ron bayless
XS650 Addict
eventually I will get my 78 running.What if i wanted to pack something and take a long ride.Was there ever a backrest or luggage rack for these bikes? If so where would i find one.here maybe?
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luggage rack?
- Thread starter ron bayless
- Start date
There was a rack - I had one on my '75 XS650B back in the mid-late 1970's - but that bike is long gone.
I haven't seen on here on very many bikes - but if anyone knows of a rack that fits, I would be interested.
Pete
I haven't seen on here on very many bikes - but if anyone knows of a rack that fits, I would be interested.
Pete
ron bayless
XS650 Addict
I think probably find one on a bike similar in size,like vulcan 800 or something and fabricate.
There's also a stock sissy bar, it has the turn signal mounts welded to it and replaces the stock grab bar.......it's angled about the same as the neck and forks for aesthetics.
Ohhhh - sissy bars!
Can I put furry dice, an OOOOGGGAAAHHH horn and handlebar streamers on my bike too?
Can I put furry dice, an OOOOGGGAAAHHH horn and handlebar streamers on my bike too?
cmyoch
XS650 Junkie
I have a luggage rack with an adjustable back rest. I'm not sure what year it is off but I was told it was made for the XS when I bought it years ago. I took a different direction with the bike and it's sitting in my shed. It's not pretty but functional and could be made nice again. I believe the back rest pad is not torn and is in good shape.
I'll dig it out this weekend and post some pics. If interested in it, make me an offer.
I'll dig it out this weekend and post some pics. If interested in it, make me an offer.
PM sent
Just a heads up. There is a difference between the racks for standard vs. specials. .
^Yep, not all years fit each other at all! All lift off seat years fit each other though. For all years there are lots of different racks, back rests, and combinations available used. Vast majority are kind of goofy looking...
Back in the 1970's, I had a rack on my '75 B-model (see photo) which had a hinged seat just about the same as the one on my present '76 C-model.
That is what I'd like to find now.
Pete
That is what I'd like to find now.
Pete
TimeMachine
SeventyEighte
Awesome vintage pic ! That 75 is quite equipped ! I believe that to find an old "AMCO" ? brand rack is the goal. They were very nicely made -RT
Is that a Suzuki GT385 in the background? Or the bigger brother? The Ram Air cooling heads are so distinctive. A rideing buddy back in the early 80's had one.
ron bayless
XS650 Addict
I would be interested
ron bayless
XS650 Addict
the gt was a 380.then they hd the 550.that looks like a 380
ron bayless
XS650 Addict
I dont want of those that sticks p 3 feet above the seat.I had one of those on a bike.I trashed it.
DanielBlack
XS650 Junkie
Ron, the rack pictured in the link below is a newly manufactured Craven L rack marketed by Draganfly in the UK. I like that it doesn't demand visual attention like the chrome varieties.
If only I could get around to mounting it...
http://www.xs650.com/threads/stella-1977d-survivor-back-on-the-road.47329/page-11
If only I could get around to mounting it...
http://www.xs650.com/threads/stella-1977d-survivor-back-on-the-road.47329/page-11
Hi All:
Lucille and I were out for a ride this evening - so, I am catching up. To answer the queries:
- that is my buddy's 1975 Suzuki GT550 - it was a REALLY nice bike and he had NO trouble staying my 650 in 3rd, 4h and 5th gear roll-ons;
- the luggage rack on the XS650B was on it when I got the bike and it also had a seat backrest that could be mounted to suit a passenger or slid forward to support a single rider;
- the Vetter Windjammer-like fairing was an amazing find in an old bike dealers back shed. I got it for $150 in about 1978, made my own bracket and it worked really well;
NOTE: the fairing was called a Torque Commuter and it really was a Vetter clone except for the turn signals. As I recall, it was made out of roto-moulded PE rather than fibreglass. It came in black - so I didn't even have to paint it! I did the pinstripes with a couple of rolls of cheap coloured tape and felt like a total road-king while having saved a zillion buckaroos over the cost of a GL1000 with a genuine Windjammer. I even installed an AM radio in it (see the antenna) and at speeds under about 60 mph, I could even hear it. The leather saddlebags were another el-cheapo find and I still have them! The 650 wasn't very fast with the fairing and all that other stuff installed - but I didn't care and I rode the damned wheels off that thing.
That XS650B had well over 100,000 miles on it when I traded it in on a brand new leftover '79 Suzuki GS850G in the fall of 1980 - and the Yamaha still was running well. I think I was the first person I knew to have to install new brake pads on a bike because at that time very few bikes ever got more than about 20-30,000 miles on them.
As I recall it, in that photo I was just about to leave on a trip in late July. I had a week or 10 days off work and didn't have a plan - so I just rode out Division St. in Kingston where I was going to school and sat for a moment at the Hwy. 401 freeway junction trying to decide which way to go. I flipped a coin, turned right and headed east - and about 24 hours later pitched my tent in Cavendish Beach National Park on Prince Edward Island. The next day I took the ferry to Nova Scotia and rode the Cabot Trail and then headed (by ferry) into Maine and wound up near the top of Skyline Drive. From there, I rode home - in the rain 100% of the way - to Toronto. That old Yamaha never missed a beat - since I had finally figured out about the alternator brushes in the spring of that year. Here is another photo taken at my parent's cottage near Havelock, ON.
Anhhhh, those were the good old simple days of 40 cent/gallon fuel and cheap bike parts. I wish I still had that 650 - it really was a hell of a good bike.
Cheers,
Pete
Lucille and I were out for a ride this evening - so, I am catching up. To answer the queries:
- that is my buddy's 1975 Suzuki GT550 - it was a REALLY nice bike and he had NO trouble staying my 650 in 3rd, 4h and 5th gear roll-ons;
- the luggage rack on the XS650B was on it when I got the bike and it also had a seat backrest that could be mounted to suit a passenger or slid forward to support a single rider;
- the Vetter Windjammer-like fairing was an amazing find in an old bike dealers back shed. I got it for $150 in about 1978, made my own bracket and it worked really well;
NOTE: the fairing was called a Torque Commuter and it really was a Vetter clone except for the turn signals. As I recall, it was made out of roto-moulded PE rather than fibreglass. It came in black - so I didn't even have to paint it! I did the pinstripes with a couple of rolls of cheap coloured tape and felt like a total road-king while having saved a zillion buckaroos over the cost of a GL1000 with a genuine Windjammer. I even installed an AM radio in it (see the antenna) and at speeds under about 60 mph, I could even hear it. The leather saddlebags were another el-cheapo find and I still have them! The 650 wasn't very fast with the fairing and all that other stuff installed - but I didn't care and I rode the damned wheels off that thing.
That XS650B had well over 100,000 miles on it when I traded it in on a brand new leftover '79 Suzuki GS850G in the fall of 1980 - and the Yamaha still was running well. I think I was the first person I knew to have to install new brake pads on a bike because at that time very few bikes ever got more than about 20-30,000 miles on them.
As I recall it, in that photo I was just about to leave on a trip in late July. I had a week or 10 days off work and didn't have a plan - so I just rode out Division St. in Kingston where I was going to school and sat for a moment at the Hwy. 401 freeway junction trying to decide which way to go. I flipped a coin, turned right and headed east - and about 24 hours later pitched my tent in Cavendish Beach National Park on Prince Edward Island. The next day I took the ferry to Nova Scotia and rode the Cabot Trail and then headed (by ferry) into Maine and wound up near the top of Skyline Drive. From there, I rode home - in the rain 100% of the way - to Toronto. That old Yamaha never missed a beat - since I had finally figured out about the alternator brushes in the spring of that year. Here is another photo taken at my parent's cottage near Havelock, ON.
Anhhhh, those were the good old simple days of 40 cent/gallon fuel and cheap bike parts. I wish I still had that 650 - it really was a hell of a good bike.
Cheers,
Pete
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