A friend of mine has a '02 Road King. He went something like 213,000 miles before the engine was done. I think it has 235,000 miles now.
This is me on a rented one in 2011. I think it fit well enough.
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What is an XS650
- Thread starter ANXS650
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This is me on a rented one in 2011. I think it fit well enough.
Loved the Triumph Bonneville as a kid. Steve McQueen and the Fonz were so cool.
Like many, I fell in love with XS650 when the special came out 1978. Love at first sight. I was ready to buy one, then my mother had piss fit.
40 years later mom went to heaven... Saw an offer-up posting.. Got the bike I wanted out of someone's tool shed. This was after putting together rat rod style go karts and mini bikes from spare used parts, left over hardware, and of course, spit and zip ties..like a 12 year old.
.The only bikes I ever considered are the XS650, the Virago and the Harley Sportster. I may get a abandoned carbed EVO sportster to put together next...or a build a racing lawn tractor, or a snag Gold Wing, or V-rod, Ducati Monster.
Like many, I fell in love with XS650 when the special came out 1978. Love at first sight. I was ready to buy one, then my mother had piss fit.
40 years later mom went to heaven... Saw an offer-up posting.. Got the bike I wanted out of someone's tool shed. This was after putting together rat rod style go karts and mini bikes from spare used parts, left over hardware, and of course, spit and zip ties..like a 12 year old.
.The only bikes I ever considered are the XS650, the Virago and the Harley Sportster. I may get a abandoned carbed EVO sportster to put together next...or a build a racing lawn tractor, or a snag Gold Wing, or V-rod, Ducati Monster.
Yeah, I'm 6 foot and 200 plus lbs. and the bike fits bigger guys well. When I was 21 or so, I worked all day in a hot shop, and rode 300 miles on my little 75 xs650 to visit a chick down in Ft. Lauderdale. No way could I do that today on anything less than a touring bike.
I was watching Motorvision last night. The subject was vintage bikes.
This is an ugly 80's bike.
This is defined as a beautiful recreation. Perhaps it is.
This is an ugly 80's bike.
This is defined as a beautiful recreation. Perhaps it is.
I didn't think that the Special was ugly at the time, now??? Let's just say my tastes have changed.
I wanted an XS650 or TX750 from the first time I saw an XS-2 at age 13. The Special didn't change my opinion. When I learned in 1983 that it was last chance, I went out and bought it. At the time it was primary transportation. Specials were it!
I know it's a cluttered picture, but I think the XS1100 carried the Special styling better than the XS650 did, maybe mostly due to its length.
Good point on the 1100. I was a Kawasaki/Suzuki triple guy when I was a kid, however I always likes the traditional look of the 650 Yamaha. By the time I got through scaring the crap out of myself with those 2 stroke beasts, I found my '75 and it was my primary vehicle for two years.
I loved the look of my 83 as well. From certain angles the bike looks beautiful but yamaha made the back end look clunky when the put on the raised king/Queen seat with the low side on the seat that makes the seat/sidecovers and lower side-covers as one area.
From my Photography dark room course i done when i bought the bike in 1990.
I think your observation is spot on. I put a king/queen seat on my '75 and back then when I was young, I thought it was awesome. Now I look at it and can see how it throws the bike out of balance. I am building a street tracker out of a Special. Why a Special you ask? I feel no guilt cutting up a bike that will have little collector value, and IMHO, making it better.
Go ahead and whack 'em all to pieces. By the time y'all are done hackin', my Special will be the rarest of 'em all... and highly collectable.
To add one more thing, my 650, although mechanically sound, has a ton of cosmetic issues, exhaust, seat, rear grab bar, instruments etc. It's the perfect bike for me because I paid very little for it. If it were an 80-90% bike, I'd leave it alone or fix the flaws. I'm glad you are happy with your special, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.
46thG you should have heard the collective groans when I bobbed a ‘72 with worse Issues than what yours has. If I knew then what I know now I might have done it differently but I have no regrets And like Jim stated, it does thin the herd.
I'm in the car restoration business and when someone cuts up a restorable car I feel a twinge of pain, but like my dad said to me many years ago, hey, it's his car and his money. One of my customers has a heavily modified a '57 Caddy Biarritz, an very rare and valuable car. The shop that did it created a beautiful car. That being said, everyone including me, thinks he's nuts. But it was his 300k to spend. The bad part is the mods can't be undone.
