Rogt
XS650 Member
Gang of two, just the start of a revival??
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BS34’s
- Thread starter Rogt
- Start date
Hi 5Twins,
betcha the Buckhorn Gang membership is way higher than two. I reckon more than a dozen but less than a hundred.
Mind you, they are greatly outnumbered by the "Threw the Buckhorns away" Gang.
Especially when you add up the membership of the Clip-ons, Drag bars, Clubmans & Standards chapters.
And of our affiliates the Bumstop Brigade.
No. Your bikes serial no states it is not a Special II, Only the US and Canada got a Special II and the Factory wheels on a Special II are Spoke. Having spoke wheels is what sets them apart from the US and Canadian 79SF and US 79SG specials and they had Mag Wheels......
US
79 Special II..............................80G Special II...........................79SF........................................80SG
.Here are 2 different charts that show your bikes vin no is a Euro 79 with the Vin digit no between 000101 and 020000............The only 03000101 ID number was the Canadian 5V5 83 Heritage special
Rogt
XS650 Member
Excellent info.
Hi Skull,
ain't gonna argue with the ident. Guru BUT the little yellow-background photo in your post is the same photo that's in your XS650 ident. list with
1980 XS650 Special II written directly underneath it.
Fred, I see what you mean but your reading it wrong...........at the beginnig of the post i have stated the year of the model at the top of the pic not below.......yea could get confusing but i can't change anything because the thread is locked
Now that you have pointed it out i have always known this bike was a European US custom due to the emblem on the side-cover.......I had another brochure with a split bike with the same background and when i fitted it together i did it to the Euro bike instead of the US bike.
So i have posted the Euro 79 US Custom into the ID thread as a US 79SF.....Visually the same........Except this brochure has BS34's not 38's........Will take a dedicated XS'er to notice
I now see the external routing of the fuel line to the outside of the BS34 carb as per the previous pics.......As can be seen this is a Dutch Brochure.last pic
Now that you have pointed it out i have always known this bike was a European US custom due to the emblem on the side-cover.......I had another brochure with a split bike with the same background and when i fitted it together i did it to the Euro bike instead of the US bike.
So i have posted the Euro 79 US Custom into the ID thread as a US 79SF.....Visually the same........Except this brochure has BS34's not 38's........Will take a dedicated XS'er to notice
I now see the external routing of the fuel line to the outside of the BS34 carb as per the previous pics.......As can be seen this is a Dutch Brochure.last pic
3rd Buckhorn Gang member speaks out...
...I also have them on my Virago!
...I also have them on my Virago!
My wife has loved her buckhorns, FORCING me to install them on bikes prepared for her use. I a see glimmer of hope though, she's starting to notice how those bars encourage a slumped back, slouched, riding position, that gets painful over a longer ride.
I don't mind the height of the buckhorn bars, it's the grip angle. They bend in too much. This makes me feel like my elbows hit my ribs when I turn the bars.
On my 81 I rebuilt the bars. Starting at the riser, come out past the first bend then half way up the straight section. Cut the bars off. Your cuts may not come out exactly the same so keep the left on the left, right on the right. If not the bars won't be the same height.
I then took one end of the bars with me to hardware store. Look through the ready rod stuff, All Thread to some. The couplers are what to look at. Find one that is a snug fit in the bars or a bit too big, you can grind the corners off the coupler to get the right fit. Buy two.
Once you fit the coupler to the inside of the bars weld them into the lower part of the bars. Slip the upper part on the couplers. Set on bike, move the bars around till they feel good. Tack one side. Remove from bike. Finish weld the bar. Now set the bars on a bench so the center sets flat on the bench. Let the end of the welded bar set on the bench. While these parts set on bench let the unwelded end set on bench. hold in place and weld the other bar end in place. Holding the bars this way help ensure they will be the straight.
Put back on bike. These will be quite wide at this point, I took 1.5 inches off both sides.
I got a pair of bars off Ebay thinking they would be better angled but they turned out to be the same as the stock bars. One set I welded, the other set I brazed. The brazed set leaves a thin ring of brass around the joint. The welded bars didn't.
I have a thread on here somewhere with pics showing the way they look.
They look like what some call mini apes. A bar I find very comfortable. These keep you in a more upright position, where the stock buck horns let you slouch. This slouch is more pain full on my back after longer rides.
I just need to find a 7/8 inch mini apes, most are 1 inch.
I like the bars on my Harley, They are not mini apes but not a straight as a drag bar. Ones like that in a 7/8 bar would be nice too. I think they would be like the stock standard bars. I can't say for sure, I don't have a set of the standard bars.
Leo
On my 81 I rebuilt the bars. Starting at the riser, come out past the first bend then half way up the straight section. Cut the bars off. Your cuts may not come out exactly the same so keep the left on the left, right on the right. If not the bars won't be the same height.
I then took one end of the bars with me to hardware store. Look through the ready rod stuff, All Thread to some. The couplers are what to look at. Find one that is a snug fit in the bars or a bit too big, you can grind the corners off the coupler to get the right fit. Buy two.
Once you fit the coupler to the inside of the bars weld them into the lower part of the bars. Slip the upper part on the couplers. Set on bike, move the bars around till they feel good. Tack one side. Remove from bike. Finish weld the bar. Now set the bars on a bench so the center sets flat on the bench. Let the end of the welded bar set on the bench. While these parts set on bench let the unwelded end set on bench. hold in place and weld the other bar end in place. Holding the bars this way help ensure they will be the straight.
Put back on bike. These will be quite wide at this point, I took 1.5 inches off both sides.
I got a pair of bars off Ebay thinking they would be better angled but they turned out to be the same as the stock bars. One set I welded, the other set I brazed. The brazed set leaves a thin ring of brass around the joint. The welded bars didn't.
I have a thread on here somewhere with pics showing the way they look.
They look like what some call mini apes. A bar I find very comfortable. These keep you in a more upright position, where the stock buck horns let you slouch. This slouch is more pain full on my back after longer rides.
I just need to find a 7/8 inch mini apes, most are 1 inch.
I like the bars on my Harley, They are not mini apes but not a straight as a drag bar. Ones like that in a 7/8 bar would be nice too. I think they would be like the stock standard bars. I can't say for sure, I don't have a set of the standard bars.
Leo
