56nomad
XS650 Enthusiast
Hi, I've posted a few messages since I joined XS650.com but I've not yet posted anything about my bikes. I've only had XSs for about 3 yrs now. My first purchase was a red 79 SE, sight unseen, off Ebay that needs so much doing to it that I ended up buying a second 'cos I was hooked! I never intended to keep the black one standard so after a little thought I decided to go the cafe racer route. Not hardcore cafe so, tell you what, let's call what I've produced a Latte racer for now.....
I've tried to keep to the premise of an original UK cafe racer. Y'know, the sort of thing a youth would likely have done to his Beezer, Trumpet or whatever back in the day. Where possible, I've done it myself and economically as possible although my wife may not agree with that last bit! At all times (except over Winter) the bike was kept roadworthy and all work was undertaken outside.
I started off with a US import XS650 SH that I picked up on Ebay for a few hundred quid. One of the pics shows it on the day it was delivered to me. Fairly corroded but nigh on complete, it had been stored in a lock up over here in Blighty for over 10 years.
After getting it running and stopping, next up was to undo as many of the PO's bodges as possible, tart it up a little, get it through our MOT roadworthy test and hit the road. With that milestone reached I took the now clean and tidy (read '10 yarder') bog stock SH (with the exception of the SG seat and the Sport front mudguard) and set about disguising it's origins.
I'll not bore you with a blow-by-blow account of how I did what, when and why, what I tried and discarded but simply list what forms the bike you see in the pics. Starting from the front:
- Pirelli Strada 3.25 x 19
- Green compound brake pads (too hard, not stop!)
- Rebuilt forks with Minton mods and gaiters
- Sports mudguard
- T140 Lucas "Prince of Darkness" headlight and peak
- Stainless headlight brackets
- Chromed alloy mini indicators
- 2" Clubman handlebars with dual-compound kevlar grips
- Honda(?) master cylinder
- 1 3/8" id header pipes with shorty BES Megaton reverse cone megas (loud!)
- Cut, shut, sectioned 'n' cowled SG seat and foam with reconstructed XS1 cover
- 1994 Kawasaki GPz500S CVK34 carbs with "Ninja EX500 carbs on a XS650?" thread mods
- Pipercross foam filters (similar to Uni pods)
- Not-so-rearset modified 1980s Yamsel 'rearset' pegs and levers on home-brewed brackets
- Hagon rear shocks
- Lucas tail-light on home-brewed bracket
- Bridgestone BT45 130/90 x 16
I just need to make a pair of tank badges for it and I'm done. It's still a '10 yard' bike but I'm happy.
One thing I kept to rigidly is that I have not cut off one surplus bracket, etc. and I've kept all parts that I removed so that, if I feel like it, I can return it back to standard. It wouldn't look pretty and I doubt if I ever would want to but the option is there all the same.
Right, time to put my earplugs in and go for a ride.....
I've tried to keep to the premise of an original UK cafe racer. Y'know, the sort of thing a youth would likely have done to his Beezer, Trumpet or whatever back in the day. Where possible, I've done it myself and economically as possible although my wife may not agree with that last bit! At all times (except over Winter) the bike was kept roadworthy and all work was undertaken outside.
I started off with a US import XS650 SH that I picked up on Ebay for a few hundred quid. One of the pics shows it on the day it was delivered to me. Fairly corroded but nigh on complete, it had been stored in a lock up over here in Blighty for over 10 years.
After getting it running and stopping, next up was to undo as many of the PO's bodges as possible, tart it up a little, get it through our MOT roadworthy test and hit the road. With that milestone reached I took the now clean and tidy (read '10 yarder') bog stock SH (with the exception of the SG seat and the Sport front mudguard) and set about disguising it's origins.
I'll not bore you with a blow-by-blow account of how I did what, when and why, what I tried and discarded but simply list what forms the bike you see in the pics. Starting from the front:
- Pirelli Strada 3.25 x 19
- Green compound brake pads (too hard, not stop!)
- Rebuilt forks with Minton mods and gaiters
- Sports mudguard
- T140 Lucas "Prince of Darkness" headlight and peak
- Stainless headlight brackets
- Chromed alloy mini indicators
- 2" Clubman handlebars with dual-compound kevlar grips
- Honda(?) master cylinder
- 1 3/8" id header pipes with shorty BES Megaton reverse cone megas (loud!)
- Cut, shut, sectioned 'n' cowled SG seat and foam with reconstructed XS1 cover
- 1994 Kawasaki GPz500S CVK34 carbs with "Ninja EX500 carbs on a XS650?" thread mods
- Pipercross foam filters (similar to Uni pods)
- Not-so-rearset modified 1980s Yamsel 'rearset' pegs and levers on home-brewed brackets
- Hagon rear shocks
- Lucas tail-light on home-brewed bracket
- Bridgestone BT45 130/90 x 16
I just need to make a pair of tank badges for it and I'm done. It's still a '10 yard' bike but I'm happy.
One thing I kept to rigidly is that I have not cut off one surplus bracket, etc. and I've kept all parts that I removed so that, if I feel like it, I can return it back to standard. It wouldn't look pretty and I doubt if I ever would want to but the option is there all the same.
Right, time to put my earplugs in and go for a ride.....
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