I'm back with a new project!

nh-jk

XS650 Addict
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Manchester, NH
Took a few years off from the XS650 scene. Just picked up an unmolested all original 1980 with 12k miles on her. I know I'll get shit for it, but I'm probably gonna strip it down and make an uncomfortble bobber I'll never ride! Anyways here she is and here is a pic of my last project.
 

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Lol... I know, But stock is so boring!
Wrongo nh-jk,
stock has the potential to be upgraded into something better.
Rather than to be denigrated like your last effort.
Well, you did right by the handlebars and kept the rear suspension at least but the rest of it?
A rear tire on the front to screw up the handling even further than by removing the front fender?
Removing the rear fender so your jacket picks up 20lbs of mud if you ride in the rain?
And an exhaust designed to set a passenger's leg on fire?
All that remains is to swap in a PMA and a peanut tank to make the bike a total fuckup.
 
Well Fred,
I happy my project causes you pain. These are toys that I play with. They're easy to aquire. So I keep acquiring them. I don' ride in the rain, frankly I don' ride them much at all. They're bar hoppers, I like fat nobby tires and cruising slow. If i wanted to go fast this would not be my platform of choice. Relax and maybe take a break from the inter webz for a bit. It' seem to be consuming you. A 1980 with 12k miles is not a Barret Jackson show piece.
 
A 1980 with 12k miles is not a Barret Jackson show piece.

Well, that may be true, but it is a really nice 37 year old motorcycle that someone could enjoy riding further than to the next Starbucks.
 
Please show us pictures of every cut. Construct a big tall pyramid of all of the chopped and unused parts and take a picture, I'd like that.

I've got no problem with your last project, except, I like fenders and dislike wrapped and high pipes, road tires are for the road. The only thing that I really dislike is that emblem on the tank.

Scott
 
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Well Fred,
I happy my project causes you pain. These are toys that I play with. They're easy to aquire. So I keep acquiring them. I don' ride in the rain, frankly I don' ride them much at all. They're bar hoppers, I like fat nobby tires and cruising slow. If i wanted to go fast this would not be my platform of choice. Relax and maybe take a break from the inter webz for a bit. It' seem to be consuming you. A 1980 with 12k miles is not a Barret Jackson show piece.

Hi nh-jk,
no pain here. A dash of disgust and a frisson of frustration is all.
And you don't even know what you have done to trigger those feelings, eh?
You have committed the ultimate act of vandalism by modifying a bike to make it less rideable.
 
It's not less rideable, if he'll ride it more after it's done. That's debatable here because he said he likely wouldn't ride it much, but if he rides it more as a hardtail than he would in it's stock(and very ugly) form, then maybe he's doing a good thing?

I say go for it. I enjoy watching the projects on here way more than I enjoy looking at pictures of stock bikes. You've gotta change SOMETHING when you do a project, leave a little suspense for the people watching. Otherwise you're just watching a movie that someone else spoiled the ending to.
 
I like things that are different from the masses and the xs650 in stock form is undesirable to me. Id never tell someone their choice was wrong because it differed from my taste. You said it perfectly about riding it more modified, as I wouldnt have ridden it at all in stock form. It would have been sold as scrap metal by the owner as it doesnt run and needs some love. I'll get it running and get the stock parts to those who are in need of mint pipes and hard to find oem parts.
 
Look at it this way, he rescued a bike that was rotting in someone's shed and it'll ride again. Very few MCs don't get at least SOME mods. I think there will be enough stockers to meet demand for them basically forever. World's a'changing, you might not be able to find gasoline to buy in 20 or 30 years.
 
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I'll try to get some pics up when I figure out what I want to build. That is a stock tank with stock emblems.
Please show us pictures of every cut. Construct a big tall pyramid of all of the chopped and unused parts and take a picture, I'd like that.

I've got no problem with your last project, except, I like fenders and dislike wrapped and high pipes, road tires are for the road. The only thing that I really dislike is that emblem on the tank.

Scott
 
I'm with you nh-jk. I've never had a bike that was worth more than I put into it but for some reason when I try to do something stock I just don't "feel" anything while I'm doing the project. The squeals of pain I heard from here when I cut my '72 XS were loud but it was a worn-out, used-up, dilapidated POS. Sometimes ya just gotta move forward. My current project (un-named brand) came to me with all the stock parts in exceptional shape for the age but as I go through things and bring it back to life it's slowly morphing into a cafe style machine.
 
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