Complete Rebuilt XS 650 (750) Starting 1,695!

Hugh
Raise your prices you do very good work and they still will come.

Pretty much have to on some things, the engine work is soo time consuming. Thanks for the compliment G (Can't bring myself to call you Daddy - haha).

FUNNY!!!!!!!!
PEOPLE CALL ME RICHIE RICH DADDYG G and as long as they come by you can call me anything you want. JUST STOP BY AND SAY HI!!!
Are you doing the SMOKE OUT this year i may come down.

I bought some items from them off ebay a few years ago. Had a problem with the stuff and it took a while to make it right but they did. Seemed hard to get a hold of by phone but when we spoke they were very cooperative.

I have people write me all the time asking me to work on thier motors/bikes. Problem is to do it right it costs and very few want to or can spend to do it right so I stay away from working on other bikes. When I meet someone who is realistic and will work with me then I take on a project but most of the time I send them away. I am too busy to work cheap and the risks involved with doing half ass work on motor vehicles can and will come back to bite you sooner or later.

If they are doing the work they say and doing it right then the pricing falls right in line with what I would want. I am not crazy about dealing with work like this long distance. If I lived locally I would drive by and check it out before sending motors or money. Even the best intentions and work can still take some follow up tweaking. If you have to ship motors back and forth you might end up spending big bucks getting it right. $2000 for a complete 750 motor ready to roll with some sort of warranty is a fair deal. Carbs??? I have sent many people to Thomas and Hoos racing when they wrote me looking for rebuilds. I let them know that I don't know anything about the biz, just another place to start looking. I am sure stuff will pop up about them here, both bad and good. I always make my own call in the end regardless of what I read. It is much easier to piss off an unrealistic customer who spills his gutts then it is to get a happy customer to back you up.

You are right on the money. Most guys think $400.00 and rebuild my motor then 10 months later a part that you never touched goes and you are the bad guy.
I have been rebuilding motors since the 70's and i did a lot of Drag Racing and when you had those motors done by someone when you got it that was the end of the warranty .
I had in the 80's a big time builder build my motor $8,000.00 for what they did . I didn't even get down the 1/4 mile and blew one of the pistons out the bottom end. I was pissed because i learned early mark your parts and when i went into the motor nothing was from my motor . So i know how it feels to get screwed. I am doing the last XS650 motor at the old price now. Then i am going to rebuild 5 motors complete and do a motor exchange program. No fancy shit just a stock bore motor with new parts and still give my 6 month warranty . I had a guy last year try to give me back a motor and pass it off as the one i did but he didn't know that i mark them on the inside and he fessed up after i told him and took his motor back in pieces. So if you want it done right PAY UP or learn how to do it yourself. My new shop is going to have a RENT TABLE and guys who want to learn or have no place to build can come in RENT THE TABLE learn how to use tools and build there own bike. Did this in the 90's and was booked all year and some guys build some nice bikes.

I work similar to your rent table system. Since I work out of my 2 car garage I have no room to take on jobs that sit. I currently have a motor in the stand for a reseal job. The owner brought his bike in. We pulled the motor and he took the bike home. When I am done he brings the bike back and we put the motor in, together. I try to work like this for me and him. I need a hand and he gets to see the work done and learns a little. If you own one of these bikes or any old bike you are required to learn how to work on them, own tools and know how to use them. The other option is to have lots of money. Older bikes will always need adjusting, cleaning, and creative maintenance done. If you are not ready to dive in better to go to the dealer and sign some papers then ride and wash.

2/26/2012
DONT I REPEAT DONT GET ANYTHING FROM THIS GUY OR THE GUY WHO BOUGHT HIS BUSINESS --ADAMS MOTORSPORTS----SAME BUSINESS JUST NEW OWNER OUT OF GREENWOOD INDIANAI JUST BOUGHT A MOTOR FROM THEM COST WITH SHIPPING $2100.00 NO CORE
FIRST OFF THE GUY WILL NOT ANSWER THE PHONE OR MESSAGES AFTER YOUR CHECK CLEARS.
ONLY AFTER I THRETENED A LAW SUIT DID HE SHIP THE MOTOR
HERES WHAT I RECIEVED
1 MOTOR LOOKS LIKE ALL GASKETS WHERE REPLACED --GOOD
CASES AND JUGS WHERE CLEANED ---GOOD
THATS THE GOOD HERES THE BAD.
ENGINE WAS MISSING THE FOWLOWINGCOMPLETE LEFT HAND SIDE COVER MISSING----BAD
THE PART THAT YOUR CLUTCH PUSHROD PUSHES TO ENGAUGE YOUR CLUTCH{LOOKS LIKE A MUSHROOM) MISSING---BAD
THE LONG CLUTCH PUSHROD MISSING ----BAD
THE SMALL BEARINGS FOR THAT PUSH ROD MISSING----BAD
THE BUSHINGS IN THE CAM FOR THE SHAFT THAT RUNS YOUR ADVANCE MISSING----BAD
THE ROD THAT RUNS YOUR DISTRIBUTOR AND ADVEANCE UNIT MISSING ----BAD
THE CAM END SEALS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ENGINE MISSING ---BAD
ATLEAST 50% OF THE BOLT HOLES AROUND THE COVERS STRIPPED----BAD
MISSING OR MISMATCHED BOLTS ALL OVER THE ENGINE (EVEN SOME STANDARED BOLTS FORCED IN, INSTEAD OF METRIC---BAD
THE ENGINE LEAKS OIL FROM TOP END (NOT JUST A LILTLE)---BAD
AFTER BUYING ALL THE MISSING PARTS AND HAVING A SHOP INSTALL THEM AT A COST OF ABOUT $500 RAN THE ENGINE FOR ABOUT 20 MILES AND ENGINE HAS DEVELOPED A "KNOCK" VERY VERY BAD
iVE WRITTEN THIS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND THESE GUY'S ARE POISON. PLEASE PLEASE TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO IS CONSIDERING BUYING A REBUILT ENGINE TO STAY AWAY FROM THESE GUYS.AND IF YOU ARE READING THIS ADAM OR JEFF THOMAS HOW ABOUT ANSWERING MY CALLS

TAGS
THOMAS RACING SERVICE TRS ADAMS MOTORSPORTS. BIG BORE. BOBBER

ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT THIS CROOK?
PS
Im not use to whining about thing but this whole deal has me to say the least upset i came to this forum to find a company who rebuilds xs motors so if anything good comes out of this whole crap pile maybe someone will read my post and stay away from these guys.

Oh damn...... Did you read through this thread before you ordered????? ouch.. too bad you dont live closer to them.. you could pay them a visit.

To add insult to injury you went right by Hughs hand built to get there!
So soon we are old, so late we are smart.

gggGary said:

To add insult to injury you went right by Hughs hand built to get there!
So soon we are old, so late we are smart.

Click to expand...

Ouch

hi to all,

I just bought a 1977 yamaha 650 from a fellow for $225.00. After hooking up my lawnmower battery to the bike, I was pleased to find that all the wiring was good and all the lighting systems worked great. The bike looks in good condition, but after replacing new points, and wires ect..., i found that the timing was WAYYY off. Camshaft was diddled with by someone, and was probably put in wrong...no way to tell if engine has damage, and no time to work on one as my job is too hectic....

So...just saying...even if you have to spend $2000.00 to get a rebuilt engine, you will have a nice bike that most folks will envy in the end. They just dont make bikes like these anymore. And with a few modifications make great bobbers, sporters ect...

Try spending $14,000 dollars on a new harley sportster, and you still don't have a bike that comes close to the xs 650 in design and reliability.

In my opinion, if you can spare the 2 grand, it's well worth it...but I would recommend that you find a really good local Honda/Yamaha shop with one of those mechanics that love to rebuild engines in their spare time...most shops have at least one guy like that.

Regards....and happy riding...David T

"Try spending $14,000 dollars on a new harley sportster, and you still don't have a bike that comes close to the xs 650 in design and reliability"

oh puhleeze...... it may be your opinion, but I disagree. Besides, a brand new Sporty doesn't need to cost $14k. Super low 883 starts at $8099.

I own an old XS (this is my 2nd), and also a newish (rubber mount, fuel injection) Sporty and there's really not much comparison.

Now, if you compare the XS to an over-priced, used, older Sportster, which will probably sell for double what a nice XS would cost, then yes, the XS becomes an extremely great deal.

But comparing an old XS to a brand new, under warranty XL is apples and oranges, sorry.

I'm not surprised the Thomas Racing has changed its name but not its evil ways.
Do you know the shortest motorcycle topic book ever written?
"Thomas Racing's list of Happy Customers"

It's hard enough to even find someone who provides this service for the XS. For those startled by the price, do you build engines with similiar work done? If so, what would you charge? You would spend $600 for an 750 big bore from Mikes alone.
jefft

Seems a little odd but every XS engine builder I have ever heard of lives in the eastern part of the country. One thing I think a lot of them lack is a good website highlighting their goods and services. Once again customer service is key.
jefft

I'll tell you first hand from experience you don't want to give anyone cash unless they come well recommended especially if you are buying something out of state. If you end up with a piece of s^&t for your mney and need to go to court your screwed.

There is only one person I would trust with my engine and that is Hugh. Super happy with mine.

jefft said:

It's hard enough to even find someone who provides this service for the XS. For those startled by the price, do you build engines with similiar work done? If so, what would you charge? You would spend $600 for an 750 big bore from Mikes alone.
jefft

Click to expand...

It is not the price - it is the QUALITY.

I'm surprise you have the guts to go on a public forum. But since you have here's something the XS world should know about your work.

I bought a motor from you. After paying you full price (over three grand with shell cam) and waiting, waiting waiting, while - when I was able to get a hold of you - you gave me a plethoria of stall stories (e.g. "it dropped a valve on on he test bench")

When I finally got it I noticed that the external hardware had rounded corners on the acorn bolts and spots of rust where the chrome had broken off - bad sign - but once I had a place to work again ( I moved twice while waiting for that motor) I put the engine in. I put a PAMCO ignition in and in the process saw that the cam seal on the ATU side was incorrectly installed - it covered the ATU locator pin - well that was a pain but I got it put together and in the frame.

In about 2 miles it started gushing oil from the points side cam box. A couple more BS stories ("gee I forgot") from you and you sent me the money for the cam seal parts. I put them on - and guess what I discovered? the cam seal that you originally shipped on the motor had the original (obviously worn) Yamaha cam seals, the stock gasket was still on the cam box - and there was no Oring on the houseing at all. Plus it had nasty sludgy dirty deposits that told me it had never been cleaned.

Well, I got it back together. It still had a little leak on the left side of the sump and leaves a little puddle but it could ride it.

It runs pretty good, but it uses about a quart of oil ever 100 miles.

Glad you asked.

I don't know who you bought an engine from but it wasn't me partner. Also price was an issue that was brought up. I would also hope for a good quality engine for that price but I'm not sure it can be done cheaper.

jefft