Hi,
A year ago I started to look after a bike that I could turn in to a scrambler. My biggest wish was to own a Triumph scrambler or XS 650 but I couldn’t afford it. I started to look into off-road bikes and found a few object, for about €1500, that was in good shape ready to be brutally developed into a sweet scrambler with 50-60s influences.
Six months ago my old man said that his friend had an old Yamaha standing in a garage somewhere. He told me that the bike was in good condition and that it was rebuild as a 70s chopper. Extended forks, modified seat (king and queen) with a narrow handlebar. I wasn’t interested at first once he told how it looked like. But I change my mind and told dad to call his friend. On a beautiful Sunday in august 2011 we went to look at it. In the corner, through piles of shit in his garage that he probably been collection since he was born, stood it. Sunlight shining at it, “-what a sight”. I knew it was a XS1 when I first laid eyes on it. The old man said that he bought it 1971 brand new, drove it for two summers and then decided to buy a car instead. And so he did, he placed the bike in the garage, over in the corner, with only with 11000km on the speed meter. And there it stood for almost 40 years alone. I bought my dream for €1000.
My plan is to turn it into a scrambler, BUT with only with minor changes. I don’t want to destroy or chance the look of it. I only want to give it a bit of a “dirt touch”.
So the plan is following:
-Higher rear suspension,
-Bigger off-road or dirt tires,
-Shorter fenders,
-tracker handlebar
-leather seat
-oxblood painted tank with two whipped-cream-white stripes
Due to that I’m not a native English speaking guy, I will not write so much in this thread. But as often as I can I will upload pictures of the bike, being slowly and gently caressed.
Regards from Swedish Dave
A year ago I started to look after a bike that I could turn in to a scrambler. My biggest wish was to own a Triumph scrambler or XS 650 but I couldn’t afford it. I started to look into off-road bikes and found a few object, for about €1500, that was in good shape ready to be brutally developed into a sweet scrambler with 50-60s influences.
Six months ago my old man said that his friend had an old Yamaha standing in a garage somewhere. He told me that the bike was in good condition and that it was rebuild as a 70s chopper. Extended forks, modified seat (king and queen) with a narrow handlebar. I wasn’t interested at first once he told how it looked like. But I change my mind and told dad to call his friend. On a beautiful Sunday in august 2011 we went to look at it. In the corner, through piles of shit in his garage that he probably been collection since he was born, stood it. Sunlight shining at it, “-what a sight”. I knew it was a XS1 when I first laid eyes on it. The old man said that he bought it 1971 brand new, drove it for two summers and then decided to buy a car instead. And so he did, he placed the bike in the garage, over in the corner, with only with 11000km on the speed meter. And there it stood for almost 40 years alone. I bought my dream for €1000.
My plan is to turn it into a scrambler, BUT with only with minor changes. I don’t want to destroy or chance the look of it. I only want to give it a bit of a “dirt touch”.
So the plan is following:
-Higher rear suspension,
-Bigger off-road or dirt tires,
-Shorter fenders,
-tracker handlebar
-leather seat
-oxblood painted tank with two whipped-cream-white stripes
Due to that I’m not a native English speaking guy, I will not write so much in this thread. But as often as I can I will upload pictures of the bike, being slowly and gently caressed.
Regards from Swedish Dave