You just restored your XS 650. Now what do you do?

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XS-IVE Habit

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Just seeing after those countless hours painting, rebuilding and polishing your beauty, what do you do now? Do you leave in the garage as a hanger queen, do you use it as your best weather sunday rider, or is it your everyday rider? Just seeing how you guys differ from me, I am one of the "ride it don't hide it" mind-set. What about ya'll?
 
i ride mine as much as i can im in the constuction biz i have bags on my stock i jam all my tools to and strap a small water can to the sissy bar i have the other guys bring tools i cant carry.
 
dwyatt- Good luck buddy and bust some ass out there, just not your own!
WacoBrian- You sound like my old man, he puts his satchel on his Royal Enfield and heads to his shed everyday 60 miles there and back, and then gets in his truck and heads to a site, he is a landscaper.

I am a bellman at a Hotel 26 miles from my house, I can't wait to be stradled on that twin any day the weather is okay!
 
I follow the Jay Leno school of thought. Ride it, use it, enjoy it and when the time comes, restore it again!
 
I ride mine all the time. Why keep it pretty for when I'm dead? Actually, I just added a front fender after getting caught in the rain a while ago. Narrowglide Harley fenders fit almost perfectly. Just a little hole adjustment.
 

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I ride mine, cover up the scratches and ride more. Make a list of things you want to upgrade the next time around. Mine's sitting in the garage waiting for the 2nd frame up repaint since I bought it.:bike:
 
See that is my favorite thing about the vintage motorcycle crowd, is we love riding our babies. But building, painting, fixing is what makes our bikes special to us. IS there a better feeling than hearing that first bam from the muffler after an engine sitting 25 years?
 
Mine's daily transportation. Racking up the miles like a car, too. I have a Jeep if I have to carry a big load somewhere but it's rarely started up. I mean I rarely start it - it'll start....
 
Too many bikes to keep em all ridden. The Shadow is more comfortable but the Heritage special got the nod today. I can't claim to have ever "restored" a bike. Back from the brink (and sometimes over) and in riding condition. But that's the key RIDING condition.
 
I'm definitely a fair weather biker. I think I like building bikes more so than riding them a lot of times. If the weather isn't perfect I don't really want to ride. But it makes it all the sweeter when I do ride.
I don't put a ton of miles on my builds, but I still think I get good enjoyment out of them.
 
I just bought a restored one (admittedly with a bunch of hardly noticable upgrades: big bore kit, VM38 carbs, etc.) but its still basically an original looking 75 B.

The intention is to ride it to work on temperate days from spring-to-autumn.

I don't see many (or any) XS650s getting around here, original, bobbed, or chopped...

I.
 
didn't restore it...chopped it and ride it like I stole it between wrenchings. Wrenching and learning is half the fun...sometimes...lol.
 

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I was never a chopper or bobber type of person, i love a stock bike as it came from the showroom, just like my 1975 XS 650B that I just picked up. But if I did a street tracker or cafe' style XS 650, I know I would ride the hell out of it. Thats why I am looking at a 80's to do up like that. I cant ruin the look of anything 70's.
 
I ride mine. Do a few upgrades. Make a few changes to see how they work. It gets washed one or two times a season. Usually use up one set of tires a year. Well when I had just two bikes, now have four. Two are XS650's.
 
When it's together I ride it to work and whenever. Right now I ride my 86' SRX600 to work every day. When it's back together I'll switch off. I'm a believer in the Ride 'em don't hide 'em method. But that's just me. I guess if I had a really expensive collector model I might not . Probably why I don't have one!:bike:
 

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