Okay in the interest of fairness I'll post this and a disclaimer to follow .
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/4421505092.html
attachments as i expect the ad to go away ...
This is a complete one off ground up build
It retains both brakes with the stock 16-19" wheels (although the rims have been drilled on the spokes as a detail)
The front forks have been lowered (correctly) but the front travel has been severely limited (I doubt the total travel exceeds 2") and the rake extended as a compromise to level the bike . The tree offset remains stock .
Visibly anyway this is a complete thought and execution front to back , top to bottom . Actually one of the better examples I've seen as far as attention to detail and compromise between form and function .
I might add that most that I have seen and continue to see are abortifacts . I was in Independent service for nearly 25 years and saw a little bit of everything . Some I wouldn't ride , others I wouldn't even work on . "but can't you just ..."? and I was already walking away .
Look, from my obvious leanings toward a better mousetrap evident from many posts here and elsewhere I can still make concessions to craftsmanship and attention to detail even if I wouldn't ride let alone own a motorcycle like this .
I'll only make one more stab at the sawzall crowd . There are only just so many of these bikes left . I consider cutting up a perfectly good frame to be a sin . The only reason you got this many words out of me this time is that the above example is a constructed frame and not a weld on hard tail of dubious manufacture and installation . If you're going to ride without suspension , if you're going to piece together some Fong Bro's me too contraption , if you really feel that your vision of two wheeled rolling art includes the XS 650 then please , by all means have at it . Just leave my classics alone and start from scratch . You even have a better chance of accomplishing what you want from a blank sheet than you do cutting up what is fast becoming a limited resource .
~kop