Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
I guess I should start this out by saying that this is my first motorcycle of any kind and I've never ridden so much as a dirtbike in my life. Kinda odd, considering that my dad used to ride Harleys before it was cool, before every office nerd and his grandma rode Harleys. Either way, I got bitten by the desire to get into bikes last year. I've always played with cars, including a couple of Mustangs and my current'86 4Runner and '95 SC400. Not sure how I discovered the XS650, but I did and started looking for one in the summer of last year. First visit to a local motorcycle junkyard yielded a nearly complete'78 Standard, dual disc, mag wheels - everything I was looking for. Except a title. Picked it up anyway, got a new brake lever, headlight, etc, just to fix the few things that were missing. Dove into the carbs only to find a hole in the throat of one. Replaced that and carried on tinkering. I ended up losing interest and getting caught up in my house, painting my Lexus, and just other stuff, and didn't follow up on trying to get a title until this last spring. I began getting my paperwork in order (notarized bill of sale, VIN verification, title searches, etc) and finally applied for title a month or so ago. As of now, I have received a postcard that says "Title Complete" but neither the county or the state seem to have any idea what's up with it. So, waiting.
Details on the bike: It's black, 13k on the odometer. I don't think it's ever been registered here in Colorado as no records turned up and it has New Jersey stickers on the fork leg from the year I was born, 1984. Has a little surface rust but nothing structural so far. Turns out it has a Martek electronic ignition but is otherwise stock as a rock. Everything electrical works except the turn signals, even the horn. The one thing that is bunk is the gas tank and petcocks - the petcocks are totally shot and I derusted the tank with electrolysis over the summer. Right now the bike runs on fuel from a lawnmower gas tank duct taped to the handlebars but it will kick start down to 25 degrees, as tested yesterday for shits and grins.
My plan is to eventually make a swingarm chopper. I live four miles up a dirt road out in the country so a hardtail is out of the question, and I really don't want to learn to ride on a hardtail anyway. For now, I think I'll do the basic tuneup/rejuvenation parts like a new chain, tires, PMA swap and drag bars, and just learn to ride the damn thing and learn the ins and outs of the bike. Once I've got that under control, the current plan is to do the Visual Impact seat rail kit or something similar and start cutting. My primary inspirations are these two bikes.
And
I know I'll have tons of questions along the way. I'm posting this from my phone but I'll put up pics of my bike as soon as I can.
Details on the bike: It's black, 13k on the odometer. I don't think it's ever been registered here in Colorado as no records turned up and it has New Jersey stickers on the fork leg from the year I was born, 1984. Has a little surface rust but nothing structural so far. Turns out it has a Martek electronic ignition but is otherwise stock as a rock. Everything electrical works except the turn signals, even the horn. The one thing that is bunk is the gas tank and petcocks - the petcocks are totally shot and I derusted the tank with electrolysis over the summer. Right now the bike runs on fuel from a lawnmower gas tank duct taped to the handlebars but it will kick start down to 25 degrees, as tested yesterday for shits and grins.
My plan is to eventually make a swingarm chopper. I live four miles up a dirt road out in the country so a hardtail is out of the question, and I really don't want to learn to ride on a hardtail anyway. For now, I think I'll do the basic tuneup/rejuvenation parts like a new chain, tires, PMA swap and drag bars, and just learn to ride the damn thing and learn the ins and outs of the bike. Once I've got that under control, the current plan is to do the Visual Impact seat rail kit or something similar and start cutting. My primary inspirations are these two bikes.
And
I know I'll have tons of questions along the way. I'm posting this from my phone but I'll put up pics of my bike as soon as I can.