Well, I actually had nothing to do with finding this one, it was all my buddy. He works at a pretty big plant and has, in fact, bought most of his used bikes from fellow workers there, and some at very good prices. I think that may be their 1st shot at selling before going to something like Craigslist. Honestly, deals like this don't come around much here either, lol. I always watch the local Craigslist ads and the last few years, 650s are few and prices have gone up. But, you never know when a deal will pop up.
My current '78 was like this. I had always liked and wanted a 650 but was never really actively searching. The occasional ones I'd notice in local classifieds always seemed too expensive ($1200-$1500). Being that they weren't much more than that new, I felt it was too much for a used one. Then, out of the blue, a guy I knew and hadn't seen in years called me and asked if I wanted a bike. He said it had been sitting in his garage for several years and he felt that if it sat much longer, it would just turn to junk. So, I went over and took a look. It was a titled 650, a bit rough, but it was free so I took it, lol. The rest, I guess you could say, is history. I got it running, found these forums, and proceeded to refine, tweak, and mod it into a very nice, dependable old bike. It's given me nearly a dozen years of good service and taught me much more about motorcycle mechanics than I already knew. I learned things like how to spoke wheels, drill discs, tune carbs (better), do valve jobs, and a ton more about motorcycle electrics. Not only did I get the enjoyment of riding it, I got an education too, lol.
