Fred, it depends on what you replace the buckhorn bars with. My point is few people are going to put anything in its place that doesn't look as bad or worse
Hi xjwmx,
bars is like shoes, they gotta fit to be comfortable and what'll fit one rider won't necessarily fit another.
But XS650 stock buckhorns only fit a rider who's wrist joints work at 90º to what's normal.
Which is why most folks instinctively feel they don't look right even before they try 'em.
"pathetically small" is a personal opinion, The UK market Britbikes I rode back 'ome all carried 4 gallons.
The stock Special tank's limited capacity forces a rider to swing like Tarzan from one gas pump to the next
when a larger tank lets the rider go to places of interest without first making sure that place has a gas station.
And that said gas station is actually open when you get there on a Sunday. (Been there done that in Bethune SK.
Did 40mph eco-cruise on reserve all the way to Davidson SK. Started shopping for a Standard tank the next day)
And yes! Carry a gas can, no matter how large a tank you got. Yamaha gas tap in-tank filters can fall out and sit
on the tank floor. Which means you lost the reserve as well as the filtration. Which means when you switch to
reserve it's already gone. And you can't dump in more gas unless you're carrying an extra can full.
Maybe it went to a new owner that cut it up for a low mileage bobber.
) Best to keep the more pristine examples as is. There's plenty of stripped-down, ripped-up, failed "project", "basket cases" 
out there for us to Frankenstein... 
