tyrannotorus
XS650 New Member
History
A friend of mine bought a1979 XS750 with 81k km for his first bike. It ran great (I test rode it for him before he bought it), but it was too tall, big, and heavy for him. He then bought a new Iron 883 now and couldn't be happier, and sold the XS to me for $500.
The purchase price was right, and I wanted to put some $$$ down to cafe it into something like the XS750 build by WrenchMonkees.
https://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/yamaha-motorcycle-cafe-racer/yamaha-xs750-by-wrenchmonkees/
I'm not very mechanical, so I brought it to a local shop I was familiar with. The previous owner (who had fixed two bikes of mine; a 1983 XS650 and a 1978 SR500) was sick however, and had passed on his shop to his son-in-law. I showed the son-in-law photos of the WrenchMonkees build as the primary inspiration; we talked about the important parts - the welded rear hoop, the seat, the pods, rejetting, the wiring relocated, clip-ons...
He promised it could be done, and I started him off with $500 for parts.
8 months and a thousand excuses later, this is the bike I finally picked up...
The Bike As It Is Now
^ The seat is the same the bike came with, so no progress there.
^ Clip ons.
^ New LED headlight is... well., It exists. I didn't want an LED headlight.
^ Engine crudely painted matte black. I think he painted the engine black (which wasn't discussed) because he oversprayed everywhere painting the tank brown (which to be fair, he did ask to do). The other side of the engine is gloss black, because he probably ran out of matte black.
^ Wiring all cut.
^ Crudely cut aluminum wiring pan taped on.
^ Pod filters. He said he rejetted when I asked him, but his response was "um, ... yeah", which means it likely wasn't.
^ Tank was blue before. Not sure if you can tell.
^ He did cut the rear off and get a hoop, but it's not welded.
So, What Now?
Luckily I only paid that $500 deposit. He sent me an additional invoice afterward and I ignored it. I could have destroyed my own bike better and for less money, thanks.
The state of the bike in point form
- Wiring loom is a mess and all cut up.
- I have a lithium battery.
- Seat no longer fits the frame, which has been cut.
- Rear hoop not welded.
- Headlight clearly not mounted correctly, with a mess of wiring hanging down.
- Engine in two different shades of black. How do I get the paint off?
- Clip-ons are there, but not tightened.
- Pod filters are there but likely not jetted for them.
- Rattle-canned, peeling brown tank with brown overspray everywhere.
- Tires are new!
Like I said, I'm not mechanical. I have all winter and can learn bit by bit, but I don't even know where to start right now. Should I take it all apart? Do I start with the wiring? Should I honestly even bother?
A friend of mine bought a1979 XS750 with 81k km for his first bike. It ran great (I test rode it for him before he bought it), but it was too tall, big, and heavy for him. He then bought a new Iron 883 now and couldn't be happier, and sold the XS to me for $500.
The purchase price was right, and I wanted to put some $$$ down to cafe it into something like the XS750 build by WrenchMonkees.
https://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/yamaha-motorcycle-cafe-racer/yamaha-xs750-by-wrenchmonkees/
I'm not very mechanical, so I brought it to a local shop I was familiar with. The previous owner (who had fixed two bikes of mine; a 1983 XS650 and a 1978 SR500) was sick however, and had passed on his shop to his son-in-law. I showed the son-in-law photos of the WrenchMonkees build as the primary inspiration; we talked about the important parts - the welded rear hoop, the seat, the pods, rejetting, the wiring relocated, clip-ons...
He promised it could be done, and I started him off with $500 for parts.
8 months and a thousand excuses later, this is the bike I finally picked up...
The Bike As It Is Now
^ The seat is the same the bike came with, so no progress there.
^ Clip ons.
^ New LED headlight is... well., It exists. I didn't want an LED headlight.
^ Engine crudely painted matte black. I think he painted the engine black (which wasn't discussed) because he oversprayed everywhere painting the tank brown (which to be fair, he did ask to do). The other side of the engine is gloss black, because he probably ran out of matte black.
^ Wiring all cut.
^ Crudely cut aluminum wiring pan taped on.
^ Pod filters. He said he rejetted when I asked him, but his response was "um, ... yeah", which means it likely wasn't.
^ Tank was blue before. Not sure if you can tell.
^ He did cut the rear off and get a hoop, but it's not welded.
So, What Now?
Luckily I only paid that $500 deposit. He sent me an additional invoice afterward and I ignored it. I could have destroyed my own bike better and for less money, thanks.
The state of the bike in point form
- Wiring loom is a mess and all cut up.
- I have a lithium battery.
- Seat no longer fits the frame, which has been cut.
- Rear hoop not welded.
- Headlight clearly not mounted correctly, with a mess of wiring hanging down.
- Engine in two different shades of black. How do I get the paint off?
- Clip-ons are there, but not tightened.
- Pod filters are there but likely not jetted for them.
- Rattle-canned, peeling brown tank with brown overspray everywhere.
- Tires are new!
Like I said, I'm not mechanical. I have all winter and can learn bit by bit, but I don't even know where to start right now. Should I take it all apart? Do I start with the wiring? Should I honestly even bother?
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