Buy the nicest one you can afford, as that is less money and hassle in the long run. Also take the time to shop, there is always going to be a deal out there somewhere. A parts bike will be a good idea if you are a genuine tinkerer. You can paint, polish, modify, and then just swap it on. I've never vibrated a bolt off one, but having owned both used from 73 to new in 81, I can tell you that you are happy up to around 60, at which point the vibes can become a little annoying. Those soft spongy grips are wonderful, tho. Sprockets can move that mph number closer to 67-70 range, which I found to be plenty for this type of bike. Just like my beloved Moto Guzzis, the XS650 is an addictive beast. The only thing I personally never wanted to do with it was long distance touring. For power I ran dead even with my BIL's Sportster. It has a wide powerband. The all roller and ball bearing engine gave the XS650 a legendary toughness that is well deserved. There are two in my garage at the moment, a trike and a hardtail, I wish I had more. You can easily modify/update/chop/cafe these things. I believe that right now they are 2nd only to Harley on the chop scene, with the Viragos starting to pick up a heavy following as well. The old 750 Honda and Triumph stuff is getting a little cashy to play with. Bang for the buck is a tossup, XS650 VS Virago, because the latter is still cheap to pick up. The XS seems to get up as high as 1500 bucks for good mechanicals or looks, from 1500 to 3000 if it has both. Customs are all over the map on price. A bike that has really been well done by one of those anal nitpicky types would open my wallet further. I'm a fan of the points ignition if that's what it was built with. I ignore the starters, fine if it works out OK and fine if it don't. It's not a hard nor expensive problem to fix and I prefer the kicker anyway. Once, maybe twice on a decent tune. Seriously, jump in...!
