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principal282

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Hey everyone!! Screen name principal because , well, I’m an elementary school principal by trade. Other than farm kid mechanics, no formal training.
I’ve done two restorations of my own bikes, a 73 dt3 and 74gt80a. I learned so much. I feel like there isn’t much I couldn’t do.

I have heard the question “do you work on other peoples bikes?” Three times in the past week after people have had a chance to either see my work or see me working.

My standard answer is “not yet!” A local guy has a super nice 78 XS-E. Wonders if I can take a look. I went up and looked it over. Other than sitting in a pretty climate controlled place for years, it seems fine. My thinking is fresh oil, fresh fuel, clean carbs if needed, new plugs, It is such a nice machine. Nobody doing it around here.

My dad had one as well, and mom is thinking I should take it home and get it going. (Dad likely got sick of it not running right, parked it, bought a Harley.)
How tough are these to work on? I know they are significantly different with two carbs, 4 stroke engine with valves, etc. am I getting in over my head? How hard are parts to run down? The old enduros were tricky but I had a little network of folks I knew they knew where to secure stuff.

To be honest it could be a fun retirement gig to run a little shop and revive old bikes. Just not sure my skills are there yet but keep learning every day.

I figured I’d happen by this forum and read a bit, and if anyone throws me any feedback I’d love to hear it!

Here is one of mine, my dads dt3
 

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Yes, this is a wonderful bike to learn on. It's pretty easy to work on and most things are right where you'd expect them to be. It's well made and pretty easy to fix up. Parts are plentiful, and many interchange between years. If you're going to pick an old bike to fix up and ride, it's best you choose one that had a long production run. The 650 fits that bill perfectly, having been produced for nearly 15 years. They built a ton of them and lots of nice, used parts are available on eBay. They respond well to the basic mods (pipes and pods) and there's many little tweaks that can be done to improve them. They can be made into a very nice running, handling, and dependable ride.

I happen to have a '78E myself and it's a great model. Yes, grab your Dad's, take it home, and get it up and running, you won't be sorry.
 
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It can be a very satisfying pastime, take an old motorbike, get to know it, fix the problems, start it, fettle it, ride around a bit. Then you need another one, so there's one to fix and one to ride. Ahem.

No, really I'd go with what the others have said - fetch your Dad's bike, take a look, have a think, ask questions, take your time, think about how to mend or renovate broken and worn parts. If you have the space to work on the bike - and the time - should be a labour of love to bring the bike back to life.
 
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