Where and how would your XS be if you hadn't bought it?

[highspeedhamish]

I looked for a year and a half before i spotted a craigslist ad with a guy wanting to trade for a 4x4 or a Suburban. It was sitting outside next to a woodpile under a tarp for 5 years. The PO had put 450 bux into the thing for carb issues and parts and drove in about 160 miles or so and parked it. Not sure why... it was in such bad shape I had to cut the chain off the rear sprocket because they rusted together. He thought I was going to restore it... The only parts I kept were the frame, engine, speedo and frontend. The fork tubes were pitted they had to be replaced. Surprisingly... after tearing apart the engine there was no gunk and the crank bearings were in excellent shape.

 

[WacoBrian]

i got my 78 from my brother in law he found it at a friends carport been sitting 12 or so years he paid $100 friend thought the engine was locked up but it was rusted chain. it had windshield and saddle bags.brother in law straped a car battery to the rack 3 cans of carb cleaner 2 cans of fixa flat and road it around the lake for a summer.he fell over a frame in another friends backyard found a motor and other xs650 parts ther too. he lost his job needed money i bought everything for 500.then i found a complete 78 old lady had for years in backyard got it for 50 bucks. i stripped it thinking i was going to restore it too but brother in law talked me into building on the cut up frame he fell over.

50 bucks took it home started right up

 

[xsjohn]

Mine 80SG was clean and was garage kept when I bought it 12 years ago.....Parked my RT1's at that point.....but the PO tried to ride it on the highway with the lean BS34's and the low stock gears........by 9K the crank was trash and the front cam chain guide.........changed cranks and saved it by setting the carbs and timing correctly (and other things) and now at 76K and cruising..........did loose the trans at 60K but most can have that problem eventually due to a poor design if the engine is not smoothed out......took measures and corrected also.........

xsjohn

 

[Viper]

I went to a car auction in 2007 with a friend, and my mom to purchase a new car (I think a 2001 Audi a4).

I walked past the bike at least 10 times, and at one point i even said to my friend "That looks like a decent bike, I wonder what it'll go for."

The Audi came in and went way to high, and i never got it.

A little later they walked an old Honda CBR in, some old guy bought it with very little counter offers ($300ish i think).

Then right after they walked in my 78 Special, complete, with a sissy bar. Not running.

I liked how it looked, it seemed decent, It's older then me.. so why not. The old guy who bought the honda really wanted my bike, I jumped in at $300 and went up to $500. I was panicking, as I didn't have my bike license, or any idea what i purchased.

As I went up to pay for my bike, the old guy who bought the honda was there and i asked him if it was a good buy and what he thought was wrong with it. He said They're finicky, and it might have a hole in the piston and if i wanted to sell it, he'd take it for $300 and gave me his number. (LOL!)

I figure it was kept in someone's garage for years, and just given up on.

Once I got it home, I worked on it alot, and after blowing 3 cans of carb cleaner in the carbs i had one cylinder running, and I was determined to have it up and running, and make that bike happy again.

Front chain guide was gone, the clutch was bad, replaced the pistons, rings, honed the cylinders, head was professionally done. Carbs rebuilt.

Still need to replace the mufflers though.. after sitting so long, the baffle would pop out occassionally, and require me to weld the heck out of it to make it last.

Still a Good buy though.. and screw that old guy.. I don't think he actually picked up his Honda.

 

[NEBiker51]

My '79 was in a barn being beatup by cows, no not Kaws. You know the ones that are suppose to be making milk not kicking around motorcycles. Soon to be another street tracker, like there isn't enough of those around.

 

[angus67]

Holy smokes! How did that happen?

I have no Idea. i have no history on the bike. Looks like the pin let go, and kept running on the other cylinder a little longer. A bunch of valve slap marks on top of it. I split the cases, and cleaned it the best I could, the bearings all felt smooth, replaced the whole crank assembly with a fresher one, and I am praying for the best. I have yet to start it.

 

[azman857]

Hmmm. For my '80 Special, it was in a garage for 10+ yrs. I think it was running on 1 cylinder due to a bent valve when parked. I found that when I took the motor apart. I was told by the PO's son that the PO had a stroke and couuldn't ride anymore. All I know is that it had a title and a key, battery was new and charged and it was in near showroom condition when I first saw it. $650 was the asking price. I got it for $500 American. No dents, shiny chrome and small tear in the seat. Paint? Some sunfade on the sidecovers. Thats it. Luggage rack too. It's going to see the streets again soon.

 

[Bandito]

If I hadn't bought my XS, I am certain it's PO would have been killed on it.

He was using it to commute because he had no money, he had wrenched it himself
with zero mechanical ability, and it wasn't remotely close to roadworthy in my
opinion.

I was able to take the wheel and forks off the bike when I got it home by just
using my fingers... I didn't even use a wrench.

It was absolutely stunning. I'm suprised I didn't get killed test riding it now that
I think of it.

I bought the bike to give myself something interesting to do over the winter...
and also my father is building a CB750 chopper at the moment, so it's a bit of
a shared interest... to be reconstructing a bike at the same time.

It's like a family buildoff.

 

[Classic]

Dude, that is scary. I can understand working on a car to build mechanical inclination but not a bike. I'm glad neither of you died.

 

[72XS2]

My father owned my '72 XS650 since 1974 or 1975 I guess. He bought it from his friend and this friend died soon after selling it to my father. He rode it until 1985. When I was 12 in the summer of 1991, he decided to repair it. The bike had a problem. When he was riding it in fifth gear, sometimes, it suddenly downshift in fourth gear by itself. So, he opened the crankcase and found that the gear selector was a bit worn. If my memory is good, he told me that the path for the fork (for the fifth gear) on the gear selector was worn. So, he brought it to a machinist and get it done. I assume he did the right thing because the bike is ok now. What he didn't tell me is that he wanted to sell it. I remember that I used a lot of arguments because I really wanted to have this bike. Finally I succeed and he told me that he would give it to me at the age of 18. So, I'm a proud owner of a XS2 since I'm 18 and now that I know the history of the XS, I appreciate this bike even more. It's been around me since I was a kid.

When I got the XS, I didn't do nothing on it because I was more interested by old cars. So, I bought a 1953 Chevy Belair in 2003. I worked on it occasionally until 2008. In the summer of 1998, my brother-in-law wanted me to ride his Harley. I don't have my motorcycle driving license so I wasn't sure but he finally convince me. I drive it just for a couple of minutes but something happen on that bike. I don't know what it is but it wake up something in my head. I wanted to start to work on my bike but my '53 took a lot of space in my shop. I didn't know what to do with my Chevy. Finally, after the winter, I decided to "clean" my shop. I gave my '53 to my brother-in-law (I didn't pay a lot for it anyway) and I started to remove the dust on my XS.

I don't know what would have happened to my XS if my father had decided to sell it instead of giving it to me. But I'm sure it would not be in better hands than mine. And I know, I really need to have my motorcycle driving license before I finished to restore the XS.

(Sorry if my story is long, I did my best to keep it short)

 

[pumps]

Found mine on craigslist about 15 minutes from me. I don't know much except the PO used to ride it to work sometimes and rode his daughter two up sometimes. He'd saved up and bought a sporty and the XS had to go. It's had a little work done to it. He was asking $750 & I offered $500. Ended up getting it for $550. Rode it home. Been dropped at least once I'd say.A few scrapes etc. I've done some more to it and it's coming along. Not enough time is my problem.

 

[dwyatt]

Mine had a sedate garage life before, only going out on the occasional short run. If I hadn't bought it, that would have probably been it's fate for the rest of it's life.

All that changed 3-1/2 years ago, now she's a hot little tart all dressed in Kenny Roberts attire, ready to kick a little SV ass.

 

[anysnail]

i'm the fifth owner of people that "learned to ride on this thing." it's all been family members that owned it but i don't think any of them really knew what they were doing. when i went to pick her up she was in the back of a barn that is completely open on one side. dead battery, lots of rust, and numerous mystery clicks. what the hell though, she runs! i'm waiting for next friday's paycheck to order carb rebuild kit, front chain guide, and some other parts. this winter comes the complete teardown!

 

[cooltouch]

I've owned five XS650s over the years. My first one, an '81 SH, I found in an ad in the local newspaper, and picked it up for $600. It ran fine, but leaked oil from a bad right-side case cover gasket, and didn't charge. Rebuilt rotor and new gasket, and I had a good runner that I've ridden for 10 years. Sold it a few weeks ago (sigh) for $1000, so I guess I can't complain. So, where would it be now? Well, prolly somebody else would have bought it, I reckon.

I picked up an '80 SG and a '77 D at a bike meet several years ago. The '80 had been garage kept and was in nice shape. The '77 had been sitting outside for a looong time and was pretty rough. Somebody had rescued the '77 from a junkyard, and it went along with the '80 as a parts bike. I picked up the pair for $350, and I reckon if I wouldn't have bought them, somebody else would have.

A couple years ago, I ran across a 78E and a very early XS1. Guy wanted $500 for the pair, and wouldn't budge on the price. The '78 was in just okay shape -- didn't run, but had compression -- and the XS1 was really rough, and only about 80% there. It was missing the rear wheel and tank, had extended front forks, and just generally looked awful. But it was an XS1. As I got to checking it out, I looked up the serial number and found that it was the 600-some-odd one made, so a very early example. I didn't have the time, patience, or money to think about doing a proper resto, so I sold it off piecemeal. Sold the frame, front wheel, motor and triple tree, and made enough off that where I ended up getting the 78E for free. Plus I still have a few parts left from the XS1, so I'll end up making money off the deal if I ever sell those. Where would those two bikes be now? Probably still sitting in the carpentry shop, covered with even deeper layers of sawdust, where I found them.

 

[xjwmx]

A mechanic saw mine from the road sitting in somebody's yard with a for sale sign on it. He bought it for the garage to fix up and sell for a profit. I bought it from the garage before they could fix it up. Didn't have much wrong with it.

 

[pyrocentric]

I'm the 16th owner according to the dmv. The guy I bought it from had started chopping it with no real plan and no welder in sight. He had bought a peanut gas tank and a springer seat, but I decided to go back with a more stock look and had to recreate some of the stock mounting points. It had at least 12,000 miles on it before I did a little rebuild to freshen it up this year. If I'm really honest with myself, it was a basketcase that deserved to be parted out or scrapped...but I'm glad I didn't.