Why Did You Choose An XS650

I always liked the british bikes but could never bring myself to paying for one, plus I did not want a "restored" bike as I've restored cars,trucks, sleds, and wanted something i could ride hard and endlessly.....

A buddy of mine that I ride bikes with is into XS650s and has about a dozen of them. He prefers the early ones and had the '82 I have and was doing nothing with and didn't want....so i snapped it up from him, so far it has been a fun project, so much was missing that this one became a bobber pretty quick....hopefully will be done with itthis summer and will get to use it....my Roadking will probably gather dust once I start using it :)
Tom
 
hi guys i purchased a xs650,, due to getting a tax cheque back in about 1996.. i think,,, and i went to healsville 10mins. from where i lived to look at bikes ,,at that time the bandits were trying to sell me old honda 250rr or r.. for around 5000 grand ........so i pulled out my cash and said before i go to melbourne to look at anything else.. and over in the corner under a tarp was my xs650.. and toooooo this day its never dissappointed me... and i feel comfortable on it... and most of it i can figure out or ask well experience xs650 builders how to fix it... ...
 
Hi.

I was never suppose to get an XS:shrug:
I was all in to big 4-cyl radial bikes. In my basement garage I had this awsome GSX1100 E-81 (maybe some knows it as GS1100) who I was about giving a decent amount of tuning. Bigger bore, other cams, flatslides....bla bla bla. I was on my way transforming it into a caferacer/street legal dragbike....something like that.

Also....in the corner I had this Triumph T120R, a chopper with nice frame from "Moheda". Don´t know how well known Swedish chopper are on "the other side"? This engine was totally re-build and where never started since.

Now basement garage and heavy rain isn´t a good combination:banghead:
So the summer of 2010 the worst rain ever hit my town ending up in my garage.......result?? 90cm of water in my garage:banghead::banghead:

After some good luck with the insurance companys I had plenty of money in my pocket but no bikes:shrug:
I saw this XS tracker up for sale and was thinking: "Maybe it´s like my old Triumph.....without the oilleak" so I bought it and I knew right away this is it!! It´s small, easy to handle, nice sound, cheap and easy to work with.

I just love the rain :laugh:

/BigBoreSwede
 

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I have been tuning and riding antique Vespas for several years. I knew I looked silly, a 250lb guy on a little 150cc 2t engine. Hell, I've had water bottles chucked at me while riding my scoot. I was looking for a good project to move me into the 4t crowd. My neighbor, a Triumph guy(3 bikes), showed me the Cleveland Cyclewerks Heist and I dug it, but I wanted something solid and proven, so after some research I found the XS and saw what people have done with them. The death knell for my scoot came after my engine threw a circlip and washer into the cases and my clutch and tranny went boom at 50mph. The next week, I went out and found my XS and I just can't leave it alone.
 
I have been tuning and riding antique Vespas for several years. I knew I looked silly, a 250lb guy on a little 150cc 2t engine. Hell, I've had water bottles chucked at me while riding my scoot. I was looking for a good project to move me into the 4t crowd. My neighbor, a Triumph guy(3 bikes), showed me the Cleveland Cyclewerks Heist and I dug it, but I wanted something solid and proven, so after some research I found the XS and saw what people have done with them. The death knell for my scoot came after my engine threw a circlip and washer into the cases and my clutch and tranny went boom at 50mph. The next week, I went out and found my XS and I just can't leave it alone.

I never understand why some people hate other people for riding things they claim to hate... Water bottles thrown at ya? wtf. I ride a BWS Yamaha (Known as the Zuma in the US) around town because its cheap like potatoes to run and has 20 liters of storage under the seat but I never get any haters staring at me. I did have it painted to match my R1 but no ones the wiser unless you into bikes.

Takes all kinds I guess....
 
I never understand why some people hate other people for riding things they claim to hate...
Takes all kinds I guess....

The funny thing is that it is always the younger crowd that does the stupid stuff, the old hats don't care. A vintage guy is a vintage guy, everyone else doesn't get it. Though it makes it worth the stupid kids, when someone comes up to me in a parking lot to tell me how they had a bike just like mine when they were young. Priceless.
 
My father had a 1973 TX650. I've always liked cafe bikes. I prefer the skinny feeling of a vertical twin vs. I4. The XS has tons of aftermarket support.
 
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