5T, Bob, the TR6 was a lovely bike and as I said somewhere one of the nicest bikes to ride I've ever had. But, when I bought it there was a bunch of things wrong with it.
Every fastener had been butchered, frame was rusty, engine leaked oil. Most urgently, the electrics - without doubt the worst I have ever seen. The PO was a domestic electrician by trade, so no excuse - he had buggered it up with redundant wires, cobbled together with 'chocolate block' domestic wire connectors but even then it didn't charge the battery. So he wired the ammeter reversed polarity - yes, an electrician and he really did that - and had the nerve to point out to me that the bike was charging. I have no words. The first big job I did, had to, was completely re-wired it.
Tried to deal with the oil leaks. So I completely rebuild the engine, new bearings, seals, gaskets, the lot. Also, completely rebuilt the chassis. Found a guy in the next village who still does stove-enamelling instead of powder-coating. New wheel bearings, swing-arm bushes, etcetera.
But even with a rebuilt engine, it still leaked oil, just not as bad. Then a couple of times it wet-sumped. And that was a pain on a kick-start only bike.
Loved that bike and really wanted to get it right and keep it forever. Even thought about re-building the engine again.
But the end, I thought, this bike is giving me more anguish than joy, so I sold it. The buyer was a fellow member of the Lonely Ones forum - phoned me up and made an offer. He had followed the saga, knew all about the bike and was delighted to take it on.
Probably just about broke even, what I'd paid plus the thousands spent. Philosophically, I thought at least I've met lots of really good people - the stove enameller, the engineers who rebuilt the crankshaft - and the bike has taught me loads. A bitter/sweet parting.
How does it compare with an XS650? The XS is a bit more powerful, but the TR6 smoother. Lovely, creamy power delivery. The Edward Turner design was at it's best in 650 form - they were never quite a happy stretched to 750. Very nice gearchange and only four gears.
Somebody give me a chance to ride 'em back-to-back and I'll tell you more.