Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Enjoy XS650.com?Consider making a donation to help support the site. XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
If I can't find a caliper, that might be the path home. That or rear brake only. A friend in the motorcycle biz has offered to help me find an old banana caliper and see if we can shave them.
Thanks to all who voted. I've updated my album with pics from my driveway photo shoot...
http://www.xs650.com/media/albums/giant-red-devil-81-old-school-xs-650.2813/
The jockey shift, like the bike, was a barn find (but different barn). This cast-iron lever is stamped "Giant Red Devil", which gave the name and the color scheme to the bike. Mounting this heavy antique was a challenge, but worth the trip.
The only bubbles I ever want to see in my paint are those in the paint job on my tank. Brass fixtures with sight tube, on Frisco-style tank. I bent the gooseneck on a Harbor Freight pipe bender, and replaced standard brace with coal auger. Note paracord wraps instead of zip ties, because 70s!!
Really wanted kick-only, but with high-compression racing engine, it's near impossible to kick, so I had to add a battery back on. That's the thing about a total custom bike - you have to make changes to your plan to roll with the punches.
A side view of the Big Bore kit and sight tube on the Frisco style tank. The Kick is by Brass Cycle Works, who powder-coated my kickstand, and added a brass kicker with a stripe of padauk wood, prized in Africa for drums and its rich color.
It took me FOREVER to find these lights. Completely not an exaggeration, 200 hours of searching... These are road lights from a 1966 Porsche 911SC, with housing flipped for bottom-mount instead of top-mount, and with H5 bulb.