January 2012 XSOTM Pictures, voting, and discussion.

Who should be the January 2012 XS650 of the Month?

  • Pregrid

    Votes: 47 35.6%
  • Cra-z1

    Votes: 17 12.9%
  • Grepper

    Votes: 4 3.0%
  • Rude

    Votes: 41 31.1%
  • C-Los SD

    Votes: 23 17.4%

  • Total voters
    132
  • Poll closed .

gggGary

If not now, When?
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We now have 5 nominations for the January XSOTM contest.

The poll will close on January 31st, the winner will have their bike photo posted to the XS650 home page and be permanently added to the XSOTM picture album, not to mention the incredible bragging rights that go with such a feat.

Contestants; please feel free to post details, how you came to build an XS650 project, and MORE pictures, links to your build thread etc.. Let me know if you would like me to use a different picture for the voting.
Viewers and voters may also make comments and ask questions, Please keep all comments positive!

In order of accepted nomination here are the contestants.

Pregrid

full


cra-z1

full


Grepper

full


Rude

full


C-Los SD

full


It's going to be tough to choose just one!
 
I have to say, just having my bike ("The Green Goddess" as my wife named it) up there with these other fine machines is an honor. Good luck.

BTW: I voted for C-Los SD, last two months voted for Rude. I'm itching to build myself a nice Cafe like these.
 
Thanks for the nomination guys, it is a honor to be considered with these other cool bikes.

Some info:

77 XS 700cc w/ Hugh's rephased crank and cam, Pamco ignition, and Sparx PMA
Mikuni VM34's with velocity stacks
XS750 gas tank with custom aston gas cap and cafe bubble seat
Vintage Red Wing hammerhead shocks and gold valves up front
Motolanna billet triple and headlight stay
Magura clip-ons
Tarazzi rearsets and fork brace

Lots of love and polishing.


Some more pics
sideview.jpg

DSCN0536.jpg

DSCN0542.jpg

DSCN0537.jpg

DSCN0528.jpg

DSCN0534.jpg

DSCN0530.jpg

DSCN0535.jpg

DSCN0539.jpg
 
Some info on my tracker

1979 frame
1974 motor
Lots of stuff from Omar's:tank and rear fender
NOS Redwing Hammerhead shocks
19" rear wheel adapter
bars
fork brace
Pamco ignition
Mikuni VM34's
Stock rebuilt calipers w/brembo 11mm front brake master and stainless brake lines by my friend Eric Lunn
Paint by my son-in-law Jeff Locke, Lettering by Moon
Forks shaved and polished by Hugh's Handbuilt
And a LOT of help from MANY friends

Pics:

where I started

NewTracker001.jpg

motorin010.jpg

inlaws.jpg


And now.........
donejan2012017.jpg

donejan2012018.jpg

donejan2012020.jpg

donejan2012007-1.jpg


And the obligitory "bad ass" shot.................

done004-1.jpg


sorry, I just had to do that..................
 
The story of the "Green Goddess"
After doing a light restore of my first motorcycle, an 1980 650 Special, I got hooked on these awesome bikes. So embarked on building my first custom bike. I picked up a 79 special off of eBay for $300.
Here it is finished, the "Red Rocket" (my obligatory "I'm a dork" shot)
full

Shortly after a co-worker posted on the company bulletin board "1978 Yamaha xs650, $900". I asked him about it, but had to pass because I already had the above bike to work on. Months past and I passed him in the hallway and asked him about the bike. He said he still had it and was parked in front of his house with a For Sale sign on it. It was mid December and I replied "Outside! In the Snow!", "Yup, won't start now and the front brake is locked up, $300 if your interested" he replied. The next weekend I was at his house with my neighbors pickup truck. It was all stock with only 9K on the clock, rubber and seat cover dry rotted and a bit crusty.
A friend let me park it in her garage for the winter.
full

The next spring I rebuilt the front caliper and MC and got her running. She ran like a champ and I road her a few times that summer and the next till she stopped charging. That next fall I decided to go at her. Stripped her down to the frame. I didn't do much with the motor but clean it up and replaced some rusted bolts. I stripped the paint from all the black parts for powder coating.
full

They came back looking great from Elite Electrocoating in Lansing MI.
full

I polished up all the aluminum and chrome. Rebuilt the forks (new seals and dust covers), new shocks, and taped head bearings.
full

New swing arm bushings.
full

Recovered the seat. Had a local hot rod painter shop do my tins, with clear over a decal kit. New X-Ring chain and sprockets. Replaced the alternator brush's, home made rectifier and Chrysler regulator, new blade fuse. Some new chrome like mirrors, handle bars, gas cap, steering head bolt and other bolts. MikesXS Commando exhaust, clean and re-jetted the carbs. Rebuilt the air filters with new foam. New grips and probably some other stuff I can't remember.
And there she is, looking like she just rolled off the assembly line in 1978 (I was 8 years old).
full

:D
 
I can't find, must have lost it when my laptop crashed, but I have a pic of me standing behind my hardtail with my favorite BSA t-shirt on, lol.
 
Under that leather jacket I'm sporting a very non-bad-ass Stratford Shakespeare Festival T-Shirt.
"What's in a name? That which we call an xs650
By any other name would run as well."

:p
 
Had a ball on the XS over the weekend, two long rides, got a bit wet but that's what it's all about:bike:

Some pics
 

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Rude, that is a very nice and clean bike ! I gave my vote to Pregrid as I know him from other forums and flat-track has a fond place in my heart, but your bike and the others make it a hard choice. :thumbsup:
 
All lovely bikes and a credit to their owners. Very tough choice this month as the standard of workmanship and attention to detail is outstanding on all of the bikes.
 
I thought I'd post a few more photo's and give a little history. I had just completed a restoration of a 73 900 Z1 and was looking for something else. I found an add for two 72 XS2 that was about 2hrs from me. Called the guy and he said I could have both for 600. So on Christmas Eve day with a pending snow storm I arranged for a trailer and headed up. Half way back the storm hit and I barely made it back. The result is a combination of both bikes. One engine was stuck due to a weight working loose on the crank and jamming a rod. The other had a loose weight also so I decided to use a 78 crank and rebuild using 256 rods. The crank was built by Falicon. The 78 crank uses a different sprocket so I needed to change the cam sprocket also. I decided to use the adjustable cam sprocket from Megacycle Cams which allowed me to use my original cam with the 446 cam sprocket. Also I could dial in my cams much easier. The paint was done by Paintworkz who specilizes in Z1's. Paint was matched with NOS headlight brackets. All other work was done by me other than the cylinder bore. There are some very nice bike's we have this month.
 

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