So I want to do a fong bros style hardtail frame.......

[kopcicle]

HrdnSwede you have a PM

 

[650Skull]

The Bruce highway north of Brisbane, once your off the motorway, is notorious for being so bad a lot of bikers wont ride to north Queensland or vice versa.

 

[hotdog]

The drivers DO suck here!
Heard horror stories about Detroit and Chicago roads fro some friends here that came from those cities.
Gonna build a bike this winter and love the hardtail look and simplicity but hear more and more that beat you to death riding them... The suspended ones never look right and the 'Brat'/Cafe' look are getting to hipster and you (kopcicle) know how they are here in Seattle...

Kop's comments on the "me too crowd" are noteworthy......but being a 50-year-old platform there is not too much that hasn't been tried with the xs650 before....hell, the guys that were originally pimping their xs650 rides are all half dead by now.
Build what you want, ride it enjoy it, chances are it's been done before......just keep it suspended and don't cut up a survivor bike. There's plenty of chopped up bikes to choose from to start your own custom build from.