My first xs650 project

well im 33 and think stock xs's are butt ugly and turds... but to each their own. i will be that poser on his tc bros hardtail, sportster tank and prob everything else "poser", but its how i want MY BIKE to be. i have my 04 roadstar for when i want comfort for those 7-8k 2 week long bike trips. i do agree the xs arent the best looking hardtailed when you compared it to a harley custom hardtails (ie motor fills the gaps well) - but its also a hella alot cheaper to build then a HD.

and not to derail anymore..

i'm love'n your build so far! +1 on the 18" rear i wish i did that
 
Thanks Travis that is exactly what I was looking for.

Im not building it to be different or custom. I enjoy actually working on it and cleaning up every little nut and bolt. Im just doing it for the experience. Plus Ive never seen a chopped xs in my area. So its still pretty rare. Yea TCbros hardtails are played out, on the internet. How often do you see one crusing around.
 
dead guy....... on a positive or more helpfull note... Your Top motor mounts really need to be tied back into the frame as these motors vibrate alot......... just a tip from an ole geezer.
 
bigjimmyw13 said:
Our age group isn't really interested in a clean looking 30yo jap bike. Like I said I appreciate the older clean bikes, but they just aren't for me. When I was looking for a bike to turn into my own I was looking for a the Triumph or the Yamaha 650. Then I realized that I would go with the Yamaha b/c of the price. :thumbsup:
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The triumph is expensive in part due to the availability and in the day there were plenty and a lot got chopped hence the bike became a bit less available. There are still a lot of XS's out there and 3 years ago barn finds for $100 were common and $100 was considered expensive. No one wanted to pay more than $300 for a good runner. and now a good runner can be up towards the $2,000, and people are paying more than that, of course you can still get them for $800 or so as a runner.

I am not knocking you guy's chopping but you are going through the same as the guys that used to chop the triumphs and if you ask them today 90% would say they wish they hadn't as they didn't realize at the time what they were destroying to achieve their build and wish they had the original............You guy's are going through the same phase.. nothing new:thumbsup:
 
sorry but I have to disagree, If I had another Triumph I would still either chop it or alter it, I've had several and not a single one close to standard, the same with the xs, if it is a prime example I wouldn't, but otherwise I wouldn't think twice about altering it.
 
:doh:just read the post properly, one of the 10%, personalisation is a good thing I think, I can't stand these conkers bonkers with their I think you've used the wrong washer in there attitude.
 
I'd have to agree with the old guys on this one, And I consider myself young at 27. If you're going to chop up the bike anyhow, why not just get a titled frame and an engine? Over here (northern europe) bikes like this go for 4000-5000 USD. :banghead:

Each to his own and what's done is done. Just make sure you build it into an immaculate beauty, the bike deserves it.
 
Please people, A '77 xs650 as a collectors piece? Let's get real. The bike was cool 30 years ago. It survived. But, you know what? Yamaha made a shitload of them, like Ford Fairmonts. It ain't that special. It was a mass produced Japanese motorcycle. It's not like he's choppin a Vincent Black Shadow. Hell, people cut up rare Porches and modify them to make them fun. Let the guy make it like he wants, and enjoy it, and for that matter let us enjoy it too. Cut the bitch up Deadguy. I'm with you.
 
Chop as much as you like, It's your bike.
There's a few standard XS's for sale here at the mo. Cheapest is $3500, up to $6500. Often see them around $4000. Anything under $2000 is usually fairly crappy, along the lines of what you Stateside guys regularly turn up for a few hundred.
Anyone wanna load up a container of $500 shitters & send them to Perth, me & Jay will off load them & split the coin 3 or 4 ways! :cheers:
 
- theyre getting pretty damn pricey here in europe too, there are deals to be had, if youre quick, and they happen to be on your doorstep...ive managed to average 750 euros each for the last few regd and tüev-checked runners-all under 30k, but thats pretty damn good...ive stopped looking at parts priced in dollars, better for my blood pressure

- you have to be very careful here with modifications, and theyre very expensive to get passed, so radical changes are the exception rather than the rule, unless you live in the netherlands or poland

- a container load of potential pleasure packages would go down well here too
 
bigjimmyw13 said:
We still need to be able to look cool enough to pick up 20yo tail. That's a lot harder to do riding a stock XS.
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When i was younger, someone asked me "Hey, so you just got new boots. (18 hole oxblood docs, if you must know) Do the boots make the man?" I replied "No, but the man makes the boots."

I still got 'em (and i'm pretty sure they're actually older than you. Heh.) and i still make 'em.

ps - the 22 year old peering over my shoulder just smacked me upside the head. So i'm still cool. <snicker>

pps - Dude, carve it up. Everyone does what they want to at the end of the day.
 
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Tech7 said:
Please people, A '77 xs650 as a collectors piece? Let's get real.
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Okay - in 1980, you could pick up a 69-72 Charger (a fairly popular car) in excellent shape for very little. in 1990, probably under 10k if you looked. 2000, 20 to 25k. Now... Well, ebay not being the best bet, but i found a couple (in good shape, remember) for 35ish?

The odd thing is that people were saying the exact same thing about cars like this back in the day. throwing out pieces with a bit of rust on them 'cause they could get a dealer or re-pop for cheaper than the effort required to clean it up.

Give it ten more years, and i'm betting XS650's will get to be about the same. If for no other reason that we'll get to the tip over point in N.A. where you *can* make fab money shipping back to Europe in a container.

Just a counterpoint to yours.
 

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