cmyoch
XS650 Junkie
I took a 3 1/2 year hiatus from the XS. I sold my '78 Special to focus on other projects and have not done much riding. To make a long story short, a neighbor has an '81 Special that he has ridden by my place a few times and I would share stories about my time with my bike and what similar issues we've both had and how I handled some other items with my bike. Well, yesterday, he offered to let me take his bike up the road. Without hesitation, I hopped on, kicked it and took off. I very much now miss my bike. This short ride took me back to all the fun I had and how great these bikes are. He is interested in a tractor that I have no need for and he offered a trade for his bike. Needless to say, I agreed without mentioning this to my wife so I may be the proud owner of another XS! This bike is a low mile 1981 model with about 5k miles on it. Cosmetically it needs some attention but I could care less about that. It has the usual intermittent charging issues and the electric starter apparently doesn't work. Neither of these concern me at the moment because I remember ripping my hair out with the long list of issues I had with my '78. The deal has not been set yet but I can bet it is pretty well happening.
I logged on to the forum for the first time in a few years. It was comforting to see a lot of familiar user names and sad to see some are no longer with us. Dick Russell (Grizld) lived about an hour and a half South of me and we used to catch up on the phone a lot. He had ridden to my home to help me with my top end rebuild and we met for lunch in between our homes to catch up. I will dearly miss him. Anyway, it feels good to potentially be back in familiar territory.
Once I seal the deal, I will post some pictures as well as give the bike a good assessment to make sure it stays in its original glory. I look forward to talking soon!
Craig
I logged on to the forum for the first time in a few years. It was comforting to see a lot of familiar user names and sad to see some are no longer with us. Dick Russell (Grizld) lived about an hour and a half South of me and we used to catch up on the phone a lot. He had ridden to my home to help me with my top end rebuild and we met for lunch in between our homes to catch up. I will dearly miss him. Anyway, it feels good to potentially be back in familiar territory.
Once I seal the deal, I will post some pictures as well as give the bike a good assessment to make sure it stays in its original glory. I look forward to talking soon!
Craig
