Kilday
XS650 Member
Hi Kilday,
like they said, the upgrades alone would cost more than $750 if you bought 'em new so yeah! Total deal!
And as you want a café racer, most of the work has already been done and all you need is a bumstop seat.
Some things I'd recommend:-
Front fork NEEDS a brace. The stock front fender has one built in. A TKAT or other fork brace works too.
Those bars ain't café, unless you really like the upright stance swap 'em for clubmans.
Bike as shown has no rear light or signals. I like effin' great big ones for safety's sake.
You can do better than those rusted shortie mufflers and IMHO wrapped pipes are super-ugly.
While I'd only buy rubber things from them as a last resort, Mikes pipes and mufflers are OK.
With respect to the forks, I don't want a front or rear fender so I will probably go with an alternative like the TKAT. I'm trying to reduce weight wherever I can, too. For example, the battery box is way too heavy (and completely rusted) so I will have to find a replacement. I'm holding onto it in case I need to use it as a template.
Yeah, I do not like those bars at all. I want a more aggressive posture meaning clip-on or clubman. Say, how far down can I tuck the forks to the main body of the bike? I do like shorter pipes but not wrapped. Also, I'm not a fan of the stock pipes and muffler. I'm a minimalist and am paying attention to the foundation, cut-off points, height, bone line, angles, and fork distance.
I haven't bothered to look for signals or a headlight. The headlight can go, too. I guess that my biggest concern is the 1977 engine and the 1983 frame. I haven't decided if I'm going to replace the engine or not. It's a kickstart but I bet that will get old pretty quick. I'm still figuring things out however, I really appreciate the input. Below are a couple of example of what I like minus the seats. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.