There are people who do leather work, and there are those that do Leather work WELL, You do it well sir.
I so much appreciate people who are artistic, People that do fantastic Body and Paint work, REEEALY good Welders,
I admire a lot.
Cousin Larry
 
Just wanted to post these for posterity. Going on maiden voyage and am hoping it comes back the same way it leaves.

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Greetings,

For the last three years I had been riding a '13 Genuine Stella as my daily driver. It was my first motored, two-wheel vehicle and I adored it. The factory which built Vespa P150's for the Indian market continued building them after Piaggio cut the contract, very much the same story as Royal Enfield. Other than a 4-stroke motor and a front disk, the '13 Stella was pretty much the same as the Vespas rolling off the line in '83. It taught me the very basics of a small carbureted engine and manual transmission.

For a few reasons, I started looking to upgrade to a full-size bike last Spring. As I began my research I looked at the Enfields, but $6k for a new one didn't make sense to me when I'd want to immediately upgrade if I had any aspiration for highway driving. I then started looking at the classic market. Amongst all the Honda and Kawa fours, the XS stood apart as a bike I felt like was the perfect balance between power and easy home maintenance. And as you all know well, Yamaha hit the mark on looks. This was a bike I could fall in love with.

With hesitant approval from my level-headed SO, I recruited a motorcycle-savvy colleague to check out a XS650D that popped up on Craigslist. WIth his declaration that the motor and trans were in good shape, it was soon on the trailer headed back home.

Please allow me to introduce 'Stella', a maroon 1977 D-model. She's a survivor with some work to be done, but all in all she seems to be in great shape. Mostly stock, the previous owners put on an XS Performance rotor, bronze swingarm bushings, tapered steering bearings, and a Boyer ignition.

Thank you to all for the valuable information I've gleaned off this forum so far.

Daniel
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