as well. 'Dude is one of those lucky ducks who owns quite a number of motorcycles (including one he parks in his living room...) and among them is a beautiful 1975 XS650B with that unique and sexy black, white and gold tank colour scheme which takes me back to my own 'B' which I have never stopped regretting selling.
Yamadude-75.XS.Calendr 002.JPG


Brassneck: A quiet and modest west-coaster who has built one of the cleanest and most tastefully effective XS650 Cafe Racers on the site out of a ratty old '79 Special. His bike has it all and when I was on a business trip to Seattle this year, I even had a chance to see it, sit on it and hear it run. The paint is magnificent, the engine is perfect, the set-up is meticulous and he has been generous with advice and help to many of us.
Brassneck and his bike have inspired me to transform my own 81' Special into a cafe bike - and many Forum members have contributed parts and advice.
BrassNeck_XS650-Cafe-NICE.jpg
 
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Thank you Double E for the nomination, I humbly accept.

I would also like to second Yamadudes super sanitary ‘75. He’s a great guy and a regular contributor on this site and his restorations are
Beautiful!

I would also like to second Brassneck for his stunning cafe racer.
 
I would like to nominate GeorgeOC for his 1976 XS650 restoration.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/1976-xs650-restoration-and-rebuild-advice-and-help-welcomed.44452/
Not only was this his first motorcycle, he did all the work himself, even an engine rebuild. He came out with a beautiful bike.
image.jpeg


I would also like to nominate Cycleranger, for his 1976 XS restoration.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/1976-xs650c-restore.45259/
He did a frame up resto and the final results speak for themselves. A stunning bike.
image.jpeg
 
Thanks, Pete and Bob. I accept.
This '75 is a "survivor", with original paint, chrome and bits, as far as I can tell. I have done my best to keep the patina as is. However, I did refurb the forks, installed a PAMCO, solid state rectifier and voltage regulator, rebuilt the carbs, new tires, sprockets and chain. Still has the air boxes, original handlebars and seat.

75.XS.Calendr 004.5.jpg


75.XS.Calendr 022.JPG

75.XS.Calendr 025.small.jpg
 
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Oh wow, thanks guys.
This is my first and only XS650 and I could not have done it without the help of the great folks and information I found here. (Special thanks to gggGary and Dogbunny!)
Except for the Pamco, and SS reg/rec my goal was to keep the bike totally stock.
Thank you all, I gratefully accept your nomination,
 
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Since the day I put her on the road early September last year, Stella has been my daily ride to points all over the Phoenix valley. She came to me in rather good shape, but she was and still is a 40 year old bike. She'd been mildly neglected, a PO or two (sometimes the CO, too) made a few mistakes, but all in all it's been a great year of learning motorcycles, engine and carburetor theory, mechanical tricks and tips, gosh the list is enormous.

The evening I brought Stella home, I went out to the shed with much anticipation just to hear her run and feel the vibration through the dirt. I had heard her run earlier in the day when inspecting her, but this was the first time I'd start her. I reached down to the choke and the lever fell off my in my hand. It was an easy fix, but it was a good clue as to what it would be like to ride a classic bike as my main transportation everyday. Mostly a lot of fun and exhilaration, but once in a while something might fall off in my hand.

She's really not too much of a looker from closer than 15 feet or so, no comparison to the impeccable machines many of you polish so well. But she gets me to work everyday, and most of all, she's gotten me home every night too. She's got patina in spades, but the things that count in everyday traffic have been brought up to snuff by the fount of knowledge and guidance that is this forum.

Kept stock, unless there's a good reason not to, upgrades include an electronic ignition, paper oil filter, stainless steel brake lines, tapered steering bearings, mounted voltmeter, all the usual suspects. More interesting items include a new seat (original pan & trim), a luggage rack, and my custom lighting upgrades. The original turn signal stalks act like running lights, turn signals, and four-way hazards. The stalks have not been modified, all could easily go back to stock function with a new harness. With low horizons and blinding rush hour sun, I like the added visibility and redundancy of the running lights.

I've gotten a whole more out of this year of riding Stella than I expected to. I definitely didn't expect her to lead me to shared experiences with fine gentlemen around the world. Thanks again, Pete.

Riverview Sunset.jpg
 
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I would like to nominate GeorgeOC for his 1976 XS650 restoration.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/1976-xs650-restoration-and-rebuild-advice-and-help-welcomed.44452/
Not only was this his first motorcycle, he did all the work himself, even an engine rebuild. He came out with a beautiful bike.
View attachment 107235

What an honor! Wow. Thank you @Mailman . I humbly accept of course. This resto rebuild would have never happened without the wisdom and helpful nature of this community. Thank you everyone!
 

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I'll second Redman2932's translucent green over tooling...
Thanks TwoMany! And I humbly except. This was my first build and I learned a lot during the journey. Thanks to the good advice and people in this forum. Started with this neglected diamond in the rough.
 

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I'm thoroughly impressed by the show-able builds and restorations that some forum members turn out. But I think what this forum does best is helping and encouraging game rider-wrenchers to get their barn finds and PO disasters back on the road. Many of these bikes are never going to be entered into, let alone win, a show competition. But they are going to give their owners a sense of deep accomplishment and the journey one takes to get these things back on the road will often touch that owner-rider-wrencher deeper than he ever expected. That's my experience, at least, and I'm drawn to others' bike's stories that are like my own.

Take this one, for example.
IMG_20170516_155902.jpg

I'll use its owners own words:

"A little history: I am the second registered owner since 1990 of this 77D. Was basically a barn find when I got it then. PO had dropped it 3 or 4 times, and I think he was afraid he'd eventually kill himself so he gave it to my neighbour. One day I was telling that neighbour I was looking for a bike, and unbeknownst to me he said he had one that had been out under his deck for awhile. It needed work, but I could have it if I wanted to fix it up, get it running and put it back on the road. Did that and rode it until 2008 when life got in the way and I put it in storage.

Fast forward to last summer. Was asked if I would sell it. Got it back into 'Papa’s shop’, started cleaning it up, changed the oil and filters, woke it up and it ran really well, considering.

After petting it for a couple weeks, I couldn't bring myself to sell it, and then by Providence came across this forum. Now I'm deep down the rabbit hole!

Spent last summer adjusting, tuning, fixin’, waiting for parts, polishing, polishing, polishing. Won't go through the whole shopping list, but all the stuff needed to get a bike that’s been sitting for 9 years to run, roll and stop safely again. This was more of a refresh project and certainly not the level of redo/restoration that so many talented people have shown here. Tank and tins need to be repainted. PO dented fenders need to be replaced. Mufflers need to be replaced due to the typical right pipe blow out. (Although I do love the sound of those stock pipes even with an extra hole or two).
But, my goal for now was to just clean it up, get it safe, and get some bugs in my teeth again.
"

And that rack with backrest?

"I know that carrier/rest is not the most attractive aftermarket accessory but it does have sentimental value. Years ago I coached both of my boys competitive baseball teams and we'd bungee our equipment bags to the carrier, hop on and off to the game. The back rest gave me comfort knowing that they'd ride OK. Hey, it doesn't get much better than going to a ball game on a nice summer night with one of your boys on dad's bike."

You're damn right, Robin. There's nothing better than the experiences we have around these bikes. For me, not even the finest mechanical perfection nor concours detailing comes near it. And Robin, you're a perfect example of the kind of member that makes this forum so different from other online locales. A gentleman amongst so many others.
 
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