lsc86
XS650 Member
Convinced a good friend a two summers ago that the XS-650 was a great choice for an eclectic & unique bike with as much potential as your mind can conjure up. I'd never owned one, but having been around bikes since the early 1980s, I knew plenty about the venerable XS and helped him find a decent, if uninspiring & mostly stock 1980 Special for under $1,000.
Helping him here and there and doing some research online with him kinda put the bug in my head that maybe a XS project would be something I'd enjoy putting in my garage. (A.D.D. is an understatement for my motorized toy affliction over the years. Being in my very early 40s, I've owned more cars & motorcycles than I've had birthdays, so I was in no particular hurry to jump in and had no delusions that I'd actually complete a full on mod project either).
But as I was scrolling through endless pages of Craigslist, I kept stumbling upon XS-650s in various incarnations, which re-lit the "need to buy a XS for myself" flames. But to be honest, most of them were hacked & butchered or simply neglected by a long string of reality TV junkies with more ambition than actual talent, time, skill, or two dimes to rub together. Those that weren't had price tags beyond what I felt comfortable in paying for another bike that I'd likely just end up flipping anyway.
So I refocused my searching on older & unmolested pre-1980 bikes. My hopes were to find a vintage & complete XS that didn't need a torch & welder to make it into something I'd enjoy, but rather something that was more 'right' from the start. Or at least that is what I told myself...
Well as of this past weekend, I'm the supposed 3rd owner of a 1972 XS2 model 650, which was previously in storage from 1985 until the 2nd owner took possession in 2009. Based on my own minimal research, it seems to be mostly stock, original, and a true survivor, spared from the cruel intentions of decades worth of backyard hachette jobs, king/queen seat lovers, Kenny Roberts & cafe racer wanna-bees.
Given my well acknowledged A.D.D. for projects, my goals are simplistic and hopefully realistic. Retain the vintage visual appeal as it currently sits (no repaint, maybe new(er) tank badges). Address existing issues for function and reliability. Enjoying riding it for what it is. Time will tell if my plan comes to fruition.
Helping him here and there and doing some research online with him kinda put the bug in my head that maybe a XS project would be something I'd enjoy putting in my garage. (A.D.D. is an understatement for my motorized toy affliction over the years. Being in my very early 40s, I've owned more cars & motorcycles than I've had birthdays, so I was in no particular hurry to jump in and had no delusions that I'd actually complete a full on mod project either).
But as I was scrolling through endless pages of Craigslist, I kept stumbling upon XS-650s in various incarnations, which re-lit the "need to buy a XS for myself" flames. But to be honest, most of them were hacked & butchered or simply neglected by a long string of reality TV junkies with more ambition than actual talent, time, skill, or two dimes to rub together. Those that weren't had price tags beyond what I felt comfortable in paying for another bike that I'd likely just end up flipping anyway.
So I refocused my searching on older & unmolested pre-1980 bikes. My hopes were to find a vintage & complete XS that didn't need a torch & welder to make it into something I'd enjoy, but rather something that was more 'right' from the start. Or at least that is what I told myself...
Well as of this past weekend, I'm the supposed 3rd owner of a 1972 XS2 model 650, which was previously in storage from 1985 until the 2nd owner took possession in 2009. Based on my own minimal research, it seems to be mostly stock, original, and a true survivor, spared from the cruel intentions of decades worth of backyard hachette jobs, king/queen seat lovers, Kenny Roberts & cafe racer wanna-bees.
Given my well acknowledged A.D.D. for projects, my goals are simplistic and hopefully realistic. Retain the vintage visual appeal as it currently sits (no repaint, maybe new(er) tank badges). Address existing issues for function and reliability. Enjoying riding it for what it is. Time will tell if my plan comes to fruition.
