Newbie from the UK saying Hi!

[Airwolfie]

Hi all! New to this site and bikes, still doing doing my licence and I already have a bike!!
Got myself an XS650 SH off epay for £575! It is in bits though, but I have this site and a lot of friends that said they will help me out! It has a few parts missing but they seem to be in abundance(well, sort of!) on the auction site.

Getting me a Haynes manual and parts list to help with making sure it is all there!

The plan is to restore it back to a rideable bike for commuting and having a spare seat for the missus! Once she gets her bike, I will cut and chop bits off as needed to build my own personalised ride!! Or maybe not, depending on how much I like the bike as original!!

Don't worry, I think you will be hearing a lot of me!!!

Thanks for a great forum, I'm liking it so far!!

 

[XSLeo]

Welcome to our little slice of the XS world. There is knowledge in abundance here. Just ask and you shall recieve.
Leo

 

[BruceDeuce]

hi from NJ.

 

[nj1639]

Welcome aboard!........ but you have to post some pics.

 

[sseres]

Hi from northwest USA!

 

[Airwolfie]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

I don't really want to show pics yet as it's all a big mess at the moment!
I did have a dig in the boxes the other day, and I am going to need quite a few bits! A lot more missing than I originally thought!
I also got my Haynes manual today! It's all kicking off now!! Even the missus is getting exctited!!

Build thread coming soon, here's what I got so far.........

(excuse the crappy phone pics!!)

 

[jay760]

I was going to bid on this bike on ebay but couldn't believe how much it went for in the end, always a gamble when it's in as many pieces as this.

 

[Scrambled]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

I don't really want to show pics yet as it's all a big mess at the moment!
I did have a dig in the boxes the other day, and I am going to need quite a few bits! A lot more missing than I originally thought!
I also got my Haynes manual today! It's all kicking off now!! Even the missus is getting exctited!!

Build thread coming soon, here's what I got so far.........

(excuse the crappy phone pics!!)

Are motorcycles really that expensive in the UK ? I am in Canada , our dollar is at par with the US right now and I think the Pound is worth about 1 and a half to two times the dollar . So , any way you look at it, you payed more for that basket case than I would pay for a running bike. You certainly have your work cut out for you .

 

[Airwolfie]

I was going to bid on this bike on ebay but couldn't believe how much it went for in the end, always a gamble when it's in as many pieces as this.

I have seen them go for less, but I bid on this one as it was close to home, most of them are too far up north!!

Are motorcycles really that expensive in the UK ? I am in Canada , our dollar is at par with the US right now and I think the Pound is worth about 1 and a half to two times the dollar . So , any way you look at it, you payed more for that basket case than I would pay for a running bike. You certainly have your work cut out for you .

Only the rare ones! As far as I know, these weren't built over here, they are all imports I THINK! You can't find them just anywhere, and because of their popularity, they are getting expensive! A running XS will go for £1200 to £3000 depending on the condition, sometime even more if the mileage is low!! This bike was imported in 1992 from the USA, and had three owners since then, me being the fourth!

 

[jay760]

Where are you, this bike wasn't too far from me,

 

[Scrambled]

I have seen them go for less, but I bid on this one as it was close to home, most of them are too far up north!!



Only the rare ones! As far as I know, these weren't built over here, they are all imports I THINK! You can't find them just anywhere, and because of their popularity, they are getting expensive! A running XS will go for £1200 to £3000 depending on the condition, sometime even more if the mileage is low!! This bike was imported in 1992 from the USA, and had three owners since then, me being the fourth!

Check out kijiji in the GTA that's greater Toronto area, and look at a couple of XS650s that are for sale here. They were a very popular bike , in fact, the Yamaha X1 650 and the Kawasaki W650 + the Honda 450 that came out in the 60s and 70s was the reason people stopped buying British twins over here. All the Triumph and BSA dealers switched to Kawasaki and Yamaha.

 

[nj1639]

Tell you what, you get that basket case put back together and running and you'll be mountaintops above a lot of us in the intricacies. Best to ya.

 

[Airwolfie]

Check out kijiji in the GTA that's greater Toronto area, and look at a couple of XS650s that are for sale here. They were a very popular bike , in fact, the Yamaha X1 650 and the Kawasaki W650 + the Honda 450 that came out in the 60s and 70s was the reason people stopped buying British twins over here. All the Triumph and BSA dealers switched to Kawasaki and Yamaha.

I did not know that!

Tell you what, you get that basket case put back together and running and you'll be mountaintops above a lot of us in the intricacies. Best to ya.

Coming from the guru I see, no pressure then!! I'm definately going to try! Thanks!

 

[peanut]

Hi and welcome.:thumbsup

Whereabouts in the UK are you ?

I recognise your bike as I was thinking of bidding on it myself. I bought another basket case just like yours off ebay a few weeks ago and am just about to start rebuilding it. Its a 79 US import

Maybe we can share our rebuild experience and parts sources

Nick

 

[Airwolfie]

Hi Nick!

I'm in Tring, Hertfordshire. Seemes like your build is more complete than mine!! I had to get my own Haynes manual!!

Ebay is mostly my parts list at the moment, putting things on my watch list and trying to get the cheapest possible!

Still busy making a list of things I need, once I got them I can start properly!

This is where I'm at so far. Looks a bit more like a bike now!!

 

[peanut]

blimey I thought my build was going to be tough until I saw yours ... yours is heroic !

Its looking good already . I just love the proportions of this model, it looks so right.

Let me know what bits you are looking for and I'll keep a lookout. I like your wheels, I think they look better than the wire version. Is yours the single or twin disc front wheel version?

I shall start mine tomorrow and I'll start a rebuild thread asa kind of blog of progress. Good luck

 

[jay760]

Looking at the pictures of both your bikes I'm not sure which I'd like to tackle the least.

 

[Airwolfie]

blimey I thought my build was going to be tough until I saw yours ... yours is heroic !

Its looking good already . I just love the proportions of this model, it looks so right.

Let me know what bits you are looking for and I'll keep a lookout. I like your wheels, I think they look better than the wire version. Is yours the single or twin disc front wheel version?

I shall start mine tomorrow and I'll start a rebuild thread asa kind of blog of progress. Good luck

What are your plans? Restore or just build or a chop? I actually prefer the spoked wheels!! Is that a disc on the rear of yours or a drum? Mine is the single disc up front at the moment but I plan on going dual, I want good stopping power! The rear one is mainly just for standing still so I'm not bothered that it's a drum, I actually like the look of a drum in the rear!

Not sure about the bits I need, so far I know I need a tacho, front disc, grips for the bar, mirrors, tappet covers, sidestand, fuel cap, indicators, neutral switch, a key!!!, spacers, new hardware, possibly a new seat, chain, and that is what I know of so far. Not sure if the motor is complete, I may have to buy some bearings for it, but I'll see about that when I get there!

Looking at the pictures of both your bikes I'm not sure which I'd like to tackle the least.

I think I prefer Peanut's, his is where I want to be at!!!

 

[peanut]

I think I prefer Peanut's, his is where I want to be at!!!

I have to say I agree The only unfortunate thing is that neither of us have had the valuable learning experience of doing the dissmantling ourselves .I always take photos these days of everything I take apart cos my memory is rubbish.

I have a couple of cheap p.a.s coolpix200 cameras and I'm hoping to set one up permanently on timelapse setting to take a picture every 30 seconds whilst I'm working. I'll use the other one to take the odd video and still images.

Exeter Bike breakers have quite a bit of XS650 and XS750 stuff on ebay lately. I noticed that they have 2x xs750 front brake discs ,one slotted, one not, so not a pair .
I believe these will fit an XS650 but you may need to change the caliper too ?

i've got a brilliant XS650 upgrade article somewhere written by Minton here's the link although its probably on this site somewhere if I searched for it.http://www.650central.com/

I'm on the lookout for some special paint schemes too for the tank and covers as the existing is yuk

Your project has really fired me up so I'm going down the garage this morning and I'm going to start sorting the engine bits, checking the frame and wiring and making some lists ......yeah!
catch ya later