Your info is bringing this interesting voltmeter back to life !
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Garage Art
- Thread starter YamadudeXS650C
- Start date
Haha, I better watch myself.
Somebody may want to hang *ME* on their garage wall...
Right alongside Fredintoon...
Somebody may want to hang *ME* on their garage wall...
Right alongside Fredintoon...
I too was pre-occupied with BS'ing and for got to take any pictures!
Wish I had taken a picture of the bike right behind the handle bars of that green low slung bike! It had something like a 26 inch front rim and 18 inch rear rim. But the thing that really caught my attention was the rear rim. I was not sure if it had been backed over by a car or if the guy was just the worst wheel lacer in the world! I would say it had a good 2 inch run-out in about three places!
While I was looking at it this kid comes over and says it's his bike and proceeded to jump on it and take it for a ride around the parking lot. It turns out the wobbling rear wheel was intentional! He built the bike to ride in the local Old Home Days parade! To be honest it makes more sense than some of the "Custom Harley Bikes" I've seen!
I`ve always had a soft spot for bicycles. What`s left of my old 1958 Schwinn Corvette (got new) is hanging in pieces on the basement wall. If I had a nickel for every time I said I`m going to restore it I`d be wealthy. I`ve been gathering up the old 3spd "English Racers" with intentions of restoring a few when (if) I get older. Bicycle building is limitless. Kinda like XS650`s. In all of Topeka`s shortcomings they do have the Topeka Bicycle Project. This provides a bicycle to underprivileged kids in need of one. If I find a cheap bike at the garage sale I sometimes buy it and donate it to the cause.
Maybe after I get my next 4 XS650 builds done I`ll start in on that Schwinn Corvette.
Maybe after I get my next 4 XS650 builds done I`ll start in on that Schwinn Corvette.
Well if we are going to keep this OT line going I was thinking about the bike a kid I went to school with and the bikes he and one of his friends built. It even got them a picture in the local newspaper. Wish I had a picture of those bikes but I'll try to describe what I recall.
They started with your basic 26 inch bikes and the first thing they did was to flip the frame upside down! This put the foot crank up much higher. Then the fabricated a support for the seat to get it up to a height compatible to the new height of the foot crank and then the same thing to extend the tube for the handle bars.
They actually did manage to ride them some but as you can imagine starting and stopping was the tricky part as you needed either a step ladder or a steep bank in just the right place!
Last i knew the one kid was a retired machinist who ran a small motorcycle shop out of his garage dealing mainly with 1960's vintage English motorcycles.
Did a little searching online and found one similar, this one has a tiller for steering but I seem to recall bike kid I knew had more or less normal handle bars!
They started with your basic 26 inch bikes and the first thing they did was to flip the frame upside down! This put the foot crank up much higher. Then the fabricated a support for the seat to get it up to a height compatible to the new height of the foot crank and then the same thing to extend the tube for the handle bars.
They actually did manage to ride them some but as you can imagine starting and stopping was the tricky part as you needed either a step ladder or a steep bank in just the right place!
Last i knew the one kid was a retired machinist who ran a small motorcycle shop out of his garage dealing mainly with 1960's vintage English motorcycles.
Did a little searching online and found one similar, this one has a tiller for steering but I seem to recall bike kid I knew had more or less normal handle bars!
I had one of those when I was a kid! My dad made it for me, made the same way, flipped frame and all. Only my dad made a steering stem from a long piece of pipe and put a set of high rise handlebars on it ( chopper style )
I would start off standing on the bumper of our car to get on it, and when I was done riding, I would steer it up into a grass lawn and simply jump off! It was a hoot!
Gary and Mailman, how did they deal with the rotation direction? Did they just flip the crank and rear wheel through 180 degrees? I must look out for a wrecked old bicycle, could be a load of laughs.
You won't be laughing if you slip off of the pedals.
I was just a kid and never gave a thought to how my dad made it, but he must’ve done just that. Flip the crank and rear wheel.
Second childhood Paul?
Here it was today. I even got to hear it run
Cheers Andy, life long motorcyclist
Attachments
-
CD6CFB32-BEB5-4546-9553-EEEBA229D3A5.jpeg -
1C9D86DF-4910-49D2-9C6E-E068678DADD8.jpeg -
BBDBAC2F-74A8-42E9-BE4F-BBC5B3DFC7A8.jpeg -
D08247FF-756D-41D8-ADDB-2406A0DA95EF.jpeg -
5634F179-F0BF-47DA-B4E6-42877924AAAC.jpeg -
51C5A585-4F94-449D-8F85-9B1E80BFF1B0.jpeg -
1246659F-8456-4C4A-9B88-DE13016AD30C.jpeg -
F2D01273-A649-41C3-8141-F33CE8CE5910.jpeg
Wow! What a beauty! And a legacy cycle at that. That first photo , I was thinking it was your normal V-twin, and I kept looking at that distributer with the four wires coming from it . I couldn’t figure out why it had four plug wires. Then I saw it from the other side, an in-line four! I have never seen one in running condition. How cool is that!
Was very cool, about 1000cc, very mellow and quiet and smooth. Less than 1000 miles on a full rebuild.
Andy has it to ride ! He was just at a country road intersection outside of Camas WA waiting for his daughter to show up on an SV650
Andy has it to ride ! He was just at a country road intersection outside of Camas WA waiting for his daughter to show up on an SV650
Last edited:
It is our "inner child" that allows us to keep having fun.
The boys don’t stop playin’ cause they got old...they got old cause they stopped playin’.
Pete
Well said, Pete! 
G'day all,
so I bought my wife a new car 2 months ago, nice she said.
After one month I broached the subject of another machine to add to the flock, let me think about it she said.
Today I said any more on the new motorcycle no definitely not, she said.
Might be time to ask for forgiveness and not permission............
GeeDubYa
so I bought my wife a new car 2 months ago, nice she said.
After one month I broached the subject of another machine to add to the flock, let me think about it she said.
Today I said any more on the new motorcycle no definitely not, she said.
Might be time to ask for forgiveness and not permission............
GeeDubYa
Announcing the 2020 inductees into Mailman’s rogue gallery! 
This years new inductees are........
JR Advantage for his 1978 E cafe racer
Skip, for his ‘78 Special SE
Gary, for his ‘79 Sinister MADNESS
And a special lifetime achievement award goes to Halfmile, for yet another beautiful flat tracker!
Thank you all gentlemen for gracing my garage for the upcoming year, you are all inspirational!
This years new inductees are........
JR Advantage for his 1978 E cafe racer
Skip, for his ‘78 Special SE
Gary, for his ‘79 Sinister MADNESS
And a special lifetime achievement award goes to Halfmile, for yet another beautiful flat tracker!
Thank you all gentlemen for gracing my garage for the upcoming year, you are all inspirational!
So that picture of Skip's 78 is what mine did or should look like?