New member, old bike.

[Bravo21]

Hello,

Just joined the forum because I finally found and purchased XS650. It's a '78 Special with 9,100 miles on the clock. I found it at a local Union Gospel Mission Motors lot - people donate cars, boats, bikes (anything with a motor) to be fixed up and sold to help support the Mission. This one was going to be sold as a project. I saw it the day after they received it snapped it up for $200, complete with title. Frame and crank case numbers match. The only thing the bike is missing is the right side cover and a mirror. Unfortunately, it's been sitting for quite some time so, very little of what's left is usable, which doesn't really matter because I plan to rebuild the bike and change it considerably. Most importantly, I can turn the motor over with the kick starter - Motor is not seized.

Seems like there is a nearly bottomless wealth of info here. Being as this is my first build, I'm going to be coming here a lot for help and research. You've all no doubt seen hundreds of these of old barn-find bikes but here's mine anyway, in my garage, day one.

Dave

 

[azman857]

Welcome! Yeah, there's a LOT of knowedge here. IMO The best tool in your toolbox is a Factory Servise Manual. What kind of plans do you have for it? $200 with title? Not bad. It's not badly rusted. I trust it's not frozen engine. Have fun with it and keep us posted with your progress, please.

 

[Bravo21]

Nope, motor is NOT frozen. I'm still going to pull it apart, clean all the sludge out of the bottom, replace all the gaskets and seals, rebuild the carbs and see if I get her to start.

Plans? More plans than money, at the moment. I had originally wanted to build a cafe-style bike but that has now morphed more toward the street tracker look. I don't really like being bound by any of the current category names used to classify garage builds but I can't find away around using them. A buddy of mine suggested, "Just say your bike design is race-inspired." I like that. Hard to pin-down.